Addatweet is a great little plug-in that lets you add your 2 cents to any page on the web. This is particularly helpful on sites such as CNN that have disabled comments from many of its articles, pages and videos. Using Twitter authentication, Addatweet has made freedom of speech a little bit easier on the web.
Give it a try addatweet.com
Check out the Mashable.com writeup
banksy - workers of the world unite
It has been a while since Banksy hosted a formal public showing of his work in his home country (the UK). In this admission free show “Banksy vs Bristol Museum” the world gets a rare firsthand look at a Banksy’s work in bulk rather than pieces scattered throughout the streets of London.
Eames Demetrios discusses the work of his granparents, Charles + Ray Eames. This talk includes some great Ray Eames made films, houses, classic midcentury modern furniture, rarely seen films and archival footage.
Links of interest: Emes Gallery, Wikipedia.org page, This and other talks on TED.com
2010 Jaguar XJ
Jaguar announced the production version of its flagship sedan today. The new XJ now takes on the euro-design treatment of its siblings, the XK and XF. With this latest and last revision to the Jaguar fleet, the automaker continues its efforts to reclaim a position within the luxury market.
The XJ appears to be reasonably “good looking” on the outside, although the rear seems unfinished and overly reminiscent of the Bently Coupe and it doesn’t seem to fit the aesthetic of the car. It’s in the interior and performance categories that the XJ will most likely make its strongest bid in the competitive affluent car-buyer market.
Check out the full set of images on Autoblog,com
Amazon Kindle
I love the idea of eReaders. It seems inevitable that the books crafted from the carcasses of trees have to go. It doesn’t have the public’s eye yet but when it does, carrying an eReader to class will be as cool as driving a Prius onto a UCLA campus. With all these things going for it, it amazes me that Amazon has executed on the idea so poorly. In my opinion, every aspect of the product and it’s positioning to the consumer is wrong.
Device – it’s ugly, bulky and lacks the technology you would expect for the price
Price – too expensive and no subscription model for a lower out-the-door sticker price
UI – needs a lot of work and has little to do with books (it’s predecessor!)
Marketing – most consumers still do not understand the device, it’s advantages or retail impact
Business – it will never make sense to charge the same amount of money for a virtual good as a concrete product; the consumer will always feel shorted
Objectified, an independent film directed by Gary Hustwit, explores our complex relationship with manufactured objects and the people who design them. The film has been hyped over the last year and is finally making its way around the world via a series of screenings. The film features a handful of product design royalty, including Chris Bangle (BMW Group, Munich), Tim Brown (IDEO), Dan Formosa (Smart Design), Jonathan Ive (Apple, California) and more. If the stars align and you have a showing in your area (usually around $15), you may want to check out one of the screenings.
Covered in Umbrellas
Archdaily.com covered an interesting installation done in Talca, Chile titled “Covered in Umbrellas”. The project was executed by a team of 36 students from The Workshop Projects. Despite a handful of significant obstacles, the team managed to pull off the project in 5 weeks.
Check out the full article on Archdaily for full details and more pictures.