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ICYMI: Music with your eyes, 3D print everything and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-512707{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-512707, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-512707{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-512707").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: An engineer built a DIY musical instrument for people with disabilities, helping them create music with an eyetracking device. Two 3D-printed bits of technology caught our attention: One is for flesh, the other graphene aerogel. We are also reviewing a messenger app and a Kickstarter campaign for a speaker that basically makes us crazy. As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
Former Blizzard dev starts Atomic Operations game studio
Industry veteran Chris Millar has been around -- he's been with Blizzard since the WarCraft II days, and has worked on everything from Black and White 2 to Fat Princess – but now he's off to head up his own company called Atomic Operations. In this quick Q&A with Gamasutra, he says that the company will be a grab-bag of methods and products, all using "an evolved production method similar to that of movies." They've already got a project out the door, too: Atomic is the company that's supporting Fat Princess, with the bugfixes released the other day and presumably more to come. Millar and Atomic Operations join the multitude of other Blizzard veterans off working on their own companies. Let's see, there's Keith Lee and his crew at Booyah, the ex-Blizzard folks at Red 5 Studios, the unfortunate souls at Castaway Entertainment and Flagship Studios (now Gravity Bear and Gargantuan Studios), new WoW TCG licensees Cryptozoic, and a few other little developers and divisions headed up by ex-Blizzard devs. Whew, that's a whole lot of babies -- Blizzard is like the Zeus of gaming studios lately. What are they serving in the cafeteria over there, startup cola?
Inhabitat's Week in Green: turbines, rubber circuits, and cola-powered cars
We're happy to introduce The Week in Green, a new item from our friends at Inhabitat. Each week they'll recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us. Welcome! Sure, the iPad happened this week, but we also caught sight of several hot green gadgets and clean tech innovations this week that stand to shape the future of green consumer technology. First off, design star Philippe Starck brought haute design to clean tech with two novel designs for home wind turbines. Starck's high-profile products have made him a household name, so we're interested to see if his latest creations kick off a trend towards "designer" wind power. We were also impressed by researchers at Princeton University who recently found a way to integrate piezoelectric chips into flexible, durable rubber-based circuits. We've seen piezo power sources before, but applications for the new chips are sure to put bounce in your step: energy generating shoes, movement-powered microsurgical devices, and self-charging pacemakers are right around the corner. Interest in green transportation is building as Florida rides high on the government's recently announced grants for high speed rail -- the sunshine state is set to blaze a trail with $1.25 billion in funding. And for those with a soda habit, Takara Tomy's cola-powered RC car is one sweet ride. The biobattery-powered car can convert any sugary liquid to energy, so pour in some Jolt and you're good to go. Finally, love it or hate it -- the launch of Apple's iPad has dominated the newswires all week. While we appreciate the device's toxin-free, recyclable construction and impressive battery life, we have to ask: is it really green?
Sugar-powered phone concept robs us of perfectly good Coke
This wouldn't be the first time we've seen a sugar fuel cell, but gosh darnit, it just might be the sexiest. Chinese designer Daizi Zheng has conjured up a vision for a soft drink-powered cylindrical Nokia of the future that pounds Coca-Colas to stay juiced: just screw off the top, pop the can, and pour. Daizi estimates that a single can of the stuff could outlast a traditional lithium ion battery by three to four times -- never mind the obvious ecological benefits -- but don't you dare steal our caffeine the next time you need a charge, alright? [Thanks, Rob]
Apple and Coke team up for European iTMS promotion
That Apple + Coca Cola promo we mentioned in June has been made a reality, but only in Europe - at least for now. MSNBC is reporting that iTunes has launched "the deepest alliance of its kind" to promote the iTMS on Coke's website in the UK and Germany, as the company will also be giving away 70 million songs on its products in a promo that sounds just like the Pepsi partnership of a year or so ago. Interestingly, Apple declined to comment on whether shaking hands with Coke meant that they had to stop drinking from the Pepsi fountain.It sounds like all you TUAW readers in the UK and Germany can keep your eyes out for the promotion to hit Coke's website and products sometime this month. Happy downloading![via iLounge]
