Gizmodo: rotating

DIY Swivelling Lego iPhone Dock Fulfills Our Weekend Lego Quota

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EDT

This is a pretty simple construction that actually doesn't look as ridiculous as it sounds. The dock rotates, taking advantage of the iPhone and iPod Touch's accelerometer and making use of allowing movie-viewing landscape mode. Not bad! [BricksInMyPocket via DVICE]

Rotating Houses Are Becoming a Luxury Trend, Not Just a Gimmick, Says The Economist

Adrian Covert — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:00:00 EST

We've seen Dynamic Towers, the planned condo skyscraper in Dubai where every floor rotates independently. But according to The Economist, this Jetsons-esque way of living could become the next big thing in luxury housing.

Companies all over the world, not only from Dubai, but also Nevada and Brazil, are beginning to develop their own way of creating both houses and towers that have the ability to rotate (generally 360 degrees/hour). Custom contractors are building homes on a one-off basis out in California, while Brazilian developer is wrapping up their Suite Vollard, where the 11 flats will sell for $550,000. They also have deals to develop in Canada, Japan, Portugal, the US and the UAE.

Apparently, the big issue in the past with building houses like these came down to plumbing. Now contractors and plumbers are working around those limitations with rubber hoses, rounded half pipes, or just leaving all that stuff in a stationary center column.

The custom houses built in California only use between 370 watts and 1 kilowatt of power for every hour the house was rotating. These houses also have an interesting way of delivering power: there's a metal brush on the that sweeps against a metal ring connected to a power supply inside the anchored base.

In any case, while the idea of rotating houses may not be entirely new, the prospect of them becoming somewhat commonplace is. [The Economist]

iHome iH41 Rotating iPod Alarm Clock Released, Gets $80 Price Tag

Kit Eaton — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:33:31 EDT

Back in May we alerted you to the unusual iHome iH41 iPod dock alarm clock, which can swivel around its own corner to let you display a docked iPod touch as widescreen or portrait. Well, it's now available to purchase, with an $80 price tag. It's got Expanded Bass and Reson8 technology to give its sounds a little clarity and oomph, and has a remote that controls the iPod and clock functions. It still looks as if it's compatible only with touches and iPods, so if you're an iPhone owner maybe it's not the one for you. [Business Wire]

Windscraper Buildings Generate Power

blongo3 — Mon, 14 May 2007 20:20:07 EDT

Architect David Fisher has envisioned a new tower that is one part wind turbine and one part skyscraper. The tower is based around a concrete center core, with each floor spinning like an individual wind turbine. When all of the turbines are harnessed together the tower will not only be able to power itself, but up to ten other similarly sized buildings, too. Question: How do occupants not vomit when the tradewinds hit?

Jump ahead to see a fun fanciful choreographed video of the proposed tower.

Look for the first of its kind to start production in Dubai within six months. But if that's too far for you, American's Chicago is looking into one as well.– Ben Longo

Twirling Tower Could Power Itself, Ten Others [EcoGeek]

Motorized House Always Turns to Bright Side

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:10:11 EDT

We always start our day with a glorious view of the piss-stained alley next to us, but some clever contractor in Australia designed and built a motorized house that rotates to the view of your choice (assuming you have nice views to choose from). The house is made of glass and steel and has a max speed of 1 revolution every 30 minutes. You can program it to always face the sun, or if you're like us, to always face the homeless man who sleeps outside. There's only one of its kind at the moment, but plans are being made to construct more rotating houses. Clever idea if you're filthy rich.

Click on for more pics of the house you'll never live in. – Louis Ramirez

Rotating House [via GizMag]