Nokia Aeon, the concept phone

Just take a good look at this concept phone by Nokia, the Aeon.

The entire surface is sleek and smooth — except for the carved Nokia logo, you wouldn’t think it’s some sort of a mobile phone device or something.

What about scratches and accidental drops?

Will this be the Nokia phone of the future?

Nokia Announces Ovi and Nokia Music Store
30 August 2007

Nokia has announced its intentions to profit, as many have done before it, from the ever expanding online music sales business. Enter Ovi… or should that be … “Enter through Oviâ€?? Ovi means “doorâ€? in Finnish and Nokia hopes many will enter through it to purchase music from the Nokia Music Store via their computers or compatible Nokia handsets. The store will offer full track streaming directly to your PC and customers will be able to purchase individual tracks or complete albums.

Currently, there is no word on the launch of the service in the Unites States, but Europeans will have access to the Nokia Music Store starting this fall. In Europe, Nokia plans to sell tracks individually at EUR 1.00 and complete albums will go for EUR 10.00. A monthly subscription service that allows PC streaming will also run EUR 10.00. Nokia didn’t specify which labels and artists they would be offering music from and only elaborated by saying that they will offer millions of tracks. It is unknown whether the tracks sold would be DRM-free or not.

No new features in Windows Vista SP1
7:06PM, Wednesday 29th August 2007

Microsoft has admitted there will be no new features in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 when it arrives at the beginning of next year.

One of the common criticisms of Vista is that it lacks sufficient new features to tempt XP users to upgrade. And though Microsoft has used Service Packs to introduce significant new features in the past, it has no plans for a repeat performance this time round.

“We didn’t design SP1 as a vehicle for releasing new features; however, some existing components do gain enhanced functionality in SP1,” says Microsoft’s Nick White, on the Windows Vista team blog.

White confirms that the Service Pack will arrive in Q1 next year, with a beta due to be released in the next few weeks. A small closed beta is already underway.

The long list of slated improvements that will be made in SP1 includes enhanced graphics card compatibility, better reliability when using an external screen with a laptop and shorter waiting periods during Hibernate and Resume modes.

A few of the slated changes - such as improvements in the speed of copying and extracting files - have already been addressed in Windows Hotfixes that were released today.

However, Microsoft insists there will be genuine value-add for Vista users. “In addition to updates we’ve previously released, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues we’ve identified via customer feedback, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards,” says White. “SP1 also makes additional improvements to the IT administration experience.”

The question is, will it be enough to convince existing XP users - whether in the home or business - to upgrade to Vista? Let us know your thoughts by clicking Add Comment below.

 

Microsoft develops double-sided touchscreen
10:23AM, Wednesday 29th August 2007

 
Microsoft is pioneering a new touchscreen that can be operated from both the front and back.

The device aims to overcome the conventional touchscreen flaw of the hand covering-up much of what is being displayed. Microsoft’s existing prototype, called LucidTouch, allows users to view the front screen without obstruction by entering text, navigating maps and clicking links from the back.

Beginning with a commercial touchscreen, the researchers at Microsoft bolted a multi-input touchpad to the back and then fitted a webcam on a boom to record the motion of the user’s fingers. This video is then fed into software running on the PC which filters out everything except the fingers, adds pointers to the fingertips so that users can select items precisely on screen and then feeds it back to the display.

To keep users orientated a transparent view of their fingers appears on the screen to indicate where they are pointing. “The main concept behind LucidTouch is pseudo-transparency - the ability to see your hands as they interact with the back of the device,” says Microsoft researcher, Patrick Baudisch. “This visual control allows users to control their interactions and manipulate objects on screen with precision, rather than poking around in the dark.”

“In addition, it features multi-touch,” Baudisch adds. “While holding the device between palms, users can operate the device with eight fingers from the back and with both thumbs from the front.”

As a next step Microsoft researchers envisage a more compact prototype in which the touchpad provides the image of the fingers without need of the clumsy webcam and boom. One suggestion involves a series of light sensors which could map the movement of the fingers, while another involves tuning the capacitors in the pad itself to detect the electrical field of the fingers.

“I can see LucidTouch changing the way users interact with PDAs and tablet computers, such as Microsoft TabletPC,” says Baudisch. “In addition, I think LucidTouch will also offer substantial benefit for very small devices. Think of a smart wrist watch featuring a touchscreen. If you used your finger on that touchscreen your fingers would occlude the entire display. Using Lucidtouch, you would instead move your finger over the back of the wrist band, yet the translucent overlay would map your finger motion onto the screen.”

 

Teen trades hacked iPhone for new car
Tue Aug 28, 6:03 AM ET

George Hotz, 17, holds an iPhone that he has unlocked and is using on T-Mobile’s network, Friday, Aug. 24, 2007 in New York. Hotz has broken the lock that ties Apple’s iPhone to AT&T’s wireless network, freeing the most hyped cell phone ever for use on the networks of other carriers, including overseas ones. (AP Photo/Jeff Christensen)
SAN FRANCISCO - The teenage hacker who managed to unlock the iPhone so that it can be used with cellular networks other than AT&T will be trading his reworked gadget for a new car.

George Hotz, of Glen Rock, N.J., said he had reached the deal with CertiCell, a Louisville, Ky.-based mobile phone repair company.

Hotz posted on his blog that he traded his modified iPhone for “a sweet Nissan 350Z and 3 8GB iPhones.”

“This has been a great end to a great summer,” Hotz wrote.

The 17-year-old Hotz said he will be sending the three new iPhones to the three online collaborators who helped him divorce Apple Inc’s popular product from AT&T’s network. The job took 500 hours, or about 8 hours a day since the iPhone’s June 29 launch.

Hotz made the deal with Terry Daidone, co-founder of CertiCell, who also promised the teen a paid consulting job.

“We do not have any plans on the table right now to commercialize Mr. Hotz’ discovery,” Daidone said in a statement.

Job Hunt - Inventive Marketing
by Amy Gifford
Depicting people working in the vending machines, ATMs, gas pumps, etc. the series of ads was designed to deliver the message that ‘Life is too short for the wrong job’.

First off, the laudromat.

How about an ATM machine?

A vending machine…

The gas pump.

And last but not least, a coffee machine.

What do you think?

Bet your job doesn’t seem so rough after all.

 

Advertising Agency: Scholz & Friends, Berlin, Germany
Creative Directors: Matthias Spaetgens, Jan Leube
Copywriters: Daniel Boedeker, Axel Tischer
Art Director: David Fischer
Photographer: Hans Starck
Producer: Søren Gessat
Account Supervisors: Katrin Seegers, Katrin Voss, Jana Wolotschij
Advertiser’s Supervisors: Erich Galacho, Stefan Kraft
Graphic: Robert Bilz, Steffen Kreft, Tabea Rauscher

Six of the Most Expensive and Extravagant Spa Treatments in the World
by Body Beauty

Body beauty is “everything” in our society. We’re caught up more on our body beauty than anything else. But in today’s inventive world why get any ordinary facial or go to any ordinary spa, when gold facials, wine spas and caviar shampoo can do so much more for you. Below are several of the most extravagant body beauty fixes to rejuvenate your body from head to toe. That is, if you can afford it.
 

1. Get a Facial Made of Gold

If you’ve ever had a facial you know how relaxing it can be and the end result is always softer smoother cleaner skin. At UMO America in Beverly Hills, California facials include 24-karats of gold. Yes, gold. Using gold for beauty is nothing new. It has been used this way for centuries. Unfortunately gold is not easy to use, as it must be dissolved first to easily spread across the skin. To do this, Umo America uses innovative Japanese technology called Gamma PGA/Nano Mist technology. Gamma PGA (Pure Natural Hydration) is more elastic than collagen and more hydrating than Hyaluronic Acid. Gamma PGA comes from a Japanese soybean health food called Natto Gum. Natto Gum has no preservatives and is 100% natural. Nano Mist has an ionic charge that penetrates the skin deeply and with it the 24-karats of gold and the Gamma PGA also penetrates the skin. After two Nano Mist treatments are applied to your face the gold is then gently massaged into your skin until it completely disappears leaving your face with a nice golden glow. No pun intended. Via Telegraph .

 

2. Get a Massage with Diamonds…Hot Rocks Indeed

Diamonds are not just used for jewelry and fancy purses any more. Diamonds have become a girl’s best massage accessory too. Hearts on Fire, known for its perfectly cut diamonds, has joined with Spa on Location (a mobile spa that makes house calls) in Santa Monica California to bring “Dream Girl” Diamond Massage to you. Then $1 million worth in loose diamonds are placed along your spine as a massage therapist gently massages your back. Not surprisingly, it’s a popular luxury among Hollywood stars and the well-to-do. Via People .

 

3. Take a Bath in Beer

A beer spa is a place I don’t suggest taking a recovering alcoholic to (not exactly something AA would approve of), but a social drinker may get a kick out of relaxing in a bathtub full of beer. The beer bath takes place in the cellar of a family owned brewery in the Czech Republic called Chodovar . The cellars include seven huge baths inspired by Victorian design. The beer spa treatment at Chodovar includes a 20-minute beer bath, a 25-minute bed rest, covered in a fleece quilt, in a dim lit room and finally a 30-50 minutes massage. Dark Bathing Beer is the major bath ingredient. The bath is also enriched by a batch of active beer yeast and a mixture of dehydrated crushed herbs. The beer yeast provides the skin with a wide range of vitamins, proteins and saccharides (another term for sugar). This softens and regenerates the skin. Sipping a glass of non-pasteurized Rock Lager is encouraged by the Chodovar. Via The New York Times .

 

4. Dip Yourself in Fountains of Wine

If you prefer wine over beer consider a wine bath instead. The Kenwood Inn & Spa , the first Vinotherapie center in the United States, has the latest scientific discoveries involving the vine and grape seed extracts to keep you young. Grape seeds are rich in the antioxidant polyphenol which slows the aging of the skin. Kenwood ingredient treatments consist of grape and red vine extracts as well as organic essential oils. The treatments are administered in a barrel bath cabin and patio that look out over the vineyards. Unlike the beer bath you don’t soak in wine, but instead bubbling water with finely crushed grapes extracts and organic oils. Have a Crushed Cabernet Scrub before the bath. Then get wrapped up in honey and wine wrap or get “stoned” with warm stones from ancient riverbeds and sauvignon massage oils after the bath.

 

5. Wash Your Hair with Fishy Caviar

Washing your hair with regular shampoos just doesn’t cut it anymore either. For shiny hair today you need truffles and caviar. Most people can’t even afford to eat these delicacies, but in a beauty salon called Hari’s in South Kensington, London fish eggs, which are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, are flown in from Iran just a few days before your appointment. Your hair is washed first with a truffle-based shampoo. Then caviar is smeared on, combed through and left to set. The fish eggs are liquefied prior to use to eliminate that fishy odor. Crackers anyone? Via All Women’s Talk .

 

6. Pedicures made of Rare Edibles

White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle mix should be going to your tummy not your feet, but someone at the Aroma-Listic Day Spa and Salon in Agoura Hills, California decided it would be a good thing to indulge your feet in it instead. This yummy 60-minute pedicure is preceded by a 70 minute White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle body treatment. Aroma-Listic calls this type of treatment “Dessert without Calories!” but I call it taunting and I’d suggest not going there hungry. Then again, they do provide you with a complimentary signature Cranberry Spritzer and delicious snacks as you sit and let them pamper your feet.

So what’s the cost of beauty? However much you are willing to pay for it. How much do you need eatable pedicures, wine baths and diamond massages? You be the judge. Once upon a time Cleopatra use to bathe in milk and honey then slept in masks made out of gold. Centuries later she is still known for her beauty and her power. Maybe there’s something to that.
Author: Body Beauty

Best Video Games To Play in 2007
by Matt Wood
The year 2006 was an interesting year. In the United States, there was a huge number of odd and notable national events, including the Northwest having the rainiest November on record (then receiving 10 inches of snow at Thanksgiving), California re-electing Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Vice President shooting somebody, and the continuing decline of the war in Iraq. With all of these things happening, it’s easy to understand why people turn to entertainment (and hobbies) for their daily dose of distraction.

To distract you in 2007, here’s my pick of the most amazing video games that came out in 2006 that you should make sure to play in 2007. Take a look at my pick for Game of the Year!

5) Rainbow Six Vegas Video Game

Rainbow Six Vegas
Ubisoft put this game out as a sequel to Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six series late in 2006. The game begins with combat in Mexico, but quickly moves the fighting to Las Vegas, Nevada. As expected, most of the combat in the game takes place in the city streets and in the casinos of Las Vegas.

Rainbow Six Vegas is a good First Person Shooter simply because it puts you right into the fight. Fast paced and exciting firefights, mixed with interesting locales (like the slot machine areas in casinos), makes for a great First Person Shooter that will playable for some time to come.

4) Saints Row Video Game

Saints Row
Volition released this game hoping it would have the same kind of success that the Grand Theft Auto series has had. You can move freely around the city of Stilwater (a fictional place), steal vehicles, buy weapons, get in firefights, and commit virtually any crime you can think of. Many of the things you could do in the Grand Theft Auto series you can do in Saints Row, and that’s why it’s so good.

Saints Row is one of those games that has all the things another good game has, and makes it better. Added features like restarting missions from the beginning if you fail (as opposed to going to jail or the hospital) help make this game fresh from the formula of Grand Theft Auto. The minigames (like running in front of cars in an attempt fraudulently gain insurance money) help to make the game fun and keeps things interesting. The story in the game is good, the aiming system is fun to use for firing weapons, and the GPS system in the game is the first I’ve used that actually helps you get places without getting you lost first. Saints Row is one of the very few good free roam games simply because it copied the awesome formula of Grand Theft Auto, and even added some good features to it.

3) Resistance: Fall of Man Video Game

Resistance Fall of Man
This First Person Shooter is one of the first games for Sony’s newly released PLAYSTATION 3 console. The game takes place in Western Europe shortly after when World War II would have taken place. In the game, some kind of strange force had taken over Russia and Eastern Europe, and World War II never took place. When the force begins to take over the rest of Europe, the United States sends in troops to try and stop the European takeover. This game stars one of the soldiers in the United States army that fights this foreign army.

Resistance: Fall of Man has explosive firefights, a great storyline, and even better online play. The game even has some great graphics for a launch title. Most of the weapons in the game are unique and interesting, so they keep the game fun. Resistance is by far the best game released as a launch title for the PLAYSTATION 3, and will carry the PLAYSTATION 3 through the New Year and into 2007.

2) Zelda: Twilight Princess Video Game

Zelda Twilight Princess
This RPG was highly anticipated for the Gamecube, and was delayed several times so that it would be ready to release on the Wii at its launch. The game features Link from the previous Zelda’s, and includes all the usual features expected from a Zelda game.

Zelda was released around the same time as Final Fantasy XII (Playstation 2), but was luckily released on one of the next generation consoles. The Wii’s surprising success at its launch was due to the lower prices, and sold out during the Christmas sales and through the New Year. This addition to the Zelda series was one of the best selling games during Christmas, and was the number one sold game to buyers of the Wii console. The new motion sensing utilized in the controller, and all of the small features this game are what keeps this game fun and interesting, and should be owned by any owner of the Wii console.

1) Gears of War Video Game

Marcus Fenix from Gears of War
This was a third person shooter developed by Epic, the makers of the Unreal Engine and the Unreal Tournament series. The game takes place on a planet similar to Earth called Serra. The planet has been taken over by a strange (and unknown) species of aliens called Locusts (for the ability to kill a large population of people quickly). A group of soldiers, called Gears, are out to take Serra back, and win the war once and for all.

Gears of War has the best graphics of any game ever made for any console, hands down. Rainbow Six Vegas has good graphics compared to other games, but Gears of War kicks, stamps, and throws Rainbow Six Vegas’s graphics out the window. Epic Games made this game nearly perfect, with tons of interesting little touches to the game. The campaign story is fun (yet short), which can be played in about 10 hours on your own. If you want to, you can play the storyline with a friend, either online or split screen on one TV. You can also host a cooperation game online that any person can join and play with you.

The real fun, however, comes with the online play for this game. Epic did a very good job of making the levels in Gears of War fair for both sides, either because they are symmetrical, or because the teams swap sides after every battle. The weapons in the campaign are all available in the online gameplay, making it extremely easy for people that have only played the campaign to play online. The high level of online competition, low number of players in online matches, and fun maps make Gears of War one of the best online games of ALL time!

My pick for the Game of the Year is Gears of War, and that’s it for the year of 2006. I hope that everybody had a safe and fun Christmas and New Year, and that all of you have a great 2007 ahead of you enjoying these terrific games and the new ones coming out soon!

World’s Tallest Building to Rise Higher than Mount Fuji
by Steve Levenstein

 

The X-Seed 4000 gives “highrise” a whole new meaning!
At 13,123 feet high, the massive, mountain-shaped building envisioned by Japan’s Taisei Construction Company would overshadow Mount Fuji itself by nearly 700 feet. That’s the equivalent of NINE Empire State Buildings stood one upon the other!

A city within a city
The building, known as the X-Seed 4000, is designed to house up to one million residents on as many as 800 floors! Designers have had to consider tricky questions of temperature and pressure differentials between the base and topmost floors, and are looking to utilize solar power to solve these and other critical issues. The cost, you ask? Somewhere between $300 and $900 billion… what’s that, an Iraq War or two? Couple of manned Mars missions? Quite do-able - if you’re Japan, one of the world’s richest countries.

Home to a million pharoahs
One might think the Japanese government would never allow the placing of an edifice the size of the X-Seed 4000 anywhere near sacred Mount Fuji, but Taisei’s plans call for the monumental mini-city to rise relatively close by, rising up upon huge caissons sunk deep into the mire underlying Tokyo Bay.

Above the crowds and above the clouds
Could it happen? Well, skeptical citizens of Florence, Italy, scoffed at Leonardo da Vinci’s detailed drawings of helicopters and other flying machines. Yet da Vinci’s dreams did take flight, centuries later. I wouldn’t rush to put down a deposit on a unit just yet, but Taisei’s outrageous X-Seed 4000 proposal has the same potential to fly high. (via Inhabitat)