Vending Machine from Ellie Harrison on Vimeo.

Sweet deal!  The vending machine’s story was just picked up by Gizmodo – check out the full story there.

(Gizmodo)

UPDATED: While we wait for the coverage to start @kevinrose was the lucky recipient of some leaked photos of the “S” – you can find them here!  Looks pretty awesome!

UPDATED (AGAIN):  Looks like the feed died well into the unveiling ceremony.  Streaming FAIL!  Anywho – checkout Autoblog and Jalopnik for all of the specs on this beast.  Highlights?  Seats 7, up to 300 mile range, charging in as fast as 45 minutes, and, finally, it’s awesome!

(via Leftlane)

Somebody Call a Doctor!

You may have noticed the update coming through the pipes from Apple, “I’m sorry mam…your computer needed to be placed on iLife Support”.   Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Hah! Yup! Totally pulled an “iPhone Guy” on that one. Don’t worry though – it’s ok, and that’s nothing compared to what might happen to it in a few days. MUAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!

Lego Camcorder @ Engadget

Kids Tech Review, via Engadget, reports that the awesomest Lego Camcorder ever will be priced around $80 and will be due out this summer or fall.    It doesn’t appear that the camera will be assembleable (is that a word?), which is a huge bummer.  Hopefully the rangefinder we saw earlier will require some assembly.  If you don’t build it Lego, what’s the point?

(Kids Tech Review via Engadget)

It’s a pretty sweet ride, the only drawback being that costs over $100,000.  That’s half of the worth of my house.  Sheesh!  Not to worry though, Tesla is coming out with a more affordable model.  Likened to the BMW 5-series, the “Model S” will be available sometime in 2011 with a pricetag of about half of that of the Roadster.  That’s right kiddies – only $50k.  That’s still a hell of a lot for a car, and still fairly out of my price range…and the price ranges of most of the people I know.  But it IS accessible – and it’s definitely a step in the right direction.  Who knows, maybe in 2011 my financial picture will be a little different – an all electric car is something that I’m definitely willing to stretch the pocketbook for.  Or, even better, this premium technology and price point will be used to push an economy/everyman’s electric car agenda.  I can definitely get behind that.

Tesla won’t be unveiling the Model S until March 26th, but here’s an “upskirt” photo to whet your appetite – it looks hot:

Tesla's "Model S"

Well, I think it will look hot.  The potential is definitely there!  What do you think?

(via Wired)

Tadaaaa:

iPhone Document Scanner from Kyle A Koch

You could buy one from Kyle, which undoubtedly supports a good cause (he’s an industrial design student), or you could get all DIY ninja and make one using the free .eps template.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.

(KyleaKoch’s Ponoko Page via Photojojo’s Twitter Feed)

Polaroid's PoGo Printer Thingy

I’ve been moaning on and on about how Polaroid isn’t making film anymore and about all of the great alternatives out there to help you get your fix of instant film goodness (if you missed it just search for “polaroid” above or hit up the tag cloud).  I’ve neglected to ever really mention what Polaroid was doing instead.

Enter the PoGo Mobile Printer.  It’s a tiny printer with no ink cartridges.  Which is cool, classic Polaroid thinking.  That being said, in the age of “The Cloud” and high resolution mobile devices, I’m not sure I can get too excited about it.

There is a reason to like the PoGo though.  Apparently Polaroid contacted TUAW with an interesting press release:

To encourage Apple to become compatible with the Polaroid Pogo printer, we are asking iPhone owners to submit an enhancement request form at the following link and to express their interest for better Bluetooth transfer capabilities including OPP profile so they can print to the Polaroid Pogo printer.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Thanks in advance for your help!

So if you support Polaroid in making their 2×3in photo spewing gadget iPhone compatible you’ll also be supporting Bluetooth data transfer.  I’m not sure I want a PoGo, but I definitely want my iPhone’s Bluetooth opened up!

(TUAW)

Apple Screenwriting/Storyboarding App?

In our office we use Apple programs almost exclusively for post-production.  As a producer, I’m excited at the possibility of them entering the pre-production space:  the patent application also hints at network and “cloud” connectivity/syncing, as well as production centric scheduling and logistic tools.

As for the combined storyboarding/screenwriting, if Apple tightly integrated the program with Final Cut Pro, massive efficiencies in production (shooting) and post production (editing) could be gained, not too mention easier storyboarding for people like me who cannot draw.

Directors and editors could actually work on a rough cut of the film within Final Cut Pro well before production or even heavy pre-production.  This would give them time to experiment with things like pacing and script options before they are shot, as opposed to during or after the shoot.  This already happens on big budget movies – but the storyboards are hand drawn.  The potential Apple app wouldn’t necessarily replace this process, but would streamline it as well.

I know that there are at least a few editors that read this blog, so please chime in with your thoughs below!  Are there any competing products that have the same proposed functionality that also integrate with Final Cut or Avid?

Hit up the link below to check out the full Macblogz post as well as a link to the full patent application.

(Apple Patent via Macblogz)

Lego Rangefinder from telegraph.co.uk

Well, if it’s a kit that you can build I’m totally sold – the nostalgia factor alone makes this product worth the reported £14 to £40 cost (that’s approx $28 to $80 to us Yanks).

(Telegraph and Lego)