When the Snuggie just won’t do: The Sleep Suit (read: Snuggie in disguise)

Before we go any further on this visual journey, I’ll point out that when mocking Sleep Suit and comparing it to the Snuggie, don’t confuse the two on your end. The Snuggie is a blanket with sleeves while the Sleep Suit is a piece of swiss cheesed foam designed into a “suit”. Well, now that that’s over, shall we continue…?

Had the world not had enough of the Snuggie? Even more so when it spread to other species such as the Dog Snuggie? Apparently not. Since the original Snuggie, there have been numerous knock offs and other countless variations all ripping off the same basic design — a blanket with sleeves. While this new emerging Sleep Suit isn’t exactly a blanket or device built to keep you warm, the ideology and actual design of the suit is equally as stupid.

So what is the Sleep Suit? Just look at the picture. It’s a sleeping aid concept designed by Forrest Jessee. It looks more like the Michelin Man’s fat ass wife ate a human and started busting at the seams. In more day-to-day vernacular, “it’s a simple suit made out of foam that properly positions the body when those midday naps arise”. So, in essence, the Sleep Suit is in fact just that — a sleep suit.

Why someone can’t make due with a pillow, blanket, rolled up t-shirt, or god forbid, an arm is beyond me. The world’s marketing gurus at work I suppose. Oh well, at least it will give blogs across the country something new to make fun of for the next few months. If the Sleep Suit comes to market, we’re all doomed.

Just answer me one thing: Would you wear this to work, school, or play?

Dvice > TreeHugger

Let out a sigh of relief: Android 2.1 appears on T-Mobile G1

Chief complaints nowadays regarding the G1 include slow and sluggish performance when compared to some of the other Android devices on the market, poor battery life, and of course, worries of a dead end nearing the upgrade path.

The last scare does have some merit. The OS partition on the G1′s built in memory is pretty much maxed out. How developers manage to cram more of those tiny bits inside the case is at times mind boggling, but that’s what they do.

If you’re still wielding a G1 and are looking into or already in the custom ROM scene, you may have heard about a ROM developer that goes by the name of “Manup456″. The road to righteousness of course starts out with a root user requirement and escalates from there. Even still, most users should be able to carry out the tasks fairly easily.

Check out Androidspin and/or XDA for the how-to’s and needed files. BTW, one nice cherry on top is that in this new v1.5, Live Wallpapers are now a go. Whew! Hit up those links folks!

GadgetVenue

WinMo 6.6: Is it real or not?

After yesterday’s little mini rant on the state of Microsoft’s/WindowsMobile affairs, I was feeling pretty disappointed. I mean, as much as I love to rip on them, I’m eager to see something new and exciting from them.

At this point, we could call any report or “leak” nothing but unsubstantiated rumor. Though when big hitters such as Bloomberg start giving their own nod to such rumors, you know something has to be up. In regards to that little tidbit above, Bloomberg is joining the many in forecasting a WinMo 7 revealing at MWC in February. It would certainly be a nice thing to see in beautiful Barcelona — that is until the shipping date hits the screens.

So what do you think? Is the so called WinMo 6.6 a real update or is it the figment of someone’s imagination?

Gizmodo

Electric “mini-world” getting the full rundown in Quebec — undertaking largest electric vehicle experiment in the countries history.

Like a scene out of a sci-fi novel, Quebec, Canada will be undertaking one of, if not the largest scale electric car tests ever. There have been plenty of stories of a group of people, school, organization, etc. banding together in the name of science and testing out alternatively fueled cars. However, this little shindig up north is that and then some.

You see, two big players are starting this eco-friendly party — Quebec’s power utility company and Mitsubishi Motors. The two of them have worked out arrangements and deals to not only test the cars, but also retrofit the systems and services needed to maintain these cars into the testers’ community, municipalities, homes, and so on.

Being the first Canadian province to adapt emissions laws similar to California’s ultra stringent laws, the province’s latest foray into eco-friendly transportation does make some sense. Besides providing a smorgishboard of scientific data, the overall concept of the experiment is just plain cool — an entire “mini-world” for these Mitsu’s little electric cars is being created. Maybe I’m just a nerd (oh hell, I know I am) but this has me all geeked. Likewise?

Cnet

The “iMac” could have been the “MacMan”

Are you an Apple junkie? Hell, are you a Windows fan and still simply finding yourself awestruck over the new 27″ iMac and it’s large flat glassy areas, beckoning your name and asking your to stare until the sun goes down? For the majority of people who buy computers, they buy them because of the specs. I would say a pretty favorable portion of their user base buy their computers not necessarily because they are almost always near the top of the line, but also because they look good.

Getting into the whole argument of computer aesthetics and why it does/doesn’t matter is an entirely different subject. A subject of which I’ll pass on undertaking today. But along those same form over function beliefs, not only do Apple products have to look good, they have to “sound good” with a catchy name. We hear “iMac”, “iPod”, “iLife”, “iPoop” etc. It may not seem like a name is that important to a product. However, if Steve Jobs had his way, the iMac may have become a much dorkier machine.

For years, old Apple employee, Ken Segal (the person who coined “iMac”) stayed mum on the one solitary name Steve Jobs offered up as his choice for Apple’s now flagship and most popular desktop computer. He said that the name would “curdle your blood”, cause women to go into labor early, and sheer sheep — all at the mere mentioning of the name. So how bad is it?

MacMan

Personally, I don’t think it’s that bad. I mean, it sounds dorky and stupid but not blood curdling stupid. Understand? Still, I’m thankful (thank you lucky star 1, and 2, and…) that a cooler head prevailed and we can now come home to our large glass slabs dubbed iMacs. Aren’t you?

9to5 Mac

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Symbian^4 pictures show the *almost* newness to drop by late 2010/early 2011.

If you frequent Gadgetsteria, you’ll probably know that I’m not too fond of Symbian in it’s current form. I mean, it hasn’t really changed all that much since 2004. While others have moved well on past, Symbian still continues to struggle on revamping and revitalizing itself. Help is on the way in the form of two major updates however: Symbian^3 and Symbian^4.

The former is more of a be all end all bug fix/optimization build that will bring with it stability and speed, prepping phones for the second large update, Symbian^4. This update, as you can see from the pictures above, attempts to bring out the visual candy for Symbian users. In most regards, it looks pretty good to me. It’s nothing drastic, but it’s certainly interesting. There’s only two things that stick out in my head though — that god awful 2001 Symbian font and the old style meters.

The font needs to go, get replaced, scrapped, killed, whatever. Point is, it’s old and not very pleasing to look at any more. A smoother and more updated font would do wonders for Symbian hands down. The meters on the other hand still reek of decades past with a new pretty color splashed on them. It may seem like I’m unfairly attacking Symbian. But that’s OK. They’re asking for it — literally. According to Nokia, the whole “Direct UI” that controls all the visuals hasn’t been finalized yet (read: if you complain loud enough, maybe something will change).

You know my opinion. What’s yours? Is it “new” enough or is it the same old Symbian in another costume?

Engadget > Slashgear > Symbian Developer

GranTurismo 5 delayed indefinitely. Forza looking even better.

What type of racing gamer are you: Gran Turismo or Forza? It’s quite simply really. You’re one or the other. You either crave for the seemingly life-like visuals of Gran Turismo or the more (physically speaking) real world of Forza with it’s active damage modeling and more advanced physics engine. Whatever the case, a delay in either games next gen title is a deafening blow. It isn’t hard to guess who the tardy entry is…GT5.

Originally slated for release nearly 3 years ago, GT5 has continued to get pushed back, delayed, and played down in the public eye. Meanwhile, the biggest contender to the sim racing genre, Forza for the Xbox 360 has enjoyed building success with each subsequent release since version 1.0. I for one can attest to the massive improvements the newly released Forza 3.0 depict over the title’s 1st gen release. Everything is prettier. The cars handle more life-like. Crash damage modeling both looks real and affects the car as it would in the real world. The latter is something Gran Turismo can’t claim.

Never before has Gran Turismo displayed any type of damage or modeled it’s effects whatsoever. Though, the stunning visuals for the time period during each game’s reign seemed to make this no damage issue a moot point. Although, mid-way through ’09 pictures and a few short YouTube clips were published showing active damage modeling in Gran Turismo 5 development. Perhaps that’s the reason for such a delay? With over 1,000 cars and 70 racing locations, getting the physics down for damage modeling is no small chore.

I’m a stickler for actual real gameplay. After Forza 1 was released, it was good-bye GT and hello Forza. I quit almost cold turkey. ‘Till this day, I spend a majority of my time on the ‘Box playing Forza giving only a few minutes here and there for glory runs on GT 4. I was hoping Gran Turismo 5 would be “the one” to bring me back, to wow me, to get me excited for GT again. Sadly it appears I won’t get that feeling anytime soon with a “TBA” date for a North American release following shortly after the “delayed indefinitely” verbiage found on the Playstation website.

If you’re still there, who are you before this announcement and who are you after this announcement?

AutoBlog > UK Gamespot

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