Nearsighted nerds may soon have one less reason to personally interact with the outside world thanks to a technology that allows users to "virtually" try on glasses via their cell phones. Here's how it works: customers take a quick snapshot of themselves and then combine it with images of glasses downloaded from the merchant's mobile website. This "Mobile Fitting" service is currently being utilized in Japan's Megane Top ("Top Glasses") superstore, and there are no plans to branch out beyond that as far as we know. If it is effective, perhaps the same sort of technology could be employed for clothing as well. That way, I won't have to stand idly by when my girlfriend wants to spend 2 hours trying on one pair of pants. -Sean Fallon [alook via Digital World Tokyo]
According to the product page, the Franklin Digital Cooler uses "a tiny NASA microchip" that allows the device to go from "hot to freezing cold in a matter of minutes." So, theoretically, you can keep you hot dishes hot and your cold dishes cold when traveling. There is even an LED thermometer and thermostat that allows the user to set the exact temperature, and a car adapter kit to keep things fresh--even on long drives. Let's just hope that NASA builds their cooler microchip better than they build their shuttles. The last thing I need is a piece of foam or something breaking off and smacking me in the face while I'm driving. -Sean Fallon [Product Page via TRFJ]
John Davis spent eight years and £15,000 building a Boeing 747 flight simulator in a room in his house. And now the 47-year-old's hobby has turned into such a full-time occupations that he has jacked in his job as a graphic designer to run a full-time flight simulation business from his home in Coventry. Find out how he did it after the jump.
You can say one thing for the Sony Bravia HDTV ads, they are certainly colourful and different.
We all know the bouncing balls one, which was followed by the great exploding paint-job on Glasgow tower blocks and now there are two more. This time around we have Play-Doh bunnies taking over New York while someone in Egypt has decided the pyramids need a little more colour.
They are both frivolous eye-candy but my vote goes to the Bunny Invasion, if only for the scary giant one at the end. Jump now and watch the pyramid makeover to decide which you like best.-Martin Lynch
Using mobile phones on planes is not really an option, especially not with those pre-flight warnings:
“The use of mobile phones is prohibited on this flight as they interfere with the aircraft's electronics and will certainly send us all hurtling to our deaths, screaming and crying and hugging strangers for a few brief moments before we explode into a fiery ball of flame and tortured metal.”
OK, maybe not those exact words, but you get it. However, there is hope for mobile use on planes without killing your fellow passengers. Telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has now set out proposals to allow UK aircraft let people use mobile phones on European flights, thanks to a new approach.
It involves placing a base station on-board which connects to passengers’ phones once the plane has reached 3,000 metres, so as not to interfere with terrestrial phone networks. The base station will bounce the calls from satellites back to the user’s own mobile phone network and they will be billed as normal - just look for the extra zeroes. The service could be up an running as soon as next year.
It will be limited to 2G phones to start and yes, calls to Gran from 50,000-feet will cost that bit more than usual.-Martin Lynch
OK, so it’s a TV rack but not as you know it. This home cinema stand from Sharp bears a remarkable resemblance to both Evesham’s Sound Stage X2 and Sony’s Bravia Home Theatre RHT-G800 and does pretty much the same thing.
The Aquos Rack Home Theatre System is the latest TV stand that doubles as a complete home cinema set-up – well, 2.1 stereo home cinema. This baby boasts up to 300W of power thanks to an amp, two 75W speakers and a pair of 75W subwoofers.
It’s not all about power though since the rack uses Dolby’s new Audistry sound reproduction technology and supports the usual DTS, Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II surround formats.
There’s an integrated remote control for controlling other Sharp products like TVs and DVD players, as well support for other makes. It costs around £600 which, for me, is a bit too steep for a 2.1 sound system. Full specs after the jump.-Martin Lynch
One of the stumbling blocks to getting a DAB radio is that they tend to be quite pricey, at least for a lot of folk.
This is why the latest offering from Intempo should attract many of those that are still sitting on the digital radio fence. Considering Intempo recently released the first iPod speaker dock with integrated DAB radio and a new wireless Internet radio, the company seems to be on a bit of a roll.
Priced at a shade under £40, the TRS DAB/FM radio looks good and is a bit of bargain to boot. Running off mains or batteries, the retro-looking TRS is not too big at 20 x 10 x 3.8cm and weighs a miniscule 40g.
It scans and tunes stations automatically and there are 20 presets for storing your favourites. It comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack and a range of bright colours including claret, purple, deep blue, silver and black.
Out now, you can find the full range at Amazon or Argos.-Martin Lynch
Nearsighted nerds may soon have one less reason to personally interact with the outside world thanks to a technology that allows users to "virtually" try on glasses via their cell phones. Here's how it works: customers take a quick snapshot of themselves and then combine it with images of glasses downloaded from the merchant's mobile website. This "Mobile Fitting" service is currently being utilized in Japan's Megane Top ("Top Glasses") superstore, and there are no plans to branch out beyond that as far as we know. If it is effective, perhaps the same sort of technology could be employed for clothing as well. That way, I won't have to stand idly by when my girlfriend wants to spend 2 hours trying on one pair of pants. -Sean Fallon [alook via Digital World Tokyo]
According to the product page, the Franklin Digital Cooler uses "a tiny NASA microchip" that allows the device to go from "hot to freezing cold in a matter of minutes." So, theoretically, you can keep you hot dishes hot and your cold dishes cold when traveling. There is even an LED thermometer and thermostat that allows the user to set the exact temperature, and a car adapter kit to keep things fresh--even on long drives. Let's just hope that NASA builds their cooler microchip better than they build their shuttles. The last thing I need is a piece of foam or something breaking off and smacking me in the face while I'm driving. -Sean Fallon [
Using mobile phones on planes is not really an option, especially not with those pre-flight warnings:
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
