iPhone it is a Gaming Platform?

Jennifer LeClaire, http://www.newsfactor.com

It's a smartphone. It's an iPod. It's Apple's iPhone -- and its making room on deck for video games. One of the top casual-game publishers just stepped aboard the iPhone express, and analysts are saying the move might lead to other developers climbing on board.

Let the iPhone Games Begin!

iPhone users can log on to PopCap.com via the iPhone's Safari Web browser and play the iPhone-specific version of the original Bejeweled for free. The customized version of Bejeweled leverages the Web 2.0 capabilities of Safari and the wireless capabilities of the iPhone, and has been optimized to take advantage of the iPhone's unique display and input controls.

PopCap developed the Safari-based version of Bejeweled in partnership with Polish developer Arkadiusz Mlynarczyk. PopCap execs did not reveal whether its newest wireless game, Chuzzle Mobile, or its popular mobile game Zuma, will be available for the iPhone. But considering PopCap's success working with the video iPod, more games could be in the works.

Microsoft Live Labs: Photosynth change your mind about digital photos

Photosynth combines hundreds or thousands of regular digital photos of a scene to present a detailed 3D model, giving viewers the sensation of smoothly gliding around the scene from every angle. The scene can be constructed regardless of whether the photos are from a single or multiple sources. It’s like a hybrid of a slide show and a gaming experience that lets the viewer zoom in to see greater detail or zoom out for a more expansive view. By viewing the photos in a 3D context you are able to get a better sense for the place where they were captured.

With Photosynth you can:

* Walk or fly through a scene to see photos from any angle.
* Seamlessly zoom in or out of a photo whether it's megapixels or gigapixels in size.
* See where pictures were taken in relation to one another.
* Find similar photos to the one you're currently viewing.

View video.





You can test Photosynth now, follow the link: http://labs.live.com/photosynth/systemcheck.htm


Some amazing Photosynth expeditions:
Britain in Pictures: BBC Collection
Microsoft and the BBC have collaborated on a group of Photosynth collections of the dramatic buildings featured in the new BBC series "How We Built Britain in Pictures".

Gyeongbokgung
A stunning South Korean Palace is reconstructed in photos. It is the first Photosynth collection ever constructed in partnership with professional and hobbyist photographers in Asia.

Piazza San Pietro, Rome
As impressive today as Bernini intended when he redesigned it in 1656.

Piazza San Marco, Venice
A photo tour of the famous piazza including detailed views of the campanile and basilica.

Interactive LED Coffee Table

http://www.becausewecan.org/LED_Coffee_Table_The_Wave/

Every action of yours is going to be captured by this Interactive LED Coffee Table and reflected back! It comes to life the moment it senses any movement over it. This sensitive coffee table is more then just a table. It sits calms with slight attractive twinkling when there’s no movement happening. I think it is ideal stress buster furniture. You can just soothe your nerves by watching the soft twinkling lights or indulge in some innovative hand movements to set the LEDs to work. A striking wood lattice underneath spans the side waves and forms a strong shelf for storage. It consumes only 35 watts of power when fully active. That's pretty less than a single common household light bulb!

Using a network of 32 active and passive near-infrared optical sensors, it detects motion above the table and changes in ambient light. Made of fully analog circuits, the light patterns sweep outwards from your motion with perfect fades, glowing stronger the closer the movement is, rippling across a pool of 480 super-bright white LEDs. This Coffee Table is large enough for a big room at 62" long by 31" wide by 18" high and you can opt for a nice thick glass ($300 extra) or plastic top. For $2800, it works in broad daylight as well as night time. However it will look fantastic in dark.

The 200 most successful websites

http://www.informationarchitects.jp/ia-trendmap-2007v2/

The 200 most successful websites on the web, ordered by category, proximity, success, popularity and perspective.


How to use it

1. Find the possible existing candidates that serve as a paradigm for your client’s redesign, repositioning or strategy change
2. Evaluate each candidate according to technical, brand and business affinity (good: green, average: yellow, bad: red)
3. Explain your evaluation and let your client choose which design, strategy, business paradigm he wants to follow.

Clickable online version

Google Earth Turn Up The Lights

www.google.com/earth/

Google has rolled out some spectacular new layers for Google Earth. “Astronaut Photography of Earth” is filled with images from the last 40 years of NASA Earth exploration, and “Earth City Lights” has stunning views of our home planet at night, as viewed from space.

The new layers can be found in the Featured Layers section of Google Earth. If you don't have Google's desktop atlas program, it's available as a free download . If you already have Google Earth, there’s no need to upgrade your installation. The layers should be there -- just look for the "NASA" header.

A New Transportation System

www.magicwheel.co.uk


The Magic Wheel is one Swiss designer's answer to the long-gone scooter craze. Consisting of one big wheel and one small wheel, the Magic Wheel operates through the rider planting one foot on the Wheel's platform while pushing with their opposite leg. The idea is best described as unicycle meets skateboard. You put the main wheel in between your legs and put one foot on the board (normally your right one) and push off with your other foot. when you are balanced comfortably you place your other foot on the board and away you go!

View promo vid.