Remember Transformers? No, not Megan Fox! I’m talking about those awesome robots that go about during the light of day under clever disguises pretending to be cars and whatnot. If you desire to have one of your own then remember what they say about wishes; you probably already have a robot right under your nose, disguised as a pillow cover. If you don’t believe me then just ask Croatian artist Robert Matysiak.

This humongous robot fan woke up one morning to find these cute little robot elves running around on his worktable with all kinds of electrical supplies and building an army of robots. Robert found that each of these electrical robots standing at 15cm to 50cm could work as table lamps, some of them could even light two or three bulbs! Whether you believe my story of the elf-robots, or Robert’s story that he designed and built them over several years, you have to admit that these RoboLamps are beyond cool.

Right now there seem to be 20 different RoboLamps and Robert is ready to sell them all. If you are not afraid of being slaughtered by your bedside lamp when asleep then order one for yourself soon. Check them all out at robot-Robert’s Facebook page.

Via: Pocket-Lint

The bad publicity surrounding T-Mobile appears to be never ending. Barely a month after customers made complaints for having lost contacts, photos, and calendar entries, on T-Mobile’s Sidekick devices, thousands more  suffered difficulty while making voice calls and sending text messages. The bad news for T-Mobile was only just beginning; it has just been announced that staff at the company sold personal data of thousands of customers to third parties.

Staff at the UK company sold millions of personal records of customers to third parties without the knowledge of the company. The breach was made apparent when these customers were then informed, by the third parties, that their contracts were about to expire. According to Christopher Graham, UK’s Information Commissioner, this is the biggest breach of the kind by far and the employees responsible for selling the records would be prosecuted.

The news comes at a time when T-Mobile is attempting to merge with Orange; if the merge went on as planned it would land T-Mobile with a bigger market portion than O2 and Vodafone. Meanwhile, the T-Mobile employees who committed the breach have been identified and could face nearly $10,000 in fines.

Via: TheTechHerald

Our emotions for everyday necessary objects like furniture or clothes are far from showing awe. Though everyone knows these lifeless pieces to be vital and consider them almost impossibly to live without, they remain out of our consciousness, something that we deal with without truly thinking about or respecting.

Take a look into the works of Neri Oxman and all that would change for you in an instant. This designer from MIT, currently teaching ad pursuing her PhD there, may have been a medical scholar who gave up the med world for that of designing but she does not believe in completely giving up on things she learnt. Neri’s designs are inspired by everything in life; her design of a chair that changed shape with the user has been likened to a lover. Neri has shown the desire to make clothes that grow with the wearer and the designing of building without the angular lines seen today.

What makes Neri’s designs so amorous is not just her inspirations for these designs but the fact that her beauty and her deeply pleasant personality, zest for life and love for anything artistic, becomes obvious in the object. In essence, it is not the concept behind the design but Neri’s special touch that appears to give each the awe-factor that sets it apart. Currently, her works aren’t available commercially but can be viewed at the MoMa museum and the Boston Museum of Science, or check out MaterialEcology, founded by Neri.

Via: Esquire

Christmas and the New Year is just a month away and you all know what that means, parties! That’ when all the supposed teetotalers and social drinkers of the world unite to get indecently drunk and then find they can’t manage to climb up two steps of stair. That’s why Ruth Amos invented the StairSteady.

Leaving aside the seriously addicted amongst us, most people wouldn’t need the help of another individual or an apparatus to climb up the stairs. Those who have difficulty, whether due to the advancement of age or a medical condition, find that it isn’t very easy to install a lift in a house. The StairSteady is a simple handle that can be attached to the wall side of the stairs and can easily be folded away when not in use or when not needed.

Designed by Ruth Amos when she was just 16 and commercially produced now from her company StairSteady Ltd., the concept of the StairSteady is extremely simplistic. It would aid a number of people who cannot face the stairs and have trouble walking up even with the help of the banister. Plus, it’s perfect for stairs without banisters.

Via: Makezine

Travelling by air isn’t that very difficult because all you have to do is buy a ticket and be at the airport on time. The stress upon the pilots and the flight controller, on the other hand, is nearly toxic. To prevent colliding with other planes, and birds, in the air, pilots have to rely upon data from radars and live visibility. This is often not possible in the case of bad weather conditions and the best option remains maintaining an extremely safe distance between planes (whilst in air) and flights (during takeoff).

Attempting to take aviation service to the next level, and to keep up with the steady rise in demand, a new automatic surveillance system has been designed by the Federal Aviation Administration. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) uses GPS for navigation and is a part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System. Shortened to NextGen, the ADS-B displays via satellite the weather conditions in the area, the location of airports on the ground, and the location of other planes in the air (including those that are dependent on ADS-B).

The use of the GPS enabled ADS-B would make it possible for pilots to fly the craft even in zero visibility, keep track of other aircrafts in the same area and would not need the constant help of the flight controllers on ground making each flight less strenuous for both parties involved as well as increasing the safety of everyone.

Via: NYTimes

The planet may not be hospitable for very long if humans continue to abuse it, the way we have been doing for the past several decades. Taking the eco friendly path has become more than just a safe option or a way to save money, it’s even in style. So, whether you choose to be one of the elite or just someone looking to cut short your power bills, the SolarClover would sure appeal to you.

Created by Armageddon Energy, the SolarClover is a three-leafed power saver that will bring you tons of good luck (at least when it’s time to pay the power bill). The clovers are made of a triangular frame made from a Teflon medium, micro inverter and three lightweight silicon hexagonal solar panels. Setting up each SolarClover would only take a few minutes and the whole thing weighs less than 13 pounds so transferring them from one place to another would be a piece of cake.

Each SolarClover generates about 400 watts which wuld contribute to slashing off a huge amount from the power bills. Forget that, think about how much the environment would be thanking you every minute.

Via: ArmageddonEnergy

Marriage is often referred to as a dead institution because the most basic tenets of a marriage are not fulfilled today. Most people would advice you that it is a pure waste of time, a trap, a merely temporary legal binding between two individuals who would eventually lose their freedom (as well as their state of mind). Whether the idea of a marriage fills you with a warm glow or encourages your up-chuck reflex, it remains a fact that in all societies, civilized and primitive, marriage still remains one of the most basic rights awarded to every human being.

Or is it? Every culture and every religion will tell you that marriage is the binding of two souls, the next step to a relationship, barring all the differences that arise from religion, race, and what not. And yet, millions of individuals in this so-called modern world of ours are denied this right to celebrate their love because of something as simple and unimportant as their sexuality. The fight between LGBT/gay friendly people and homophobic for equal marriage rights to all is at a critical point and the support of every individual is needed. Pledge your support today with White Knot for equal marriage rights.

White Knot is a US-based non-profit organization founded by Frank Voci a year ago to battle Proposition 8 which restricted the legal definition of marriage to one occurring only between a man and woman. The work of the organization, and the White Knots, has spread to the rest of the world as it celebrates a year of service. The White Knot symbolizes marriage and wearing one is a proud declaration that you support this noble cause and intend to do your best to spread the message and educate as many people in the attempt to create a truly impartial and unbiased world. Whether you have rainbow dreams or are a well-wisher of the community, get yourself a White Knot and show people that you care enough to look beyond a person’s sexual preference.

The White Knot site has a host of information on how you can spread the word, live news related to SSM laws, links to other similar dedicated sites, stories of gay weddings (and straight gay-friendly weddings!), and lots more. If the desire to be true to yourself and do the right thing hits you, then join the White Knot organization, become their fan on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. You can make a difference in someone’s life, take the step in the right direction today.

Via: WhiteKnot

Some actresses, no matter how sexy or famous, have to be seen in several films before they make a strong enough impression on the audience’s mind to never be forgotten, and then, very rarely, someone like Rachel McAdams comes along and you know that seeing her just once is enough to make her one of your most favourite actresses.

Beauty and talent are the milder terms with which one can describe Rachel. She is sensual, yet innocent in a way that makes you want to watch out for her and take care of her; even so, as you sit in a darkened movie theatre and watch as the whole place is lit by her smile, you sense that you are in the presence of an exceptional woman. Rachel first shot to fame from the 2004 movie Mean Girls which had Lindsay Lohan in the lead. The Notebook which came out later that year solidified her status as an actress and a celebrity. Her on-screen chemistry with co-star Ryan Gosling spilled over into her real life and they eventually dated for quite a few years.

The following year was just as good for Rachel as the release of three big movies, Wedding Crashers, Red Eye, and Family Stone, saw her in varied roles that put her in romance, drama, and action genres. In each of these movies (especially Red Eye), Rachel McAdams stole the screen space from her co-stars and appeared to completely dominate the audience’s interest with much élan, almost without effort.

As amazing an actress as she is, Rachel McAdams may come across as the girl-next-door type and yet she is so much more. Extremely concerned about the environment, she usually takes a bus or cycles in an effort to save gas; she even co-founded a green website, GreenIsSexy. Rachel’s latest movie, Sherlock Holmes, which releases on the 25th of December will see her playing the role of Irene, the only woman that ever outsmarted Holmes and even managed, perhaps, to gain his heart.

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When Maggie Gyllenhaal made her first appearance in father Stephen Gyllenhaal’s Waterland in 1992, she was only 15 years old and more desirable than most guys could hope for. Over the years and through the many amazing performances that Maggie has delivered, her attractiveness and raw sexuality may have been subtly hidden away because of her preference for choosing slightly quirky roles that cast her as erotica-obsessed, deranged, un-ladylike or ill-fitted in society, but her appeal as an actress and a woman has only increased over the years.

Maggie appeared with actor-brother Jake Gyllenhaal of Brokeback fame in the movie Donnie Darko which was perhaps her first claim to fame. A year later, Secretary released and Maggie’s portrayal of a mentally disturbed woman who enjoyed a sado-masochistic relationship with her employer further elevated her to the status of actresses one could never forget. Provocative and something of a neo-feminist, her personality is possibly least concealed in the movie Mona Lisa Smile in which she played out-of-control Giselle Levy.

Attempting to break the mould she had created for herself, Maggie chose to go mainstream by playing Rachel Dawes in the hugely successful movie The Dark Knight and though she wouldn’t like it much, this maybe the role that Maggie would be most remembered for. The actress has a 3 year old daughter with husband Peter Saarsgard (remember Jarhead?) but even motherhood hasn’t changed this temptress into the type of quiet and obliging woman that society expects them to be. Strangely, although she is the more sexy and talented of the two, Maggie Gyllenhaal remains lesser known when compared to brother Jake but hopefully all that will change when Crazy Heart comes out next year!

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Japan is one of the most fashionable countries in the world. Rich in culture and heritage, the country is far from being a foreigner to awesome buildings and anything electronic that makes people go wow. It’s often whispered amongst those who envy these people that the Japs can turn anything into a fashion statement, and perhaps they are not wrong.

There aren’t many products around today that don’t come with a barcode but no matter how vital and awesome the product, the barcode which carries all the essential info about the product is contracted into a boring little box of slim and fat black lines. Not in the land of fashionable Japan, though. Barcode Evolution is a company that doesn’t just create custom made barcodes for products but has given life and an amusing yet human touch to something that has, since its inception, been considered as machine language. Established in 2005, the company started off catering to a mostly Japanese clientele but design company is expanding its horizons to the rest of the world now.

Getting one of these stylish barcodes would cost $1,500 for the design plus $200 a year for the license and a custom made barcode costs $4,000 and more. If you’re thinking of launching a new product and wondering how to get the edge over your competitors, contact D-Barcode asap!

Via: FastCompany