Free Academic Lectures from Top Universities

Posted: Friday 3 Jul 2009, under category Ideas

Here is another example of the democratizing effect of the internet, Academic Earth provides streaming online lectures from top U.S. universities such as Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale. All of the content is free, and the goal of the site is to allow anyone, anywhere, access to high quality education. The videos contain full lectures and are organized into playlists so that you can follow a single professors lectures as if you were attending the course. There are now available some 1500 lectures and more are being added every day.

So, anyone feel like going back to school?

Sign of the Times: A Textspeak Translator

Posted: Thursday 2 Jul 2009, under category Ideas

Textspeak, the language of text-messenging used primarily by teens, is often undecipherable to anyone under the age of 21. Sure, we all know by now LOL or OMG, but how many of us know WDALYIC? (Answer: Who died and left you in charge?). DTXTR is glossary for parents or anyone else who wants to understand teen texting, you just enter the the text and it provides the translation. The glossary is a database that anyone can update, and looking through it I wonder how many of these are actually used, though I was gratified to see among the entries the Miltonic "FF&PN" for "Fresh Fields and Pastures New", who says technology is destroying literary culture (though the actual line is "Fresh woods and pastures new")? I was, however, a bit disappointed to see that the glossary tends to shy away from vulgarities, such an important part of textspeak, and surely among the thing that non-texters and parents would be most curious to know. WTF?, I say.

Tip: Cool Business Ideas

A New Kind of Search Engine

Posted: Thursday 2 Jul 2009, under category Ideas

Now that Google has emerged as the clear winner the search engine sector it is difficult to imagine any real challengers emerging. This does not mean that there is not more room for innovation though, and Spezify offers a whole new idea on the search engine. Instead of just presenting the search results in an ordered, textual way, the results are presented in a collage of various visual ways texts, images, videos, and more. The collection of results extends on each side of your browser, giving you a literal "overview" of your search inquiry. I don't think it will be dethroning Google anytime soon, but it is a lot of fun and surprisingly refreshing, I was so used to doing searches on Google that I had never thought of doing it a different way.

Fake Receipts

Posted: Thursday 2 Jul 2009, under category Ideas

Reciepts just aren't what they used to be. FalseExpense.com prints accurate fake receipts, fully customized with the necessary personal information, for nearly any purchase. Though the site has a "for novelty use only" disclaimer, it is easy to think of plenty of dodgy uses for a fake receipts, there is however a guide of dos and don'ts (i.e. OK to use a fake hotel receipt for an alibi, not OK to use fake receipts for insurance fraud). The design, printing, and delivery of a fke receipt will run you 39.99$.

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Niche Business: Pirate Hunting Holidays for Rich Russians

Posted: Thursday 2 Jul 2009, under category Ideas

This seems almost to incredible to be true, but apparently there is currently a Russian cruise line offering a cruise through the pirate infested waters off Somalia to wealth Russian thrillseekers. Passengers are fully armed (aboard the ship you can rent AK-47s and even a grenade launcher!) to get the macabre thrill of fighting the pirates. The 5,790$ a day price tag, if I have understood correctly, does not include the rent of the weapons, which is about 9 bucks for the Ak-47 plus an additional 12 for ammo, and 175 for the grenade launcher, which generously includes three grenades. The story is reported in the Austrian paper WirtschaftsBlatt, perhaps someone whose German is better than mine can confirm the details of the original story here.

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Turning voice messages to texts, and more

Posted: Thursday 2 Jul 2009, under category Ideas

Several months ago we published an original idea of Paolo's about an voice-to-text-message iPhone application, today I've seen that in fact someone has already created something similar, though not for the iPhone (so don't worry Paolo, you've still got a shot at fame and fortune!). SpinVox specializes in transforming voice messages to text message, using their patented Voice Message Conversion System, a combination of artificial intelligence, voice recognition and natural linguistics. The service is not limited to text messages, with SpinVox you can send voice-recorded messages as e-mails or on online messaging services like Skype, as well as save them as memos, and post them on blogs or social networks. SpinVox launched in 2005 and is now operating throughout the world in five different languages.

Fun Products for the Unemployed

Posted: Thursday 25 Jun 2009, under category Ideas

These pins are designed as fun little gifts for the those who have lost their jobs due to the recession, but have managed to maintain a sense of humor about it. They were created by designer Irina Blok as part of a project called Funemployed. In addition to the pins, Block, herself currently unemployed and searching for a job as an Art Director, makes custom t-shirts for the truly desperate with their resumes printed on them, an example after the jump:

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A New Way to Enjoy Entertainment on your TV & PC

Posted: Wednesday 24 Jun 2009, under category Ideas

Boxee's free software combines personal and Internet media with social networking. It allows you to navigate the videos, music and photos you have on your computer as well as streaming online content from websites like MLB, Netflix, Pandora, Last.fm, and Flickr on your television with a remote control. Soon you won't even need cable anymore! It is better explained visually than verbally, so check out the demo video:

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