It’s no secret that an Instagram filter can give just about any bad cell phone shot a magic makeover. It’s instant art. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why the W Hotel in Times Square recently launched a special exhibit – and it features cell phone-only photography.
The #WDESIGN exhibit is not only for the few Instagrammers who were lucky enough to have their work selected. You can enter to win 2 nights at the W New York-–Times Square and more by uploading your best work to Instagram. Learn more here.
If you’re not interested in fame or fortune, there are a few easy ways to put your phoneography on personal display. CanvasPop takes your Instagram shots and upgrades them into high-quality canvases worthy of any museum. Printstagr.am transforms your phoneography into mini books, stickers, posters, and more.
What do you do with your favorite Instagram shots? Tweet us @WIREDInsider or comment below!
Image via derriel street photography
Thirty-eight states have banned texting while driving and 10 of those states have made it illegal for drivers to use handheld cell phones at all, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. But one city is taking it a step further – no texting while walking.
Fort Lee, New Jersey is proactively protecting their pedestrians by requiring them to walk phone-free. While this might seem excessive, it might be a good reminder for a certain breed of cell phone users: college kids. On campuses around the country, students are constantly walking to class while checking email, texting, or Facebook-ing. And sometimes that means while walking across streets, not just across the quad.
Schools like The Ohio State University have placed signs at crosswalks that read, “Your text can wait until you cross the street.” Does this friendly reminder serve its purpose or are tickets the way to go? Tweet us @WIREDInsider or comment below!
Image via Apple App Store
I know what you’re thinking. An alarm clock app? Didn’t we solve the alarm clock problem in ‘92 with some kind of Braun and Nokia monstrosity? Heck, some tech folks don’t even need sleep!
But hear me out. Uniqlo—a Japanese clothing brand whose simple designs and high quality-to-price ratio have created a global sensation—has applied their charming, quirky, and dare I say, effective, aesthetic to the alarm clock. The result is a powerful, entrancing way to wake up, and a testament to the power of good design and good design thinking.
The app is dubbed simply “Uniqlo Wake Up.” Set your wake up call with the intuitive interface, allow the app to access your geolocation, and the app will generate a lovable alarm that literally sings you awake. The gentle music and optimistic tone of the voice you’ll hear in the morning will have you leaping out of bed with glee.
The main drawback is that the app must be left open when you sleep. Nonetheless, the app can be strangely indispensable, and the aesthetic it, and Uniqlo at large, brings could set the tone for the rest of the decade.
Image via WIRED
Here’s a quick rundown of the iPhone 5 rumors clogging up my search filters. Enjoy.
The Body: It’s widely rumored that the next iPhone will be made of Liquidmetal, a material that is smooth like glass, but tough like steel. It means a thinner, lighter, sexier iPhone. But I can’t be the only one that encases my device behind bulletproof armor, which begs the question: Who cares what the iPhone is clad in since I’ll be changing its clothes anyways?
The Help: Siri is great, but she’s still just your funny friend, not your personal assistant. With boosted processing power, could the iPhone 5 hint at a smarter Siri that is actually useful?
The Due Date: Foxconn workers (dubious, we know) suggest that we could be fondling the iPhone 5 in time to snap Halloween pics. Dare we dream to believe?
What have you heard? Tell us below or @WIREDInsider.
There are currently in excess of more than 43 million refugees in the world. What if these refugees could be reconnected with facial recognition technology? What if there was a search engine that compiled refugees’ stories that matched keywords to the stories of separated loved ones? Imagine how many families could be reunited with these advancements.
On April 14th and 15th, Refugees United and Rewired State hosted a weekend hack-a-thon in London focusing on the challenges of Refugees United’s work to help reconnect separated refugee families through mobile tracing platforms.
With Ericsson as a major technology partner, Refugees United streamlines the global tracing efforts between refugee agencies working in various camps, involving refugees themselves in the process through mobile phones.
The weekend hack-a-thon focused on “simple and accessible” hacks, inviting developers to keep in mind the technological and educational challenges most refugees face living in often in inhospitable climates and places. The weekend hack-a-thon brought UI and UX experts and developers together to help Refugees United and Rewired State improve their technology behind reuniting families.
Visit http://hacks.rewiredstate.org/events/refunited to learn more about the hacks created and the amazing work being done by Refugees United, Rewired State, and Ericsson.
Image via WIRED
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most of us value the maps function of our smartphones as much or more so than the ability to make and receive phone calls. That’s what makes this piece of news from Gadget Lab (via 9to5Mac) so interesting: apparently Apple’s going to ditch Google as their official map supplier with the release of iOS 6. Face it Apple fans, Google Maps is much better on Android. Turn-by-turn directions. Offline capability. Even access to Google Mobile Labs features still in beta. It’s high time Apple gave the maps app an overhaul.
Head over to Gadget Lab to learn all about what Apple’s got in store for the new maps.
via fred-wilson:
in five years, i bet there will be a lot of red from astoria to red hook. the next big growth sector for tech is the other side of the east river
Do you agree with Fred Wilson? Will NYC’s startup scene move to the other side of the east river?
image via engadget
Advertisers have been doing it since, like, forever. Paying for their message to appear more prominently in order to get more attention. They pay Google for prominence in search, they pay Twitter for trending topics and tweets, and they pay Facebook for targeted ads and sponsored stories. Now you can pay for online attention too, with Facebook’s “highlight” feature.
Still in testing with select users, Facebook highlight gives users the opportunity to throw in a couple extra bucks with their status update in order to ensure that it appears in more friends’ feeds. Currently you can only get that if your status update is made more relevant with likes and comments. First, a question: will a post by someone who greased Zuckerberg’s palms be identified like Google ads are? Second, a prediction: a suspicious increase in the amount of “sharenting” posts in our feeds.
Would you pay Facebook to feature your status? Tell us below or @WIREDInsider.
Image via WIRED
There’s something fantastically simple about a good old-fashioned racecar game. Mario Kart is one of those Nintendo standards that can never get old. Well… maybe it’s a little dated… which is why the following projects are a must-read. Ready to give a new spin on an old classic?
Build Your Own
One MIT student spent three weeks building a real-life Mario Kart from scratch. He had many of the parts to begin with, but between the motors, batteries, and other materials, this project could set you back almost $2,000. Watch him ride it around and you’ll know it’s worth it.
Hack Your Own
And if you don’t need to literally feel the wind blowing in your hair (and you’re on a budget), this virtual option might be a better fit for you. Rig up an old stationary bike to a Super Nintendo controller with an Arduino microcontroller and other materials and your bike will become the controller. Game and exercise at the same time!
Image via Kickstarter
If you’re still on the fence about crowdfunding, check out this stat: In 2011, sites like Kickstarter raised $1.5 billion for about one million different projects. That’s quite a feat. And that number is expected to double this year.
It’s not much of a surprise considering projects like this. Pebble, a customizable watch that connects by Bluetooth to your cell phone, is the first campaign to raise $10 million. So far, more than 67,000 people believed in this project and there’s still a few days left to go.
Not everyone can win at crowdfunding, but it’s worth a shot. You never know which projects will go gangbusters (like Hickies, the attachments that turn your lace-up shoes into slip-ons). If you’re looking to help others make their dreams a reality, check out Etcher, which turns your iPad into an Etch A Sketch, or the limb.al, a USB attachment that transforms your cell phone from a useless paperweight to an easily-accessible extension.
