Cubes aren't usually the go-to shape when creating an object that's meant to move around, but researchers in Switzerland have created one that can do just that — along with a handful of other surprising talents. Called the Cubli, it measures nearly 6 inches on each side and can walk around by continually flipping itself over. Perhaps more impressively, it can also balance on any of its sides or even just a single corner. As the research team from ETH Zurich's Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control demonstrates in a video, the cube can even remain balanced while a surface is raised up at an angle beneath it. http://vrge.co/1gKKrX7
Design
Mac Pro /
It's astonishingly reflective — I can see the screen clearly, and anyone who walks by is immediately recognizable — and it picks up fingerprints really easily. But it's beautiful, understated, and looks great on a desk next to the 4K Sharp monitor we've paired it with. It's particularly good-looking with its case off, exposing the Mac Pro's machinery, but the case is required to dissipate heat. You can't even use the Mac Pro with it off...
Square launches thinner credit card reader with better swiping accuracy /
Square is today shrinking down its iconic credit card reader with a new design that's thinner and more accurate than the original. After teasing a pending announcement yesterday, Square has made the latest revision of its hugely popular card reader official. The new design is 45 percent thinner than the original, essentially matching the thickness of an iPhone 5S. Square says that it's also enhanced swiping accuracy on the new model — which required replacing a number of existing components with custom-designed parts... http://vrge.co/J735L0
The War For Your Wrist /
The past decade has seen the consumer electronics war grow more furious and more personal: your living room is a battlefield, as are your desks and your pockets. Now, more than a year-and-a-half since the Pebble (née Allerta) team saw its e-Paper smartwatch concept shatter a $100,000 Kickstarter funding goal, gadget purveyors of all stripes are vying for a spot on your wrist. http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/08/the-war-for-your-wrist/?
Meet The First Flexible Smartphone /
The moment you’ve all been waiting for it here — possibly. LG Electronics has rolled out what it says is the first mobile device that can be bent out of shape or pressed flat onto a desk. It’s a neat party trick, but LG along with that other flexi-phone frontrunner Samsung, will be carefully watching how consumers take these devices up before spending more to make them bend any further.
The world's most elegant physical activity monitor /
The Misfit Shine is, in a word, gorgeous, like a sci-fi movie prop from a Minority Report future. It’s clear that many people want to exercise and look good at the same time- witness high-end yoga pants and other accessories. But most folks are resigned to a dongle, a hunk of plastic or an unappealing watch, because they are simple and effective and easy to understand. The disc-shaped Shine upends these conventions, and is certainly the most stylish activity monitor that we’ve seen. http://www.misfitwearables.com
The Psychology Behind Information Dashboards /
With data-driven decisions gradually becoming the norm in every industry, the information dashboard has an important role. With its interactive and intuitive interface and its ability to visualize data in a single screen, it’s becoming a critical tool in the hands of the business user. Moreover, the information dashboard is also making its way into apps used by laypeople for managing day-to-day activities like budget tracking and fitness management...
http://uxmag.com/articles/the-psychology-behind-information-dashboards
How much does it cost to build the world’s hottest startups? /
Could $100,000 and the right developer skills make you an overnight billionaire? How much does it really take to build a product like Twitter or Instagram? With mobile development agencies and product incubators on the rise and more corporate “labs” spinning out each day, there’s no shortage of talent to help you build the next great Web or mobile app.
http://thenextweb.com/dd/2013/12/02/much-cost-build-worlds-hottest-startups
Hands-on with Jolla /
Jolla, a splinter group of former Nokia employees, has taken on the task of keeping the N9's legacy going. It's a project that immediately engenders goodwill through its refusal to simply abandon all that good work in favor of economic practicalities — but that same bravado is also what makes it distinctly utopian. A small and unheralded startup aims to succeed where the formerly giant and resource-rich Nokia didn't dare tread... http://vrge.co/1goJyAG
From A Breakthrough Museum... /
THE REINVENTED CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART IS A CASE STUDY IN BLENDING THE PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL WORLDS, THANKS TO BRILLIANT WORK BY LOCAL PROJECTS Museums today compete for attention in a wildly difficult environment: If you’re a youngster, why stare at a Greek urn when you could blow one up in a video game? One institution thinking deeply about the challenge is the Cleveland Museum of Art, which this month unveiled a series of revamped galleries, designed by Local Projects, which feature cutting-edge interactivity. But the technology isn’t the point. "We didn’t want to create a tech ghetto," says David Franklin, the museum’s director. Adds Local Projects founder Jake Barton, "We wanted to make the tech predicated on the art itself."
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671845/5-lessons-in-ui-design-from-a-breakthrough-museum
The Office Chair For iPhone And iPad Users /
One of my regrets when moving from sunny Barcelona to chilly Leipzig was that I couldn’t ring my Steelcase Leap chair, which despite its ugly blue leather squab and back is the best chair I’ve ever sat in. Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/254898/steelcase-gesture-the-office-chair-for-iphone-and-ipad-users/#GF7hfJWv5Sk98vJu.99