Sony NEX-C3

Digital Photography Review reports: [edited]

The NEX-C3 is the start of Sony's second generation of mirrorless cameras, following the introduction of the 14MP NEX-3 and NEX-5. If these first two models showed how committed Sony is to offering APS-C capabilities in a compact form factor, the point is underlined by the arrival of the still-smaller C3.

The NEX-C3, even more than its predecessors, underlines the company's desire to offer this blend of compact camera convenience with large sensor image quality. Despite its larger sensor, the C3 challenges the smallest Micro Four Thirds models in terms of size, with only its kit zoom limiting its compactness.

The big news, beyond the NEX-C3's reduced size, is the inclusion of a 16MP sensor. This isn't exactly the same sensor used to such great effect in the Sony A55 (amongst others), but a re-engineered version designed to offer improved power consumption, with the promise of lower image noise and improved temperature characteristics as a result.

Just as Panasonic has decided to shrink and simplify its G and GF-series cameras, Sony is clearly trying to attract customers who want DSLR quality but wouldn't consider lugging a big black lump of camera around, and who are more interested in taking good pictures than learning what f-numbers mean.
------------

Wii U

Register Hardware has released a roundup of rumours and info surrounding Nintendo's recently announced Wii successor. Edited excerpts follow:

"According to Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, while the console aims to claw back support from the core gaming community, it also has ambitions of capturing the attention of those who play games on tablets, smartphones and laptops."

"One analyst believes the Wii U packs 50 per cent more processing power than its current-gen counterparts. Crytek (creators of Crysis) confirmed its CryEngine is almost up and running on the Wii U."

"Activision also believes the Wii U's performance and online integration means the platform will be friendlier to core-games. Activision's Eric Hirshberg said: "They're committing to HD, greater processing power, digital infrastructure, connected universe at the back end... Those are all the things we need to make a state of the art experience for a lot of games."

- - - - -

For Nintendo's official info page, click here.

For a brief 'hands-on' with a demo version of the Wii U, click here.
------------

This is probably magic...

via kottke
------------

Twin-Rotor Hoverbike

Gear Patrol reports: [edited]

Framed around an 1,170cc 4-stroke BMW boxer engine that powers the twin rotors, the Hoverbike was the brainchild of Australian inventor, Chris Malloy. Malloy claims that the Hoverbike’s thrust to weight ratio should enable it to elevate to 10,000 feet and reach a speed of 173 mph (this begs the need for a good parachute and industrial strength body armour).


The rest of the Hoverbike is a Kevlar reinforced carbon fibre and foam core frame and Tasmanian oak propellers. All controls are handlebar mounted, including speed, pitch, turning, vertical and horizontal travel. Using most of his hard earned funds to build this atomic salad shooter, Mr. Malloy is looking for investors and fluid dynamics engineers to bring his dream to production.

Estimated price: $40,000
------------

Free Font - OSP DIN

A useful compressed 'industrial' sans serif. Licensed for @font-face css embedding. Available from Font Squirrel.

Adonit

Adonit.net reports: [edited]

The Adonit folio with bluetooth keyboard is the perfect companion for enhancing productivity and expanding the proficiency of your iPad. The keyboard is a sleek aluminum body with scissor action keys.

Writer is for typing on the bus, your couch, on an airplane, all the places you need comfortable productivity. The keyboard glides along a magnetic strip allowing for unlimited screen angles.

Writer’s quick eject allows you to free the iPad in the blink of an eye. The LED battery indicator let’s you know that you are powered up or that your battery is running down and needs to be replaced.

Writer comes equipped with scratch resistant ultra soft rubber pads between your iPad and Writer's keyboard.

Available 'soon'.
------------

HTC Flyer 7in Android tablet

Register Hardware have published a review of HTC's latest tablet.

Conclusion:

"Very good but very expensive. Still, if you have the money you won’t be disappointed. If you don’t have the money wait for a few months until the 10in HTC Puccini tablet arrives – I’m betting the price of the Flyer will float gently earthwards then."

Suggested Price: £480 (16GB Wi-fi only), £599 (32GB Wi-Fi/3G)
------------

Kaiser Chiefs release 'Create Your Own Album'

KaiserChiefs.com reports: [edited]

Create your own version of our album and make £1 for each one you sell.

1. Select 10 songs out of 20.

2. Design your cover.

3. Pay £7.50 and download

You’ll get your own web page to sell it from if you want to. Visit the album H.Q. to browse other people’s albums.

- - - - -

Brett's 2p'orth: A creative response to the 'people only buy individual tracks these days' problem.
------------

Thunderstorm time-lapse

This time-lapse assembly is part of the Hector Thunderstorm Project being produced in northern Australia.
------------

iCloud, iOS 5 & OS X Lion

iCloud is coming... and, at first glance, it would appear to be a very good thing for anyone who runs more than one Apple product.

iOS 5 sees Apple's mobile OS integrating Twitter (meh...) and improving its notification system (hurrah!).

OS X Lion will only be available by download, for $30/£21, supports multi-touch gestures, autosave, auto-resume and an improved version of Mail.

To view a range of excellent explanatory videos, or watch the entire keynote speech click here.
------------

Tristan for iOS

In 1990, a small software company called Littlewing released Tristan, a pinball simulator for the Apple Macintosh. My gaming inability is legendary, but I really enjoyed playing it, while some of my friends (one who is probably reading this blog) became completely obsessed, marking up some ludicrously high scores.

Littlewing have since released a number of equally enjoyable pinball simulators. The graphics are ok, but their real strength lies in the excellent physics of the pinball's motion and reaction to the flippers and bouncers.

And now Tristan is available for the iPhone/iPod touch, with a separate version for the iPad. They are both a lot of fun, fully playable on the smaller screens, but a lot more fun on the iPad's larger screen.

Both versions cost £1.19.

For more information, click here.
------------

Weekend Reading, 03-06-11

Stuff that I have found enjoyable/challenging/thought-provoking:

The Last Word On Nothing on how different cultures perceive time.

Slate on the uniqueness of human skin.

Tech Radar provides 15 quick tips on how to improve your photography.

Malcolm Gladwell on the importance of making technology attractive, usable and affordable.
------------

BenQ W1200 HD DLP projector

For my money, the best way to watch a Blu-ray movie is via a projector. If you agree, but have been put off by the price, the good news is that you can now purchase a half-way decent HD model for under £1000.

Check out Register Hardware's review for more details.
------------

Daymak Wireless Shadow eBike

Alternative Consumer reports: [edited]

The Shadow Ebike, which is marketed as the world’s first power-assisted wireless electric bike, features a Daymak Drive controller with wireless support. The controller talks directly to the throttle, brake lever and pedal assist.

Brake and throttle controls work just like a conventional ebike - press the lever and the bike responds – only with this bike it’s via wireless connection.

The bike also features a USB/110V Plug so the rim and battery can be charged directly from an external power source in 4 to 8 hours. Another neat feature, you can also power your phone, notebook, or other small electronics via the bike.

The bike will retail for $1,999.
------------

Free Font - Maiden Orange

Maiden Orange is a casual slab serif that is legible enough for text, but strong enough to survive when used large.

Available from Font Squirrel.

Maiden Orange's font license allows @font-face CSS embedding.
------------

Robots develop their own language

BBC reports: [edited]

Robots are developing their own language to help them navigate and improve their intellectual ability. The Lingodroid research project lets robots generate random sounds for the places they visit in both simulations and a real office.

The "words" are shared and the robots play games to establish which sound represents which location. The lexicon has proved so sophisticated that it can be used to help robots find places other robots direct them to.

"Robot-robot languages take the human out of the loop," she said. "This is important because the robots demonstrate that they understand the meaning of the words they invent independent of humans."

One set of the trials with Lingodroids sees wheeled robots fitted with a camera, laser-range finder, and sonar used to map their world - roaming around at an office at the University. The robots also have a microphone and speakers onboard so they can communicate with each other.

The wheeled robots travel about and, when they reach a place that does not have a name, they generate a random combination of syllables that represent that place.

When that robot meets another robot it tells it about the places it has been. Slowly, as the robots travel and talk, they narrow down their lexicon of place names until a mutual gazeteer of their world has been generated.

The robots generated place names such as "kuzo", "jaro" and "fexo".

The power of the language being created by the Lingodroids was starting to become apparent, said Dr Schulz. "They enable the robots to refer to places they haven't been or even places that they imagine beyond the edges of their explored world," she said.
------------

Defibrillator toaster

Shay Carmon produced this amusing concept.
------------

Lito Green Motion Sora

BikeExif reports: [edited]

The Sora, which comes from Canadian company Lito Green Motion is due to be unveiled next month, with deliveries beginning in October.

Top speed is 120 mph, and there are novelties like an electric seat — so you can change the riding position from sportbike to cruiser-style — and an integrated GPS system.

The $44,000 Sora is designed to be ridden for up to 300 km on a single charge and it also sports a CVT transmission.
------------

Flotilla

An intriguing video of folded paper being opened by capillary action.
------------

Free Font - Ultra

Ultra is a well-drawn, extra-bold 'Egyptian' typeface, with an adequate character set. Would work/contrast quite well with St Marie.

Available for download from Font Squirrel.

Ultra's font license also allows @font-face CSS embedding.
------------

Weekend Reading

Stuff that I have found enjoyable/challenging/thought-provoking:

The Sydney Morning Herald talks to Microsoft co-founder's Paul Allen.

Rense.com has an excerpt from Eric Schlosser's 2001 book 'Fast Food Nation' about the evolution of food flavourings.

Austin Kleon provides ten stimulating 'life-advice' pointers.
------------

Alarm Dock

Areaware reports: [edited]

Remember those faux woodgrain flip clocks that sat on every bedside table? These were made obsolete by LED clocks and more recently by cell phones.

Jonas Damon’s Alarm Dock allows your iPhone to read as an 'alarm clock', with an opening at the back for routing your power supply. Augmented by a flip clock app, this dock returns meaningful form to the sliver of a device that will wake you up.

$39.50, approximate ship date: 9/15/2011
------------

Ralph Lauren's Car Collection

If you enjoy browsing images of beautiful cars, click here.
------------

Panasonic DMC-G3

Digital Photography Review reports: [edited]

The G3 represents the start of Panasonic's third generation of mirrorless camera. It uses the same electronic viewfinder and hinged rear display screen as the G1 and G2, but has the 16.6MP sensor used in the GH2. The G3 is close in size and appearance to a GF2 (with a viewfinder).
------------

We Transfer

We Transfer is a service that allows you to send files up to 2GB for nowt.

There's no registration required either, simply visit the site, select the file(s) you want to transfer, fill in your email address, the recipient's email address, an optional message, then click the 'transfer' button.

When the file(s) has/have uploaded to the server, emails are sent to you and the intended recipient with a download link. Sweet!
------------

Pomplamoose perform the Angry Birds theme

What's not to like?
------------

Free Font - Doris Day

PC World reports: [edited]

Doris Day is a stylish little brush script from designer Mario Arturo.

Doris Day's capital letters are based on forms from 'The ABC of Lettering' by artist J.I. Biegeleisen, a volume first published in 1940 and a standard reference work for brush letterers. The font's lowercase characters were inspired by ads of the period and vintage lettering books.

Doris Day comes with a full set of upper- and lowercase characters as well as a limited set of punctuation marks, but there are no numerals.
------------

Inception in 60 seconds



Superb.

via kottke
------------

Jaguar C-X75

Wired reports: [edited]

Jaguar has leapfrogged Porsche in the race to build the world’s most expensive hybrid.

The British automaker announced today that it is working with Williams F1 to develop the C-X75, the spectacularly gorgeous supercar that dropped jaws at the Paris auto show last fall. Jag promises a car as fast as it looks, claiming it will do zero to 60 in less than 3 seconds and top out north of 200 mph — yet emit almost as little CO2 as a Toyota Prius.

The C-X75 is the latest “green” supercar to come out of Europe, following the striking Porsche 918 plug-in hybrid and the Mercedes AMG SLS E-Cell and Audi e-Tron electric cars. It also promises to be the most expensive, coming in at £700,000.
------------

Free Font - FFF Tusj

DaFont reports: [edited]

Handwritten version of Georgia. Works best in very large letters.
------------

Rollin' Justin

Wired reports: [edited]

Developed by German Aerospace firm DLR, Rollin’ Justin has been programmed and outfitted with 84 sensors spread out over its exoskeletal frame. Justin boasts an onboard 3-D camera system for analysing points in space, and there are 43 joints throughout its body that help enable movement in performing complex activities, including seven in each arm and 12 in each hand (a quarter of what humans possess).

Justin can operate a self-service coffee machine or catch a ball. Justin has a response time of 5 milliseconds and its onboard prediction capability figures the speed and trajectory of the ball to guess where it will be within a 2-centimeter area. Justin’s success rate for catching balls is now over 80 percent.
------------

New MacBook Pros & iMacs

Faster processors. Faster graphics. Thunderbolt... erm... HD Facetime?

For more details, click here.
------------

How Hummingbirds Drink

Wired reports: [edited]

New high-speed videos of hummingbirds have overturned nearly two centuries of conventional wisdom on how they drink. Researchers previously thought tube-like channels in their tongues sucked up fluid by capillary action. But the new analysis shows that their tongues trap nectar by curling around it.
------------

London/Somerset/London 01- & 02-05-11

London to Somerset
Chewing Gum (mylo remix) - Annie
Drunken Angel - Lucinda Williams
Teen angst (what the world needs now) - Cracker
Super Trouper - A-Teens
Love You Anyway - Mike Scott
If I had a million dollars - Barenaked Ladies
I'm Outta Love - Anastacia
Moulin Rouge - Tim Buckley
Candyman - Aqua
Snapper - Hugh Cornwell
Baby's coming back - Jellyfish
Goodbye To Love (Remix) - The Carpenters
Life could be a dream (Sh-Boom) - Crew Cuts
Somebody like you - Keith Urban
Hand on Your Heart - José González
Not Dark Yet - Bob Dylan
Bizarre Love Triangle - Frente!
My Beloved Monster - Eels
Metarie - Brendan Benson
Autobahn - Senor Coconut
Atmospherics: Listen To The Radio - Tom Robinson
Scottish pop - Spearmint
Do You Believe In Magic - Lovin' Spoonful
Shake My Soul - Beth Nielsen Chapman
Closing Time - Leonard Cohen
Beautiful Night - Burden Brothers
Time Ain't Nothing - Green On Red
The Scientist (live) - Horse
New Blue Moon - Traveling Wilburys
Sk8r Boy - Avril Lavigne
L.A. freeway - Guy Clark
I Touch Myself (Soda Club Radio Mix) - m*a*s*h feat. Stacie D
Guantan Amerika - Alex Chilton
Back Of The Bottom Drawer - Chely Wright
Lovin' each day - Ronan Keating
You Better, You Bet - The Who
Always The Last To Know - Del Amitri

Somerset to London
I Feel So Good - Richard Thompson
This is my island - Lacus
Static On The Radio - Jim White
My Baby Loves Lovin' - White Plains
Those little things (instrumental) - Brook Jordan
Far Far Away - Slade
Every Other Time (Radio Edit) - LFO
Sexy boy - Air
Slip-In Mules (No High Heel Sneakers) - Sugar Pie DeSanto
Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bedpost Overnight) - Lonnie Donegan & His Skiffle Group
I Feel Lucky - Mary Chapin Carpenter
Motorcycles - The Aluminum Group
These Words - Natasha Bedingfield
Crush (new) - Jennifer Paige
Brandy (you're a fine girl) - Looking Glass
Wicked Game - Loni Rose
Right Beside You - Sophie B. Hawkins
Where Will I Be - Emmylou Harris
Jackie - Scott Walker
Queen Of The Underworld - Jesse Malin
Happy Ever After - Julia Fordham
Shoulda Woulda Coulda - Beverley Knight
When You Are A King - White Plains
I Can't Wait - Stevie Nicks
Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue
I don't mind at all - Bourgeois Tagg
The beat(en) generation - The The
Vindicated - Dashboard Confessional
Elodie - David Mead
This Is It - Ryan Adams
In The Shadows (dance remix) - The Rasmus
I need direction - Teenage Fanclub
Baby Jane - Rod Stewart
Broken Man - Paul Young & The Q-Tips
Born to Hum - Erin McKeown
Far Far Away - Jackpot
Little ways - Dwight Yoakam
Gone So Young - Amber Pacific
You Got The Love I Need - Undisputed Truth
Speedway At Nazareth - Mark Knopfler
Goody two shoes - Adam Ant
------------

(Long) Weekend Reading

Stuff that I have found enjoyable/challenging/thought-provoking:

New York Times looks at the ongoing research into refined sugar's possible toxicity.

The Independent on the transforming power of good teachers.

The Smithsonian on the 'genderising' of colour and childrens' clothing.

And if you get tired of all this text, skip to YouTube for 15 minutes of stimulating and illuminating chat between Jeremy Paxman and Russell Brand.
------------

Nikon D5100

Digital Photography Review have published an in-depth review of Nikon's $800/£640 (body only), low-mid range DSLR.

Condensed Conclusion:

"The D5100 is one of the most compelling products in its class, and offers an excellent mixture of straightforward handling, a well-targeted feature set, and excellent video and still image quality. The D5100 is responsive and reliable in operation, and produces excellent images with a minimum of fuss."

"A novice-friendly feature set and (relatively) wallet-friendly asking price belie an extremely capable sensor and AF system. We are left with a lingering worry, though, that the D5100's entry-level ergonomics might not prove quite so adaptable to the evolving needs of a first-time DSLR buyer as a camera like the Canon EOS 600D/Rebel T3."
------------

Samsung Galaxy S2

Tech Radar has published an extensive review of Samsung's latest
flagship Android smartphone.

FOR:
- Super-fast reaction times
- Slim design
- Hi-res, bright screen
- Clear call quality
- 1080p video recording

AGAINST:
- Flimsy back cover
- Poor keyboard layout
- Samsung Apps portal
------------

Wireless Viewfinder Concept

Artefact reports: [edited]

The WVIL camera is not a real product, but a concept camera.

The patent-pending WVIL system takes the connectivity and application platform capabilities of today's smart phones and wirelessly connects them with interchangeable full SLR-quality optics.
------------

Man of Sorrows

Man of Sorrows! what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
‘Full atonement!’ can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Lifted up was He to die;
‘It is finished!’ was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Philip P. Bliss

Thanks to Antony for reminding me of this lovely hymn.
------------

Origami Dollar Bills

Craig Folds Five has a wonderful gallery of creatures created from banknotes.
------------

Strahov Library, Prague in 40 Gigapixels

360 Cities reports: [edited]

This image was created from 3,000 individual photos stitched together into a single image that is 280,000 x 140,000 pixels. If you printed this photo it would be 23 meters long.
------------

Universal Wrapping Paper

Fabio Milito reports: [edited]

You can choose your celebration between 20 different occasions:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, HAPPY EASTER, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, I LOVE YOU, I MISS YOU, HAPPY NAMEDAY, CONGRATULATIONS, HAPPY RETIREMENT, RECOVER SOON, GREETINGS WITH LOVE, YOU ARE THE BEST, FOR DAD, FOR MOM, ENJOY, ALL THE BEST, IT IS NOT A TIE, IT IS NOT A PERFUME.
------------

Teaching robots to be (more) human

Wired reports: [edited]

Nexi (above right) can blink, shrug and raise an eyebrow. He can walk about, shake hands and tell if you're angry or surprised. His plastic skin can sense human touch; a camera and infrared system allow him to see in 3D; and he can carry objects up to 4.5kg.

And he's just one of the 32 robots created in Cynthia Breazeal's lab. Now, the director of the Personal Robots Group at MIT is letting them loose. "If we're going to make personal robots a reality, we need to get them out into the wild and see what happens," says the 43-year-old. "We're looking at small, robust, reasonably inexpensive robots that use smartphone technology, and trying to build a cloud-computing field lab to see how people interact with them."

This next generation is intended for use as learning companions for children -- robust, stretchy and squashy, they don't have an official name yet but are referred to as "Tofu". Breazeal is also teaching the droids the rules of human behaviour by crowdsourcing: "If they only interact with a few people, the robots don't get the life experience we take for granted." So she created an online game called Mars Escape, where players and droids collaborate.

The lessons learned are uploaded to a robot that sits in the Boston Museum of Science, talking to visitors. "It's about building a memory to use to interact with new people," she says. Breazeal sees applications in healthcare and education, but her goal is a real-world R2D2 and C-3PO: "They inspired me. They had emotions, they were friends with people. They're the kind of robot I'm trying to achieve."
------------

Sphero

GoSphero.com reports: [edited]

The beauty of Sphero is that the function of Sphero isn't determined by the physical device, but by the software that is controlling it. For instance, a RC car is always a RC car, but Sphero could be a game of Sumo, a game of Office Golf, or even a wrecking ball knocking over augmented reality glass towers in your living room.

We chose Bluetooth as the wireless connection for Sphero. All you have to do is pair with the Sphero once and you're all set. The next time you want to use Sphero simply tap it twice to wake it up and it will automatically connect to your phone!

Using an RGB LED light, Sphero can glow in thousands of different colors. Choose your favorite color with the on screen color picker or choose your team color in a multiplayer game of red vs blue. You could set Sphero to glow red when a particular stock goes down and green when it goes up or maybe set it to glow blue if there is a chance of rain and a shade of red depending on the current outdoor temperature.

Induction charging has been commonly used in electric toothbrushes. We have brought the technology to Sphero. No wires are required, nothing to plug in, simply set Sphero down in its charger base and electricity will be wirelessly transmitted into Sphero to charge the batteries.

In a traditional remote controlled device, like a RC car you have two basic controls, front and back, left and right. When the RC car is driving away from you if you turn the control left, the car will turn left, turn the control right, the car will go right. When the car is driving towards you, however, the controls are reversed. If you turn the control left, the car will go right. With Sphero this isn't the case. No matter how Sphero is oriented if you push the control right, Sphero will go right, push the control down and left, Sphero will roll down and left.

Available late 2011. Price approx. $100.
------------

London/Somerset/London 16/17-04-11

London to Somerset
Zombie (Dancin' With The Zombie) (cranberries remix) - A.D.A.M. feat. Amy
One More Night - Yellow Dog
Just Dance - Lady GaGa & Colby O'Donis
Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter - Herman's Hermits
Gee, Officer Krupkie! - Leonard Bernstein
Price Tag (feat. B.o.B) - Jessie J
Crazy Angel - Kill Hannah
These Boots Are Made For Walking - Nancy Sinatra
Cinnamon - The Long Winters
Let's Dance - Chris Rea
Ali In The Jungle - The Hours
Headbutts - John Otway
Dude looks like a lady - Aerosmith
If You Wanna - The Vaccines
Start Choppin - Dinosaur Jr.
Feels Like I'm In Love - Kelli Marie
Louder Than Ever - Cold War Kids
Material Girl - Madonna
Western Sabbath Stomp - Alex Skolnick Trio
Together In Electric Dreams (Ext) - Georgio Moroder & Phil Oakey
Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
You Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
Fun and Games - The Caesars
Dragostea din tei (Mai Ai Hii) - O-Zone
Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell
You Might Think - The Cars
Hi-Speed Soul - Nada Surf
The Lone Ranger - Quantum Jump
Lucky Number - Lene Lovich
Tears Of A Clown - English Beat
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk
Shiny Happy People - R.E.M.
Torn (7" Mix) - Natalie Browne
Pearl Harbour - Team America: World Police
If I had Words (Theme from Babe) - Keali'i Reichel
I Can't Wait (extended) - Nu Shooz
Shake It - Metro Station
Everytime We Touch - Cascada
There's Nothing In the Water We Can't Fight - Cloud Control
When She Turns 18 (Radio Edit) - Christian TV
I Gave You My Heart (Didn't I) - Hot Chocolate
White Wedding - Billy Idol
Wipeout - Fat Boys
Moonlight Shadow (DDR) - Inuyasha
I wanna be sedated (Ramones cover) - The Offspring
I Want It All [2011 Remaster] - Queen
Yes Sir I Can Boogie - Baccara

Somerset to London
Dishonest John - The Jim Jones Revue
Breathe In (DJ Encore Remix) - Frou Frou (Imogen Heap vocals)
Happy Birthday - Altered Images
Jilted John [vinyl version] - Jilted John
Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros - Flight Of The Conchords [feat. Rhymenocerous and the Hiphopopotamus]
I Think I Love You - Voice of the Beehive
Burning Love - Wynonna
Blue (Da Ba Dee) - Eiffel 65
Love Shack - The B-52's
Rasputin - Boney M
Rock Me Gently - Andy Kim
All The Things She Said - Tatu (t.A.T.u.)
Holing Out - Yuck
I Just Can't Wait To Be King - Jason Weaver
Squealing Pigs - Admiral Fallow
Let's All Chant - Michael Zager Band
Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground
Where will the dimple be - Alma Cogan
Oh Lori - Alessi brothers
Japanese Boy - Aneka
Good Looking Woman - Joe Dolan
Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore) - B.o.B
Wedding Bell Blues (Marry Me, Bill) - Fifth Dimension
Starstrukk (feat. Katy Perry) - 3OH!3
A Boy Named Sue (Original Uncensored Version) 1 - Johnny Cash
Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour) - Dollar
Finding Out True Love Is Blind - Louis XIV
Little Yellow Spider - Devendra Banhart
Jennifer Eccles - The Hollies
I Felt Stupid - The Drums
Reelin' In The Years - Steely Dan
Boom-Shak-A-Lak - Apache Indian
Brændt - Lis Sørensen
Born This Way (The Country Road Version) - Lady Gaga
Hey Mickey - Toni Basil
Doubt - Delphic
Dance Wiv Me (feat. Calvin Harris & Chrome) [Radio Version] - Dizzee Rascal
Punching In a Dream (Single Version) - The Naked & Famous
Last Night - Vitamin C
Who's In Control - British Sea Power
What's New Pussycat? - Tom Jones
The Pretender - Foo Fighters
Big Spender - Shirley Bassey
Lenny Valentino - The Auteurs
Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
I Know What I Know - Paul Simon
The Worst Truck Driver - Jack Grace Band
Some Girls - Racey
Get Away - Yuck
------------

Scanning the masters

Wired reports: [edited]

A 16-billion-pixel image of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper is now online. The digitized version, produced using special techniques designed to protect the fragile painting from damaging light exposure, gives anyone with an internet connection a chance to dig deeper into Leonardo's techniques than ever before.

For a close-up on the workings of a genius, Marani recommended viewers search the Last Supper for the church bell tower and shrubs outside the windows, the patterns and wrinkles in the tablecloth, the reflection of an orange wedge in a pewter plate in front of Matthew and the perspective lines in the upper left-hand corner that lead (imperfectly) to Jesus' eye.

To view the painting, visit Halta Definizione (free subscription required to view highest definition).
------------

Hanebrink Electric All-Terrain Vehicle

Hanebrink reports: [edited]

The Hanebrink Electric All-Terrain Vehicle combinrd state-of-the art green technology with an on-demand hybrid electric system and the latest in bicycle technology. Crank the throttle and the 600 watt motor powers the HANEBRINK to speeds up to 20 mph. If you want to go faster, start pedalling.

Three design features help the HANEBRINK achieve outstanding on and off-road performance.

— The widest tyres in the industry. The 20 x 8 inch tires radically increase the surface area where rubber meets road for enhanced stability at all speeds, added traction on rough terrain, and unprecedented float on sand and snow.


— A mid-mounted, bracket supported motor optimizes the vehicle’s center of gravity beneath the rider and enables tight turns, rapid weight shifting, and provides more stability.

— 14 speed gearing tuned for a wide variety of surfaces, grades, and utility applications including a low range capable of carrying up to 300 pounds of bulky cargo up steep terrain or deep into inaccessible areas.


With a single Lithium ion battery, the Hanebrink has a one hour run time and three hour recharge. For longer excursions, the rear rack can be fitted with up to five lithium ion batteries, a run time of over 5 hours and more than 100 miles of riding. The rear rack can hold up to 100 pounds of cargo.

Price: £4,000
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Five Free Fonts

Pablo Impallari is a Php programmer who has recently turned his attention to typography and font development.

Cabin Font is a clear, readable san-serif that falls somewhere between Bliss and Trebuchet. It is available in three weights, including a full set of true italics (unlike Bliss!).

Quattrocento has a 'Roman inscription' flavour. It's no Trajan, but works fine in upper case.

Dancing Script is a pleasant lightweight erm... script.

Terminal Dosis Font is a postmodern sans that falls somewhere between Din and Isonorm... some of the kerning pairs are awful, but it is very readable at small sizes.

The Lobster Font is a bold display script with some pleasant flicks and touches.

For a sample PDF, click here.

And they're all available as webfonts.

Thanks to Conrad for the link
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Miniot

Miniot produce a range of beautiful wooden covers for the iPhone, iPod touch and now for the iPad 2.

Thanks for Conrad for the link.
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Klhip

Klhip.com reports: [edited]

Average nail clippers just don't get the job done. They're ugly. And tear the nail instead of cutting it.

Enter the Klhip:

- A falling rate cam makes cutting thick nails easy.

- You apply pressure directly over the nail you're cutting. This creates a more comfortable grip.

- Smooth, single blade cutting: Double blades either dull each other or tear the nail. Klhip's single blade cuts so cleanly and precisely that filing isn't necessary.

- 17-4PH surgical stainless steel holds up to a lifetime of use.

Price: $70 (tin case), $95 (leather case)
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Worldometers

Worldometers reports: [edited]

Worldometers is part of the Real Time Statistics Project, which is managed by an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers with the goal of making world statistics available in a thought-provoking and time relevant format to a wide audience around the world.

Thanks to Mel for the link
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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

Register Hardware has published a review of Sony's flagship Android smartphone.

Conclusion:

"Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc is a very classy phone. It looks refreshingly different from other Androids and keeps pace with HTC for usability, but beats the Koreans soundly with a quality camera and a stonkingly good screen."
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Free Font - Dan

Font Fabric reports: [edited]

Dan is applicable for any type of graphic design – web, print, motion graphics etc and perfect for t-shirts and other items like posters, logos.
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Queen Remastered

The original CD masters of Queen's work were dreadful, with a disappointingly weak and muddy audio quality.

The remastering duties were handed to the excellent Bob Ludwig, and he has extracted a surprising amount of extra detail from the original tapes, while keeping the sound pleasingly 'analogue'.

The extra tracks are demos, which are fun for the devoted fan, but not a compelling reason to purchase.

The first two of the Greatest Hits albums have also been remastered to a similarly high quality.
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iRip 2

The Little App Factory reports: [edited]

Transfer music, and everything else, from your iPod or iPhone to your Mac or PC (PC version available 'soon', Ed.). If you’ve lost the media collection on your computer, you can easily restore all the contents from your device using iRip 2 and its syncing assistant.

Transfer playlists, movies, TV shows, podcasts, photos, ringtones, audiobooks, and e-books (phew). Copy individual items or entire media libraries over, to either iTunes or your desktop for easy archiving.

iRip 2 is not just for media transfer and recovery, it also lets you browse and preview the contents of your iPod or iPhone. Play music right off your device, or view your photos and videos. iRip 2 is a desktop-sized window to your iPod or iPhone.

iRip 2 was designed with convenience in mind. Music and other media are copied directly into iTunes without the need to manually import files. iTunes-specific metadata such as play counts and purchase dates are also transferred over.

- - - - -

For a full review, click here.

You can download a free song-limited trial version, with the full version costing $19.95, or a family pack to use with up to 5 computers for $30.
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Re-Cycle Cardboard Bicycle

FireBox reports: [edited]

It has to be seen to be believed, but riding on the success of their award-winning Paper-Pulp Canoe, German engineers Zeug and Unsinn have created the Re-Cycle Cardboard Bike – set to revolutionise the way we get around city spaces forever!

Made from the equivalent of two hundred red-top tabloids, the Re-Cycle is light, easy to carry and simple to assemble. In the time it would take you to flag down a cab, just follow the step-by-step instructions to pop, fold, score and tear the pieces you need to assemble your bike in a flash. No glue, tape or staples required.

£14.99 with free delivery

Thanks to Sky for the link
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