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Y!kes' app-enabled system transforms hotel accessibility: talking with hotel chains, launching this month on iOS, Android, BlackBerry and WP7
We all knew opening one's hotel room door with a smartphone was just the beginning, didn't we? As the years have turned (and LodgeNet has inexplicably remained), a smattering of companies have seen the opportunity to connect savvy hotel guests to the properties they frequent. Y!kes is the latest to tune in, and its solution undoubtedly has the potential to change the way smartphone users interact with lodging venues. Designed as a hardware + software platform, the proximity-aware access system offers hotels the ability to tightly and specifically grant or deny access to one's phone. As an example, a hotel and guest both utilizing the system could see an elevator automatically choose one's floor upon entry, a door automatically unlock when a patron walks within range, a parking deck automatically have its gate raised, and a VIP lounge door automatically open if the credentials are programmed in. Going a step further, one could envision this system having the ability to alert a hotel when a guest lands at the nearest airport, thereby triggering a series of events that places fresh Perrier bottles on the desk, blue mood lighting in the bathroom, a thermostat adjustment to 74 degrees and whatever else that person has specified in their profile. Insane? Sure, but not at all outside of the realm of feasibility. Once a venue has installed the system, guests need only have the associated app -- available for Android, BlackBerry OS, Windows Phone and iOS -- running in the background on their device. If all goes as planned, he or she won't even have to drop by the check-in counter, and when the stay is over, they'll be able to bypass the check-out line as well. If you're curious about app availability, we're told that the iOS build will hit the App Store "this week," while the other three platforms will see launches "within 30 days." We asked the company if it was ready to announce any partnerships with hotel chains, and received the following reply: "As for integration, Y!kes is currently engaged in deep discussions with the top hotel chains and will have information pertaining to specific contracts in the near future." Needless to say, the jetsetters in the crowd will be keeping an ear to the ground for more.
So very disturbing: Bring me Steve Jobs' (cheese) head on a plate
Ken over at TheCooksDen has sculpted an edible Steve Jobs' head out of two blocks of mozzarella and some pepper. It's actually pretty impressive in a Hannibal Lecter kind of way. Ken, who admits he's a Mac fanboy and a foodie, thought that there was no better way to show his appreciation for his much-loved Apple products than to create a tasty sculpture in the form of Apple's venerable leader. Well all right then. He doesn't stop with just Steve's head either (as if you were worried about that). Ken offers three other recipes – all using Steve's head in some way – to show off your Apple gastronomy. The concoctions include the Apple Cheese Plate, the Spicy Steve Nachos Supreme, and my favorite, the iPad Thai. The full ingredients list and cooking instructions are on the site. So, what are you waiting for? Get cooking! [TUAW is not responsible for any loss of lunch/nightmares incurred due to viewing the photo above. Yikes. -Ed.]
How Time Machine can decrease inhibitions, encourage risky behavior
Let me tell you something about people from Brooklyn: we are, by nature and environment, edgy risk-takers who live life like we're driving a Maserati down the PCH. Or a Camry up the BQE. Anyway, you don't want to mess with us -- and specifically, you don't want to mess with Mike Solomon, a creative director who's apparently got cojones the size of Jonathan Ive's awards cabinet.What did Mike do that earns him the title of Mac Jock Extraordinare? Faced with a weekend on-site video editing project that would require 20 GB of space and only having 10 GB free on his laptop, he didn't bow to the conventional wisdom -- send a production assistant to Staples for a new 500GB drive, or weed out his Downloads folder. No, he decided the best way to free up the needed space was to out-and-out delete his 65 GB iTunes library, the media addict's equivalent of flushing your stash when the cops show up. Then, when he returned home later, he simply restored his library from Time Machine -- no muss, no fuss.Mike, we salute you and your outside-the-box approach to capacity management. Next time, though, might we suggest a portable drive?[via Macenstein]
