Scribd Store June 29, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in download, ebook, scribd, store.add a comment
I’ve just noticed that Scribd offers a paid download service in a similar manner to iTunes. I’ve been a fan of Scribd for a fair while now. The main reasons are:
- It allows you to embed articles in a blog which are well formatted and more magazine-like.
- It gives me a real sense of how popular (or unpopular) my articles are, because Scribd has a social networking element whereby users can add your documents to their favourites, and say whether or not they like them or not.
- It’s another way of letting people access my writing.
I think the store holds a lot of promise. I remember when Metal Gear Solid 4 was being released last year, and I really wanted it, but couldn’t justify the cost. So my scheme was to get the game on the release date, and quickly create a walk-through guide, which I would somehow sell….
What ultimately put me off was the sticky issue of copyright. My walk-through guide would’ve been pretty hopeless without screenshots, and other images, which were protected by copyright. It might’ve been permissible if I just posted it on my blog, but I was trying to make money from it, so obviously this wasn’t an option.
Scribd would’ve been appealing, especially since I could’ve made money from downloads. But if I’d posted the walk-through guide, along with the images, then it would’ve been breaking the law.
I know about issues of copyright, but only because I’ve researched it; another person mightn’t be quite so aware. This is my main point: how will such a system work? Does existing copyright make it untenable?
I believe it will work for authors, and it could work exceedingly well. But for creators of graphic works, which either reference or use existing works, the result is a legal mess.
I will watch what happens with keen interest.
(Almost) finished bike June 7, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in Imperial College London, electric motor bike, tt races, ttxgp.add a comment
Here’s a photo of our electric race bike, minus a few components and a decent paint job.
Electric motorbike May 4, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in electric motor bike, rendering, renewable, ttxgp.add a comment
Here is a rendering of our electric bike. If we start getting sparks like that, then we’re in trouble!
Congratulations to Ben for putting the rendering together.
Toy fair May 3, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in design, mass consumption, new york toy fair, throw away, toys.add a comment
I was browsing the Core77 website, and came across coverage of the New York Toy Fair. I couldn’t believe how much rubbish was on display. We have to start questioning ourselves as designers and as consumers ‘Is this the kind of thing we want our children playing with?’ In an age of mass consumption and with a rampant throw away culture it seems crazy to familiarise children at an early age with cheap, throw away products.
Philippe Stark May 2, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in design, evolution, philippe stark, ted.add a comment
An interesting talk by Philip Stark; somebody who’s designs I’d never had much sympathy with before. The main crux of the talk is humanity’s continuing evolution, and how design can play a part in that.
Richard Seymour May 2, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in design, pragmatic, richard seymour, video, virgin galactic.add a comment
This man makes a lot of sense. He is pragmatic, and straight talking, which is a breath of fresh air in the world of design.
Paula Scher: Serious Play April 25, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in ideo, innovation, paula scher, play, serious play.add a comment
Why are kids more creative than adults? Are they predisposed to be this way? Is it the fact that they have fewer responsibilities? Evidence is increasingly pointing towards play as being the major distinguishing factor.
After a certain age, for whatever reason, play becomes less socially acceptable. “Grow up!” someone might say, or “act your age!”
But play is the way we engage with the world, the way we see how it works, how it breaks, and when it hurts.
I think we all know this, but few of us allow ourselves the chance to play, especially in our work lives. However, there are two notable exceptions who’ve spoken out in favour of play. Firstly there’s IDEO, the California based design consultancy, where play is essential to what they do. The ‘IDEO way’ emphasises play, and free experimentation, and this is a key contributor to its position as one of the most innovative companies in the world.
Another proponent of play is Paula Scher, the legendary graphic designer. She appeared at the TED conference, and spoke on the the issue of ’serious play’, and it is one of the most articulate and well crafted arguments that I’ve ever encountered.
Muji Design Award April 25, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in competition, design, jasper morrison, muji, naoto fukasawa, straw straw, supernormal.add a comment
I was browsing the website for the upcoming Objectified film, and came across a link to the Muji Design Award 03. This year’s theme was Found, “from nature; knowledge from those that came before us; from one’s own unique culture.” I’ve never seen a design competition where the entrants respond so well to the brief, by making products that display the correct qualities, whilst maintaining the purity of the Muji design aesthetic.
The winner was the “straw straw”, literally a drinking straw made out of straw. It seems so blatantly obvious, but this is part of its charm. Straw is the perfect material in many ways, particularly from an environmental standpoint, but in an age of mass production where plastics are convenient and abundant, this traditional material has been neglected.
Two of the judges were Naoto Fukasawa and Jasper Morrison, who are proponents of ‘Supernormal‘ design, where a product doesn’t rely on aesthetic flourishes to justify it’s design credentials, but rather it is the synthesis of materials, human needs and simplicity which determines its value. On all of these counts, the straw straw is a triumph.
Fast Charging Lithium Batteries April 14, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in Electric, MIT, batteries, car, engineering, fast discharge, lithium ion, vehicle.add a comment
It isn’t common for a piece of research to show such immediate promise, but a recent paper published in Nature has certainly bucked the trend. An MIT Materials Professor and his graduate research assistant have discovered a way to charge and discharge lithium phosphate batteries at unprecedented rates.
Lithium phosphate cells use a liquid electrolyte, which should permit the fast transport of lithium ions from the anode to the cathode under charging conditions (according to computer models). However, the rates seen in real cells are considerably slower. What accounts for this is the behaviour of the lithium ions as they approach the cathode surface. If a lithium ion is immediately next to a channel in the cathode material, then it moves immediately into the vacancy. However, if no such channel is near by, the lithium ion takes a considerable amount of time to move to one.
The MIT researchers applied a lithium phosphate glass to the cathode which allows lithium ions to be quickly conducted across the cathode surface and into a vacancy. This has a drastic effect on charging and discharge rates, with a test cell taking between 10 and 20 seconds to completely charge or discharge, compared to six minutes for existing cells of the same chemistry.
This means that electric vehicles could potentially be charged in a matter of minutes, if the grid could supply such high currents. Furthermore, the power density of the cells is increased drastically. This has been a problem with lithium cells in the past; although they have high energy density, their ability to rapidly change to load requirements has been lacking. This is why most hybrids, including the Toyota Prius, use Nickel Metal Hydride cells (NiMH). It can be envisaged that cars with these new cells would have acceleration comparable to modern day super-cars.
And the final thing which makes this discovery so exciting: it uses a battery chemistry which is already reaching pre-eminence in electric vehicle applications. The reason lithium phosphate is so popular is that it’s inherently safe when compared to other lithium chemistries such as lithium cobalt oxide, which can deteriorate to form oxygen gas, which is of course highly explosive. Furthermore, it displays almost 100% depth of discharge, without irrevocably damaging the cells.
This is certainly disruptive technology, because it dismantles one of the main arguments put forward by pro-oil lobbyists: namely, that petrol and diesel cars are superior because they can be refilled so easily. But now it seems as if electric cars could be recharged in just a few minutes, which makes their adoption look more and more inevitable.
