Nur Ahmad Furlong

Islamic Experience Designer

Technology

Modular Smart Phone by Phonebloks – So cool I had to share

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broken iPhone
Photo by Lars Plougmann on Flickr

I haven’t posted anything to any of my sites for absolutely ages but the following project is just so inspiring and “necessary” that I thought it’s a definite must share. I know more than anyone else the problem we have with our “smart device” becoming unusable because one small little part broke. In many cases the cost of repairs are so high we end up tossing the device and just getting another, which is an extremely wasteful practice. My daughter just washed my iPhone and destroyed the screen. Even though all the other parts work perfectly fine the phone is useless and I’m struggling to find someone to repair it at a decent rate. I wouldn’t have a problem if I was using a Phonebloks Modular Smart Phone.

THE PROBLEM

A phone only lasts a couple of years before it breaks or becomes obsolete. Although it’s often just one part that killed it, we throw everything away because it’s almost impossible to repair or upgrade.

DESIGNED TO LAST

Phonebloks is made of detachable bloks. The bloks are connected to the base which locks everything together into a solid phone. If a blok breaks you can easily replace it; if it’s getting old just upgrade.

Modular and Reusable Phoneblocks
Modular and Reusable Phonebloks

I’m absolutely stunned that we’ve come so far without solutions like these becoming mainstream. Of course we know that’s driven by the consumerism being shoved down our throats by the corporations merely interested in profits and not sustainability. If we can use collaboration and networking to create mass movements we can surely get 1 simple and very necessary product developed.

A movement not a product

I think The Phonebloks project is more of a movement that a 1 off product and deserves our energies to see it realized. These types of solutions are what improve people’s lives drastically while not completely destroying the environment. It’s a matter of changing our mindsets and looking further than the status of the latest and most flashy device.

I highly recommend giving this project your support, getting the word out there and adding your voice to the Thunderclap.

I’m working with another like minded designer to create a community directory of dwelling modules along a similar lines. It’s called Wikidwell, the brainchild of Irina Papuc. It will contain fully modular items, free of toxins and completely recyclable

AfriGadget » Dr. Ngalande’s Sugar & Yeast Generator

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Dr. Ngalande’s Sugar and Yeast Power Generator

Just off chatting with White Africa, A.K.A. Hash, blog master of AfriGadget.com who lives in the US. I thought I’d take another look at AfriGadget and see if I can find anything which sparks my interest.

Step onto the scene a Sugar & Yeast Powered Generator

cedricks_generator This invention(by Dr. Cedrick Ngalande’s) has massive implications for South Africa, not only directly related to the problem of charging of mobile phones in rural settings but in general, for the energy crisis we are experiencing locally.

This shows that Africans are very much innovating and working towards solutions to some of the most crucial problems mankind will be facing in the very near future.

“The rotor moves slowly most of the times but does pick up at certain intervals. This process continues for many hours. Since the rotor is quite heavy (and hence more inertia) a small geared DC motor can be connected to the rotor to generate power for cell phones, $100 laptops, and other things in Africa. People can leave this thing to charge their phones/$100 laptops overnight.”

The blog post where I found this little invention has a hot commenting debate about the actual viability of the invention, but like “Hash” the blog author responded, we need to be talking about what people are doing and maybe by spreading the word others can contribute and help build on these ideas.

Anyone out there know of any other cool low tech energy solutions? All I can say is Go Africa, Go!!

Lenovo ThinkPad Special Offer

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This Offer has expired!, There are no more iPods available but the machines are still on sale at great prices! 

My new partners Synerlogix Consulting are running a cool special on Lenovo ThinkPad R61i Notebooks. As far as I know their pricing is very competitive for these models and to encourage further interest they are giving away an iPod shuffle when purchasing 2 of these machines.

lenovo-promotion-15january2Lenovo South Africa has taken over the ThinkPad from IBM and they’ve maintained the highest quality and technological advancement.

The notebooks on offer have enough power and features to suite just about any type of business user. These machines stronger than the majority of notebooks on the market, something which I know I am currently in need of, running up & down with a notebook from home to coffee shops and anywhere else where business calls. What’s on offer here are brilliant notebooks with brilliant pricing and the iPod thrown in just to add to the value.

Synerlogix, unlike other dealers, have kept the prices as low as possible so they can provide this fantastic product at an affordable price which makes business sense to me as I think they’ll sell more of them that way.

If you know anyone with a ThinkPad, then you’ll realize that these machines are built to last and just keep on working.

The ThinkPads on offer have the following specifications:

Lenovo R61i Notebook NG18BZA 7650-8BG

  • Centrino Duo • Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.50GHz) • 2x512MB
  • 120GB/5400rpm • DVD±RW DL • Intel X3100 • 256MB shared
  • 15.4″ WXGA TFT(1280×800) • Modem • Gigabit Ethernet
  • Intel 802.11a/b/g • Bluetooth • Security Chip • FPR
  • 6 Cell Battery • Card reader 4-in-1 • Vista Business 32
  • No touchpad, no docking station connection and no fingerprint reader

R7 040.00 ex VAT
R8 025.60 incl VAT

Lenovo R61i Notebook NF09ZZA 8932-9ZG

  • Centrino Duo • Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.50GHz) • 2x512MB • 160GB/5400rpm • DVD±RW DL
  • Intel X3100 • 256MB shared • 15.4″ WXGA TFT(1280×800) • Modem • Gigabit Ethernet
  • Intel 802.11a/b/g • Bluetooth • Security Chip • FPR • 6 Cell Battery • Card reader 4-in-1
  • Vista Business 32

R7 700.00 ex VAT
R8 778.00 incl VAT

I hope to grab one of these in the near future as my current notebook is slowing me down a bit and I need something a little more durable. if you’re interested in taking advantage of this fantastic offer drop me a mail.

There are a range of other even more powerful notebooks also available outside of the above special through Synerlogix, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for here, visit the Synerlogix Consulting website to view the rest of the range.

lenovo-thinkpads

Offer valid from 15 January 2008, while stocks last. E & OE. Prices are subject to the Rate of Exchange ruling at the time of invoice

Think you can escape the web revolution? – Shift Happens!

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Attending the “Web 2.0 Explosion” sessions hosted by Jamaal from Jayz internet solutions gave me a fresh boost of enthusiasm about what I do and refreshed my memory about quite a few web concepts which I have packed into a few boxes at the back of my mind somewhere. Even though I have been following developments in the web 2.0 space for some time now and feel I have a pretty good understanding of the technologies and methodologies having it all presented in a clear, step by step fashion was a good way to connect a few more dots and broaden the picture.

I especially loved the videos which we were shown explaining some key web 2.0 concepts. I’ve seen this one before but mixed in with the rest of what we focussed on Yesterday it had a much greater impact and I just have to share this with those of you who may not have seen this yet.

Now, think about the impact this is going to have on you, your career, your business or organisation, your family and your relationships in only the next 2 – 5 years. We can’t afford to hide anymore. Fear of technology is something you just have to get over unless you’re prepared to be cut off from a huge percentage of the worlds population. Developments are going digital and any strategy which does not include some aspect of these developments could be missing an essential ingredient to its success.

Podcamp Cape Town – 20 October

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Podcamp Cape Town, the latest web 2.0 event for all those interested in web 2.0 and new media

Part of getting to know what’s new and who’s who in the new media industry and web 2.0 scene is attending events. The upcoming Podcamp event is one I’m very sad to be missing since I’ll be out of Cape Town on the day. I hope to be able to link up the the event remotely somehow so I can get a scope of the happenings and meet a few of the attendees.

Started in Boston, MA, USA in September 2006, PodCamp was born.

In the same style as BarCamp, PodCamp is a community driven UnConference for anybody and everybody in New Media. Whether you create and/or consume content by podcasting, listening, blogging, reading, producing video, watching and anything else that is New Media

Check out the PodCamp wiki for more info on other PodCamps around the world.

Also, go download Issue #18 of Podcast User Magazine, see page 17 on a review on PodCamp Europe. It is an awesome write-up and describes the feel of PodCamp to the tee.

If you’re attending this cool event be sure to let me know and fill me in on your experiences so i can do a bit of a writeup on the days happenings. If anyone attending will be linking up with a web-cam I’d like to project myself virtual to the event and chat with a few attendees. go visit www.podcampcapetown.com

Multi-touch screen – super coolness

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I just looked at what must rank as one of the coolest technological developments I have seen in a long time. Being a design I could not contain myself while watching this video which illustrates some of the capabilities for “the next step” in screen interactions. From visual to functional to just plain cool. Check it out for yourself. Hopefully soon we will be saying goodbuy to mouse and keyboard and getting our hands dirty by interacting with our screens in a similar way. This is what the inventor himself had to say in March 2006.

Jeff Han at ETech, 7 Mar 2006

Consulting research scientist at NYU’s department of Computer Science. This stuff is literally just coming out of the lab right now. You’re amongst the first to see it out of the lab. I think this is going to change the way we interact with computers.

I want one of these right now! Any sponsors out there :)?