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The real-world usefulness of QR codes, the more powerful successor to bar codes, will be put to the test next week in a Japanese theme park. The park will use QR codes to track and assist children who get separated from their groups. Each child will have a personalized code attached to them, which can be scanned by park personnel and will contain an e-mail address that, once notified, will send a message via SMS to the parent, notifying them of their child’s whereabouts.
Read More 
| Ubiks
While most of us online enjoy using Google Earth to view our beautiful planet, it seems that quite a few countries are concerned that some of the satallite images provided could potentially be a security risk. Holland is the latest country to jump in on this claim, joining Australia and the United States in their theory that providing images of military bases, government buildings and airports, among other things, could possibly aid terrorist attacks. While Google already blurs images of certain high profile places like the US Capitol, Australia would also like to see images of nuclear reactors and other high risk areas also being blurred. The Australian Attorney Generals’ Office however, seems to see things in the same light I do…all the images are public already and if a terrorist really wanted to get their hands on this information they would no matter what. Shutting down Google Maps would not only be a waste of time, but it would rob the general public of the usefulness of such great technology.
Read More | TechDirt
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The perfect purchase for the little hacker in your life, or for those wishing for a more accurate voodoo doll, Modern Seed Draw-it-On dolls allow you to completely create your own vision. You see, the dolls really are a mere canvas, allowing you to draw and color facial features, clothing patterns, and just about everything else. The pockets of the dolls hold 5 pens, and the clothing is removable, allowing you to create multiple styles for your Mini-Me’s. You have your pick of a boy or girl for $40 USD.
Read More | Modern Seed via MAKE
Latest Gear Live Videos
Japanese Prototype Automatic Door Takes Complicated Leap Forward
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Misc. Tech,
A new design for automated doors revealed on Japanese websites this week show a complicated system of sliding strips that open just far enough for the individual person passing through the door. Using visual sensors on the ends of each of the panels, the mechanism slides the door open and closed around the shape of whatever needs to enter or exit. Reportedly better for keeping out environmental hazards such as weather, dust, and pollen, and keeping in things such as air-conditioning, the demonstration video proves only that it’s capable of letting in people carrying fun punching bags and keeping out Japanese men. For anyone who’s ever hurt themselves by walking straight into a malfunctioning door at a grocery store or mall, this new design offers about 60 times the reasons to be a little more careful.
Watch the Video (.ram) | Japanese Demonstration
Read More | We-Make-Money-Not-Art
Ok - that post title might be a slight exaggeration because the object in question is technically running NetBSD not Linux, but still - some creative *NIX geeks at Technologic Systems have designed the first NetBSD powered toaster. The toaster; which is on display now in the NetBSD booth at LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco; features a 4 line LCD, USB keyboard, 10/100 ethernet port and a RS232 serial port for the external console. Not only does the NetBSD toaster feature the ability to run embedded applications but it can actually toast bread while it’s at it. No longer will geeks be longing for a way to program and make toast at the same time with this truly Jetsons-like convergence device.
Read More | Technologic Systems via /.
Space Adventures, a startup out of Arlington, VA has reported to the New York Times that it is working on an agreement with Russian officials to send two tourists on a 10 to 21 day long space trip that will orbit the moon. The round-trip ticket will cost a cool $100 million dollars and will send the passengers with a Russian space crew. As unreasonable as the price-tag seems remember - for the ultra-rich the idea of being the first tourist in space could help pave the way for the rest of us to travel to the stars someday.
Read More | CNet
iPod Subway Maps
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Misc. Tech, Mods / Hacks, Portable Audio / Video,
Talk about convenient, my boy William Bright decided that rather than pushing and shoving his way towards a subway map while riding the train, it would be much nicer to break out his iPod and check out the maps on its screen, thus making him the coolest guy in the train car. He is set to collect iPodified maps of other maps, but the NYC MTA maps will never be topped in my opinion. It’s just too cool - but what’s with the lack of love for Shaolin, man?
Read More | iPod Subway Maps
Ten Segways that were stolen on the night of April 24th from a New Hampshire dealership were found in perfect condition in a nearby garage bin. The two-wheeled personal transportation units were completely abandoned, most likely because they were difficult to sell, according to police opinion. While worth over $5,000 each, the Segways were seen as difficult to transport without rousing suspicion. Other industry speculation includes the fact that Segways are not selling up to expectations even in the legitimate marketplace, thus making them an extremely bad candidate for black market profiteering. A note to inventor Dean Kamen - If thieves can’t unload your product for a profit, you may need to head back to the drawing board.
Read More | WMUR
SoulPad from IBM Lets You Carry Your Computer’s “Soul”
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Misc. Tech, PC / Laptop,
You may soon be able bring your home or office system wherever you go, using almost any USB 2.0 device to carry your computer’s “soul.” SoulPad, which is being developed by IBM, stores three layers of software and information on the USB device – a base operating system, an encryption system, and a “virtual machine” which hold’s the user’s software and usage preferences. The entire process of booting any PC from your USB device should take less than 3 minutes. Once the PC is booted, the environment should look, feel, and act exactly like the system from which you took the information.
The creators of SoulPad have put together a short video demonstration of the system in action. While it does, in fact, show the SoulPad booting a PC, it will be interesting to see how the software holds up under the extreme variations of operating systems, user environments, and software packages that fall under the term “PC.”
Read More | New Scientist
Video Demonstration (14MB, WMV) | IBM Technologies
Our friends over at Single Serve Coffee got their hands on the uber-expensive Nespresso Romeo Coffe Maker, and put it through the paces. Now, despite that fact that it’s fully automated, and even uses really cool coffee “capsules” which make it even more attractive , I am not one to drop $800 large on a coffee maker. That being said, if you happen to love coffee - or capsules - that much, then check it out. It certainly is a beautiful piece of machinery.
We really like the Nespresso Romeo and the Nespresso coffee. We’ve seen Nespresso around for awhile now, but had no idea how fabulous the coffee would be. It’s also nice to see a well designed, well thought out machine to go with such great coffee. TheNespresso Romeo is easy to use and pleasant to the eye.
Read More | Single ServeCoffee
