iPad 2 shows off its HDTV gaming prowess

Posts by Kelly
From http://www.intomobile.com/

With the launch of the iPad 2, Apple unveiled a new Digital AV adapter that takes content from your tablet device and lets you send it to your HDTV via HDMI. The dongle is compatible both the iPad and the iPad 2, but its functionality is boosted by Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR SGX 543MP2 GPU on Apple’s second generation tablet device. While the original Apple iPad lets you stream videos and photos from your tablet to your HDTV, the iPad 2 lets you mirror content. Mirroring lets you send anything displayed on your tablet over to your HDTV. Mirrored content can include presentations, documents, photos and even games.
The folks over at TouchGen took a closer look at this mirroring functionality and were impressed with its capability. Games optimized for the second generation Apple iPad, like Infinity Blade and Real Racing 2, were ported to a 50-inch HDTV with surprising clarity and speed. They claim it is console quality and people would not know the game was coming from an Apple tablet instead of an Xbox 360 or PS 3. The only drawback is the 4:3 ratio of the tablet output that is letter-boxed on the large screen TV.
Thanks to some video work from TouchGen, you can check out these games in action below. With the souped up graphics and dual-core processor of this latest tablet offering, is Apple narrowing the gap between mobile gaming and console gaming?

[Via TouchGen]

Almost invisible mirrored tree house built in Sweden

By Lloyd Alter, TreeHugger
From: http://green.yahoo.com/

They said it couldn't be done. When we first wrote about the almost invisible tree house to be built in Sweden by Tham & Videgard, 899 commenters thought it was computer-generated eye candy, impossible to build, and death for birds.

But the architects built it, one of six units in a "Treehotel," which recently opened 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Sweden.

The four-meter glass cube looks as spectacular in reality as it did in the rendering. Kent Lindvall, co-owner of the TreeHotel, has been quoted as saying:

Everything will reflect in this -- the trees, the birds, the clouds, the sun, everything. So it should be invisible nearly in the forest.

And what about the birds? According to Designboom, Lindvall says that a special film that is visible to birds will be applied to the glass.

The units are constructed from sustainably harvested wood and have electric radiant floor heating and "a state-of-the-art, eco-friendly, incineration toilet"

(Although I've owned an incinerating toilet, and it wasn't that eco-friendly. It used a lot of electricity and created noise and some smells. But perhaps they've improved.)

But other than that minor quibble, this appears to be a truly "eco" resort. The owners say in Designboom:

"This is untouched forest, and we want to maintain it the same way. We decided, for example, to not offer snowmobile safari which is very common up here," says Selberg. Instead, wilderness walks will be offered.

Where do I sign up?

All photos courtesy of Tham & Videgard.

16 Mesmerizing Mirrors with Radical Reflections

Written by Mike

Whether polished obsidian, bronze or metal-backed-glass, we have been gazing at our reflection for thousands of years. Still, mirrors are somewhat behind the times when it comes to creative and off-the-wall modern furniture designs. But while mirror mirror on the wall still holds true in most cases (we have yet to think of a better place for it), designers have never been more playful at exploring new design concepts in mirror-making. Here are 16 unique examples of new mirror designs that one would expect to find lurking with Alice in Through the Looking Glass. Want more funky designs? Click here for 90 amazing houses to hang these in or here for more geeky art to gawk at.

Images: Daniel Rozin.

Whatever a mirror is made from, it has to be reflective, surely? Not if you think laterally. Daniel Rozin’s creations get around non-reflectivity by interpreting the image from an outward-facing camera and converting it into subtle changes in an array of small side-lit objects - in effect, pixels. The result is mirroring made from wooden blocks, wooden pegs, ball-bearings and even lumps of trash. See the wooden mirror at work here (Quicktime required).

Images: Will Gurley.

Converting the humble wall-mirror into something rarely seen outside a funfair, the Flect Magic Mirror warps and contorts when you run the magnetic “magic wand” over it. When you have finished twisting your reflection hither and thither, remove the wand and the mirror springs back into shape. All the fun of “breaking” a mirror without the seven years of bad luck.

Images: Philippe Starck and Juanco.

What else can a mirror be? Here are two designs that reflect on this problem. Philippe Starck evidently believes that it can be a set of shelving that subtly encourages you to tidy up after yourself. Juanco’s mirror has a built-in tape measure, neatly stepping around the need for another person in the room when you want to check exactly how tall you are in your new shoes.

Image: Get Organized!

Seeing yourself head-on is all very well, but hair-styles wrap around. A sensible alternative to awkwardly working a hand mirror behind your head is this 360 Degree Mirror - except it’s only 180 degrees, and surely they’ve got their reflections mixed up there? However, no denying it is a great concept.

Images: Claire Requa Design and Iggloo.

One theme, two perspectives. On the left we have the Chandelier Mirror, adding a touch of Phantom of the Opera to your decor. And on the right, its mirror-image, the Mirror Chandelier - a pendant lamp that wouldn’t fail to stun if it was surrounded by candles or positioned to catch firelight.

Images: Afroditi Krassa and Domestic.

Convention dictates that a mirror is a single unbroken surface. Evidently these designers don’t hold much truck with convention. Afroditi Krassa works with mirrored sculptures, working mirrors into images of her design to hold images of yours. Alternately, this mirror from Inside IDSland appears to be cascading gently off the wall like a giant, feather-like Slinky.

Images: Bytrico and Artecnica.

For traditional single-surface wall mirrors, there are two directions to go. The Wipe Mirror goes down the quirky route, simulating what you’re forced to do when the mirror’s too fogged up to be useful. The stunningly clean-lined Dog Head mirror from TranSglass® seeks otherworldly sophistication, looking less manufactured than CGI-rendered.

Images: Soner Ozenc and Oregon Scientific.

Mirrors for the geekily-minded. A tribute to the maddeningly addictive puzzle game by Alexey Pajitnov, the Tetris Mirror will have you whistling that theme tune as you brush your hair - and Oregon Scientific’s grandly-titled Mirror Weather Station will be able to tell you the likelihood of whether you will need a coat to two decimal places.

Images: Physorg and Lumisource.

So what is next for mirrors? Most likely, they turn into windows. Thanks to nifty technology developed in Japan, what appears to be simple plate glass can become a mirrored surface at the flick of a switch, via the introduction of either oxygen or hydrogen into a layer between glass sheets. As well as a breakthrough in the techniques of keeping sunlit buildings cool, it’s a whole new world of mirrors. Although we cannot be sure, we are presuming the Allure mirror is one such example - from a few feet away it appears to be an array of glowing lights, but get within sensor-range (around 18 inches) and suddenly there you are, staring right back…