Brains has Rhythm!

I’m sure you’ve probably seen this already but just incase I though it deserved the post. Every time I watch this I love it even more – this is genius like Cadbury’s Gorilla. Completely out of leftfield we see something which probably looked completely daft on paper but just works oh so well.

Brains sure do perform best when they're hydrated.

Solar-Powered iPod

Apple recently applied for a US Patent, which detailed an iPod with a solar panel mounted behind the screens (display and touch). A solar panel! Seriously!!

It's obvious that a panel of that size would not be able to provide full power, but it would certainly supplement the battries whenever it was out in the sunlight.

The panel would catch any light passing through the LCD screen and thus avoid any extensive redesign of the device to accommodate a solar panel. The real question is, are we looking at a prototype staging device? Is this merely the first step in a complete roll out for Apple. If successful it would not be difficult for Apple to introduce the same technology in it's iPhones and laptops.

I have to say, I think that is fantastic.

Memory Almost Full

Sir Paul McCartney’s Memory Almost Full digital campaign has been nominated in the NMA best in ‘Music’ category. The campaign, which has been a truly interactive experience, is promoting both the latest release and the legend behind the music. The online elements provide exclusive content such as news, behind-the-scenes, diary and video updates. Memory Almost Full has been completely groundbreaking in its use of digital media.

Although I’ll admit to never having been a huge Paul McCartney fan, I do think this campaign deserves it’s recognition as being truly innovative in its approach.

Motion Capture Leaps Forward

I feel like all I'm doing is posting videos lately. Hopefully folks don't mind this too much?

Anyways, this is a video from Popular Mechanics, featuring the latest (un-assisted) motion capture face-recognition technology. It's pretty amazing stuff.

Weezer's Viral Web Round-Up

The new video for Weezer's 'Pork and Beans' is done as a nice round-up of some of the most popular virals from the last year or so. I'm happy to say there were only a few I didn't recognise, otherwise it was a nice stroll down viral memory lane.

Conrad Ostwald's Showreel

I StumbledUpon this and thought it an absolute must for a post. This is Conrad Ostwald's showreel. It's a sample of the various types of digital design and production he is capable of, and believe me, he's no slouch. This is by far the best showreel of a designer or filmmaker that I have seen in a very long time!



Conrad Ostwald Reel from Grapplica on Vimeo.

XO Gen2

OLPC founder Nick Negroponte has unveiled the next generation of the XO Laptop.

One word - awesome!

Half the size of the XO 1.0, the new XO looks more like a book then it does a laptop. Two touch screens mean that there is no keyboard, instead either screen can double as a keyboard or mouse. Of course it isn't actually two touch screens, it's one large screen with a middle fold! Unfortunately it's not due until 2010, but their aiming for $75 and one-watt power consumption which is mind blowing in itself.