Looking for a little more consistent UI experience with your Android devices? Google is looking to make that happen as the folks in Mountain View has revealed that the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich OS will be the first Android software to institute design standards for developers. Android Design is a online repository for the UI guidelines and blueprints for version 4.0, which we learned would unify smartphones and tablets back at Google I/O.
Themaltake and BMW’s DesignworksUSA are apparently a design-team match made in PC gaming heaven. After previously partnering up for the elegant (and functional) Level 10 modular PC case, the two are back it again — this time with a focus on peripherals.
While details are sparse, the Level 10 M mouse concept you’re looking at is the first of the bunch to be revealed, and it’s said to arrive sometime during the spring. It’s not exactly a shoe-in for MadCatz’s Rats, but considering the wire and an aggressively breathable design, it’s clearly aimed pro-gamers.
Sadly, key specs like its DPI rating and details about any macro functionality are currently non-existent, however, it does appear to be of the optical variety. Here’s to hoping it’ll perform just as good at as looks to the eyes.
It’s always fun to write your name on things — chalkboards, diplomas, speeding tickets, yellow snow… you know, the usual. The folks at Boeing couldn’t agree more, which is why they tasked 747-8 pilots with writing the jet’s name in the sky on a flight test across the US. What could be called the “747-8 wuz here” mission is designed to test the outer limits of the jumbo jet in a max endurance operations test. Taking off yesterday morning from Seattle’s Paine Field, the jet flew across 18 states in a 747 pattern until it landed on the west coast a little after midnight — 17 total hours. It seems like everything went swiftly, which means the brand spanking new jet will be sold to Cargolux, a ginormous cargo airline, later this year. The jet writing does somewhat resemble a drunken righty’s attempt at left-handed writing, or some toddlers that just started learning how to write numbers.
As much as we want to say that Google is trying to copy Facebook, it isn’t. Well, at least not entirely. The concept’s still almost the same. Also, Google+ doesn’t seem to look very “Google” to many, and those “many” like it. Those drag-and-drop circles look luscious. Turns out, there’s a reason for everything, and he goes by Andy Hertzfeld.
According to an investigative piece put up by Wired, Andy’s actually credited as being the “original Mac guy,” responsible for software and user interface design while working for Apple between 1979 and 1984. He picked up a new role at Google in 2005, but according to the report, “he had previously felt constrained because its design standards didn’t allow for individual creativity.”
That all changed with Emerald Sea, a diddy that would eventually become known as the search giant’s most ambitious foray yet into the wide world of social networking. It’s bruited that Andy was given the freedom to go wild whilst designing Google+, and it shows — the interface throughout is about as intuitive as one could ever hope. ‘Course, it takes more than good design to seal a project, but there’s no doubt that this is one heck of a start.
What’s the point of a robot disguised as a tank or, uh, a clothes dryer? If you really want to infiltrate human society, you need robots that can hide in plain sight. Thankfully for would-be robotic conquerors, Ron Tajima brings us the aptly named CanBot, which hides batteries, an embedded control board, and three RC-servo legs beneath its beer-can exterior. Tajimi controls it with a Wiimote, and in the video above you can see it walking and rolling. His son seems less than impressed, but he probably sees this stuff all the time. We’re mightily excited, and look forward to picking up a six pack. Of robots.
Here’s a new tablet from ZiiLabs for their new Jaguar Honeycomb tablets, developed for the OEM market. Actually, make that two. The company has designed two Honeycomb slates, one with a seven-inch, 1024×600 LCD and another with a ten-inch 1280×800 display.
Unlike their ZiiO predecessors, these 64GB siamese twins call for both capacitive and resistive touchscreen capabilities, support OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics and, as you can see in the image above, feature front- and rear-facing five-megapixel cameras.
But what’s more important here is that there’s a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 ZMS-20 or quad-core ZMS-40 helping them plays with the rest of the kids, both clocking in at 1.5 GHz. Impressive right? Well they won’t be here yet, so the other big boys might be able to catch up real soon.
The two Jaguars will be showcased at next week’s Computex tradeshow in Taiwan.
As much as we want to say that Google is trying to copy Facebook, it isn’t. Well, at least not entirely. The concept’s still almost the same. Also, Google+ doesn’t seem to look very “Google” to many, and those “many” like it. Those drag-and-drop circles look luscious. Turns out, there’s a reason for everything, and he goes by Andy Hertzfeld.
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