UpGRD me » Tech

The Apple Stores Go Green!

Saurabh — Fri, 28 May 2010 02:30:22 +0000

Yes those are real trees in an Apple Store. What you are looking at are photos of Apple’s latest store concept being showcased at their new store at the Bondi Junction in Sydney, Australia. Opening today in junction with the iPad launch in Australia, this store features the previously rumored update to the Apple Store look with real growing-in-the-ground trees and skylights in the store, and I must say, it looks fantastic! (Found on @MacTheTwit)

CMU’s Skinput Looks Like It Takes MIT’s Sixth Sense To a Different Level

Saurabh — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:00:21 +0000

First of, it’s awesome to see Carnegie Mellon (my alma mater) getting some good press (or any press for that matter). CMU Researcher Chris Harrison has developed a device that can attach on your forearm, and using a built in pico-projector it can sense and use your entire arm as an input controller through taps on your skin. While the video is a bit on the dry side, I think the functionality and complexity of controls displayed is very impressive for what looks to be a early stage prototype/proof of concept. It would be great to see this technology miniaturized to the point where it’s just like any other arm band you would wear while working out or like the ones’ used to attach your iPod. (Found on Core77)

Strobeshnik Is The Geekist Clock Of All Time

Saurabh — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:03:57 +0000

Using a hard drive platter with cut through numbers, a colon and dash marks, and a perfectly timed strobe light, Svofski has created the geekist clock of all time in the Strobeshnik. It takes a bit of time for the platter to spin up to speed, but around the 43 second mark things get really awesome. (Found on Gizmodo)

Make Your Macbook Stand Out With An Eye-Catching Decal

Saurabh — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:02:05 +0000

Honestly, if I wasn’t about to get a new Macbook Pro (Damn it Apple…announce the new models already!), I would totally buy one of these decals. I’m normally against putting stickers on Macs. I mean, they look so clean and amazing just as they are. There are few things that can make the lid even cooler, and while their are some gorgeous full lid decals/skins, I personally really love the work done by etsy member lildecalshoppe. Ranging from the clever (above) to the cute, these decals truly enhance the look of your Macbook Pro. For now, I can just wait for the new model.

Anatomy of Apple Design

Saurabh — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:56:31 +0000

Enjoy this beautiful 3D rendered video of products that have culminated in the Apple iPad. Produced by the folks at Transparent House using 3DMax over a period of 10 days. So pretty (Found on Neonpunch)

It’s Freeking See-Through!

Saurabh — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:38:58 +0000

Is it practical? No. Will it make it to market any time soon? Probably not. Is it freaking awesome? Hell yeah! I mean, come on, how can you not be amazed by a see-through laptop LCD panel. Yes anyone at that meeting you’re at will know you’re chatting or on Facebook and not paying attention. Yes everyone at the airport will be able to see you’re watching some bootleg movie. But who cares! It’s FREAKING SEE-THROUGH!! Thank you Samsung for making movies like Minority Report and Avatar one step closer to reality with screens like this. (Found on Engadget)

Is The Microsoft Courier Actually The Tablet We’ve Been Waiting For?

Saurabh — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:00:03 +0000

I’ve been waiting for the perfect tablet. Be it Michael Arrington’s Crunchpad, or Apple’s mythical iPad/iTablet. But what’s this out of left field? News, pictures and videos have leaked about Microsoft’s Courier, and it looks amazing. The product you see here is supposedly a “late prototype”, and is being shown to outside agencies regarding design concepts. So here we have a real device, which is a booklet style tablet using two 7″ multitouch displays that are geared towards drawing, flicking and even writing with a stylus or your fingers. The entire device looks stunning, with its clean single-button Apple-eqsue hinged display. There are little things like wireless and battery statuses on the rim of the screen and a camera on the back, and even rumors of a inductive charging pad, a-la Palm Touchstone which would be ridiculously cool. (Found on Gizmodo)

Nvidia CEO Looking Tough, But The Real Story Is What’s Lying On His Table…

Saurabh — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:59:31 +0000

Ohyeaaa…. Check out Mr. Jen-Hsun “Tough-Guy” Huang, Nvidia’s CEO. Ohyeaaa…..wait… what’s that in front of him? That sleek looking tablet looks an awful lot like one of those rumored Apple iPad/iTablets doesn’t it? One center button? Check. Camera in the middle a-la Macbook/Macbook Pro/iMac/Apple LED Display? Check. Black, curved, with nice rounded corners and back? Check, check and check. And not only that, he later went on to lavishly praise how awesomely awesome Apple is, because they are just awesome. So, could it be that he has an early Apple prototype? Or is it just an internal Nvidia thing? We can only wait and see. (Found on Engadget)

Umm…OK…That’s Huge

Saurabh — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:59:48 +0000

I’ve seen my share of iPod speaker docks, but this one is really something else. Just look at that iPod Nano in the corner. Towering in at 4 feet by 3 feet, this $4,500 the Wall Of Sound iPod speaker dock can output a crazy 125W of volume, making it a iPod dock “for people who believe that music should be listened to loudly.” Just ridiculous. (Found on Gizmodo)

Picture Of The Front Of The Dell Adamo XPS…Finally

Saurabh — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:56:03 +0000

From the Windows 7 Liveblog. Wow it’s really thin! (Found on gdgt)