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• We, Robot

  From New Scientist, a modular robot that can reassemble itself when broken apart. As one commenter at YouTube points out, "this is the first step towards building a fully functional T-1000." Thanks, Craig.
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  • Date: Apr 29 2008
  • Posted by andrewprice

• Attack Of The Phones

  If you don't live in New York or don't read lower brow New York city newspapers, you probably haven't heard of a man named John Clifford. Clifford rides the Long Island Railroad every day. Clifford does not like to hear other people talking on their cell phones. This isn't really unique to Clifford, but Clifford takes it a step farther. He tells people to hang up, and when they don't he hangs up for them. Somehow, despite 8 separate cases against him ranging from assault to harassment, he has been found innocent every time. While we certainly don't condone his violent behavior and homophobic remarks, Clifford is certainly on to something: the use of cellphones in public areas really needs to be firmly regulated sooner rather than later or we're all going to be part of some mass angry conflagration that starts on a bus and slowly engulfs the whole world. On the other hand, as we learned from the Times this weekend, in some places, cell phones are a big help rather than an annoyance.
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  • Date: Apr 14 2008
  • Posted by Morgan Clendaniel

• Gained In Translation

  From the department of imaginary products: the ReTune. Small enough to fit in your pocket, the ReTune would function as a real-time translator and enhancer of your aural environment. Unpleasant sounds are filtered out, confusing business jargon is instantaneously translated into plain terms, and ambient sounds, like traffic noises and birdsong, are seamlessly incorporated into whatever music you're listening to. We're not holding our breath for this to make it to market, but it does get us thinking about how technology could become an extension, and mediator, of our senses in the coming years. An advertisement for the ReTune. Thanks Ryan.
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  • Date: Apr 08 2008
  • Posted by andrewprice

• Muxtape's Mixtapes

  On the beautifully sparse site Muxtape.com, you can upload up to 12 mp3 files to quickly create a mixtape that you can listen to in a browser and send as a simple url. We threw one together to give it a shot. Listen here*. Found via PSFK. *Mixtape does not necessarily reflect the varied musical tastes represented within GOOD.
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  • Date: Mar 25 2008
  • Posted by andrewprice

• Street Viewed

  So, this image has been making its way around the old internet today. What looks to be a cash transaction was captured by those accidentally voyeuristic cartographers over at Google Maps. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with exchanging cash for goods, services, or what have you, but everyone's first reaction to this picture seems to be: "Oh man, Google caught someone red handed!"

  So we ponder: Is that sort of response warranted? Can you really interpret (judge) an image when it's divorced from context? Or is it naive to view this transaction as anything other than nefarious?

  O! Modernity, you are a cold Panopticon of moral ambivalence.

  
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  • Date: Mar 24 2008
  • Posted by Patrick James

• Kinetic Gadget Power Packs

  Last month, we told you about the Greener Gadgets Conference. Here's a look at some more cute ideas from the conference regarding energy storage. These little things aren't quite life changing (not at this stage anyway), but they speak to the potential of some new developments in the way we aggregate power.

  Via Inhabitat.
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  • Date: Mar 13 2008
  • Posted by Patrick James

• Live(ish) From TED pt. 2

  Our friend Jonathan Greenblatt is at the TED conference, absorbing the wisdom of the illuminati. This is his second dispatch (we added some links, his first TED post is here). Also, Dave Eggers and two others accept the TED Prize live on the internet tonight. It starts at 5:15 PST. Watch at the TED blog. Jonathan writes: - It's been quite an afternoon. Stanford professor Phil Zimbardo, who led the notorious prison experiment at Stanford 20 years ago, gave a gripping talk on the nature of evil, using the Abu Ghraib scandal as an analysis framework for understanding that the roots of evil lie not in the individual or the situation, but in systematic breakdowns or gaps that fail to thwart immoral behaviors. He observes that individuals have a higher likelihood of devolving into perpetrators when they wear anonymizing uniforms, when they dehumanize the enemy, when they can deflect responsibility. - Goldie Hawn announced the progress on Pangea Day, a powerful collective action on April 10 when people around the world will come together to view films as a demonstration of global solidarity. As a teaser, TED unveiled an amazing short film that looked at the defining moment of Tiananmen Square - but did so from the eyes of the tank driver who stopped in the face of the single protester. Sony has built an extraordinary sound stage that will serve as the launchpad. Hosted by Christiane Amanpour, it will be the anchor desk for this massive, continent-spanning program. Apparently, a new trailer has been posted to YouTube.
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  • Date: Feb 28 2008
  • Posted by andrewprice

• SF Voicemail for Homeless

  Google teams up with San Francisco and unveils a new plan to give every homeless person in the city a life-long phone number and voicemail, should they choose to accept it. In an effort to empower the city's homeless population, the program will enable one to call in for his or her messages from any phone—making it possible for individuals to leave call-back numbers on job applications and to receive test results from health clinics.
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  • Date: Feb 28 2008
  • Posted by danielriley

• Live(ish) From TED 2008!

  There are a few representatives from GOOD up at the TED conference. If you're unfamiliar, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) describes itself, with characteristic humility, as "a group of remarkable people that gather to exchange ideas of incalculable value." Pomp and circumstance aside, we love TED. These are some really sharp folks who share a drive to innovate and a genuine concern for the state of the world. Our friend Jonathan Greenblatt sends this report:

  TED Day One:

  - TED kicked off with a gripping opening presentation from Louise Leaky who talked about her childhood in the Kenyan rift valley, piecing together ancient fossils like jigsaw puzzles for entertainment. Leaky presented a startling visual of the first homo sapiens and their migration across continents. - Stephen Hawking was beamed to the audience from Oxford. He spoke about the Big Questions, the theme of TED2008, and people marveled both at the extraordinary labor involved in composing his thoughts as well as the breadth and depth of his vision. Considering the expertise within the TED community, it seems long overdue that someone would develop a better interface for the greatest living physicist to engage with his peers and communicate his thoughts. - The first day concluded with a typical TED party. Hosted by Coca Cola, a huge tent brought together hundreds of attendees and featured sushi chefs, an ice cream bar, and tables staffed by NGOs working to alleviate water and sanitation issues around the world.

  TED Day Two:

  - The Thomas Dolby band opened day two with a performance that included a banjo, 12 glass bottles, and iBook-enhanced synthesizer. - Craig Venter, the man who cracked the human genome, delivered an arresting talk. Reviewing his previous work, he surveyed the challenges facing humanity as planetary resources buckle under the strains of massive population growth (9 billion people by 2050). His current work is focused on using the emerging field of combinatorial genomics to create synthetic life. Venter speaks with absolute certainty about his efforts to use software and technology to reinvent biology and genomics. He is prototyping and mashing up the 20 million known human genes to produce absolutely world-changing results: to design new antibiotics and vaccines to eradicate disease; to replace the modern petro-chemical industry through the design of entirely new fuels, and to literally bio-design new species that enable bio-remediation and address the range of environmental challenges. Venter seems to have created an expedited version of the Cambrian stew in his laboratory and its inspiring and terrifying to imagine the possibilities that might result, intentionally or inadvertantly, from his path-breaking work. - Venter has flabbergasted audiences when, in response to a question about whether he is "playing God," he doesn't miss a beat by responding, "We are not playing." At the same time, he concluded his remarks with a twinge of anxiety, explaining that he believes it's crucial to push forward with his work before the desire for "DNA-free" food in Europe or techno-skeptics will prevent science from solving the great problems facing humanity.
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  • Date: Feb 28 2008
  • Posted by andrewprice

• Carpool...of Bodily Fluids

  In an effort to crack down on wily commuters who skirt the laws of England's multi-passenger-only lanes by placing mannequins in the shotgun seat or fixing photographs to the windshield, the British government is instituting new roadside cameras that detect the amount of blood and other bodily fluids in each car. The enforcement devices send an infrared beam through the windshield of vehicles and measure the "unique make-up of blood and water content in human skin" to verify the appropriate number of passengers. Guess it's about time to start taking the family dog to work.
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  • Date: Feb 25 2008
  • Posted by danielriley