Faux Skylights and Windows For Rooms Without a View [Virtual Happiness]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/286491667/faux-skylights-and-windows-for-rooms-without-a-view

Have an office without a window? Put down the sledgehammer and try one of these faux skylights or windows from The Sky Factory. Simply put, their SkyCeilings and Luminous Virtual Windows are photographic illusions that give users the impression that they have a beautiful outdoor view when, in reality, they are stuck in a gloomy, windowless prison.

Each of the units fit into standard ceiling or window grid systems and features fluorescent or LED daylight-balanced backlighting to both enhance the look and promote a sense of well-being. In fact, daylight balanced light is the same light that is used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder. I'll bet that if every boss in the US installed these in the offices of their employees, productivity and moral would skyrocket. [Sky Factory via Boing Boing Gadgets]

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Verizon launches the Samsung Glyde

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/285844657/

Filed under: Cellphones

One of the worst-kept secrets in Verizon's stable is finally getting official today; that's right, ladies and gentlemen, meet the Glyde from Samsung. Wearing CDMA guts underneath its F700 clothing, the fashion-friendly QWERTY slider offers a 2 megapixel cam with flash and autofocus, GPS, the full range of Bluetooth profiles, microSD slot, and a true HTML browser. Unlike its crosstown competition -- the LG Voyager -- the Glyde doesn't offer support for Verizon's VCAST TV service, but we imagine most folks will consider that a minor (read: nonexistent) inconvenience. Look for the phone to start circulating into retail channels this week for a princely $249.99 on contract after $50 rebate. Have a quick gander over on Engadget Mobile for a few shots of the Glyde doing what the Glyde does best -- posing for press photography, that is.

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More details about the Triac highway-capable three-wheel electric car emerge

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/286029176/

Filed under: Transportation

We can't help but find Green Vehicles' Triac three-wheeled highway-capable electric car anything but stupidly adorable, and it looks like it's even better than we hoped. Our friends over at Autoblog Green scored some more info on the buggy, and found that the top speed it actually 80mph, and that range is just about 100 miles on a full charge, down from 120 miles as originally estimated. The Triac will also roll with a five-speed transmission, and charge from either a 120V or 240V power source. On top of all that, Green Vehicles is apparently working on a truck called the Buckshot based on the same motor, but with a three-speed transmission that will enable it to be a "true work truck." Sure, sure -- but when can we have a Triac? Seriously, we want to hug it.

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Dell Inspiron 1435, 1535 and 1735 leaked

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/286065608/

Filed under: Laptops

While not quite as exciting as March's week of Latitude scoops, we've got ourselves some infos on what look to be Dell's upcoming Inspiron 1435, 1535 and 1735 consumer laptops. Seems they'll all be sharing the same basic design language, pictured above, and will be privy to some rather expansive aesthetic customization options if you're into that type of thing. Specs are the typical Dell smorgasbord of options, but all three laptops start at around 1-inch thick and taper up to 1.5 inches thick. All three also sport slot-loading drives, with a Blu-ray option, and processors ramp up to Core 2 Duo T5850 2.16GHz chips. 3G options are also available across the lineup, and just about anything else you might find useful in a mid-range laptop. Apparently the 1435 isn't due until October, but the 1735 is coming on June 9 and the 1535 on the 26th of this month.

Gallery: Dell Inspiron 1435, 1535 and 1735 leaked

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Seamless ice-spheres for superior whiskey-rocks

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/285973436/seamless-icespheres.html

Using a sphere of ice (as opposed to a cube) in your whiskey-rocks is nice because the round ice melts more slowly than the square stuff (better surface-area/volume ratio). Now a Japanese company has introduced a mold for making a perfect, seamless ice-sphere:

Taisin has introduced a mold that seamlessly creates a perfect sphere, no chipping and shaving required. Simple place a chunk of ice into the metal press and, as it melts, the device will close around the ice forming a ball, which is then released by the flick of a switch.

The Ice Mold, available in 55, 65, 70, and 80mm mold sizes, can make 30-40 ice balls an hour.

Spheres of ice are preferred by serious on the rocks drinkers because the reduced surface size means that the ice melts at a slower pace, keeping your drink

Link (via Make)

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First Person R/C Plane, Almost as Good as Actually Flying [R/c]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/285634892/first-person-rc-plane-almost-as-good-as-actually-flying

The Pilot View FPV 2400 is a (wireless) camera system that can strap on any R/C plane and stream images to the pilot, who wears video goggles below. Range is about 1 kilometer over the 2.4Ghz spectrum, and the video quality from such systems really isn't so bad (hit the jump for an example clip). At $550, it's a commitment, and seemingly a tad risky to strap onto an even more expensive, properly-weighted R/C plane.

We'll be honest, we don't even care that we'd be wearing video glasses. It looks like incredibly fun. [Product via Gearfuse]

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Talk About A Really Shiny Watch

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/285187543/

An exclusive, hi-tech concept watch aptly named Shine - combines luxurious gemstones with advanced technology and materials. Using a unique laser projection system, time is displayed by a touching the logo. It’s completely made of hi-tech white ceramic filled with over 200 square cut white topaz gemstones. If this were real, every celebrity socialite would be wearing one now. Can we say bling?

Designer: Vlad Icobet

Vlad Icobet

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The New Yorker on Simultaneous Invention and the Intellectual Ventures Laboratories [Pulp-bite]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/285137979/the-new-yorker-on-simultaneous-invention-and-the-intellectual-ventures-laboratories

Malcolm Gladwell (smart guy, puffy hair) has a feature in this week's
The New Yorker about the history of simultaneous invention, the best example being Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray both patenting the telephone on the same day. There are many other examples, leading to the conclusion that "scientific discoveries must, in some sense, be inevitable. They must be in the air, products of the intellectual climate of a specific time and place." The story is put into modern perspective by including scenes drawn from meetings of members of the company called Intellectual Ventures. The founding member, Nathan Myhrvold, also founded Microsoft's R&D labs. His idea for IV was to see if "the kind of insight that leads to invention could be engineered." The whole point being the creation of powerful ideas. Bill Gates, who works with them on H.I.V prevention, is quoted:

Bill Gates, whose company, Microsoft, is one of the major investors in Intellectual Ventures, says, "I can give you fifty examples of ideas they've had where, if you take just one of them, you'd have a startup company right there." Gates has participated in a number of invention sessions, and, with other members of the Gates Foundation, meets every few months with Myhrvold to brainstorm about things like malaria or H.I.V. "Nathan sent over a hundred scientific papers beforehand," Gates said of the last such meeting. "The amount of reading was huge. But it was fantastic. There's this idea they have where you can track moving things by counting wing beats. So you could build a mosquito fence and clear an entire area. They had some ideas about super-thermoses, so you wouldn't need refrigerators for certain things. They also came up with this idea to stop hurricanes. Basically, the waves in the ocean have energy, and you use that to lower the temperature differential. I'm not saying it necessarily is going to work. But it's just an example of something where you go, Wow."

Worth reading, if you've got a bus ride in your near future. [The New Yorker]

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Long Awaited Nokia E71 May Hit On May 8th [Cellphones]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/284883771/long-awaited-nokia-e71-may-hit-on-may-8th

Based on its appearance on various Dutch retail sites, rumor has it that the long awaited Nokia E71 may be announced as early as May 8th. The device is expected to feature 3G connectivity, a 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS navigation and Wi-Fi in a 112 x 57 x 10 mm package. [MPHD via Unwired View via BGR]

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Acer rolls out Business, Value series monitors aplenty

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/284827599/

Filed under: Displays

Never one to skimp on a product launch, Acer has once again gone all out with its latest batch of monitors, with this one consisting of no less than eleven new LCDs that fall into two different product lines. On the lower-end of the lot, you can look forward to 17- and 19-inch 4:3 displays (model numbers V173 and V193), and 19-, 22-, and 24-inch 16:10 displays (V193W, V223W, and V243W) in the company's Value series line, each of which apparently boast 5 ms response times, 2,000:1 or 3,000:1 contrast ratios, VGA and DVI (with HDCP) ports, and presumably all the usual resolutions for their respective sizes. Moving on up a bit, the Business series models add a "stylish and elegant black bezel and base," and again come in 17- and 19-inch 4:3 models (B173 and B193), as well as 19-, 20-, 22-, and 24-inch models (B193W, B203W, B223W, and B243W), with each apparently otherwise boasting the same specs as the Value series models. From the looks of it, you can get your hands on any one of 'em right now, with prices ranging from a mere $185 (list price) to $399 for the top-end Business series model.

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