Tag: technology (Page 8)

technology

How Lens Maker Sigma Saved My Life

Feb 10, 2012 by Jessica
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Among lens makers, Sigma is a brand famous the world over. They’ve been in the news recently for their February 8th announcement of the 46 megapixel DP1 Merrill and DP2 Merril models, but this article is actually about an experience I had with them late last year. Read More

The Kissing App for People Who Love Their iPhones a Little Too Much

Jan 24, 2012 by Jessica
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Sometimes we all need a little lovin’. Now you can get a kiss anywhere, at any time, with the saucy new iPhone app Choi Kiss, loosely translated as Kisses on the Go. This little piece of heaven won’t even cost you a penny.
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Your iPhone Was Made by a 13-Year-Old Girl for 48 Yen/Hour

Jan 17, 2012 by Jessica
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The Apple products we’ve grown used to seeing everyday, like the iPhone4S and iPad 2, were made by 13-year-old Chinese girls working 16-hours a day for just 48 yen (about $0.60 US) an hour.
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Epic Advertisement Recounts 10 Years in the Life of a Family

Jan 11, 2012 by yoshio
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We often take the simple invention of the light bulb for granted. Even though our lives have their bright and dark moments, we are always under the reliable warm glow of our lights.

This is the premise of a new commercial by Toshiba, created to promote its new LED light that they claim lasts 10 years, that follows the life of one bulb as it lights a family’s life for 10 years (3653 days including leap years).

Dec 26, 2011 by yoshio
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Apple has given word that they will be selling Lucky Bags (Fukubukuro) again this New Year’s! The sale will begin on 2 January at 8:00am.

Nov 27, 2011 by Steven
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Recently, there are an increasing number of people who prefer to go to karaoke by themselves instead of with a group. A new chain of ‘karaoke booths’ launched in Japan earlier this month that seem to cater to exactly that kind of customer. Read More

Sanwa Denshi Unveils iPhone Geiger Counter

Nov 19, 2011 by Mac Denny
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On November 15, Japanese electronics manufacturer Sanwa Denshi unveiled a radiation-measuring device that can connect to iPhones and serve as an affordable Geiger counter.

It is 14 cm long and five cm wide and displays radiation dosages on the screens of iPhones equipped with GeigerBot and other such applications.

The retail price is 9,800 yen, and it will go on sale in a few days.

Nov 19, 2011 by Steven
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iPhone fans: if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably wondered if there isn’t someway you could enjoy your favorite smartphone in delicious hamburger form.

When I purchased a clear plastic iPhone cover at the 100 yen shop the other day, it hit me that this just might be the key to making that dream a reality.

However, as with many of my other culinary escapades, making a presentable iPhone hamburger was no simple endeavor.

I have recorded the recipe I used below. Feel free to use it as a guide when attempting to perfect your own smartburger. Read More

New Organizer Keeps Devices and Cords Away From Each Other

Nov 18, 2011 by Mac Denny
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Smartphone? Check. Digital camera? Check. Electronic dictionary? Check. Chargers and cords for all of the above? Check. Hope of finding them amidst the mess they will undoubtedly become in your handbag? Uncheck.

We are carrying more and more electronic products around with us these days, and it gets tougher and tougher to find them in our bags and untangle them from each other. It’s like untangling Christmas lights, except what used to be reserved for one day a year is now happening almost every day.

The GRID-IT purports to solve this problem with rubber bands arranged horizontally and vertically across its pocket-less surface. Read More

Chinese Rip-off Better Than iPhone!? “Apple? No…this is Orange.”

Nov 16, 2011 by Steven
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While the iPhone4S is selling like hot cakes in Hong Kong, most of mainland China has yet to see an official release date.

Even so, you won’t see the people of China upset about it, oh no: while the rest of the world plays with their shiny new apples, China was just delivered a fresh batch of organes—the iOrgane GT6, to be exact. Read More

Toyota’s New Aqua is Most Fuel-Efficient in the World, But is Not Green

Nov 16, 2011 by Steven
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On Nov 15, Toyota revealed its new compact hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Aqua, as a part of its lineup for the Tokyo Motor Show, which will take place next month.

The Aqua, which is actually a compact version of the company’s best-selling hybrid, the Toyota Prius, will have a fuel economy rating of 40 kilometers per liter (94 miles per US gallon) and is expected to be the most fuel-efficient hybrid in the world. Read More

Boy Drowns iPhone4S, Ginza Apple Store Rights Ship

Nov 15, 2011 by Mac Denny
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The iPhone4S had been on the market nary a month when I got my hands on mine. I’d had my beloved 16 GB dream machine for nary a week when my three-year-old son got his hands on it and dunked it in the bathtub.

Nov 13, 2011 by Steven
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We recently asserted that Japanese people love trains. For further proof of this claim, we’d like to share a unique item that went on sale in Japan earlier this month that allows users to “enjoy the experience of a train ride with your smartphone” by streaming a YouTube video of the scenery from the window of a moving train from on your phone and inserting into the window of the small plastic train passenger cabin. Read More

Singing Humanoid Robot Has Cute Plump Cheeks, Could Use a New Wardrobe

Nov 12, 2011 by Steven
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Today marked the closing day of the 2011 International Robot Exhibition, held from November 9 – 12 at the Tokyo Big Site convention center.

Nearly 300 companies were present at the exhibition, making it the largest of its kind.

While many of the robots at the exhibition were for manufacturing and industry, there were also a number of service robots on display. Service robots are, generally speaking, designed to assist humans with tasks normally performed by other humans, such as cleaning (think Roomba), and have been growing in demand in recent years.

This year’s exhibit showed that in the field of service robots, the Japanese have come a long way in developing robots that trade out the mechanical look for a more warm and comforting appearance.

Perhaps the most impressive—and certainly the cutest—of such robots on display at the show was HRP-4C “Miimu”, a lifelike female humanoid robot that can sing and dance.

Nov 9, 2011 by Mac Denny
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I tried playing the guitar once. I was a huge fan of Jimi Hendrix, but not so entranced with my own sound. I wondered what the hell was wrong with me!

I’m embarrassed to say that I was just picking around, going by trial and error. One thing I thought of doing was changing the pick I used. At the time, I could feel the different picks produced slightly different sounds, but I still couldn’t find Jimi’s.

If I’d had a Pickmaster at that time, I could’ve tried many more picks. The Pickmaster works like a hole punch and cuts teardrop shapes out of plastic sheets like credit cards.

Nov 5, 2011 by Steven
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The iPhone4S continues to see strong sales since its October launch, and we imagine that means many of you native English speakers are enjoying the company of Apple’s voice-controlled assistant app Siri, likely with better luck than we had.

While the main purpose of Siri is to save time and help organize, she was also programmed to respond to a variety of unique questions with a variety of unique answers.

For example, we recently found that Siri has a few things to say when you present her with the request, “Tell me a story.”

When we first made the request, Siri reservedly insisted that she can’t tell stories, that she’s “not a storyteller.” However, after repeating the request several times she finally caved in and began to recount to us her own, glorified personal history. Read More

Japan Develops Invisible Glass, Watch Where You’re Going

Nov 1, 2011 by Steven
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Nippon Electric Glass Co LTD has developed a glass substrate with luminous reflectance of lower than .1%. If that means nothing to you, allow us to make it clearer for you: invisible glass. Read More

iShampo Goes On Sale In China, Claims Apple Endorsement

Oct 27, 2011 by Steven
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Sure China gets a bad rep for blatantly ripping off well-known brands – but, hey, at least they’re innovative about not innovating!

Take iShampo, which, if the bottle label claiming official an Apple license is to be believed, may be the world’s first collaboration between a tech company and hair care. Read More

Will It Vend? American Vending Machine Sells iPad & Other High-Tech Toys, We Question Americans’ Buying Habits

Oct 26, 2011 by Steven
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And we thought Japan was setting the vending machine standards. Perhaps this is old news to some of our English-speaking viewers, but we were shocked when we stumbled upon a giant vending machine stocked with iPads, PSPgos, and other expensive gadgets on a recent outing to Los Angeles. Read More

Japanese Graduate Students Develop Pocky Kissing Game Robot

Oct 22, 2011 by Steven
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The Pocky Game is a popular game played mainly at Japanese college parties or similar situations involving young people drinking. The rules are simple: two people place each end of a Pocky stick in their mouths and nibble on it until their lips meet. Whoever pulls away first is the loser – the exception being when the players start making out, in which case everyone is a winner.

But what if you don’t have anyone to play the Pocky Game with in the first place?

This was the question posed by a group of graduate students researching “the applications of mastication in communication” at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. They found the answers in something Japanese people look to often when addressing societal problems: robots. Read More