The sOccket is a kinetic energy capture battery in the form of a ultra-durable soccer ball that can withstand the rough terrain of resource-poor nations that traditional soccer balls can’t. Then, at the end of the day, devices such as LED lamps can be plugged into the ball.
By making problem-solving fun, and teaching people about social innovation, the sOccket movement inspires young and old alike to get involved and improve the world.
sOcckets are currently distributed with the help of sponsors–both corporate and philanthropic–interested in helping us share the sOccket passion around the world.
In other news, Samsung wins the Best Troller award of CES 2012.
For The 5th Year In A Row, Apple Wins CES. Before It Starts. Without Showing Up.
Mg Siegler, techcrunch.com
Are you ready for CES? I know I am. The PR emails are flowing in and I’m going to respond to every single one of them. I can’t wait to hear about Samsung’s social media stuff. And Vizio’s new thingy. I can’t wait to get my hands on that one thi…
Companies that aren’t Apple are having a hard time trying to forget Apple’s successes and move on.
Yes, stop making crap laptops, but perhaps don’t make your “ultrabooks” look exactly like MacBook Airs. You’re not building loyalty, you’re only drawing more attention to Apple as the clear leader worth copying. And unless you’re actually making products better than they are, you’ll only make them realize that they really wanted that Mac instead.
This isn’t new advice. We’ve been saying this since the Resurgence, since PC brands borrowed Bondi blue and transparent plastics. They’ve been shelling out mindshare for short-term attention instead of focusing on improving their business to survive the long-term shift that’s occurring thanks to the Internet and mobility.
No excuses. They knew it was coming: The original UMPC vision could have worked if it hadn’t been half-assed into an overpriced, highly compromised version of the tablet PC that people already didn’t want.
Who are the companies that are fighting best today? Google and Amazon, two companies with serious roots neither in PC components nor OSes, who built up their ecosystems enough to answer the only question that actually matters anymore: “Well, what do they do that Apple doesn’t?”
One thing that seems missing in all of this social media is the ability to take conversations on Twitter and easily flesh them out into complete posts.
This popped up as I watched @chrisfahey and @vanderwal have a fantastic discussion about the application of Dunbar’s number. I found myself wishing that there was a easy switch they could have flipped mid-post that could have moved the content into a better, longer space.
There are a number of systems that are Twitter-aware and can serve as long-tweet exchanges: Shortmail’s “public emails” are just one of them. But unless Twitter itself supports it, that export step won’t be effortless enough to make such a tool pervasive.
I don’t think such a product is inherently anti-Twitter either — it seems like something that would fit the Discover model of news stories, and further establish Twitter as a complete destination for content — and is really something Twitter itself should be considering adding to its feature set.
jtotheizzoe:
The Suit That Makes You Feel 75 Years Old
Getting old is no fun. The stiff joints, the constant urination, the diminishing eyesight, the wrinkles … and that’s just 40! As more and more of us get old (by 2030 20% of the population will be over 65) it’s important to allow designers, engineers and others to fully understand the needs of this aging population.
Enter AGNES (Age Gain Now Empathy System), a suit outfitted with braces to stiffen your joints, goggles that make it hard to read, a neck brace that crooks your spine, and rubber bands that make it impossible to extend your limbs.
Sounds real peachy.
(via Discoblog)
What a great idea. A concern like this doesn’t often cross designers’ minds until it happens to them personally (close family, self, etc.).
“Let’s face it: Drinking scotch isn’t about geekery, it’s about appreciating the finer things in life while enjoying good company, ideally in a room decorated with rich mahogany.” - Fast Design via @arainert
The difference between selling hardware based on software, and hardware based on hardware.
A comparison of the initial learn-more landing pages offered by the Big 3 browsers.
“Browsing Made Easy!” — Mozilla.org
(no, I’m not going to include Internet Explorer, go away)
