World's first 3D office photocopier launches

Photosimile: the world’s first “office photography machine”

By Alan Brandon

From: http://www.gizmag.com/

The Ortery Photosimile 5000 desktop photography studio

Image Gallery (6 images)

Imagine if you could take professional-looking photos and create 3D product animations as easily as using the office copier. Ortery’s Photosimile 5000 system aims to bring that capability to the office by enabling even non-photographers to create high-quality images just by pressing a few buttons. The Photosimile 5000 is a PC-controlled desktop photography studio that integrates a light box, a DSLR camera, automated camera positioning, and specialized workflow software to simplify and automate business photography.

High-quality images are a powerful part of a company’s web presence and marketing collateral. Ortery's desktop studios are designed to make it easy to create professional-looking product photos for use on web sites, in print, and in email for daily business communications. Crisp, well lit images are essential for ecommerce websites, and the Photosimile 5000 adds the ability to produce 3D, 360-degree product animations as well.

The camera and light box connect to a PC using USB. The Photosimile 5000 software controls the studio, camera location, turntable movement, camera settings, picture taking, and post processing. Simply place an item inside the light box then compose your image using the preview, zoom, and crop commands in the software. With one click, the picture automatically downloads to the PC.

Often the difference between professional photography and amateur work is the lighting. The Photosimile 5000 starts by providing consistent, even lighting for shadow-free images and accurate color. The system uses four daylight bulbs providing 6500K illumination. The Photosimile 5000 also includes a Canon DSLR mounted on a mechanical track. You control the position, tilt, and zoom from the PC. The subject of your photo sits on an Ortery turntable, which the company also offers separately. For 360-degree imaging, the camera position is controlled automatically. The Photosimile can accommodate objects up to roughly 22in. (56cm) on each side. For 3D images the maximum size is somewhat smaller.

The Photosimile 5000 synchronizes the position of the turntable and camera to photograph objects from multiple angles in one or more planes. The combination of the turntable and the mechanical track allow the Photosimile 5000 to shoot up to 72 pictures per 360-degree rotation, at nine unique angles from 0 to 90 degrees. The resulting images can be automatically stitched together to create 360-degree product animations. These 3D views can be saved as GIF or Flash files, or exported to Ortery’s Real3D format. Real3D allows you to compose 3D Silverlight animations with mouse control and zoom capabilities. Ortery says the software can combine images to create 360-degree spherical or hemispherical or animations.

The Photosimile 5000 software controls every aspect of the studio including the camera settings, the camera positioning, turntable movement, picture taking, and image post-processing. The software displays a real-time live preview while you compose your picture with the preview, zoom, and crop controls. The software also provides a complete workflow for annotating, masking, and batch processing files including naming, resizing, watermarking, and saving.

Although the system was unveiled in 2008, Ortery recently announced that the Photosimile 5000 is now shipping. Ortery doesn't list pricing, but at least one dealer on the Internet lists the Photosimile at around US$17000.

For more information and some cool 3D samples, visit Ortery technologies at ortery.com.

Office in the middle of the forest

By: TBR

Talk about environment friendly place for firms and offices. On the other hand imagine all the fresh air and peace you can get while working, no traffic, no air pollution, etc. You can surely expand your mind, creativity and motivation while working in these circumstances. While we are at it, this family is living in a cave

The DIY Cheapskate Laptop Stand

Some uber creative folks have come up with ways to make $20 laptop stands out of IKEA BENJAMIN stools and wire mesh file organizers, but who has $20 to spare nowadays? Also, anyone with access to a pile of books, a shoebox, or a CD spindle is capable of turning these everyday items into super cheap laptop stands, but where’s the ingenuity in that?

Instead, check out the three creative and inexpensive laptop stand solutions offered below; all are cheap to build—less than $10 or free in some cases—and all can be used to help save your neck when it comes to proper home office ergonomics. Anyway, lets get down to business.

The DIY Cardboard Laptop Stand

Yale Student Tim Xu is a self-proclaimed dabbler and technophile. Not only does his cardboard laptop stand raise his MacBook’s screen to a comfortable viewing height, but it also sports a few integrated cutouts to help hide cable clutter. As far as the idea behind the stand, Tim states “No real inspiration, really, besides utility. I drew some plans up during lunch one day and I just went through with it.”

Creating your own stand from the photo above shouldn’t be too difficult; it appears all you need is four interlocking cardboard pieces sized to fit your laptop’s base and cut to your desired height, then arranged into an isosceles trapezoid.

• PROS: The design is simple and the material is cheap, especially if you utilize any extra cardboard you have lying around. Also, the stand should be pretty stable and sturdy as long as you use corrugated cardboard; a material that most shipping boxes are made of. Last but not least, cardboard can be composted and recycled depending on the recycling facilities in your neck of the woods.
• CONS: Aside from having some plain looking cardboard furniture in your workspace, I can’t really think of many drawbacks to this design.

The DIY Cheapskate Laptop Stand

I was inspired by Tim’s laptop stand and wanted something that could raise my laptop screen by 8″ and not show too much cardboard. The final result is a stand that is partially hidden by the laptop’s keyboard and takes up a small amount of desktop space. Although this stand has held up well under constant use, I wouldn’t recommend leaving your laptop on it unattended! I’ve included some instructions below if you’re interested in building your own, or you can download a PDF of the instructions by clicking here.

UPDATE (11/18/06): I received a few requests from the commentators on Instructables.com to provide printable templates, so below you will find links to the PDF instructions and printable templates.

The templates are designed for an 8.5″ by 11″ sheet of paper; turn off any options that scale the PDF and print the templates at 100%. Also, only pages three through five of the PDF template need to be printed, and be sure to consider the environment by reusing scrap sheets of paper.

- DIY Cheapskate Laptop Stand PDF Instructions
- DIY Cheapskate Laptop Stand PDF Templates

• PROS: The stand has a small desktop footprint, provides decent monitor height, and is comprised of inexpensive corrugated cardboard. Also, the cardboard can be composted and recycled depending on the recycling facilities in your neck of the woods.
• CONS: It’s not the most robust or stable stand out there, and CD/DVD slots may be obstructed if they’re located on the front of the laptop. Also, if you consider cardboard to be ugly, then it’s ugly. Last but not least, it’s not advisable to type or mouse on your laptop’s keyboard when it’s sitting on the stand.

(Email and feed subscribers, please visit the blog post to view the instructions)

The Contemporary $10 Laptop Stand

This contemporary laptop stand was created by Flickr user lazymonster, and consists of an IKEA GRUNDTAL paper towel holder ($5.99) bolted to a piece of plexiglass. Luckily for lazymonster, he had a piece of plexiglass lying around but you can also try visiting a local glass shop or hardware store to see if they have any scrap pieces you can use. The instructions for this laptop stand can be found on lazymonster’s DIY laptop stand set on Flickr.

I asked lazymonster about the design and this is what he had to say,

I guess the only thing I would do to improve it - maybe remove the spring from the metal. It can be a bit bouncy if I bump it. I probably won’t get around to it though. I received a lot of encouragement to add vent holes, but that never happened either.

• PROS: It’s a great looking design, and the stand’s footprint is tiny. There is also plenty of space to store your keyboard under the stand when not in use.
• CONS: It’s not meant for typing on when your laptop is sitting on the stand, then again what laptop stand is? Also, you’ll need access to some tools that can safely drill through stainless steel.

In Conclusion…

There are plenty of items you can use to create a decent laptop stand, and I definitely encourage you to get a laptop stand whether it’s one of the inexpensive ones featured in this post, or one of the more popular stands like the Griffin Elevator, Rain Design’s mStand, or Ergotron’s line of laptop stands. By the way, I’ve included some additional inexpensive laptop stand ideas below that I didn’t have time to write about, so be sure to check them out too!

As always, feel free to share any inexpensive and creative laptop stand ideas you may have in the comments below!

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

15 of the World’s Most Fabulous and Funky Furniture Sets

Written by Steph

Who says furniture has to be strictly utilitarian? Some furniture designers think outside the box, creating innovative, funky and sometimes strange sets that are just as eye-catching as they are functional. From tables with hidden compartments to compact dining sets that unfold like the petals of a flower, here are 15 incredibly creative sets of furniture.

Café Furniture with Compartments for Your Stuff

(image via: Crib Candy)

Don’t you hate it when you get to a café and have no place to put your handbag, umbrella, coat or other personal belongings? Kaman Tung designed this smart set of café furniture with compartments that hold your stuff, so you’ll never have to put it on the floor again. One chair has a compartment behind the seat, another has space for a laptop or briefcase in the arm and the third has a hook for coats. The table even has a shelf below the glass surface for items like keys and gloves.

Space-Saving Teak Bathroom Furniture

(images via: Trendir)

Anyone who has lived in tight quarters knows that space can sometimes come at a premium, making innovative space-saving solutions all the more important. This minimalist teak bathroom furniture set from Bristol and Bath may not look like it offers much in the way of storage upon first glance, but hidden within the wooden supports are pull-out drawers roomy enough to hold all of your toiletries.

‘Stay at My Home’ Sleep Set for Guests

(image via: DesignASYL)

With the ‘Stay at My Home’ sleep set, what looks like an ordinary side table with a blanket rolled up beneath it transforms into a full set of furniture for guests. The mattress, made of soft foam, unrolls into a comfortable bed and stored within the drawer of the table are bed linens, a pillow and a bedside lamp. The light weight of the objects gives the user freedom to move them around as desired.

KEWB Multi-Functional Living Room Set

(images via: PopGadget)

KEWB furniture is the perfect solution for rooms that you occasionally need to transform into bedrooms for guests. This compact little set turns from a side table and chair into a shelf unit, a bed or a dining table and floor cushions. It’s simple, multifunctional and inexpensive at about £319– ideal for dorms, as well.

Kraft Paper SoftSeating

(images via: Unica Home)

This kraft paper ‘softseating’ furniture set by Molo uses a flexible honeycomb structure made entirely of 50% recycled kraft paper to fan into stools, benches and loungers. And, when you’re not using it, it can easily be compressed flat and stored on a shelf. This unusual set of eco-friendly, fold-up furniture was recently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York for their permanent collection.

Livable Patio Set Livens Up Stone

(images via: Trendir)

How do you make a cold, stark stone patio feel cozy? With soft, welcoming textiles that warm up the space and make it feel inviting. This patio furniture by Paola Lenti comes in buff and beige to blend in with its surroundings, or in deep eggplant to provide a striking contrast.

Stackable Furniture for Small Spaces

(images via: The Design Blog)

With large homes getting less popular in favor of smaller, energy-efficient living spaces, stackable furniture is becoming more common – and it doesn’t have to be cheap, dorm-room quality stuff. These two sets of stacking furniture – Capsule Stacking and Golf Stacking – each transform into a set of chairs and a small table. When not in use, just stack them up again and they hardly take up any space at all.

M-cube Mobile, Modular, Multi-Functional Seating

(images via: Student Design Awards)

The M-cube is a multi-functional seating unit designed for people living in high-density housing. It adapts to irregular, narrow and small floor spaces to reduce clutter, increase spatial efficiency and furniture function. It’s super lightweight and has removable upholstery so it can be used in all different ways.

Stanislav Katz’ Brilliantly Bright Furniture Designs

(images via: Stanislav Katz)

These wild and colorful furniture designs by Stanislav Katz look like they could easily have come from a movie set with their unusual shapes and proportions. The curvy bookshelf with a built-in spot for lounging and reading is pure brilliance.

Kure Pod Dining Table & Chairs

(images via: Furniture Store Blog)

For those who lean toward extreme minimalism, the Kure table and chair set may be your ultimate dining furniture. When not in use, the Kure dining set is a giant white sphere, but when you’re ready to eat, it opens to reveal four seats, a tabletop, a lit central pillar and an umbrella-like roof with built-in lights. This design, by Fatih Can Sar?öz, is still in concept phase – but it’s an interesting one.

Wave Chaise Teenage Bedroom Set

(image via: Design Boom)

In the words of designer Roberta Rammê of Brazil, the Wave Chaise is meant to “unify beauty, comfort, and functionality” through innovative ergonomic design, intense colors and the appeal of modern technology. The chaise has built-in media storage for books and CDs, and a place to hang a flat-screen television as well as a built-in desk. Rammê says, “This concept is inspired by the values and personality of a today’s teenager and the standards generated by a global hi-tech culture of facilities, where the access to technology is cheap and easy.”

Poufman Living Room Set

(images via: Thread Mad)

The Poufman living room set by Italian company Qayot uses the retro imagery of Pac-Man video games to create seats and ottomans that fit together in various configurations. Designed as a tribute to pop culture, the Poufman set will be a favorite of nostalgic geeks.

Illuminated LED Furniture

(images via: Dvice)

The ‘Stardust’ series by Italian furniture company Meritalia uses the glow of built-in low-voltage LED lights to illuminate these sofas, pillows, armchairs and footstools. It’s extremely lightweight thanks to the packing materials-inspired design. While the set may not be most people’s cup of tea for the living room, it could be very cool for nighttime pool parties.

Furniture That Grows With Your Child

(images via: Yanko Design)

Ilo is a collection of furniture made to fit a child’s needs from infancy to the teenage years simply by rearranging its parts. Designed by Carmela Niederhauser & Nadine Grau, this bedroom set features a crib/bed as well as parts that can be transformed into desks, armoires, bookcases and more. The pieces easily snap together, making it easy to change the setup according to your child’s development.

Blooming Furniture Set

(images via: Design Launches)

The blooming flower dining table set is another concept design by Fatih Can Sar?öz. Six green chairs surrounding a simple green-and-white table gracefully open and close like the petals of a flower to unveil seating when needed and disguise it otherwise.

12 ways to pimp your office

When your office was furnished, did the shopping list go something like this:

• One desk. Gray.
• One ergonomic office chair. Black.
• One waste paper basket. Gray plastic.
• One filing cabinet. Gray.

You know - the usual stuff. Typical. Traditional. Booooooring!

I’m not going to claim that a fancy desk or a weird chair is going to magically improve your creativity and productivity - but I am damn sure, that all that sameness and eternal corporate grayness, does nothing good for your ability to come up with great new ideas.

Here are some ways to spruce up a workplace that may actually inject some color and fun into your work environment.

Got Milk?

The Milk desk is a new design to match your Apple gear with it’s white surface and rounded edges.

It lowers and raises electrically, it has ways to hide the cable clutter, and it also has four compartments at one end that can be configured for storage, trash or, yes, as an aquarium.

Partition magic

Softwall is a great way to flexibly partition a room. It’s made of paper with a felt core, and I love it because it doesn’t eat all the light in the room (if you go for the white one).

It can be twisted into just about any shape or rolled up when you don’t need it and it dampens sound more than most room partitioners. Plus it looks amazing!

The wing desk

Or how about a desk made from the wing of a DC3 plane?

The saddle chair

The starting point for the Haag Capisco is just your average, garden-variety office chair - but they’ve moved on from there. The saddle seat gives you a more erect posture and doesn’t cut of the blood flow to your legs.

The seat and back are constructed so you can sit sideways or reversed on it and still support your arms. And the whole thing tilts back into a very comfortable reclined position.

I’ve had one of these myself - they rock.

Bean bags

Bean bags look great and can be used in a million different positions. Four bags and a coffee table and you have a great meeting room!

I’m partial to the the Sumo Omni (pictured above) myself. Disclosure: They once sent me a free one to review here on the blog.

Bibliochaise

Where do you keep all your reference manuals and handbooks? Close to where you can sit and read them, of course! Meet the Bibliochaise.

Stokke Garden

It’s a tree. It’s a sculpture. It’s… I don’t know what it is, but I like it.

Since I first saw these, I’ve wanted one and only the huge price tag has kept from picking one up. It looks strange, but is actually supremely comfortable and allows you to sit/lie in many positions. I know, I’ve spent quite some time in a showroom testing one thoroughly :o)

The meeting bed.

When your business is innovation, your office can’t really look like any other corporate wasteland. London-based innovation agency ?WhatIf! know that - as evidenced by e.g. the life-sized plastic cow statue painted like Spiderman in the lobby and the big red couch/bed they use for meetings:

Conference bike

This has got to be the coolest idea in a long time. 7 people pedal along, one of them steers. It’s the conference bike and I want one!! I also mentioned this in my post on seeeeeriously cool workplaces.

Art tables

I was sitting in my usual café writing this blogpost when I spotted a lady at the next table looking through some pictures of weird and beautiful desks.

Of course I had to ask her what the story was. Turns out she’s Marie Westh, an artist and these are one-off tables she created, first for exhibitions and then later on as usable art pieces. Check out Marie’s website with many more weird and fantastic creations.

A balance act

This is more a metaphor than a piece of furniture - but it’s pretty cool all the same.

The idea is that three people can have a meeting where they must work together to hold their balance during the meeting. Like we must each contribute to a conversation, to make it balanced. Impractical - but cool! More here.

Wood wall

Or how about an entire wall covered in cordwood? Not only is it amazingly beautiful, it’s also great for the acoustics and it gives the wall a great texture.

I saw my friends at Connecta and their roommates build this from a huge stack of cord woodon the floor to the finished wall. Superb!!

The upshot

So is it the furniture that determines whether a company is creative and fun or staid and boring? Of course not! But the type and variety of furniture does reflect the mood at the company. If you have row upon row of identical, gray desks and chairs then odds are this is not the place wild ideas are born.

And why exactly is it that everyone must have the same desk and chair? Why not let people choose for themselves, and give them a chance to create an environment that suits them. The resulting variety may be confusing to those who think that business is about structure, order and control… but it’s sure to be more stimulating and fun for those of us who think that work is about being happy.

There are more pictures of cool furniture in this flickr set.