Daily Bits

Be Your Own Souvenir

by

Toy People
Calling all narcissists, or those with narcissistic tendencies! Here is the ultimate device for you guys: an installation that can scan you – or whatever you want to be – and then create a mini you. This installation was made by blablabLAB ((blablabLAB)) with the goal of “connecting street users, art, and science.”

And how is this achieved by playing on the love of self of people? Imagine this. You have always wanted to be a great guitarist immortalized through your music. The sad thing is that it doesn’t seem like the guitar responds to your fingers tender manipulations. Is there any way you can ever realize your dream? If you were to pose holding a guitar, acting as if you were playing in the biggest concert of you life, you just might be able to capture that memory via the Be Your Own Souvenir installation.

Using 3 scanners – no less than the Microsoft Kinect, a 3D image of yourself will be created. This image is then translated into a more tangible object via 3D printing, and before you know it, you will have yourself as a souvenir to take home!

The installation was tested in Barcelona on the first month of this year, and it seems that it was a huge hit. Locals and tourists alike stopped by to watch it at work, and not a few indulged themselves as struck whatever pose they fancied. See for yourself.

Be Your Own Souvenir! from blablabLAB on Vimeo.

I think this is brilliant, despite the joke about narcissism earlier. ((Or maybe my narcissistic subconscious is making itself felt.)) If anything, you can create toy figures of the people in your life.

Eye-Controlled Laptops Can Help Disabled Users

by

Stephen Hawking has his custom-made computer setup that the “normal” person may only dream of creating, but thanks to Tobii Technology, ordinary people who have physical disabilities will have the chance to control their own computers using their eyes. Tobii is a big player in the realm of eye tracking and eye control technology and is based in Stockholm. The company has partnered up with Lenovo, which is the world’s fourth largest personal computer manufacturer, to come up with laptops that can be controlled using eye movements.

Stop and think for a minute. When you use your laptop, don’t you use your eyes before you even move that cursor with your mouse or trackpad? This is the premise of eye control – it is intuitive and everyone does it! Now, for the average person, having to use the mouse or trackpad may not be a big deal. But for someone who does not have full use of his hands, for example, being able to use his eyes to point, select, and scroll makes a world of difference!

According to Henrik Eskilsson, CEO of Tobii Technology, ((Tobii)) “…the Tobii laptop prototype is proof that our eye tracking technology is mature enough to be used in standard computer interfaces. To reach a state where the technology is part of the average computer, we need to make it smaller and cheaper. We believe that this can be realized in a couple of years by partnering with the right manufacturer.”

Obviously, the laptops are still in demo mode. There are only 20 units as of now, and they are being used to showcase what the technology can do. Still, this does seem to mean that we will be seeing these laptops in the market in the near future. Here’s a video showing the laptop in action.

Geek’s Dream Girl

by

Geek's Dream Girl
It looks like the stereotype for the love-hungry geek is not about to disappear anytime soon. If websites and games are any indication, then people still do think that geeks can use all the help they can get when it comes to dating and relationships. There was Cupidtino – the dating site specifically for Apple geeks. Soon, there will be Cloud Girlfriend.

But have you heard of Geek’s Dream Girl? ((Geek’s Dream Girl)) Strictly speaking, this web site is not a dating site. The services that they offer do cater to geeks who are looking to online dating sites to find a partner: “Geek’s Dream Girl is a small business focusing on online dating profile writing for geeks, by geeks. We’re copywriters that know how to make geek guys shine and attract those ever-elusive girls!”

Basically, they’re geeks who are good at spinning words so that they can make you look good online. I guess they are assuming that geeks may not have the skills to come up with a profile that will get the attention of their dream partner. And once you have gotten her/his attention, it is up to you to make things work. Oh, they do profiles for girls, too.

Don’t get me wrong – I can see the value in the service they provide, but the premise might just be wrong. I do believe that there are “geeks” out there who can write kick-a#$ copy that will make any girl/guy drool. More so, if the “geek” is indeed challenged when it comes to communicating, how will he get further than the online profile? The site must be doing something right, though, as they have been in the business since 2008.

Has anyone tried Geek’s Dream Girl yet?

Gmail Motion – The Real-Life Version

by

Remember Google’s April Fools’ prank? Gmail Motion was – is – so ridiculous that we all knew that it was nothing but a prank. In case you missed it ((Have you been living in a cave???)), Gmail Motion is e-mail which can be controlled using your body. With this innovative Google development, all you need is your body and you can do whatever you need with your mail. As one person put it, be careful when you sneeze, though, as you may end up deleting all of your e-mails! Here’s the video of the Gmail Motion in action.

Anyhow, prank or not, the idea is actually realizable. Consciously or not, the guys behind the prank may have started something. You know how it is with creative minds, don’t you? When a bunch of guys from the Institute for Creative Technologies ((ICT at the University of Southern California)) saw the video above, their minds started working overtime.

I can just imagine them as they were watching the video. Hey, this is actually technically possible! Why don’t we give it a shot and give Google a dose of their own medicine while we’re at it?

Armed with a sensor taken from Microsoft’s Kinect (talk about the irony of it), they started a projected called the Software Library Optimizing Obligatory Waving, or SLOOW. You don’t have to be slow to use the set up, but you do have to move your butt (and other body parts). Check out the video the guys created to demo their project.

Now this isn’t exactly your run-of-the-mill scientific proposal, but it seems to work, doesn’t it? While it is real, I doubt that we’ll be seeing this kind of setup available to the general public any time soon.

Awesome Video Game Player Can Back His Words Up – With His Mouth!

by

How good are you at Super Street Fighter IV? How about Super Smash Bros. Melee? Some of you may be pretty proud of what you can do, but after watching this video, I am willing to bet that you will have a different perspective.

This guy, Broly Legs is one of the best players of the two games I mentioned above. His real name is Mike Begum, and he has a condition called arthrogryposis. Also called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, the condition places a lot of limitations on the person who has it. Basically, the person will have limited use of his limbs due to the shortening of the muscles in the joints. It is also characterized by muscle weakness and fibrosis.
Broly
Broly cannot use his legs and hands. Well, he can use his left hand a little bit, but that’s not what he uses when he plays Street Fighter or Smash Bros. So what does he use? Believe it or not, he manipulates the controller using his mouth and cheeks! And this guy isn’t all talk, mind you. He says he thinks he is pretty good, and he can actually back that up with some action. A lot of action.

In this video, Broly shows just how he can kick the butt of people who have the use of both hands. And yes, you can see how he uses cheek, mouth, and tongue in a way that will put many a gamer to shame.

His words of inspiration: find what you can do and just keep at it. The next time you feel like saying “FML”, think of Broly.

Have Your Book, and Eat It Too!

by

Have you ever read a book that was so good that you wanted to actually eat it? Probably not, but if there are such things as edible underwear, why can’t we have edible books? I have no idea if that ever occurred to the founders of The International Edible Book Festival, but the event is held in various parts of the world – Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, United States of America, Romania, Russia, Singapore, and Sweden – on the first of April, or thereabouts.

Everyone may be busy thinking of April Fools’ jokes and hoaxes, but unbeknownst to many April 1 is also Edible Book Day. The idea was born to commemorate the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), who became really famous for his book . The festival is attributed to Judith A. Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron, who thought of holding an event where books that can be – literally – eaten are made, displayed, and of course, devoured.

Anyone can hold his own Edible Book Festival, as long as the following rules are followed: ((Books2eat))

  1. The event must be held on April 1st (or close to that date)
  2. All edible books must be “bookish” through the integration of text, literary inspiration or, quite simply, the form.
  3. Organizations or individual participants must register with the festival’s organization (go to Registration) and see to it that the event is immortalized on the international festival website.

Check out these fun edible books that have been created in the past years.



If that isn’t enough to entice you to hold your own Edible Book Festival…