Andy Taylor

April 1, 2008 Andy Taylor2 CommentsUncategorized

The Kitchen Sync

Laptop, meet the cookbook. The concept for the Kitchen Sync is quite simple, and brilliant. It’s a new generation of cookbook for your kitchen – the perfect melding of the recipes you can find online and the old-fashioned cookbooks that sit on your kitchen shelves.

As much as we love our tattered and spattered well-used cookbooks, we are turning more and more to the web for good recipes. We like the communal nature of the web and the ability to pick and choose recipes and mash them together as we go.

But how to bring them into the kitchen? We don’t like printing everything out, so our laptop has sticky keys and a flour-spattered screen – and now our lovely iPhone is also developing telltale signs of kitchen use.

Balmer’s concept invents a whole new kitchen appliance – a small, flexible, washable screen with a dock. You can download recipes directly and follow links to buy necessary products and see tips online. The Kitchen Sync brings new web recipes together with the old-fashioned coobook, with no need for laborious printing or sticky laptop screens and keyboards.

It’s wireless and very kitchen-friendly – our pick for the cookbook of the future! We’d like to confine our precious recipe books to the dining room table and let the real wear and tear take its toll on a flexible little tool like this.

This is still a concept, but as it won a prestigious design award already and Balmer is interning for Karim Rashid this spring, we hope that some affordable version of this goes into production soon. Good luck Noah!

Noah Balmer’s official website – Check this out for some more great kitchen design and products, as well as all the details on the features of the Kitchen Sync which we were just able to sum up here.

April 1, 2008 Andy TaylorLeave a commentUncategorized

Hollywood producer set to make shows for Xbox

Microsoft, seeking to expand offerings on its Xbox 360 console, has reached an agreement with a company headed by Peter Safran, the veteran Hollywood producer and talent manager, to produce original shows for distribution on the system.

Through his Safran Company, Safran represents clients like the actor and producer Sean Combs (Monster’s Ball); the actor and writer Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding); and filmmakers Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (Epic Movie). Safran founded the company in 2006 after leaving Brillstein-Grey Management.

Speaking by telephone last week, Scott Nocas, global marketing manager for programming of the Xbox Live entertainment service, said he expected similar deals to follow. “We definitely look at this as the first of many,” Nocas said.

In an interview at his office in Los Angeles last week, Safran said his first round of programs would all be scripted, as opposed to reality shows, and would probably run under 10 minutes. He said he planned initially to focus on genres, like comedy and horror, that appeal to the Xbox 360 audience, which is heavily concentrated from the ages of 14 to 34, and tends to be more male than female. The first shows are expected to be available to viewers by the fall.

Microsoft’s previous forays in digital entertainment include a 2-year-old initiative, MSN Originals, to provide original shows for the Web, and an ill-fated foray more than 10 years ago in which it poured about $100 million into Internet shows like the comedy “475 Madison,” about an advertising agency, then quickly canceled most of them.

“The Xbox is unique. It operates at a level outside of what we generally consider Web entertainment,” Safran said, referring to the system’s tight demographic base, which is defined by the appeal of signature games like the Halo series.

The new shows will be available exclusively via the Xbox 360 for a time, then may appear elsewhere, Safran said. Nocas said at least some of the shows would be supported by advertising.
Current programming on the Xbox 360 includes movies and selections from cable networks like the Sundance Channel and Spike TV. Viewers pay for access to films with points that can be purchased for cash or accumulated through activities on the system.

Nocas said that about 10 million people had signed up for the Xbox Live service. Roughly 18 million of the game systems have been sold worldwide, he said. The Xbox 360 is up against PlayStation 3 from Sony and the Wii from Nintendo in a hotly competitive gaming marketplace.
Safran is the latest in a growing line of Hollywood players who are seeking to tap into the digital entertainment market, where revenue still falls far short of that from traditional movie and television distribution outlets. Filmmakers like Joel and Ethan Coen and stars like Will Ferrell have recently become involved with Web-based companies like FunnyOrDie.com or 60Frames Entertainment.

Safran and Jake Zim, chief operating officer of the Safran Company’s Safran Digital Group, said they expected to recruit established filmmakers for their new productions, but did not plan to seek involvement by major movie stars.

April 1, 2008 Andy TaylorLeave a commentUncategorized

Microsoft offers free support for Vista SP1 installs

Vista users encountering problems when they upgrade to Service Pack 1 can breathe easier: the company is giving away free support for those installing the service pack.

The transition to the service pack has not been problem-free for many users, some of whom have seen their computers fall into endless reboot cycles and struggled with broken applications after installing the upgrade.

Normally, only Windows Vista users who bought the retail product would be eligible for free support but, for SP1 installation, even users with an original-equipment-manufacturer copy of Vista on their computer can get Microsoft’s help, according to the official Vista blog.

“We are offering free-of-charge support to anyone who is having issues installing Windows Vista SP1,” Microsoft blogger Brandon Le Blanc said.

Unlimited installation and compatibility support is available at no charge until March 18, 2009, according to the Microsoft Service Pack 1 support site.

There are three options available under the free support plan for U.S. users: e-mail support, which will be answered within one business day; online chat, which has a current waiting time of around 40 minutes; and call, available only for users who have a software-assurance agreement, professional contract, TechNet subscription, or MSDN subscription, or for those who come under the Microsoft Partner Program.

Support will be handled on a case-by-case basis, a Microsoft spokesperson said, and the user will always be advised if costs are involved.

Whether enterprise customers will also receive support without cost will depend on their agreement, the spokesperson added.

April 1, 2008 Andy TaylorLeave a commentUncategorized

Howcast.com

Founded by veterans of Google and YouTube, Howcast brings together the personality of user-generated content with the quality of a professional video studio to create engaging, informative, and free how-to videos for consumers. It also offers emerging filmmakers an opportunity to gain experience, exposure, and income. With high quality, compelling video content, Howcast opens new opportunities for viewers, video producers, content distributors, and advertisers.

Want to know how re-wire a lamp, swaddle a baby, or chill a six pack in three minutes? Howcast.com can show you how. Howcast currently has offices in New York City and San Francisco and is looking for talented individuals to join its growing team.

Now, if you “yawl” wanna know “How to” Cow-Tip, check out this video at Howcast.com.

April 1, 2008 Andy TaylorLeave a commentUncategorized

Microsoft Surface Launching April 17 with AT&T

No, Microsoft hasn’t suddenly transformed its 30-inch, multi-touch Surface into a big-ass cellphone. It has, however, chosen AT&T to launch the world’s first Surface into retail. Shoppers in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Francisco will be treated to what amounts to the novelty (at least initially) of learning about a device (Samsung BlackJack II, pictured) by simply placing it atop the Surface. They’ll also have the ability to explore interactive coverage maps. Later, users will be able to drag ringtones, graphics and video and drop it into “the phones.” Note their use of “the” and not “your” phone in the press release. Nevertheless, we’re happy to see Microsoft get the technology out the door on its long march towards consumerdom.

Author: Andy Taylor