I Make My Case
I just got an email about this new site that will be open to the public tomorrow. It’s called “I Make My Case” by Case-Mate and they’ve gotten internationally renowned artists such as Joshua Davis, Deanne Cheuk, Thomas Hooper, Matt Moore, Hannah Stouffer, Ray Frenden, Anthony Yankovic, Nigel Dennis, Shadow Chen and Chuck Anderson to design a bunch of really great cases. They each have a couple of versions available… but here’s the really cool part:
You also have the ability to use common graphic elements from your favorite artist’s work to remix your own custom case using an easy and powerful WYSIWYG flash editor online. You can then print and purchase your design. This is easily the coolest thing I’ve seen all year.
I’m always looking for a great iPhone case… I already know I love the actual feel and design of this case, and the fact that I can customize my own by using design elements from great artists just makes this a trifecta of great ideas and I’m very excited to be able to tell you about it.
The site opens for public business on January 6.
Go check it out… it’s worth the time.
Posted by: Josh Abe on January 5, 2010
Google Chrome
Here’s a really cool promo video highlighting the features of Google Chrome. Usually when a video is made for a tech company or product, every trick in the book is used to make it look slick and high-tech. What I like about this video is that everything is hand-made and mechanical. They did something original here, and that’s what I like to see. I also like using Chrome for Mac. It’s actually noticeably faster… not just “placebo” faster.
For extra credit: here’s a really interesting “making of” video.
Posted by: Josh Abe on January 4, 2010
Filed under: Tech, Video | No Comments
Mag+
This is an interesting concept video that has been making the rounds lately, and I wanted to open it up for discussing to my viewers.
We’ve seen things like the Kindle and the Nook that put thousands of books into a single device, and provides the opportunity to purchase new books within seconds… but is that an acceptable format for reading?
I have a Kindle, and it have come in handy a few times, and proved to be very enjoyable… but there’s just something very romantic about holding a great cover and turning physical pages. Every time I get a new book, the first thing I do is open it up to the middle and stick my nose down into the gutter (designer speak for the fold in between the pages). There’s nothing like the feeling of holding and reading a real book.
At the same time, I have limited space in my briefcase, and I enjoy hopping between books depending on my mood. There’s no way I’d be able to carry around even 3 books at a time in my briefcase, but the Kindle allows me to have 20 books (or more) at my fingertips whenever I’m in a pinch.
I think the more we convert our entertainment into purely intangible formats, the less connection we have with the experience of it all. I still collect vinyls because of that beloved process of selecting the album from my shelf, pulling out the sleeve, sliding the record onto the spindle, and setting the needle down into the grooves. There’s therapy in the process, and I think we’ve lost a lot of the romance with the ability to download things instantly.
Entertainment is about enjoyment. Technology in entertainment seems to help us rush the process, and what happens is we don’t allow ourselves time to enjoy our music or our books, which really, is the whole point isn’t it?
So what do you think? Is there benefit to the convenience and expedience of digital media, or do you prefer the experience of an old fashioned book or vinyl? I’d love to sample the climate of the entertainment industry’s consumers.
Posted by: Josh Abe on December 19, 2009
Filed under: Design, Miscellaneous, Tech | 1 Comment
The Font Game
This is a game for the iPhone for all you design and typography geeks out there. It’s a very basic guessing game for fonts, but it’s much more interesting than any other guessing game I’ve ever seen. I consider myself a bit of a type aficionado and I still haven’t moved past the medium difficulty level. It’s hard enough to stay interesting, but not discouraging. It’s very well designed too. Made by the folks over at I Love Typography.
If you’re trying to brush up on your font recognition, or looking to test your skills, this app is for you. Here’s a link to the iTunes store.
Posted by: Josh Abe on December 19, 2009
Filed under: Design, Tech | No Comments
RETHINK
While everyone is descending upon Copenhagen for the two week United Nations COP15 climate change conference, the Alexandra Institute is opening an art exhibit in three of the area’s best exhibition houses. It features 26 artists displaying their environmentally-themed work.
It remains to be seen if anything positive will come of the conference, but whether it does or not, this is some great art.
Go check out the website for more info and photos.
Posted by: Josh Abe on December 9, 2009
Filed under: Design, Tech, World | No Comments
Google Wave
I have 8 Google Wave invites. For a while I thought it was cheap and class-less to give invites away on a blog, but at this point, I don’t care.
So rather than explain to you what Google Wave is (I’m not sure that I could), I’m going to ask you to tell me what you think it is, or what you think it should be. Be creative or ridiculous… the first eight get invites.
This is less about getting cheap traffic, and more of a thank you to you crazy kids for coming back again and again. Still, I feel like I need to take a shower…
Posted by: Josh Abe on December 3, 2009
Filed under: Miscellaneous, Tech, Web | 9 Comments
OP-1 Synthesizer
I remember seeing this thing on FFFFound a long time ago and thinking it was some dream piece of tech that someone rendered in 3DStudioMax for fun.
Well as it turns out, it’s real.
What is it? It can either be a standalone synth, or a controller for logic or whatever audio program you use. It also has a built in FM tuner so that you can sample sound straight from the radio, because that sounds like something that would be useful…
Either way this thing is straight sexy. I wouldn’t mind having one just to sit and look at. It’s not available yet, but I’m sure when they start making these, a lot of people will be kissing their life-savings goodbye.
Check out Teenage Engineering’s website for more information and specs.
Posted by: Josh Abe on December 1, 2009
Filed under: Music, Tech | No Comments
