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Books
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abc popup
ABC3D: The Alphabet as Gorgeous Pop-Up Book
Sometimes simple is best: the ABC3D pop-up book is just wonderfully captivating, and does exactly what it says on its transforming cover. You may think more "coffee table, guest amusement" than "give to kids" but it's only $19.95, so why not let the little tykes appreciate its good design too? By Marion Bataille, due out October 14th. [Amazon via Geek Dad]
scales bookshelf
We've shown you staircase bookshelves, elasticated ones, bookchair ones and now there's this balancing design. There must be something about the form-meets-function nature of a bookshelf that means designers just can't resist them. In this case, "form" gets an added twist with the addition of a pivot and some sliding weights. So you can have a cookily tilted shelf, or slide the weights around to compensate for an unbalanced library: "Maintain the Balance of Your Knowledge" as designer Denis Oh puts it. Weird concept, but interesting. [Yanko design]
Balancing Your Books Gets Real With the Scales Bookshelf
We've shown you staircase bookshelves, elasticated ones, bookchair ones and now there's this balancing design. There must be something about the form-meets-function nature of a bookshelf that means designers just can't resist them. In this case, "form" gets an added twist with the addition of a pivot and some sliding weights. So you can have a cookily tilted shelf, or slide the weights around to compensate for an unbalanced library: "Maintain the Balance of Your Knowledge" as designer Denis Oh puts it. Weird concept, but interesting. [Yanko design]
bookseat
Useful if you have a really really small apartment, or you just appreciate bookshelf-cum-furniture design, the plywood Bookseat stores your TV Guide copy of War and Peace handily within reach. Alternatively, if you think books are old hat, you could store your DVDs and computer mags in it. Some might think Bookseat is design convergence gone mad, but we think it's simple, neat and that you'll be seeing it in waiting rooms of trendy offices everywhere. Available sometime in Spring, price unknown. [Fishbol furniture via Freshome]
Bookseat: the Book Storage Chair for Small Libraries
Useful if you have a really really small apartment, or you just appreciate bookshelf-cum-furniture design, the plywood Bookseat stores your
architecture
Build Your Own Bookcase Fort: Settle in for a Nerdy Siege
The stairs bookcase was cool, but this is an entire igloo-like bookcase structure that you can actually use as a miniature dwelling. In fact, this "Uroko House" is built around a bed, which makes it one hell of a place to sleep for any kid—whether they like to read or not. There are no written instructions on how to make your own, but the images in the gallery help illustrate the process. [Flickr via Freshome]
architecture
Stairs Bookcase Actually Makes Me Want to Move to London
Here's a great idea for anyone who loves books and doesn't have enough apartment space or a Kindle: a "secret staircase" made of English oak, lined with books left, right and center, leading to a loft bedroom in a Victorian 1898 apartments block.
apple
iPhone Book Sneak Peek: Third-Party iPhone Application Tutorial
Pash over at Lifehacker has a tutorial up on how to install third-party applications to your iPhone. It's notable because it comes straight from our iPhone Book, along with many more tips and tricks that you won't find in other books (seriously, we've read the other books, and they don't have them). Check out the tutorial and then go pre-order the book. Oh, and that cover's going to change to something not completely atrocious before it ships. [Lifehacker via Amazon]
lego madness
Here's one of five projects from a new book entitled Forbidden LEGO, showing you cool guns 'n' shit that you really would have liked to build when you were a kid but, well, mommy might have gotten pissed. And hey, you could've put an eye out with that thing. Projects also included in the book include this hardly dangerous and oddly named High Velocity Automatic LEGO Plate Dispenser (where are the plates?), Paper Plane Launcher, Candy-Coated Catapult, All-Terrain LEGO and the formidable-sounding Ping Pong Cannon. Now that you're out on your own without mommy breathing down your neck, soldier, have at it. Sounds like a blast. [No Starch Press]
Forbidden LEGO Book Shows You Naughty Projects to Build
Here's one of five projects from a new book entitled Forbidden LEGO, showing you cool guns 'n' shit that you really would have liked to build when you were a kid but, well, mommy might have gotten pissed. And hey, you could've put an eye out with that thing. Projects also included in the book include this hardly dangerous and oddly named High Velocity Automatic LEGO Plate Dispenser (where are the plates?), Paper Plane Launcher, Candy-Coated Catapult, All-Terrain LEGO and the formidable-sounding Ping Pong Cannon. Now that you're out on your own without mommy breathing down your neck, soldier, have at it. Sounds like a blast. [No Starch Press]
for/by dummies
National Geographic Releasing 'The Cameraphone Book' For Some Reason
National Geographic knows where the money is: lazy and stupid people. That's why they're releasing The Cameraphone Book, a 160-page tome on how to take crappy pictures of your drunk friends using your phone. How they pulled 160 pages' worth of material out of their asses is beyond me, because most cameraphones don't have all that many settings to tweak. What's their advice? Make sure there's decent lighting and keep your hand steady? What else can they tell you? Anyone who wants to take decent pictures and cares enough about learning photography to buy a book about it will probably get, you know, a real camera. But hey, what do I know? [Photography Press via Picturephoning]
11:23 AM on Tue Jul 17 2007
By Adam Frucci
1,407 views,
8 comments
Latest by eigafan: 1. Comb the internet for camera phone tips/hacks. 2. Add National Geographic professional photographer "cameraphone" photos. 3. Inflate the page count to 160 pages with lots of filler (advertisements). 4. Publish it as a "book" and not a magazine. 5. Sit back and reap more »
hax0red
Harry Potter Hacked?
It's very unlikely, but someone claims to have hacked into the publishing house that distributes the Harry Potter books (Bloomsbury) and obtained the final manuscript of the soon-to-arrive 7th book. This man (kid) supposedly got into the computers of the publisher by sending a link to a browser exploit through email and having the publisher click on it. More »
home entertainment
Snell ICS 1030 Bookshelf Speakers Look Like Books, Other Stuff
Finally, once and for all you can prove to those naysayers that you are actually a smart individual by tricking them into thinking you own some books. The Snell ICS 1030 Bookshelf Speaker is a two-speaker bookshelf speaker that will actually be painted to whatever you want it to look like, in this case, books. The folks at Snell will be happy to customize the speaker to any surroundings, for a price. Expect to pay at least $2,000 to fake out the relatives. Hey Snell, will you folks paint a speaker to look like a nagging wife so my relatives will stop bugging me about getting married? Jump for a picture of the speaker with the grill off. More »
gadgets
Bookshelf Speakers Hide Your Illiteracy
Although if these are the only books in your living room, we think people will catch on. Call it a hunch. More »
gadgets
Copyright-Violating Scanner is Designed for Books
Scanning books sucks, as you always end up breaking the spine of the book to get the pages to lay flat. You guys know what I'm talking about. More »
google
Google Announces Plan to Open Online Bookstore; World Domination Details to Follow
We knew that the beta of Google Book Search really was, for once, just a beta version of a much grander project. Now we know what that project is. BusinessWeek is reporting that Google has disclosed to publishers its intentions to expand its Book Search beyond a mere search and preview service into one where users will be able to purchase access to entire copies of books, and possibly download them to other devices. More »
gadgets
'Bridge' Concept Can Turn Anything Into Braille
This conceptual design is the work of Chinese company, Togo. It is a device that can scan text in books, magazine, etc and instantly turn it into Braille to be read by the individual. It can also save the Braille-converted text for future reading (and pirating at the library).The braille screen works with electromagnetic or piezoelectric principles. When the current or voltage goes through every array of six stitches, the resulting rise and decline gives birth to braille. The product scans the original printed matter, then translates the images into analog electrical signals with an optical-to-electrical transducer. Finally, it translates the analog electrical signal into a digital signal.That is one hell of a device, if it ever actually comes out. Now if only we could replicate the feeling of looking at a good porno magazine for the blind... More »
gadgets
Low Tech Gear: The BookSling
For those of us that can pry ourselves away from our electronics to do some reading—gadget manuals perhaps—here's a low tech device to keep things organized. The BookSling's a bookmark and pen holder all in one, which means you won't forget where you left off or where you left the highlighter. More »
gadgets
Full Page Illuminator for Late-Night Page Turners
What you furtively read under the covers at night is your business, and you can keep it that way with this Full Page Illuminator with a flat lens that reflects a battery-powered LED, evenly lighting the page. Yes, a page, in a book. You remember books, don't you? More »
gadgets
Lifehacker Book Now Available for Pre-Order
Our blogging cohorts at Lifehacker are releasing a book! The book is appropriately titled: Lifehacker: 88 Tech Tricks to Turbocharge Your Day. If you enjoy reading Lifehacker this may be the perfect book for your collection. I'll let Amazon explain it for those of you who are still reading this but have no clue what the hell I'm talking about.A "life hack" is a clever shortcut or a lesser-known, faster way to complete a task. Lifehackers are redefining personal productivity by tweaking, modding, mashing up, and repurposing web apps, desktop software, and common everyday objects. This book presents 88 of the best life hacks from the Lifehacker.com web site archive.And for $16.49 it is practically a steal. Now go pre-order it, you sheep. It will even be available for the holiday season. Congrats, Gina and the Lifehacker crew. More »
