I have been hearing a lot about Google voice. So I was intrigued to find out what it is and what it does. What exactly is Google Voice? Is it a phone redirecting service? VoIP? Voicemail? All of the above? None of the above? So I did a little research and I am going to give you some insight to Google Voice.

Google Voice originated as GrandCentral, an independent company that hit the scene in 2005. GrandCentral allowed users to register a new phone number and direct it to ring multiple phones; it could also collect messages and act as your personal switchboard operator. This sounds boring on the surface, but it provided a number of cool features, such as the ability to listen in on voicemail messages as they were being left or to tell a specific number that your phone number is no longer connected (great for stalkers and crazed PR people, who are kind of like stalkers). Google acquired GrandCentral in 2007, and promptly sat on the project for nearly two years before it relaunched the service as Google Voice in March of 2009.

Currently the only way to get Google Voice is to get invited or either be a grandfathered GrandCentral user.

Features of Google Voice:

One number for all your calls and SMS

Owl City is the name of a project formed in early 2007 consisting of one member, Adam Young. Young started making his music in his parents basement, which he claims is a result of his insomnia. Among Young's influences are European electronic music. 1980s synthpop and New Wave music is also heard in Owl City's sound. Which seems to be a sound that I have been enjoying lately.

Owl City found early popularity through its own MySpace profile, which has received more than 5 million plays on tracks, such as "Hello Seattle". This is how I found out about Owl City. Young is joined by Breanne Duren on several tracks; the most noted of which being "The Saltwater Room."

Owl City currently just came out with a new CD "Ocean Eyes", which is also a great CD. It was release in late July. It has all the sounds of his previous records. He sings about unconventional topics such as urban design, the elements, travel, and also more conventional topics such as romance and love and the world around. Great music primarily synth based, dreamy and atmospheric. So check out his sound.

We have as a whole come along way in the technological world over the years. We went from a huge 1GB hard drive to something that is now even smaller and larger than 1GB that we can fit into our pockets. This drive looks like the Flux Capacitor.

You would never lose the 1980's version in a drawer in your kitchen and spend 2 hours searching for it before you gave up and went and bought another one then discover it in your pants pocket when you got home.

Techonology is forever changing at a rapid pace and we are all aware of that. The picture above is a comparison between “Head Disk Assembly” (HDA) from an IBM 3380 Model J storage device from the 80s and an SD card that we carry today.

Do you think that the engineers of the day would guess that today we would have more than a hundred times that storage in your pocket which also by the way has a color screen, battery and the smarts to make it play audio and video?

How would you like your camera to not only take great pictures but also be able to project them onto the wall. Two days ago Nikon has announced the S1000pj, and along with a nice, big 2.7” screen, a 12.1 megapixel sensor, there’s a VGA projector inside.

The camera looks to be a solid picture-taker, with a top ISO setting of 6400 (at three megapixels), a 5x zoom and both optical and electronic image stabilization, but the projector is the real story here, the first that we know of in a consumer camera. It’ll throw images of up to 40-inches onto a wall up to two meters away, and comes with a remote control and stand to help. Useful for impromptu slideshows, and quite excellent for playing back movies. Price range: $430




Project Page(Nikon S1000pj)

Light Graffiti , also known as light painting. It is the use of photography and photography software. This ephemeral approach to art and expression uses the movement of light to create incredible images and is created on the streets, in nature, and in studios by artists whose creative impulses transcend traditional media. Light graffiti is sometimes produced as performance art, and sometimes just to capture it with photography and video, but either way it is very interesting and intriguing to ponder upon.

If you’re in the market for new business cards or a cutting-edge new advertising medium, you should take a look at this brilliant idea - your message or logo etched right onto a real leaf, no paint necessary! The resulting leaves are simple, stunning when looked at against the sunlight, and the best part is that if they are thrown away, there is no adverse effect on the environment. Design Firm Tatil Design of Brazil came up with the elegant marketing idea, which they recently used in 2008 during the 55th Cannes Advertising Festival to promote their “Designing Naturally” workshop. Natural Medium, which is what they call their amazing laser cut leaves, was so popular and well received at the festival that it won the Bronze Award for the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards in Eco Design.

I found this while just surfing around and found the whole process fascinating and brilliant. I'malways intrigued on different ways in which things can be used and still be friendly to the environment. I found the article about the leaf business cards on Inhabitat.com.

Inhabitat.com is a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.

Inhabitat was started by NYC designer Jill Fehrenbacher as a forum in which to investigate emerging trends in product, interior and architectural design. So in your spare time go and check out the site. They have some great articles on ways people and companies are using recyclables to save the environment.

HTC passed around their latest creation: an Android-based device they're calling Hero. And... wow! I have always been a fan of HTC since back when they came out with the HTC 8125. If you recall that phone was a monster but back in the day it was full of features that other phones during that time did not have. So now as time has passed we look for more features and a slicker looking style phones.

So it was with notable reticence that I took a shine to the Hero. The whole interface is skinned in HTC's own UI, which they call "Sense," built on top of Google's Android operating system, version 1.5 (aka Cupcake). Like other HTC-designed interfaces, it's beautiful. Unlike others, it works. Fast.

The device's most superficial menu is a dashboard-like flip screen that holds an arrangeable array of widgets, which can provide quick access to your contacts, Twitter feed, music player, calendar and weather-bugs, among other things. Once you dig into the Hero's customized apps, you'll notice that the contact flow has its own lovely Rolodex feel, akin to TouchFLO but more space-efficient and responsive. Likewise, HTC has ginned up its own custom on-screen keyboard (the Hero has no flip-out jaw, thankfully) and its own calendar, which look and feel as good as anything birthed in Cupertino.
The camera, backed by an excellent 5MP sensor with autofocus and digital zoom, takes pictures that shame the iPhone's (3G or 3G S), even though zooming is confusingly operable by the rolly nav ball instead of any of the soft keys. And the rest of the phone's physical chassis is above and beyond what we've come to expect even from a good hardware maker like HTC: the glass screen is oliophobic, so fingerprints wipe off easily, and the backing is infused with Teflon so it doesn't stain or fade with contact from palm or purse. The screen is crisp and bright--moreso than the iPhone--and the body itself feels more compact than Apple's device, although they're virtually the same size. Even HTC's trademark "foot"--the bend at the bottom of the device--seems refined from its odd incarnation on the G1.

Unlike the G1 or the new myTouch 3G, the Hero has a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, and unlike the iPhone, it plays Flash animations out of the box.

HTC says the Hero will go on sale in the U.S. this fall in two colors, black and white, but no price or carrier has been disclosed.

Here are the specs of the phone. HTC Hero

Source: HTC Hero Hands-on, HTC

I was looking at doing a piece on the use of horizontal websites and how if used correctly it becomes a unique way of mostly showcasing your works. Then I came across Stephane Tartelin and his works of art. I found his style to be intriguing and it also opens the mind to your own imagination. It makes you wonder what he was thinking when these designs came to his mind. Not only is his work fascinating but the build of his website was done very well and had a great use of horizontal scrolling.

Stephane Tartelin start mixing traditional drawings with computer graphics at 15 years old. After 5 years of professional visual communication school, he fulfill childhood dream and start working for different video games development studio in Paris.
In January 2000 he starts working as a freelance graphic designer, illustrator and motion designer. He now works for various range of international advertising, broadcast and publishing clients and still explore all facets of graphic design, animation, 3D, photography and of course illustration that remains his favorite playground.
Co-founder of Le Soupe design studio in Paris.

Here is some of his works:

The not so good quality graphics, the catchy jingles, the cheesy lines are what made 90's toy commercial so entertaining to watch.

It’s hard to believe how well the advertising worked back then, never failing to influence us during our birthday/holiday wish lists. I remember watching so many of these commercials back in the day when I was in middle school still watching cartoons. What am I talking about I still like cartoons.

Now let's take a trip down memory lane and relive some special moments that you might have forgotten about.


They make a lot of noise those Sniggle Sticks


I haven't been to a Toys 'R Us in such a long time.


Really!


Man he can talk fast


This jingle will get stuck in your head. Come on everybody Skip It!


Go Go Power Rangers!


Sock'em Boopers!


Battle Trolls


This is just wrong. Who wanted one of these