We headed over to San Francisco's new video game hotel to see what the buzz is all about. Check out our Hotel Tomo video
Think you know everything there is to know about the new iMacs? Take our quiz!
After a long-winded YouTube run, Jessica Lee Rose, who plays the main character Bree in the popular Lonelygirl15 videos, has decided to move on to bigger and better things. I weep a little. The Lonelygirl15 Era Draws To A Close
Not every guy (or girl) is chic enough to pull off the geek tie, but for those who are, there seem to be endless fashion choices. From video game themes, Harry Potter prints, math symbols, retro computer graphics, url jokes, and pixelated images, there really is no end to the geekery. Geek Ties: Finish Off Your Outfit With Geekery
If "can you hear me now?" is part of your everyday vocab, you might want to check out Signal Map, a user-generated cell phone signal map that notes the strength of major service providers on a map. Signal Map Compares Cell Providers In Your Area
If you're a hardcore Nintendo follower you have probably already feasted your eyes on the DS Cell Phone Charm, but for the rest of you here's a geeky - albeit girly - treat. Totally Geeky or Geek Chic? Nintendo DM Cell Charm
Being a smoker can be alienating. Sure, there are designated areas where like-minded puffers can gab, but for the most part smokers are banished to outside patios where they are left to smoke solo. According to the UK's Daily Mail, a record number of text messages have been sent by smokers trying to pass the time while alone in smoking areas. Here's more:
In the two weeks after the ban on smoking in confined spaces came into force on 1 July, mobile phone company Orange said 7.5 million more texts than normal were sent across its network. Experts have now dubbed the phenomenon 'smexting.'
Figures released with the same study found Britons sent 519.5 million text messages in the first two weeks of last month, compared with 512 million in the last two weeks of June, before the ban had been instated. And I ask with all honesty: Are they serious?
Naturally, I spend a lot of time playing video games and visiting websites that use avatars. I think of them as digital characters, that are human-like, but not necessarily reflective of what I think real people should look like. Aside from cracking a few jokes about the impossible curves of video game vixens - I mean, the Fantastic Four game even put Jessica Alba's body to shame - and the built-in stereotyping, I hardly ever pay attention to avatars.
What's interesting though, is the fact that a recent study showed that androgynous digital personas, ie avatars, are perceived as less trustworthy than ones that are clearly either male or female. It makes me wonder if people honestly find the need to assign gender roles to digital images, or if people are just more accustomed to the exaggerated gender stereotypes that seem to be perpetuated online. According to New Scientist Tech, people typically extend this impression to the person behind the avatar too - meaning avatar design and behavior may have a range of unforeseen psychological influences and that such virtual personas need to be carefully designed to make the right impression.
The issue of trust and personality perception is especially intriguing when you think about the number of people that spend a great deal of time in 3D virtual worlds like Second Life and end up creating avatars to represent themselves and later make virtual friends. Still, not "trusting" an avatar because it's androgynous seems bizarre. Everyone trusts David Bowie, right? Source
The next time you go shopping, don't be surprised to see a video camera in the change room. Okay, so I might be over-exaggerating a little, but The Hub Clothing in Scottsdale, Arizona has already installed butt cams in their change rooms so shoppers can get a "rear view" of their derrière while trying on clothes. Already a hit with shoppers, these video cameras project footage on a high TV screen in each room to ensure maximum visibility. And no (get your mind out of the gutter) the cameras aren't actually recording - or so we hope! What are your thoughts about this? Would you like having cameras in the change room? Considering they add ten pounds, I may just stick with the three-way mirror!Image Source
Just when I thought CDs had gone the way of the Dodo, I learn that designer Yong-Seong Kim has come up with the DMP, a portable music player that supports CD and MP3 files.
You can use the MP3 player normally, or unclip the sides and insert your favorite CD. I like the idea because it might encourage me to whip out my classic early 90s CD collection and the fact that the CD is exposed while playing gives it a bit of a retro, record player appeal.
Get subway maps right on your iPhone, iPod or iPod Nano with iSubwayMaps, a free application for OS X where you can download subway maps from over 24 cities around the globe. Once you get to the site, click on instructions at the top to get started. Just an FYI, in order to download these maps, your iPod must support photo functionality. To learn how to post your favorite sites to the Website of the Day group, just read more
The Virtual Video Map won't solve your munchies or need for shelter problems, but it might inspire you to plan a vacation.
You just click on the markers on the map and are treated to YouTube videos about the location. It's essentially an extended version of the New Seven Wonders Of The World Google/YouTube Mashup, which offers a sneak peek at India's Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer, Peru's Machu Picchu, Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid and The Colosseum in Rome.
I never knew I wanted to visit Suomi, Finland until today.
Ed Hardy
Miriam Ocariz
3.1 Phillip Lim