ROBERT WILLIAMS
Conceptual Realism
IN THE SERVICE OF THE HYPOTHETICAL
October 31, 2009 – January 23, 2010
Gotta go see this!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Robert Williams at Tony Shafrazi
ROBERT WILLIAMS
Conceptual Realism
IN THE SERVICE OF THE HYPOTHETICAL
October 31, 2009 – January 23, 2010
Gotta go see this!
Ngmoco scores with iPhone games that charge per time played
With a new game, a new business model, and a new developer platform, iPhone game publisher Ngmoco has been able to land itself on the top of the AppStore charts.
Ngmoco’s Eliminate Pro shooting game moved to the No. 1 spot on Apple’s app download store after its launch on Monday. The new game uses a new business model made possible by Apple’s recent change in policy allowing purchases of virtual goods to be made from inside free games.
Previously, Apple only allowed such purchase to be made inside paid games. But that didn’t enable the “free to play” business model that has worked so well on Facebook and other social networks. In these games, players start playing the games for free. Then they buy a virtual good such as a weapon for a small price once they need it.
In Eliminate Pro, players can challenge each other in multiplayer shooting matches over Wi-Fi or the 3G phone network. The player winds up paying for time, much like putting in quarters into arcade machines in the past. When you start playing the game, you can join multiplayer combat games. Each time you play, you use a portion of a “power cell.” At some point, to continue playing, you have to purchase more power cells. If you want to play for free, you have to wait a certain time for the power cell to recharge. If you want to skip that wait, you have to shell out some money. The key is that the game can generate recurring revenue, like a service.
“This business model will be transformative for our company,” said Neil Young, chief executive of San Francisco-based Ngmoco, in an interview. “We are now operating a game as an ongoing service.”
The usage-based monetization could prove to be more lucrative than requiring players to pay to download a game. On the AppStore, it’s hard for games to break into the top 100 ranks, since there are more than 100,000 apps available. And those that do make it to No. 1 rarely stay there for more than a couple of weeks. Hence, the revenues associated with even a No. 1 hit on the iPhone don’t add up to much. But if a game is popular enough and players are willing to pay for usage time, then it can generate revenues for an extended time, Young said.
Of course, it’s hard to strike the balance between generating usage revenue and annoying users who don’t want to dish out lots of money. Ngmoco tested Eliminate Pro in the Canadian market and tweaked it to get that balance for the final product. Young said the company switched to the new business model after acquiring the development studio Miraphonic. The company then began retooling its whole product line. Other titles coming soon are Touch Pets and some unannounced games.
Ngmoco also had a hand in the No. 1 free game. Freeverse’s Skee Ball uses Ngmoco’s Plus+ developer platform, which adds cross-promotion, achievements, multiplayer challenges, leaderboards and user socializing to a game. Developers use Ngmoco’s platform to publish games that can be promoted to millions of other users. Full told, Ngmoco’s games have been downloaded more than 20 million times. That means that Plus+ developers can launch games that can reach lots of those users via the cross-promotion capabilities of the Plus+ technology.
Young said that more than 20 games in the AppStore are using the Plus+ platform. And the company announced two new game studios are using it today: Flipside5 and Backflip Studios. Backflip will use Plus+ in upcoming games such as Harbor Havoc 3D. The goal is to build the largest network of social games on the iPhone with Plus+, Young said.
Ngmoco was founded in 2008 and has received funding from Kleiner Perkins, Maples Investments and Norwest Venture Partners. Rivals for the Plus+ platform include Aurora Feint and Scoreloop.
via: venturebeat.
Daily Burn’s Food Scanner App
FoodScanner Demo from Andy Smith on Vimeo.
If it works as well as it does in the video, it looks pretty awesome. Watch and decide for yourself. You may never shop the same way again.
via:wbe.
Makaneko by Matteo De Longis
Venusdea presents the first shots of this new figure designed by Matteo De Longis. Coming soon in Acid black and Pearl White Colourways.
Venusdea is an international art label – ‘Artpop label’ – under which illustrators, designers, photographers and painters from all around the world can express their creativity.
via: cluttermag.
Xerox develops silver ink for wearable or throwaway electronics
Xerox researchers have invented a kind of ink that can conduct electricity and be used to put electronic circuits on top of plastics, film, and textiles. That means in the coming years we’ll be able to wear or bend our electronics. You could even print out your electronic gadget on plastic sheets, as if you were printing a document.
Silicon chips have long been too expensive or heavy to use in devices that are extremely lightweight. The Xerox team solved this fundamental problem with lighter materials, and it plans to sell the new materials to other businesses that could make wearable electronics.
With plastics, you can unroll a sheet and then deposit electronic circuitry on top of it, building it up layer after layer. It helps to have conductive ink. That is, you need something that contains metal but that you can print with or spray on. The Xerox team created what they call a “silver bullet.” It’s a silver ink that melts at 140 degrees celsius.
Normally, metals melt at 1,000 degrees or so. But plastic itself melts at 150 degrees. So an ink laid on top of plastic can’t melt at a higher temperature or it will melt the plastic, said Paul Smith, lab manager at Xerox Research Toronto, Canada.
“This opens a whole new world for electronics,” said Angele Boyd, an analyst at IDC. “With printable electronics, the future of electronics will include plastics and fabric. The Xerox technology opens up opportunities for lower cost applications in traditional electronics and for new applications around plastics and fabric.”
The applications include plastic circuits could be used to build plastic electronic book readers, such as one being built by Plastic Logic, that are flexible enough to bend and can withstand damage. They would also be very lightweight. The plastic circuits could be used to weave a computer into your clothing or make intelligent boxes for pills that could tell you whether they’ve been tampered with during shipping.
Scientists have dreamed of this for a long time, and Xerox has been researching it since 2001. Hewlett-Packard has also been working on plastic electronics for a decade. Xerox says it has now been able to fabricate cheap and lightweight components that are necessary to print circuits on plastic: a semiconductor, a conductor and a dielectric element.
The fabrication plants for these kinds of plastic chips will be cool. The circuits can be printed by printers, just like a document, without the need for an elaborate clean room as is used in current chip factories. Xerox has research samples available now and is in discussions with manufacturers who could use the plastic electronics.
Beyond the applications we’ve mentioned already, Xerox says the printed plastic circuits could be used in low-cost radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, light and flexible signs, sensors, solar cells and novelty fashions.
via: venturebeat.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Chembot
This is pretty crazy. The Chembot, a blob of goo that moves by changing its shape. Through inflating and deflating different areas, it has the ability to navigate over and through challenging terrain, ie squeezing through tiny holes, and shit, I thought nano particles was crazy this is the real life blob. Pretty freaky.
via: wbe.
Gordo
Working with Myplasticheart through their MPHLabs label Brent Nolasco is releasing "Gordo" a 5" Resin figure bearing all of his hallmark style - this unpainted test pull looks amazing so god knows how much a painted one will rule!
via: cluttermag.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Swiss National Bank (SNB) Competition results
The results of the recent bank note competition of the Swiss National Bank. 1st price goes to Manuel Krebs, while (in my opinion) equally impressive designs (maybe even more so) in 2nd place are courtesy of Martin Woodtli.
via: surfstation.
Stephen Wiltshire
Artist Stephen Wiltshire draws the Manhattan skyline from memory. His photographic memory allows him to draw images with amazing details. Make sure to check out the rest of his work on his site.
via: theCoolList
BIC Buddy
BIC Plastics have released their BIC Buddy line of blind-boxed platform figures. Designed by graffiti artist Marka27, the figure uses the shape of a spray can nozzle head on a Dunny-esque body. In Artist Series One, they’ve gathered a strong group of 13 designers to lend their unique styles to the platform.
via: plasticandplush.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Dό Plu Dό
The Dό Plu Dό Group pool on flickr is full of illustration gems. Check them all out here.
via: surfstation.
TazX -- ZÔôpi DIY drops!
Designer toys and in particular designer resin is worldwide. Bruno GC (TazX) will release his ZÔôpi DIY resin this coming Monday – 11.2.09 from his online store. The figure measures 6cm (2.6”)tall and 6cm deep. The price is a very reasonable $15.00 (+ shipping). If you want to get started on your design check out the templates in eps and pdf.
Noferin’s Jibibuts – Wood Minis
The popularity of wood designer toys continues to grow in part due to recent high quality releases including Noferin’s Pecan Pals. Created from sustainable rubber tree wood, Noferin’s first wood figures delivered high quality and the simple elegance of wood at an affordable price.
Now Noferin is looking to bring the success of the Pecan Pals to the growing blind-box category. Awhile back they teased us with the first news of Jibibuts their upcoming wood mini-figure line. From the looks of the recent reveal of several of the Jibibuts figs, things are moving along nicely. No word on a release date but they are slated to drop sometime this year.
via: vinylpulse.
Mullet with headlights.
Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ is one of those pivotal songs from the 80s that becomes something new to each generation. There was even a cheezy dance mix in the 90s. Shudder. Well, the latest generation of Eclipse afficionados got a lot more clever with their spin, creating a literal translation of the ultra bizarre video (as was the way in early MTV days) of this rock ballad classic. The girl dubbing it is actually not bad, considering she totally gambled on matching up to Tyler’s powerhouse belting. Watch it once, and you’ll be singing, ‘Over-Surpised Guy’ all day. For the purists, here is a link to the original. Dare to enjoy.
via: hyperakt.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Melting awesomeness for Vladislav Delay
Gorgeous music video for the song Toive by the Finnish musician Sasu Ripatti aka Vladislav Delay. From the album Tummaa, 2009. Directed by Carolina Melis and Lorenzo Sportiello.
via: surfstation.
COCOSUMA / Miracle Man / directed by JACK
New Cocosuma music video directed by JACK. Check it on dailymotion.
3'17 minutes of pure stop-motion animation. Enjoy.
WELLNESS CENTER IN EXEDRA NICE HOTEL
Italian architect Simone Micheli has designed a wellness centre at the Exedra Nice Hotel for
Boscolo Hotels in Nice, France.
Via: contemporist
REWRITE
Copenhagen designers GamFratesi have designed a prototype desk with a cave-like shield on top to create an intimate working environment.
Called Rewrite, the desk is presented at GamFratesi’s solo show at The Danish Museum of Art and Design.
Via: dezeen
URS FISCHER "MARGUERITE DE PONTY"
Urs Fischer (born 1973) is a Swiss artist. He has had solo exhibitions in a number of international institutions including Centre Pompidou (Paris), Kunsthaus (Zurich), ICA(London) and Nicola Trussardi Foundation (Milan). His first solo show at a museum in the United States will be at the New Museum in New York in October 2009.
Via: slamxhype
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