This is a wristwatch but not as we know it. The Mutewatch is much more like a wearable gadget as it packs a lot of technology on to your arm.
It features a touch-sensitive display, vibrating alarms, a timer and a motion sensor that registers even subtle twists of the wrist.
Its clock face also glows with 100Hz LED lights that automatically brighten or dim to suit the environment.
But you might not guess it has all of this technology just by looking at it. In its natural form, the Mutewatch looks more like a wristband with a hip, industrial design.
Mutewatch began its life three years ago as an idea by Swedish economics student Mai-Li Hammargren, who considered adding a vibrating alarm to watches to improve time management and stop waking her boyfriend.
In its development, the Mutewatch gained a touchscreen, a rubber body and the ability to trigger the display by turning your wrist to see it.
The Mutewatch, available in red and charcoal grey, arrives in need of a charge. This is achieved with a USB connection that pops from one end of its wristband. Two hours of power will deliver up to two weeks of wear.
Users can set the time by tapping the screen - the main way you activate and operate this tech-savvy wristwatch.
Holding two fingers on its display lets you set the time, moving the LED numbers up and down until correct.
To use its alarm and stopwatch functions, you simply swipe a finger across the display. Up to five alarms can be set at once and two alarm types are available: short and long. Short alarms vibrate only momentarily while long alarms are delivered with a three-dot pattern on the display. Users must tap the dots to stop the alarm, a useful test of morning awareness.
Alarms can be cancelled with a pinching movement on the display, and you can even tap an on-screen symbol to trigger a snooze function.
The Mutewatch's timer, a further swipe into its menu, lets you set a time limit and vibrates when it's up.
But arguably the coolest part of this watch is the way it shows the time. Whether glowing red or white, the Mutewatch display grabs attention. It appears when you tap the screen or move it to face you - an ingenious addition that makes this one of the most tech-savvy watches around.
The Mutewatch comes in just one size but the rubber band can easily be adjusted to fit wrists smaller than 14cm. It fastens with a press stud.
This hi-tech wristwatch isn't without challenges, however. The rubber attracts black marks easily, though you can wash these off its waterproof exterior. Its capacitive touchscreen can also be unreliable, reacting to some but not all selections. Patience is required.
Quirks aside, the Mutewatch is an exceptional example of geek chic that is bound to have you checking the time obsessively.
Showing posts with label Hudson-Bergen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hudson-Bergen. Show all posts
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Bad Boy Father Figure
Love Never Dies is set ten years after the Phantom's disappearance from the Paris Opera House. He has escaped to a new life in New York, where he lives amongst the screaming joy rides and freak-shows of Coney Island. He lures Christine, who is struggling in an ailing marriage to Raoul, to Coney Island in a final bid to win back her love. The Australian production features a 21-piece orchestra and a 23-strong cast including Ben Lewis as the Phantom and Anna O'Byrne as Christine.
There are over 300 costumes and a magnificent Helpmann Award-winning set illuminated by over 5000 light bulbs. When Lloyd Webber saw the production, he exclaimed: "It's one of the finest productions I've ever seen of my work, anywhere!"
This high praise is not lost on Phillips. "He was amazing actually," he says. "We were pretty nervous by that point about him seeing it for the first time, but he was really thrilled with it."
While nostalgic references to The Phantom of the Opera abound, audiences will be surprised by Love Never Dies, Phillips asserts. "It's ten years later and takes the characters into a different time of their lives, and different realms of concern. Christine is now a mother, so rather than it being a teen fantasy, which the original was – it was the Twilight of its day! – the characters are older and Christine is living this life married to Raoul and not being sure if it was the right choice."
But the powerfully resonant themes of the original prevail. "It's a really sexual story in a not particularly bodice-ripping way," Phillips laughs. "The Twilight analogy is not as frivolous as it might seem, because it's really about the idea of the unattainable and 'the other' having this force of attraction and being frightening, dangerous, out of control and sexy at the same time."
The relationship between the Phantom and Christine has been examined countless times as a metaphor for human relationships; but according to Phillips, if their relationship does reveal anything about us, it's not good.
"It's kind of shameful," he argues, "because the original Phantom is founded on a lot of classic suppositions about sexual attraction – the father figure, the controller, her being the muse, him having his force over her. So it's not really very politically correct! The Phantom combines both bad boy and father figure!"
Phillips recently hung up as boots as Artistic Director of Melbourne Theatre Company, with more than 60 productions under his name, including his swan-song show, The Importance of Being Earnest with Geoffrey Rush. He is no stranger to successful interpretations of big musicals, having directed the Australian and London productions of Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical.
Phillips's next major project is the Australian production of An Officer and A Gentleman, which will have its world premiere in Sydney next year. However he admits he will miss running a theatre company. "I will miss the ability to control my destiny, and more importantly the destiny of some other people. There are many things about running a theatre company that are incredibly difficult, but the nice thing is that you can make things happen."
There are over 300 costumes and a magnificent Helpmann Award-winning set illuminated by over 5000 light bulbs. When Lloyd Webber saw the production, he exclaimed: "It's one of the finest productions I've ever seen of my work, anywhere!"
This high praise is not lost on Phillips. "He was amazing actually," he says. "We were pretty nervous by that point about him seeing it for the first time, but he was really thrilled with it."
While nostalgic references to The Phantom of the Opera abound, audiences will be surprised by Love Never Dies, Phillips asserts. "It's ten years later and takes the characters into a different time of their lives, and different realms of concern. Christine is now a mother, so rather than it being a teen fantasy, which the original was – it was the Twilight of its day! – the characters are older and Christine is living this life married to Raoul and not being sure if it was the right choice."
But the powerfully resonant themes of the original prevail. "It's a really sexual story in a not particularly bodice-ripping way," Phillips laughs. "The Twilight analogy is not as frivolous as it might seem, because it's really about the idea of the unattainable and 'the other' having this force of attraction and being frightening, dangerous, out of control and sexy at the same time."
The relationship between the Phantom and Christine has been examined countless times as a metaphor for human relationships; but according to Phillips, if their relationship does reveal anything about us, it's not good.
"It's kind of shameful," he argues, "because the original Phantom is founded on a lot of classic suppositions about sexual attraction – the father figure, the controller, her being the muse, him having his force over her. So it's not really very politically correct! The Phantom combines both bad boy and father figure!"
Phillips recently hung up as boots as Artistic Director of Melbourne Theatre Company, with more than 60 productions under his name, including his swan-song show, The Importance of Being Earnest with Geoffrey Rush. He is no stranger to successful interpretations of big musicals, having directed the Australian and London productions of Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical.
Phillips's next major project is the Australian production of An Officer and A Gentleman, which will have its world premiere in Sydney next year. However he admits he will miss running a theatre company. "I will miss the ability to control my destiny, and more importantly the destiny of some other people. There are many things about running a theatre company that are incredibly difficult, but the nice thing is that you can make things happen."
Monday, 12 December 2011
GE Brings Green Lights to Life
At GE's historic 90-acre Nela Park in Cleveland--home to America's first industrial park and to GE Lighting--a light bulb revolution is underway that could help solve one of the world's greatest environmental threats: climate change.
Tucked away in a brick lab building of this leafy technology research campus, veteran GE lighting engineer and physicist Gary Allen reviews a chart of global greenhouse gas emissions that points in one direction—up. But, Allen says, there's a simple step we can take to curtail these emissions and change course; screw in a more efficient light bulb.
"The number one thing we can do to cut greenhouse gas emissions is to change our light bulbs....it's the strongest lever we have to get CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere. So if you are going to spend money on anything, spend it on energy efficient lighting."
And there's one more advantage to the light bulb revolution; jobs. Last year, GE invested $60 million to produce energy efficient florescent bulbs at its plant in Bucyrus, OH, creating about 100 new positions in job-hungry Ohio. And there are over 100 jobs posted on GE Lighting's website now.
For the past 24 years, Allen has been a key engineer and physicist at GE's world-renowned lighting research center, where many of the 700 people who work there toil away on the latest lighting product designs and strategies.
All that tinkering in the labs has paid off. Today there are more money saving, energy efficient bulbs on the market than ever before, including advanced incandescents, compact fluorescent and LEDs.
And more are on the way. Industry powerhouses like GE, Sylvania and Philips are all coming out with dozens of new lighting products that will result in huge energy savings—and help save us all from the dire consequences of a rapidly changing climate.
Anyone who still wonders if the threat is real should check out new figures released for greenhouse gas emissions; they jumped to record levels last year during a global recession. Just wait until a global recovery takes hold.
Decorating during the holidays is a tradition for many, a mission for some. But keep in mind those lights can put a dent in your budget if you're not careful.
Dump your old lights. Go with LED lights which use 90-percent less electricity and last 10 times longer than old-style lights. If you have lots of the old, start weening yourself off this year by incorporating new LED lights where you can and using less of the other stuff.
Use timers. You can pick up a timer for about $20 or less, that way you can leave your lights without worrying you will forget and leave them on all night to entertain the neighborhood stray cats.
Go with smart strips. Newer power strips allow you to selectively turn on some fixtures while leaving others off.
Tucked away in a brick lab building of this leafy technology research campus, veteran GE lighting engineer and physicist Gary Allen reviews a chart of global greenhouse gas emissions that points in one direction—up. But, Allen says, there's a simple step we can take to curtail these emissions and change course; screw in a more efficient light bulb.
"The number one thing we can do to cut greenhouse gas emissions is to change our light bulbs....it's the strongest lever we have to get CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere. So if you are going to spend money on anything, spend it on energy efficient lighting."
And there's one more advantage to the light bulb revolution; jobs. Last year, GE invested $60 million to produce energy efficient florescent bulbs at its plant in Bucyrus, OH, creating about 100 new positions in job-hungry Ohio. And there are over 100 jobs posted on GE Lighting's website now.
For the past 24 years, Allen has been a key engineer and physicist at GE's world-renowned lighting research center, where many of the 700 people who work there toil away on the latest lighting product designs and strategies.
All that tinkering in the labs has paid off. Today there are more money saving, energy efficient bulbs on the market than ever before, including advanced incandescents, compact fluorescent and LEDs.
And more are on the way. Industry powerhouses like GE, Sylvania and Philips are all coming out with dozens of new lighting products that will result in huge energy savings—and help save us all from the dire consequences of a rapidly changing climate.
Anyone who still wonders if the threat is real should check out new figures released for greenhouse gas emissions; they jumped to record levels last year during a global recession. Just wait until a global recovery takes hold.
Decorating during the holidays is a tradition for many, a mission for some. But keep in mind those lights can put a dent in your budget if you're not careful.
Dump your old lights. Go with LED lights which use 90-percent less electricity and last 10 times longer than old-style lights. If you have lots of the old, start weening yourself off this year by incorporating new LED lights where you can and using less of the other stuff.
Use timers. You can pick up a timer for about $20 or less, that way you can leave your lights without worrying you will forget and leave them on all night to entertain the neighborhood stray cats.
Go with smart strips. Newer power strips allow you to selectively turn on some fixtures while leaving others off.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Insight Lighting Gets Head Start on LED Lighting Transition
In an economy in which many businesses are downsizing; Insight Lighting is doing just the opposite–experiencing double digit growth over the past five years and expanding its production size and abilities. Insight's growth as a 20-year industry-leading lighting manufacturer is motivated by cost conscious businesses and governments to switch from traditional lighting to solid state (LED) lighting.
Insight Lighting, realizing that LED lighting would soon illuminate the commercial landscape, positioned itself for growth in this competitive industry. "Businesses, events and governments are quickly adapting in this economy to provide value, decrease expense and increase brightness," said Reed Powers, Insight Lighting Senior Vice President. "------Many years ago we first began developing designs and technology that would accommodate the switchover that we knew was ahead."
Insight's team has created products for high profile specialized projects such as providing the exterior green facade lighting for the global re-launch of the Holiday Inn brands, lighting for the signage at New York's Yankee Stadium and the luminaires that illuminated the luge track for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
In Dallas, Insight's Medley Products were used to bring the Park Seventeen Office Tower to life. Battelle Grande Ballroom in Columbus, Ohio was transformed from a bland space into a spectacular event center with the use of Insight's Medley RGB Color Changing Series. A variety of Insight's made in the USA products, Medley X RGB Color Changing Series and Masque products, were used for the Blue Cross Blue Shield building in Providence, Rhode Island, providing a new look for the national healthcare provider.
Many cities and government agencies are working to get projects, new and remodels, to incorporate LED exclusively. "We've seen a huge increase in designs focused on LED products, such was the case recently when we provided the illuminated wayfinding signage for the McCarran and Sky Harbor airports," said Powers.
According to the US Department of Energy website, making the switch to LEDs will reduce the electricity consumption by one-fourth and avoid 246 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emission over the next two decades. In addition, increased adoption of LEDs throughout cities over the sometime period could save the United States $120 billion in energy costs.
"We welcome this approaching conversion, it's better for the environment and will put a lot of Americans to work on a much needed change," said Powers.
For the average electric customer, 15 strings of LED lights turned on for six hours a day will cost less than two dollars a month. Meanwhile, running the same amount of traditional lights will add more than $40 dollars to your utility bill.
"We bought quite a few too this year, the LEDs, so that should help the budget out a little bit," said Brian Witucki.
The Witucki's use a combination of lights, but Brian said the extra $50 dollars he paid for electricity last December was worth it. "People stop when they're driving by...it's pretty cool."
Utility officials said another helpful tip to save money while still spreading some holiday cheer is to set your lights to a timer so that you can monitor energy use.
Insight Lighting, realizing that LED lighting would soon illuminate the commercial landscape, positioned itself for growth in this competitive industry. "Businesses, events and governments are quickly adapting in this economy to provide value, decrease expense and increase brightness," said Reed Powers, Insight Lighting Senior Vice President. "------Many years ago we first began developing designs and technology that would accommodate the switchover that we knew was ahead."
Insight's team has created products for high profile specialized projects such as providing the exterior green facade lighting for the global re-launch of the Holiday Inn brands, lighting for the signage at New York's Yankee Stadium and the luminaires that illuminated the luge track for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
In Dallas, Insight's Medley Products were used to bring the Park Seventeen Office Tower to life. Battelle Grande Ballroom in Columbus, Ohio was transformed from a bland space into a spectacular event center with the use of Insight's Medley RGB Color Changing Series. A variety of Insight's made in the USA products, Medley X RGB Color Changing Series and Masque products, were used for the Blue Cross Blue Shield building in Providence, Rhode Island, providing a new look for the national healthcare provider.
Many cities and government agencies are working to get projects, new and remodels, to incorporate LED exclusively. "We've seen a huge increase in designs focused on LED products, such was the case recently when we provided the illuminated wayfinding signage for the McCarran and Sky Harbor airports," said Powers.
According to the US Department of Energy website, making the switch to LEDs will reduce the electricity consumption by one-fourth and avoid 246 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emission over the next two decades. In addition, increased adoption of LEDs throughout cities over the sometime period could save the United States $120 billion in energy costs.
"We welcome this approaching conversion, it's better for the environment and will put a lot of Americans to work on a much needed change," said Powers.
For the average electric customer, 15 strings of LED lights turned on for six hours a day will cost less than two dollars a month. Meanwhile, running the same amount of traditional lights will add more than $40 dollars to your utility bill.
"We bought quite a few too this year, the LEDs, so that should help the budget out a little bit," said Brian Witucki.
The Witucki's use a combination of lights, but Brian said the extra $50 dollars he paid for electricity last December was worth it. "People stop when they're driving by...it's pretty cool."
Utility officials said another helpful tip to save money while still spreading some holiday cheer is to set your lights to a timer so that you can monitor energy use.
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Acquires Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates
Established in 1988, Eng-Wong, Taub grew into a 40-employee firm and stands out among the region's traffic engineering and planning firms with its extensive work with over 200 public and private sector clients.
The firm has been a call-in consultant to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for over 20 years, and worked closely with municipalities, transportation agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and other public and private interests to solve the region's most complex, high-profile traffic challenges. Their work on projects like the new Yankee Stadium, World Trade Center redevelopment, Second Avenue Subway, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, Newark Bicycle light Rail, New York City BRT, and East Side Access will transform the region's landscape and transportation network for years to come.
"I am delighted that we've joined forces with a firm so much like ours," said Marty Taub, co-founder of Eng-Wong, Taub and VHB principal. "We joined VHB because there is a great synergy and chemistry between us and a terrific match in skill sets that will benefit our clients. Plus, VHB has always impressed us with their dedication to client service."
VHB is ranked among the nation's top design and transportation engineering firms. Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. and its New York affiliate, VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C., provide services for notable projects in the New York/New Jersey region that include Port Authority of New York and New Jersey On-Call Consulting for Airport, Environmental and Financial Services; New York State DOT Construction Inspection Services; Stop & Shop Engineering and Integrated Services, Ronkonkoma Hub Transit Oriented Planning Study, PepsiCo World Headquarters Planning and Permitting, and Princeton University Arts & Transit Neighborhood Engineering.
The merger is effective September 1, 2011. The former Eng-Wong, Taub employees will continue to work from Two Penn Plaza in New York City and One Gateway Center in Newark. Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. and its New York affiliate, VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C., serve New York and New Jersey clients through five offices and 100 local employees in Albany, Hauppauge, White Plains, New York City and Edison, N.J.
The firm has been a call-in consultant to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for over 20 years, and worked closely with municipalities, transportation agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and other public and private interests to solve the region's most complex, high-profile traffic challenges. Their work on projects like the new Yankee Stadium, World Trade Center redevelopment, Second Avenue Subway, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, Newark Bicycle light Rail, New York City BRT, and East Side Access will transform the region's landscape and transportation network for years to come.
"I am delighted that we've joined forces with a firm so much like ours," said Marty Taub, co-founder of Eng-Wong, Taub and VHB principal. "We joined VHB because there is a great synergy and chemistry between us and a terrific match in skill sets that will benefit our clients. Plus, VHB has always impressed us with their dedication to client service."
VHB is ranked among the nation's top design and transportation engineering firms. Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. and its New York affiliate, VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C., provide services for notable projects in the New York/New Jersey region that include Port Authority of New York and New Jersey On-Call Consulting for Airport, Environmental and Financial Services; New York State DOT Construction Inspection Services; Stop & Shop Engineering and Integrated Services, Ronkonkoma Hub Transit Oriented Planning Study, PepsiCo World Headquarters Planning and Permitting, and Princeton University Arts & Transit Neighborhood Engineering.
The merger is effective September 1, 2011. The former Eng-Wong, Taub employees will continue to work from Two Penn Plaza in New York City and One Gateway Center in Newark. Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. and its New York affiliate, VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C., serve New York and New Jersey clients through five offices and 100 local employees in Albany, Hauppauge, White Plains, New York City and Edison, N.J.
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