Jan 22
We’re running out of space, and we’re running out of money—and for anyone who wants to live in a city (that’s billions of humans), that’s a problem. Here’s a solution: micro apartments that squeeze full life into a tiny box. More »
Jan 10
This isn’t a computer simulation of New York. In fact, it’s a 3D panorama that was stitched together from multiple shots taken during a helicopter ride—and the result is beautiful. More »
Dec 08
Build a better payphone: NYC hosts public design challenge to reinvent public telephones
Posted in: Today's Chili 
New York City’s SmartScreen payphone refits may be revitalizing a handful of its 11,000 public kiosks, but the information scrubbing touchscreens lack a key communication feature: a telephone. With its existing payphone vender agreements due to expire in 2014, the city sees an opportunity to revitalize its communication infrastructure, and is asking the public to help them build the payphone of tomorrow. There’s room for hardware innovation — the city says most payphone locations can be augmented with fiber connections, opening the potential to expand functionality beyond basic voice calls.
Designers are challenged to propose solutions that enhance local aesthetics, utilize sustainable power sources, combat vandalism, account for emergency scenarios, ensure accessibility to disabled persons and, of course, generate at least as much revenue for the City of New York as contemporary payphones. Entrants have until February 18th to submit their prototypes and designs, and 15 semi-finalists will have to face down a panel of judges in March. Want to get started? Check out the project’s home page at the adjacent source link, and dig in — the city is offering resources on payphone locations, WiFi service metrics and a Collabfinder page to help prospective designers find a team.
Filed under: Misc
Source: Reinvent Payphones
Dec 02
There are all kinds of ways to get great, clever pictures. You can strap your DSLR to the frame of your bike and get amazing angles at high speeds, for instance. That’s what photographer Tom Olesnevich did with his project “NYC By Bike” and the results are fantastic. More »
Nov 30
Wow. Thank you, New York City! We had a blast at last night’s reader meetup, and judging from everyone we spoke to, a Roseland Ballroom packed full of Gotham gadget geeks had a grand ‘ole time as well. Twelve lucky readers walked away with a Samsung Galaxy Note II on Sprint and nearly 30 people took home house cleaning bots from the folks at iRobot — not to mention the Nook tablets, Oakley Airwave goggles and VestGuard UK Ballistic bulletproof case and iPad, to name but a few. We tested readers’ tech (and Wu Tang) knowledge and dancing and singing skills.
There were booths from Sprint, Samsung, Garmin, Speck, Dell, Barnes & Noble, MakerBot, iRobot, Oakley and GoGo Inflight, or as attendee Peter M. put it, a “mini-CES meets A Night at the Improv.” Relive the magic in the gallery below.
Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Nov 29
New York knew for a long time that a big storm could flood and collapse the subway system, which is exactly what happened with Sandy. Yet city officials did nothing about it. But now, after all the suffering, we’ll finally be prepared. More »
Nov 25
Google’s ‘gallery for everyone’ lets you take over Times Square, say thank you for…
Posted in: Today's Chili 
What would be a neat trick to round off a perfect holiday with friends, family, and — if you’re lucky — some bargain-priced tech? How about getting your smug, contented face up on the screens in Times Square? Not got the big corporate budget? No worries, as Google’s here to pick up the tab as part of a Chromebook promotion, and possibly make it happen for you. Submit a picture at the source link, along with a snappy “For… ” caption, and you could find yourself, your mom, your cat, or football team up there for all to see. We were going to submit one of our own, but, well y’know, we’re still wearing the t-shirt.
Filed under: Misc, Internet, Google
Source: Gallery For Everyone
Nov 21
With the number of people owning smartphones as well as ordinary mobile phones, we do wonder whether there is a need for pay phones – especially in large cities like New York. This has led to a plan that will see the transformation of a quarter of a thousand of New York’s city phone booths into a device that will be more at ease in the 21st century – as a touchscreen information hub. This idea will continue where the successful pilot left off, being an initiative that the city of New York, Cisco and City 24/7 have come together for. These new touchscreen information hubs is tipped to proliferate into all five boroughs in the Big Apple eventually.
Apart from carrying the relevant directions and local information to passersby, these displays can also be used in the event of emergencies, functioning as two-way distress devices that also deliver emergency updates as and when the need arises. Hopefully the vandals will leave these new information hubs alone in the long run.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Betaville allows New Yorkers to experience real-world SimCity, Nissan NV200 is New York’s official taxi,
Nov 20
MakerBot Introduces 3D Photo Booth In Its New York Store, Print Your Face In 3D
Posted in: Today's Chili
Today was the official grand opening of the MakerBot Store in New York. Head over to 298 Mulberry Street and you can buy MakerBot printers, filament, and pre-made items, such as bracelets, watches and toys. And that’s not all.
MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis unveiled a new 3D photo booth powered by ShapeShot. The photo takes a couple of minutes and costs $5 for three reusable shots. Then you can order prints of your head. In 3D. Depending on the size, they run $20, $40 or $60. The most important part remains the fact that there is now a physical address to experience 3D printing.
“Ever since we started, people kept saying that this is science fiction — it’s not real. So we had to make a MakerBot Store,” Pettis said. Understanding 3D printing takes time, and a store is a good way to reach a new audience. But MakerBot also hopes to sell Replicator printers, filament and little printed objects manufactured in New York.
Most of the objects in the store have been designed within the previous week and printed over the previous two days. Such a short product cycle is something new in manufacturing. With the store, it’s all about making 3D printing mainstream.
“My hope is that the next lemonade stand for kids will be a MakerBot stand,” Pettis said. For now, NASA and GE are the two most important clients, and four of the top ten architectural companies use a Replicator. MakerBot has sold 15,000 printers so far.
When asked whether it’s possible to select a 3D design at home, print it in the store and pick it up later, Pettis answered “not yet.”
Nov 09
Engadget’s next reader meetup is in New York City this month! More tickets available!
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Do you feel that? There’s excitement in the air. The next Engadget reader meetup is approaching. We’re still buzzing from our Seattle event and are excited to bring some of that gadgety magic to the New York area. We’ve also been given the go ahead to open up some more tickets for the event, which will be going down on November 29th at Roseland in Manhattan. Make sure you’re on the list by entering all of the pertinent info here.
Oh, and if you’re interested in sponsoring the event, there’s still time. Just drop us a line at sponsors [at] engadget [dot] com.
Engadget’s next reader meetup is in New York City this month! More tickets available! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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