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ICYMI: End forgetfulness with the e-version of a Post-It.
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A German researcher developed a digital Post-It note that never dies as long as the small solar panel gets sunlight. They can be stuck just about anywhere. Meanwhile, EPFL scientists are creating soft robots to act as artificial muscles. So far they see the most success with a belt to help support the weight of people who've had strokes. Finally, the stop motion video of a Death Star being created is a fun watch, as is the disturbing promo video for Google's newest app, SprayScapes. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Post-it Notes now have a productivity app to capture your scribbles
Even with all of the digital options, Post-it Notes are still a handy way to jot things down for future reference. To help you keep those small pieces of paper organized and with you at all times, 3M released the Post-it Plus app for iOS. Capable of capturing up to 50 of the squares at once with the camera on an Apple device, the software allows to you sort by category and share with your fellow collaborators for further brainstorming. There's also the option to export to PowerPoint, Excel, Dropbox and other places should the need arise. More size compatibility is on the way, but for now, the app recognizes all square Post-it Notes. Of course, Evernote has been doing something similar for the Moleskin faithful, and now folks who prefer the individual stick-on option can quickly digitize their work.
MIT reinvents the Post-It note... with Post-It notes
We've seen countless attempts to re-invent the Post-It note, but no one's ever really managed to improve on the basic design -- which might be why MIT's "Quickies" concept doesn't even try. The electronic note system is instead based around a digital pen and special pad, which saves your notes as you jot them down on RFID-embedded Post-Its. Software on your PC then does some quick OCR and, according to the inventors, "uses its understanding of the user's intentions, content, and the context of the notes to provide the user with reminders, alerts, messages, and just-in-time information." Since the database can also store location information, sticking the note on a book or other object allows you to locate it later using the RFID tag, and you can even have notes SMS'd to their recipients. Pretty wild -- but we're more impressed someone finally found a good use for all those digital pens out there. Check a video of the system in action after the break.
Don't you forget about Wii
These Italian Wii ads are just awesome. Using the Post-it technique of creating pixel art, Nintendo pasted some giant sprites up on walls and signboards. Passersby who thought to pull down the Post-its (the jerks) found Wii ad copy on the back of each pixel, and, hopefully, more Post-its underneath. Interactive advertising like this seems like a great idea. What's more Nintendo than encouraging potential customers to touch!! their advertising?[Via Kotaku]
Donkey Kong mural proves that office supplies can be useful
We miss college. Watching The A*Team reruns between classes, inviting everyone who came down the hall to play some Smash Bros., spending all day making giant tributes to classic games ... Well, okay. We never made a huge Donkey Kong mural in the windows of one of the college's buildings using nothing but Post-Its. Luckily, a group of UC Santa Cruz students stepped in and took the job upon themselves. The bar has officially been raised for college timewasting. This thing is really beautiful.[Via Joystiq]
Sony's E Series displays for the Post-It addict
Until the entirety of the corporate world finally comes around to modern utilities like Outlook reminders and Google Calendar, those little yellow Post-Its will continue to dominate desktops across the land. Apparently Sony Europe has chosen to facilitate this environmentally irresponsible practice, by adding a special panel for the increasingly-obsolete sticky notes below the screens on their new E series LCD monitors. The panel also boasts a "handy groove which is ideal for holding pens" so you'll never miss a message in case, you know, you forget you're sitting right in front of a computer. Both the 17-inch and 19-inch models max out at 1280 x 1024 resolution and sport an average response time of 8 milliseconds, so we'll be interested to see how many extra Euros a run-of-the-mill monitor costs when it has a piece of plastic slapped on the front that may or may not disable screen angle and height adjustability.[Via Gadgetizer]
