Thursday, March 1, 2007

CompUSA going broke?

From CNET.com:

"CompUSA, the computer and gadget retailer owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, said on Tuesday it would close more than half of its U.S. retail locations over the next two to three months to focus on top performing locations."
Read more about this...

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Egg Chair good for you

I came across this unusual chair which is said to be good for you back, neck, spine and posture. It looks a bit odd but has pretty good feedback from customers.

From the site:
"Prolonged sitting can also cause poor circulation in the legs resulting in painful leg cramps or the sensation of the legs falling asleep.

The ErgoChair enables individuals to achieve proper posture. The egg-shaped flexible ball allows free movement of the body - up and down, back and forth, and side to side – for the body to find the best posture to relieve and prevent back pain."[1]


1. Doctor Riter's ErgoChair

Time Table desk



Time Table, still in "idea phase," is being designed by Ross McBride.

From the official site:

"The entire top surface of the Time Table is a digital clock. The glowing digit segments are made of electro-luminescent film, which accounts for the thinness of the structure (6cm). The electronics include an alarm, and a timer to switch the light off at night. Additionally, the light can be turned on, or off anytime without affecting the time."

Saturday, February 24, 2007

The Solar Energy Dream

A new U.S.-based startup solar energy company, Citizenrē, has plans to be the largest solar energy provider to homes all across the the U.S. Their plan seems to be smart when you first hear of it, but, there is much that the company that is doing wrong. Read parts of an article by Jeffery D. Wolfe below:

From RenewableEnergyAccess :

"There has been a buzz in the air lately. It's the sound of U.S.-based Citizenre, a new multi-level marketing machine targeting solar power. Their plan? Build "the world's largest" solar cell and module manufacturing plant with the stated intention to install 100,000 residential systems annually. Their pitch? You can have solar electric power for the same price that you currently pay for electricity. Sign up now and they will do the installation in September as long as your state offers net metering."

"As soon as someone signs up for a Citizenre solar system, they are removed from the pool of potential customers for other reputable solar dealers in the U.S. Already, photovoltaic (PV) dealers are telling me that they are losing business because potential customers are signing up with Citizenre -- people are waiting until the reported 500 megawatt "largest fully-integrated PV manufacturing plant in the world" comes online this fall.

But it will be September -- the deadline for the build out of the manufacturing facility and beginning installations will have come and gone -- before reality sets in for these customers when they do not receive their solar system on time as promised. Plans seem poised to fall apart, and at that point we'll have four results:

* A lot of very disappointed and upset people.
* A lot of traditional PV dealers who are out of business.
* Reduced or eliminated federal and state incentives for solar electricity due to a perceived lack of need.
* A solar electric industry in the U.S. that has been set backwards 5 years."

Read more about this: http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=47419

Friday, February 23, 2007

Frank Miller's 300 to debut in 2 weeks

300 the motion picture comes out March 9th of this year. It looks like a very sweet movie, even though all the terrain, background and whatnot are digitally created.






Images Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Wired
http://blog.wired.com/wiredphotos45/2007/02/alone_again_nat.html

Google Apps is here!



Finally! Google Apps is finally here. I've been awaiting this for a while... I will try it and let you all know how it goes.

You can even "try Google Apps Premier Edition for free through April 30th, 2007. "
-Google Apps

Tookis writes "Google's online productivity suite (Google Apps) has already replaced Microsoft products at more than 100,000 small to medium enterprises. Additionally, it's been deployed for serious work-related projects at two of the largest companies in the world. Product manager for Google Enterprise Kevin Gough was quick to point out that although the premier edition of Google Apps only just launched, it's already been adopted by companies like GE, Procter & Gamble, Prudential and Loreal. He goes on to describe the role of Apps: to augment, not necessarily replace existing IT solutions. Just the same, he says, the role of Apps can be powerful where traditional services may be too expensive. Says Gough, 'There's a large segment that's under-served by today's productivity tools. Production workers and retail employees for instance. 48% of all employees actually don't even have an email address. That's because the cost of hardware, software and maintenance has made it prohibitively expensive to provide email to employees.'"
- http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/02/23/1346225.shtml

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Milk Desk



If Apple were to make desks, I think it would look like this Milk Desk--clean and simple. It even have a fish tank built right in; although I don't really see a need for that it's still cool.

Too bad this desk is only for sale in Denmark, manufactured by Holmris Hansen A/S.