Ihsan Magazine - If a nuclear power plant in the US were to have issues, who would be affected? In a partnership between Nature News and Columbia University, we now have a Google map that tells us the population sizes around plants so we can easily scan and see the number of people that could be affected should anything occur at the plants.
The team Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) database run by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Columbia University's NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center to map out in an easy-to-read way, the location and size of nuclear power plants as well as population numbers around those plants. On the map, population sizes are illustrated with circle size as well as color. Green circles represent less than 500,000 people and on the other side of the scale, red circles represent populations of over 20 million. It's a little scary to see the amount of impact a plant could have should it face troubles. But there's more than just the US to worry about. The map covers the entire world -- check out impacts a potential meltdown could have in India and China: Of course, maps like this probably won't do anything to encourage people to move away from a nuclear power plant when scenarios are only "what ifs" but information visualization like this could do something to discourage support of yet more nuclear power plants, and bolster support of renewable energy alternatives -- or at the very least, supplementing power needs with renewable energy instead of a new nuclear power plant. While nuclear is touted as being "safe" and "clean," disasters like Fukushima point out that it may be the case in the best of circumstances, but there's certainly no guarantee. And placement of the plants is a critical part of that "safe" factor -- for example, as TreeHugger Brian Merchant reported, "Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, which sits just miles away from the notoriously active San Andreas fault -- and a mere half-mile from another recently discovered fault -- operated for a year and half with its emergency systems disabled." PhysOrg aptly points out, "Of course, what's not shown in these maps are confidence measures to show how safe the plants actually are, which even if they did exist, would be based on assumptions and suppositions, likely created by the very same people that were operating them; not exactly a situation that would warm the heart." You can use Google Earth to scroll around the globe and find more details on location of and population near the various nuclear power plants.
Ihsan Magazine - Remember watching those time-lapse videos of growing plants in science class? They look pretty dated once you've checked out the same sequence through Google's new "GigaPan Time Machine" application, which lets you zoom in and out of a time-lapse video without losing resolution. "With Time Machine, the cameras capture these image mosaics at regular intervals to create a video with hundreds of millions or even billions of pixels in each frame. The result is a video that viewers have the ability to zoom in on while it's playing and see incredible detail," Google wrote in a blog post (see video demo below). For example, Google links to a video of potted plants growing from seed to full bloom. You can target where you zoom in and out to focus on certain leaves or flowers (you may even be able to spot a catepillar taking a chomp of a leaf). The panorama was created by taking photos every 15 minutes for 26 days, using a Canon PowerShot G10 mounted on an Epic Pro. The application, created by a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, uses GigaPan photo technology, which involves "stitching" together high-resolution photos to create a panorama. You might have come across it while spying on people at President Obama's inauguration. It was also built using HTML 5, making it optimal to use with Chrome 7.0+, Google wrote. It works on Safari 5.0+ as well. "Science has always been about narrowing your point of view -- seeing a particular experiment or observation that you think might provide insight," Illah Nourbakhsh, an associate professor of robotics at CMU told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In the future, Noubakhsh also said he expects upgrades whereby high-resolution photographs, stitched together into a vast panorama, can be taken in fractions of a second to better examine fast-paced events like sports or volcanic eruptions. Check it out at GigaPan's website, where you can also create your own time-lapse videos using stock photos.
Ihsan Magazine - Having visited Singapore and Malaysia, a phenomenal singer Justin Bieber will make her fans in Indonesia hysterical. Concert that will be held this evening promised Justin as a very enjoyable concert.
Bieber arrival euphoria in Jakarta had been felt since yesterday morning. In 2D terminal of Soekarno-Hatta Airport Tangerang, the arrival , since yesterday morningarrival in Jakarta had been felt since yesterday morning. In 2D the arrival terminal of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, since yesterday morning was already filled by teenagers who would like to welcome his idol’s. Although this is the first arrival for Bieber, getting such a rousing welcome at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, is great experience for this Canadian singer. This was disclosed by Bieber via his Twitter account. ‘Indonesia is “crazy”. Looks like tomorrow will be a very fun show!” Bieber wrote in his account at around 16:10 pm. Bieber itself is rumored to arrive in Jakarta at about 15:16 pm. He came out of the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Terminal 2F. But Bieber’s not alone, he brings Selena Gomez who recently rumored to establish love with the “Baby” singer
Ihsan Magazine - Horror PC games: As a gaming platform to thousands of games, there have been a lot of scary titles on the PC—but none of them adequately capture the feeling of horror as the ones on this list. Here's our list of the best horror PC games of all time.
#5 Penumbra: Black Plague
Sequel to Penumbra: Overture, Black Plague begins from where the previous game left off, with Phillip waking up from a deep slumber after being knocked out by forces unseen at the end of the first game.
#4 Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Ripped right out of the pages of H.P. Lovecraft’s tales of suspense and horror, Dark Corners of the Earth puts players in the role of a private investigator who makes his way to Innsmouth, where he uncovers the terrible secrets they hide, all the while battling with his inner demons to preserve his own sanity.
#3 Pathologic
Pathologic puts the player in the role one of three characters, each of whom attempts to uncover the source of a lethal sickness plaguing a small town. As the story takes place across a limited number of days, the player must uncover the mystery by solving various quests before the entire town is dead.
#2 System Shock 2
System Shock 2 is a first person shooter with RPG and survival horror elements. The player wakes up aboard a derelict spaceship, where most of its crew has been killed and turned into undead creatures. The player must find out what happened to the ship’s inhabitants and, if possible, find a way off.
#1 Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Trapped in a strange castle with no recollection of how he got there, Daniel has to find his way out while simultaneously delving deeper into the recesses of his mind. Amnesia is a first person adventure game that offers terror like no other.
Ihsan Magazine - Back when we were suburban pups, all we wanted in the whole wide world was a hoverboard. There was just something about the idea of a floating skateboard that drove us wild. Forget the fact that some of us couldn’t skateboard to save our lives, if our parents had come home with one in hand, we’d learn. But the hoverboard, unfortunately, is looking more and more like it’s going to be one of those inventions that just isn’t going to happen.
Still, considering all that’s been invented in the last 100 years alone, the sky’s the limit for future gadgets. Internet Access on Contact Lenses? Time Machines? Mind Control? Who wouldn’t want to tap into a mainframe capable of monitoring and controlling people all around the world? I mean, sure, you could use it for evil, like the corporations in the conspiracy series Tyranny, which is looking more “real” than “conspiracy” these days, but you could also use it to do good.
Beyond some of the more outrageous, futuristic concepts, there’s a fair share of gadgets in the pipeline that we’re allowing ourselves to get cautiously excited about. Sure, these things might pale in comparison to a hoverboard, but they’re still cool enough to satiate your inner geek.
Tyranny – The Beginning Of The End
Tyranny – Evaluation
1. The iTrainer with Smart Shoe
The iTrainer, which Apple patented last year, takes your workout to the next level. It reads your body rhythms and chooses your music based on where you’re at in your workout. With the Apple smart shoe reading and decoding all the information that can be found in your footstep, you’ll be world champion iAthlete in no time.
2. Cutting Board with Display
When you first step into a kitchen, the cutting board is not the first thing you notice. But this ain’t your grandmother’s cutting board. This cutting board – devised by Jess Griffin and Jim Termeer – is packed with state of the art technology. Part of the board functions as a digital scale. All you have to do is slide that pile of chopped onion over to the side and the cutting board informs you just how much it weighs.
3. Cybernetic Contact Lenses
We currently have microchips so small they can hardly be seen by the human eye. But how about a microchip so tiny that you can shove it in your eye? Crazy, you say? According to Babak A. Parviz, a bionanotechnology expert at the University of Washington, the technology exists. It’s only a matter of time before we start shoving chips into contact lenses, allowing the wearers to not only see better, but see things that no one else around them can see? It’s like those guys that walk around talking to themselves, and you’re not sure they’re on cell phones. Except now you’ll have people reading weather reports while they’re pretending to listen to you talk.
4. The iPhone Universal Remote
We love our iPhone, but we can’t tell you how many times we wish that it could do absolutely everything we ask it to. Current technology allows us control over our living room gadgets, but how about preheating the oven or turning on the hottub? Well this is not far off. Apple has patented a plan to turn the iPhone into a kind of universal remote, akin to the one in the movie Click. Well, not exactly like the one in Click – that one could freeze time and space. This one could only control your Xbox 360 and the ceiling fan. But if you’ve ever wanted to turn on your gaming console and cool a room at the exact same time, this news is just as big.
5. Virtual Reality Treadmill
After the hoverboard, the number two thing I wanted to have was a Holodeck, like the one on Star Trek. And if you’re ready to convert your garage into a virtual playground, you can have one! A company called CyberCarpet has put together an omni-directional treadmill connected to a virtual reality system. That’s the first step in a million-plus series of steps towards every home having their own room where fantasy becomes reality and reality, well, becomes arduous and unimportant.
6. The Pencil Printer
This handy contraption prints documents out with a pencil, which lets you erase any mistakes it makes. All you have to do is find a way to make your handwriting look exactly like Helvetica and you’re set. On top of that, you can re-insert your printed sheet and let the Pencil Printer erase everything. We’re bringing pencils back!
7. The Fabric Laptop
We like our laptops, but we’d like them a lot more if we could hang them in our closets. That’s the idea behind the fabric laptop, which Fujitsu unveiled a few months back. And by unveiled, we mean they kind of put it out there. But that’s a step in the right direction, right? Here’s hoping they dump enormous amounts of money into it. We’re tired of how hard and sturdy our machines are.
8. Witricity (Wireless Electricity)
My favorite coffee shop doesn’t have any outlets, so I’m pretty eager for the days when I can just show up with my flannel laptop and charge it sans the burdensome cord. Think about it. Don’t cords seem like something out of the stone age? Why are we still using them? They’re like braces. There has to be something better. Luckily, we’ve got a team of engineers at MIT who’ve figured out how to make wireless electricity a reality. The ironic part is that their computers keep dying mid-experiment. Maybe they should work closer to outlets.
Ihsan Magazine - Linkin Park Have Revealed that their song 'Iridescent' will be featured in the new Transformers movie, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon.
In a post on Linkinpark.com, the band stated: "'Iridescent' has always been a fan-favorite when we play live, so we're thrilled that [director] Michael Bay decided to feature it in his third Transformers movie."
The rockers had also previously contributed the songs 'What I've Done' and 'New Divide' to the first two Transformers films.
"The first two songs were huge hits and I have no doubt that this new song will be equally as successful,“ Bay said.
Transformers film composer Steve Jablonsky added: “Michael and I respond to Linkin Park because they have a cinematic sensibility to their music that translates to the big screen.”
Ihsan Magazine - If you do not have the Fantastico or Softaculous auto installer on your account or just choose not to use it, you have the option to install WordPress manually.
There are a couple of ways to install WordPress, and you should do it in a way that works for you. Some hosts have “one-click” installs via applications that install WordPress without you getting your hands dirty. You can also install it manually with an FTP client or Shell access. We’re going to go the manual route with FTP in this tutorial for a couple of reasons. Please, follow the step-by-step guide below in order to activate WordPress on your hosting account.
Required information to perform an install
FTP login info – You should have established FTP login information with your host already. You need your username and password for FTP access to the server. The address for the FTP site will be like your web address, but instead of http://domain.com, it will be ftp://domain.com. If you have WordPress installed in a subdomain of the primary domain you host with, then you will still login to the primary FTP account and perform the install in a folder within that account.
cPanel (hosting control) login info – You need to make sure you know how to access your hosting control panel, or cPanel, with your host so that you can set up the database for WordPress. It is possible that your host already set up a database for you, and you will need your database name and user information handy.
Here Step by step How to install WordPress manually:
Step 1: Download the installation file from the WordPress download page section by clicking on “Download.zip” or “Download.tar.gz”. This way you will get the latest stable release of the script.
Step 2: Upload it in public_html folder of your account. You can do that via FTP with a client like Filezilla or via cPanel -> File Manager -> Upload file(s). This way, after the installation is completed, the file script will appear once you visit your website. Another option is to create a subfolder in your hosting account and upload the file in it. The WordPress installation will be accessible at:http://www.yourdomainname.com/subfolder
Step 3: When you are in cPanel -> File Manager, navigate to the uploaded file and extract it by clicking on “Extract“. The other option is to extract the file in your computer and then to upload the content in the desired folder via FTP.
Step 4: Once the files are extracted in the desired folder, you should create a MySQL database for WordPress. You can do that from cPanel -> MySQL Databases. Detailed instructions how to do so can be found in our MySQL tutorial.
Step 5: Rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and edit it. Fill in your database connection details in the following lines: define(‘DB_NAME’, ”); // The name of the database define(‘DB_USER’, ”); // Your MySQL username define(‘DB_PASSWORD’, ”); // …and password define(‘DB_HOST’, ‘localhost’); // MySQL hostname You can also change the default database prefix in order to secure your WordPress installation.
Step 6: Open in your browser: www.yourdomainname.com/where_wordpress_is_extracted/wp-admin/install.php This should set up the tables needed for your blog. If there is an error, double check your wp-config.php file, and try again.
Step 7: The installation procedure is finished. You can save the administrative username and the password. You will need them to access the WordPress installation admin backend in the future.
Ihsan Magazine - As eCommerce has revolutionized the method of doing business on the Internet, so, too, has the thousands of apps that have appeared for the mobile phone market. The most famous of these app catalogs, the iPhone App Store has generated 4 billion downloads, totaling more than $3 billion in revenue. Online MBA has an infographic that illustrates the basic history and evolution of each mobile company’s app catalog to show the direction the app business is heading towards.
Ihsan Magazine - Julien v. Food is not just a blatant rip-off of Man v. Food; it's also a new monthly column in which Voracious contributor Julien Perry tries to eat enormous amounts of junk by taking on the city's eating challenges so you can be equally grossed out and visually assaulted at the same time. What she lacks in girth, she makes up for in appetite. Her motto: "Never leave room for dessert because you will always have room for dessert."
The Behemoth meets a big mouth.
Location:The Ram, 2650 University Village, 525-3565, U-DISTRICT. Weigh-In: A four-pound burger and a pound of fries versus me: a 5'4" Voracious contributor who tipped the scales at 110 pounds the day of the challenge (the day after is another story). For those of you keeping score, that's a two-pound gain since the Beth's 12-egg omelet challenge last month. The Challenge: The Behemoth ($24.99) is huge, for sure, but it's not simply four pounds of meat between two buns. A force of nature that even has its own Facebook page , the Behemoth is topped with every single topping found on The Ram's burger menu: mayo, mustard, Anaheim peppers, American cheese, cheddar cheese, horseradish-chive havarti, caramelized onions, ham, lettuce, Mt. Vernon pickle chips, sauteed mushrooms, hickory smoked bacon, ham, corned beef, and tomato. The winner not only gets severe heartburn and a case of the dry heaves just remembering the carnage consumed, but also a T-shirt. Sadly, the enormous price of The Behemoth is not waived if you finish it. The Rules: You have to eat everything on the plate in one sitting, which means you can't leave the table or even ask your friends to help you tackle the meat monster. Watch the video after the jump!
Difficulty: Impossible. I know there are people who actually have finished this challenge (several Husky football players not included) and lived to tell about it, but I don't know how they did it. About a quarter into the burger, I lost my appetite for it. I wasn't full, I was simply sick of the taste. What started out as an enjoyable, flavorful burger (the corned beef and mustard combo was my favorite) turned into a monotonous, self-induced force-feeding. Halfway through the burger I ordered some ice cream to try and spice up the blandness that was dragging me down. It didn't work. The Champ: Bow down to The Behemoth. It crushed me. I finished two pounds of the four-pound burger and half the fries. It was a good two weeks before I craved hamburger again.
Ihsan Magazine - Jika sebagian besar turbin angin masih memakai sistem satu arah dan mencari sumber angin secara manual. Zena, dengan inovasi terbarunya akan mengambil pendekatan yang sangat berbeda dari sistem turbin angin konvensional. Inovasi ini terkait atas teori yang menyatakan bahwa hembusan angin tidak selalu beraturan dan dapat datang dari penjuru manapun.
Rencana Konstruksi
Akses: Approx. 7 menit dengan menggunakan mobil dari stasiun JR Kurume. Alamat: Ichihara-sugitani, Shirakabe, Miyaki-machi, Miyaki-gun, Saga-ken kyushu jepang. Luas bangunan: 13.000 meter persegi.
Detail Konstruksi
Zena Wind Tower (heksagonal, tinggi 50m, 27m di diameter)
Turbin Kamar
Power Penyimpanan dan Fasilitas Control
Wilayah Administrasi dan Komersial
Wilayah Administrasi dan Komersial
Pusat Pelatihan
Luas Permukaan: 13.000 meter persegi.
Innovative design harnesses wind from any direction to produce renewable energy. While researchers at NASA have put their bets on airborne wind turbines to produce a large amount of energy, researchers over at ZENA System are taking a different approach. The company has unveiled an innovative design for a wind energy generating system that is able to harness wind from any direction. Christened the Wind Tower, the system accommodates a power plant, a tourist facility and a desalination plant in one structure. The 50m tall structure captures wind at any speed at any height and turns it into wind masses with three-point wind compression. The wind is then accelerated in the tunnel, from where it rushes toward the exit point. The exit is equipped with air pressure adjustment and produces powerful wind masses, which are then used to generate large amounts of wind energy. The creators opine that the innovative system overturns conventional aerodynamics theory and Betz Limit Value theory.
Ihsan Magazine - If you grew up with the original Star Wars trilogy you are well aware that for a time Kenner was king. Showing an amazing blend of faith and foresight, the company picked up the license for Star Wars before anyone could have possibly imagined how huge it would be, and how it would forever change both movie marketing and the toy industry in general. From 1978 to 1985, Kenner dominated the toy world with their various action figures, vehicles and role-playing items from George Lucas' game-changing space epic.
After a period of dormancy, Star Wars toys came back with a vengeance in 1995, but many toys that were originally released in the 1980s have come back onto store shelves better than ever before... with a few exceptions. Focusing mainly on playsets (the red-headed stepchild of the toy world), today's Daily List examines what great Star Wars toys Hasbro hasn't gotten around to re-releasing as of yet. Even though most of these probably never will be available again, that doesn't mean you can't make like the end of Return of the Jedi and celebrate the love.
10) Ewok Assault Catapult
One of the good things about the prequels is that they let the Ewoks off the hook. Beloved by furries everywhere, the spunky merchandising ploys have now been eclipsed on the lameness scale by Jar Jar, the various bullshit pod racers and Dexter Jettster (seriously, fuck him and that horrible waitress droid who is pushing Jawa Juice in that insufferable Episode II diner scene). The point I am making here is that although Star Warriors love to ridicule the Ewoks, they did inspire some decent toys -- including this catapult that lets you hurl plastic rocks at loved ones and shitty things. These are kind of tough to get cheap these days, but I'm tempted to scour eBay to buy one so that I can throw a boulder at my Taun We figure. Why the hell did I buy that anyway? Moving on...
9) Land of the Jawas Once you get over the sexual subtext that the above commercial is lousy with, you'll be struck by the sheer cojones that Kenner had in the 1980s by releasing toys aplenty with flimsy cardboard backdrops. Starting with the whole Early Bird offer to the Cantina and Jabba's Palace mail-away offers from the 1990s, these cardboard bits of fun are the product of a simpler age. They are primitive to be sure, but so charmingly low-tech that they lets kids imaginations run wild. If the shape and concept of this toy looks familiar to you, that's because Kenner recycled the mold for their Hoth Ice Planet adventure set (with an Empire-specific new background, natch). Cheap? Yep! Easily destroyed? You betcha. Incredibly awesome? Without a doubt. Given the advances in the production of action figures over the years it would be a fun idea to re-release these sorts of sets via mail-away so that collectors could juxtapose recent figures with these retro relics.
8) Imperial Troop Transporter Thanks to some brilliant design work by Ralph McQuarrie, stormtroopers became iconic sci-fi bad guys. It's hard to improve upon perfection, but the Imperial Troop Transport manages to make the troopers even cooler by giving them a cool ride. (Even if the toy is basically the galaxy far, far away equivalent of a boardwalk tram car). This was one of the vehicles that Kenner insisted existed just off-screen of what was seen in Star Wars. Frankly, I always thought that line was just company rhetoric to further milk George Lucas' cash cow. But this I can totally imagine being real. You've seen how lazy storm troopers are when they are on the job, do you really think they are going to walk to the Death Star commissary by themselves?
7) Ewok Village Those of you who were irked at the tenth entry on this list may want to skip ahead, because more Ewok love is in store here. As the badass UK commercial embedded above indicates, this toy is pretty crammed with play possibilities. Even if you hate the idea of Ewoks (don't get me wrong I think they were a misstep -- but Return of the Jedi has lots of other problems that are equally, if not more so, worthy of your hate) you've got to admit the idea of being able to burn action figures at the spit is pretty fantastic. Not to mention terrifically un-PC. I can't imagine this action feature being issued in a toy today. While you have a better chance of getting Lucas to publicly admit that Phantom Menace was terrible than having this playset released again, it's worth noting that it did in fact get an unexpected reissue -- as the Sherwood Forest playset in Kenner's 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves line. Although many of you wonderful nerds probably already knew that. I'm not sure if I should applaud or pity those of you who did.
6) Chewbacca Bandolier Strap
Frankly I'm a bit surprised that this toy hasn't become a fashion staple amongst hipsters. That said, I can't imagine any young Star Wars fans wouldn't want to transport their figures around on this. Perhaps Chewie's recent Clone Wars appearance may inspire Hasbro to dust this concept off for a new generation.
5) Dagobah Action Playset A few years back, Hasbro issued a mail-away Carbon Freeze Playset offer. It was a terrific, if somewhat odd, toy that allowed kids/adult collectors to relive one of The Empire Strikes Back's pivotal scenes. The company also released scaled down remakes of the 1980s Hoth sets in the early days of their revamped Star Wars line. Sadly they never got around to reissuing a Dagobah playset. I mentioned earlier the fun potential of using new figures with old playsets (just to clarify: by using, I mean displaying, not playing with while naked and alone late on a Saturday night). Since there have been some terrific Dagobah-inspired figures issued since this toy debuted in 1981, it would be great to have a new playset to accompany these. But there isn't and will never be. Just trying to use tough love here people so you can lower your expectations, move on and not wind up being a shell of a man like myself.
4) Jabba The Hutt Dungeon
Originally available as a Sears exclusive, this toy encouraged kids to be complete bastards and torture the shit out of their toys. There's no way your response to this can be anything other than respect and applause.
3) Tauntaun (With Open Belly) Realizing that fans desperately wanted to recreate the scene in which Han Solo slits open a Tauntaun to protect Luke as he builds an icy shelter, Kenner released a variant of the beast with an open belly (okay, it was a great way for them to make some extra coin as well). Nevertheless, such attention to detail reinforces how committed the company was to pleasing kids by releasing durable, fun toys with hours of play value. If memory serves, most of my 1982 was spent with the tauntaun here in my possession -- much to the dismay of some unenlightened teachers. Oddly enough, when the tauntaun was re-released in 1998 the open belly variant was nixed. You're guess is as good as mine as to why, I'm just fortunate that I didn't miss out on this bizarre little action feature during my adolescence. Also I should add that the endless screaming of "WAMPA" in the above commercial thrills me endlessly.
2) Bespin World Kenner's Micro Collection playsets were a risky move. Their small size meant that pieces could be easily lost/swallowed. Parents were pissed that they had to shell out for an entirely new (and somewhat costly) line of Star Wars figures when they were already regularly buying the 3 ¾-sized ones. There was also the problem of Kenner being in direct competition with themselves. Thus the old adage about having too much of a good thing proved to be true once again, and the Micro Collection line died a fairly quick death. It's grandiose to say that this is something of a tragedy for toy collectors, but it really was unfortunate. You see, the Micro Collection sets were insanely fun, even despite lacking articulation and much detail. Of the sets that made it on to toy shelves, Bespin World was arguably the best. These sort of small toys later became the domain of Micro Machines (which issued some pretty great Star Wars offerings themselves when they had the license) so there's no hope of seeing the Micro line revisited. But for the blink of an eye, Star Wars fans had access to sets that were bursting with innovation. Its demise is still taken particularly hard, especially given how much this stuff goes for on the secondary market. Trivia: If I had a time machine, the first thing I would do is travel back to Kiddie City circa 1983 and scoop all these up on clearance. Butterfly effect or not, I need these things in my lame excuse for a life.
1) Death Star Space Station Playset It's not surprising that Kenner's toy mockup of the Death Star tops this list, as the toy is the greatest playset of all time. What often gets lost in nerdy debates that lists like this one bring up is that toys are mainly for kids. And for kids growing up when Star Wars first hit, this massive playset was a revelation. Its various levels and action features meant that you could spend entire days restaging favorite scenes from the flick and creating new adventures. It was the yin to the action figures' yang. Both worked together so sublimely that the result was pure childhood magic. Like most of the items on this list, Hasbro hasn't remade the Death Star because if they did it wouldn't sell that well. Sure, collectors would flock to it, but the mainstream consumers tend to stay away from costly playsets. (If you want proof, just go to any Toys R Us and check out all the Indiana Jones Temple of Akator playsets that are collecting dust there). There have been individual Death Star Escape and Detention Block Rescue sets reissued since the Star Wars line started back up in 1995, but these pale in comparison to the plastic behemoth that is the original Death Star set. I never owned one of these myself, and while I have considered buying one from time to time I ultimately decide against it. Why? Because as much as we try the childhood fun of the Death Star can't be recaptured by either getting one on eBay on having Hasbro manufacture a brand new version. Of course I thought that before I saw the reissue of the Millennium Falcon too, so what the hell do I know.
Ihsan Magazine - The QR code: A thing of beauty or an eyesore? The magical barcodes that can be scanned by a smartphone to launch an offline-to-online experience are often criticized for their black and white checkerbox appearance. Those who doubt that QR codes will go mainstream are quick to point out that the look of QR codes will deter marketers and advertisers from using them.
Fortunately, QR codes are malleable and can be redesigned in truly extraordinary ways, while still maintaining their scanability. The truth is, QR codes no longer have to be checkerbox in appearance. We’ve entered a new phase of “designer codes” that can be integrated into marketing campaigns in an attractive way that isn’t an eyesore.
QR codes have so much potential from a design perspective, so let’s take a look at a few tricks and techniques you should keep in mind when designing a code to enhance your brand and appeal to your audience.
1. Add a Color Palette
The easiest way to add branding power to your code is to add color to it. Your QR code does not have to be standard black and white in order to be scanned. You can embed multiple colors and apply a color gradient without affecting scanability. The only rule of thumb is that the code color should generally be dark and placed against a light-colored background. Make sure the contrast is sufficient, or the code will be difficult to scan.
A “reversed out” code, where the background is dark and the boxes are light colored, is generally not recommended. Only a small handful of QR code readers can treat such codes as a film negative and properly interpret the data.
2. Soften Hard Edges with Round Corners
One of the QR code’s greatest aesthetic flaws is its numerous hard edges. You can dramatically lessen the severity of this look by strategically rounding some corners. It is not necessary to round all of the corners, but softening up the edges will definitely make the code appear more friendly and approachable.
3. Incorporate Dimensionality for 3D Impact
One high impact way to brand your QR code is to obstruct some of the boxes with imagery, such as a logo. By placing an image in front of the code, you imbue the code with a sense of depth. An ordinary barcode suddenly becomes a form of artwork, and you can really make a statement with the way you melt boxes together or choose to obstruct aspects of the code.
Fun ideas include adding a logo to the center of the code, but you could also add interesting elements to the corners or the sides for an even less standard look. Adding images or characters between the boxes is another playful way to dress the code with personality and style.
4. Use QR Codes With 30% Error Correction
If you decide to add in a logo to create a 3D feel for your QR code, you need to decide which part of the coding to obstruct with your logo. The key to creating these eye-popping designer codes is to take advantage of the fact that up to 30% of a QR code’s data can be missing or obstructed, and still be scanned. QR codes can be generated with 0%, 10%, 20% or 30% error correction rates built in. Building in the 30% error correction rate adds more noise (extra boxes) within the code, but those extra boxes within the code can then be removed to make way for a logo or other interesting imagery.
If you use a QR code with 0% error correction, the code will look more streamlined, but opportunities to brand the code by adding in a logo are very limited. Removing or obstructing a single box within a 0% error QR code could render it unscannable.
Apply a Trial-and-Error Process
Technically, it is possible to mathematically compute which boxes in a QR code are the buffers that can be removed, but such computations are generally unnecessary. By applying a simple process of trial-and-error, anyone can begin applying their design techniques to a code and then test for scannability.
Be sure to test your code’s scannability with multiple QR readers, ideally three or four. Some readers may be able to overcome some stylistic elements of your designer code, whereas others will not. Deploying your code without testing for scannability is designer malpractice and can cause serious heartache with clients. It is true that even with reasonable precautions, designer codes may still be difficult to scan, so you must always weigh the costs of scanning difficulty against the benefits of designing a code that is eye-catching. If a designer code takes more than a few seconds to scan, it probably needs to be redesigned.
Conclusion
In the end, creating branded QR codes is as much art as it is science. The mathematical qualities of a QR code and the impact of a clever design can truly elevate a QR code to the point where the code becomes the central artwork of a piece of marketing collateral. Applying designer best practices will enhance scanning conversion rates and effectively augment an offline item with online capabilities.
It is only a matter of time before QR codes hit mainstream. Knowing how to innovate both in technology and design, and how to implement a QR code in the right way for your business, will keep your brand on the cutting edge of marketing and technology.
