Micro Homes: Micro Compact Home

The Micro Compact Home, or m-ch is the brainchild of a team of researchers and designers based in London and at the Technical University in Munich. It was developed as a way to meet an increasing demand for short stay living for many different types of users, including students and business people.

The m-ch is a timber frame structure with anodised aluminium external cladding. It is insulated with polyurethane and fitted with aluminium framed, double-glazed windows and front door with security double lock.

The m-ch measures 266cm x 266cm x 266cm. The ceiling height is 198cm and the door width is 60cm. The unit weighs 2.2 metric tons (this is an important factor since the m-ch can be shipped pretty much anywhere in the world). 

The interior, although small, is entirely multifunctional:

The m-ch features include:

• two compact double beds, each measuring 198cm x 107cm, with covered cushions
• storage space for bedding and cleaning equipment
• a sliding table measuring 105cm x 65cm, for dining for up to five people
• flat screen television in the living/dining space
• a shower and toilet cubicle
• a kitchen area, which is fitted with electrical points and features a double hob, sink and extending tap, microwave, fridge and freezer units, three compartment waste unit, storage shelves, cutlery drawers with gentle return sprung slides and double level work surfaces
• thermostat controlled ducted warm air heating, air conditioning, water heating
• fire alarm and smoke detectors

For more information, feel free to visit their site at www.microcompacthome.com.

Micro Homes: Cell Brick by Yasuhiro Yamashita

When thinking of small living spaces and micro homes, Japan is often a country that jumps to mind. With real estate at a real premium in most of Japan, this type of architecture is really becoming popular in this country. One of the very interesting microhomes to come out lately is Cell Brick by architect Yasuhiro Yamashita (not to be confused with the Judo champion of the same name). Built in Tokyo, this small home is unique in many ways:

One of the truly interesting things about this very small and modern home is the fabrication, which is made up of steel bricks that are interconnected by bolts and also serve as accessible interior storage spaces:

Each box measures 900mm wide × 450mm high × 300mm deep, with appropriate spaces left between some boxes to serve as windows. The exterior is clad with ceramic, which serve to improve the thermal performance and efficiency, reduce ambient noise and is very low maintenance. The interior is another story:

Although small, the home includes a living room, kitchen and bedroom on the main floor. There is an upper floor, a roof deck as well as a small basement. The primary advantage of this building technique is a drastic reduction in the need for furniture, as the steel boxes themselves make excellent storage areas.

Pretty amazing things coming out of Japan's exaggerated real estate prices. By saving money on a much smaller piece of land, a more unique and functional home can be created.

Micro Homes

Having always been interested in architecture and more specifically with small living spaces, I thought that I would establish a new column on this blog, on that very subject. Every week and more often when possible, a new Micro Home will be discovered and shared. My goal is really to get people thinking and talking about smaller homes and how they use their living spaces.

I hope you enjoy and encourage you to share any information you might have on some Micro Homes that might not have been discovered yet.

Online Tools review: Aviary

Online tools are really taking off and Aviary is really heads and shoulders above the rest at the moment. With a complete suite of online tools, from music creators to image editors and screen capture tools, Aviary is truly a useful tool when working away from your desk. Hell, it's good enough to use at your desk and that's probably the best endorsement.

Take a look and try out some of the tools, I think you will be very impressed.

Online Tools review: Bubbl.us

As far as online tools goes, this one is a little different. Bubbl.us is an online brainstorming/mindmapping tool that lets you do things with the mindmaps that you create. Some of the possibilities include:

• Create colorful mind maps online
• Share and work with friends
• Embed your mind map in your blog or website
• Email and print your mind map
• Save your mind map as an image

The only negative aspect is that an account must be created (leading to another username/password combination to remember), but the functionality is superb and the tool truly useful. Take a look, it might be worth adding to your toolkit.

Book review: Posters of the Canadian Pacific

Not too long ago, I got a fantastic deal on a book whose topic is one that has long been a favourite of mine: Art Deco travel posters. And one of the great leaders in this field was the Canadian Pacific. Hence the book, Posters of the Canadian Pacific, a treasure trove of some of the most beautiful posters developed during this fascinating period.

I happened upon a french copy of the book, but that is of little consequence (as I speak and read french) as the art works are essentially the same in both languages. I have always really enjoyed the Art Deco movement and these images always invoke that feeling for me.

If you enjoy vintage travel images, this is the book to look at. I am sure you will find it enjoyable and its a great reference book for graphic designers trying to inject a little retro into their projects. A lot of inspiration in this volume, both for traveling and for art.

Online Tools review: WobZIP

Ever find yourself in a situation where you need to unarchive a file of one type or another, but simply do not have the tools, or privileges to install an application to do it for you? Well, here is WobZIP to the rescue! The tool supports numerous archive formats, including: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZHCHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS

There are several advantages to using this tool, as outlined by the makers themselves:

• Web-based means hassle-free: Now you can unzip your files in school, at work or anywhere as long as you have access to the Internet. No longer will you be limited by the inability to install programs onto admin-protected computers.
• Uncompressing online means safer: We scan your compressed files using an anti-virus scanner so any infected files will be removed before you download them onto your computer. 
• Uncompressing online means the freedom to choose: Our aim is to allow users to uncompress as many compressed file formats as possible. This means that you can compress your files using the compression format of your choice and send it to your friends. Tell them about WobZIP and uncompress on the fly.

A great addition to your toolbar, WobZIP is a truly useful tool!

Pick of the week: Unicat

I've always enjoyed travel and outdoor adventures, but with a young family, it's a little more complicated. I had always envisioned being able to travel in comfort and security, but without being tied down to North America's road system. Then I discovered Unicat and some of the wonderful expedition worthy machines they custom build and I found my dream:

This model, the EX70 on a 6x6 MAN chassis is not the only model made by any means. If you can dream it up, the people at Unicat can build it for you! Head on over to their site and take a look at some of the fantastic vehicles they have built to date!

Online Tools review: Box

Ever run into issues trying to share files with coworkers who may not necessarily be in the same country? If you work with material that is not really of a secure nature, you might consider using a tool like Box. With this tool you can:

• Box.net's online file storage makes it easy to securely share content as a link or a shared folder with anyone — inside or outside your company
• Create an online workspace where you can share project files, add comments, assign tasks, start discussions or create new content
• Discover new content by viewing all the latest Box activity within your company or by searching the full text of all shared files with no extra investment

Fantastic tool for collaboration. Take a look and try it out.

Apple's latest interface device

Having revolutionized device touch interface with the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, as well as by the inclusion of trackpads on their laptops that mimic the functionality, it stands to reason that Apple would eventually attempt to bring this fantastic feature to their other computers and even competing computers. The answer was the Magic Trackpad.

The Magic Trackpad is really an aluminum trackpad, with a wear-resistant glass surface, very much like the trackpad on the Macbook and Macbook Pro laptops with two significant differences: it's wireless and about 80% larger than any other trackpad made by Apple. With a similar form factor to Apple's wireless keyboard, it's a great fit on your desktop:

One of the nice improvements in touch interface has been the development of multi-touch and the Magic Trackpad brings this feature to your desktop.

Overall, a fantastic device from Apple and the user feedback has been very positive. Score another one for Apple's innovative design team!

A real tongue twister...

Apparently, the ability to recite this "poem" with accuracy indicates that you are more capable than 90% of native English speakers worldwide:

Dearest creature in creation,

Study English pronunciation.

I will teach you in my verse

Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.

I will keep you, Suzy, busy,

Make your head with heat grow dizzy.

Tear in eye, your dress will tear.

So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard,

Dies and diet, lord and word,

Sword and sward, retain and Britain.

(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)

Now I surely will not plague you

With such words as plaque and ague.

But be careful how you speak:

Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;

Cloven, oven, how and low,

Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery,

Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,

Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,

Exiles, similes, and reviles;

Scholar, vicar, and cigar,

Solar, mica, war and far;

One, anemone, Balmoral,

Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;

Gertrude, German, wind and mind,

Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

Billet does not rhyme with ballet,

Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.

Blood and flood are not like food,

Nor is mould like should and would.

Viscous, viscount, load and broad,

Toward, to forward, to reward.

And your pronunciation’s OK

When you correctly say croquet,

Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,

Friend and fiend, alive and live.

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour

And enamour rhyme with hammer.

River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,

Doll and roll and some and home.

Stranger does not rhyme with anger,

Neither does devour with clangour.

Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,

Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,

Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,

And then singer, ginger, linger,

Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,

Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

Query does not rhyme with very,

Nor does fury sound like bury.

Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.

Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.

Though the differences seem little,

We say actual but victual.

Refer does not rhyme with deafer.

Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.

Mint, pint, senate and sedate;

Dull, bull, and George ate late.

Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,

Science, conscience, scientific.

Liberty, library, heave and heaven,

Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.

We say hallowed, but allowed,

People, leopard, towed, but vowed.

Mark the differences, moreover,

Between mover, cover, clover;

Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,

Chalice, but police and lice;

Camel, constable, unstable,

Principle, disciple, label.

Petal, panel, and canal,

Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.

Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,

Senator, spectator, mayor.

Tour, but our and succour, four.

Gas, alas, and Arkansas.

Sea, idea, Korea, area,

Psalm, Maria, but malaria.

Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.

Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

Compare alien with Italian,

Dandelion and battalion.

Sally with ally, yea, ye,

Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.

Say aver, but ever, fever,

Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.

Heron, granary, canary.

Crevice and device and aerie.

Face, but preface, not efface.

Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.

Large, but target, gin, give, verging,

Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.

Ear, but earn and wear and tear

Do not rhyme with here but ere.

Seven is right, but so is even,

Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,

Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,

Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)

Is a paling stout and spikey?

Won’t it make you lose your wits,

Writing groats and saying grits?

It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:

Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,

Islington and Isle of Wight,

Housewife, verdict and indict.

Finally, which rhymes with enough,

Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?

Hiccough has the sound of cup.

My advice is to give up!!!

Hope you enjoy it! I am not the originator of this exercise, but am reposting it for your pleasure. It's a fantastic way to practice speaking for a living!

Book review: Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook

Being a preparedness freak (very distinct from what most people term "survivalist"), I was ecstatic when my wife got me a copy of The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook. In essence, the book is a collection of all of the Complete Worst-Case books and a CD that contains a web-version of the same books and some pretty nice wallpapers.

If you have anyone on your shopping list that loves to know what to do in the oddest  situations, this is the book for them:

• Need to know how to handle a stampede of rhinoceros?
• Need to know how to escape a sinking vehicle?
• Need to know how to jump with two people and one parachute?

The book boasts more than 500 pages and although some of the situations are a little unlikely, most of the advice provided is pretty well thought out. Well worth owning and a great conversation starter with guests.

Have fun and survive!

The great RAW versus DNG debate.

Being a digital photographer, it has come to my attention that between my wife and I, we are using digital SLR from the same company (in our case, Canon), but both produce RAW files that are a little bit different from each other. And this is a pattern that repeats from device to device and manufacturer to manufacturer. This leads to some issues concerning the archival safety of digital pictures as a whole. If everyone is using a proprietary format, where will that leave us in 10 years? Or 20 or even 30 years?

Adobe has been working on this issue for a few years and the result of their work has been the creation of an open standard labelled DNG. It is Adobe's hope that by creating a well and publicly documented with readily available specifications will lead to greater adoption amongst manufacturers while allowing changes in the technology to be easily accommodated as they appear.

Adobe lists some pretty convincing arguments for both hardware and software manufacturers, including:

• DNG removes a potential barrier to new camera adoption, since raw files from new models will be immediately supported by Photoshop and other applications.
• The DNG format allows R&D savings by reducing the need to develop new formats and by simplifying camera testing.
• A common format allows greater control over the quality of conversions by third-party applications.
• The specification allows the addition of private metadata to DNG files, enabling differentiation.

For early adopters, Adobe has made an application available for both Windows and Mac platforms, to convert RAW image files into DNG, in batches and great renaming functionalities. If you are a digital photographer, you owe it to yourself and your images to read up on this debate, as it may have a greater impact than you may be aware.

Amazon fights back against the Kobo eReader

In a pretty clear demonstration that Amazon seriously believes that the Kobo eReader could potentially be a threat in the eReader market, released a new version of their Kindle at a price point to beat out the Kobo in price and features. With WiFi capabilities for $139US and 3G capabilities for $189, Amazon is putting more than the Kobo in jeopardy.

I still believe that one of the great features of the Kobo is the ratio of screen to controls, which leaves the device feeling more like a book than purpose-built computer or over-sized  Blackberry. As others have said, the Kobo was relying on price point and access to a great library to win over a part of the market. Now that this strategy may no longer be valid, it will be interesting to see what comes up on that front.

Pick of the week: DIY Audio Projects

High fidelity, audiophile quality equipment has always been very expensive and out of reach for the average person. But this has not stopped many from building some of the highest quality audio equipment in the world and sharing the research and results.

DIY Audio Projects is a gold mine of plans, pictures, information, research and more on the construction of almost every type of audio component you can imagine, from high-end turntables to class A mono tube amplifiers and more, the site is a dream come true for electronic enthusiasts and musical fanatics on a budget.

Worth taking a look if only to remind ourselves that every item, no matter how well made, is made by someone. The lesson is that anything can be made!

Some websites for iPad users

It occured to me that putting together a list of some of the more interesting iPad-related websites might actually be something really useful for my wife and her new toy. So here goes:

• Apple's iPad Site
• Magical Tablet
• iLounge
• The iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch Blog
• iPad in Canada

There are of course, several manufacturers that have already dedicated themselves to creating accessories for the iPad and one site is a great repository of review information on many of these:

• iPad Accessories

And finally, this last site is iPad-related in the sense that it provides wallpapers for iPad users:

• iFullscreen

Enjoy, iPad users (that means you, love!)

New iMac updates from Apple

Almost coinciding with the iMac's 10th anniversary, Apple has just released an updated version of their most popular computer. As updates have been appearing steadily in the last few months, it was expected that Apple would introduce some changes to one of their best-selling product lines.

As with the previous incarnation, Apple has maintained the sleek aluminium and wrap-around glass case, in the same dimensions, 21.5 and 27 inches. But now, all iMac have received a LED backlight update, as well as the introduction of IPS to a larger display. IPS, or In Plane Switching, is one of the technologies developed for the iPhone 4, which was deemed of high enough value to warrant its inclusion in desktop computers. IPS increases the angle of view of LCD monitors, allowing a similar quality of image whether from the front of the display or off to the side, providing a viewing angle of almost 178 degrees vertically and horizontally. Another interesting feature concerns  specifically the 27 inch models; the screen resolution has been increased from the default 1920 x 1050 to a whopping 2560 x 1440, a 78% increase in number of pixels between a 27 inch and 21.5 inch display.

The display improvements don't end with the actual panel. Apple has chosen to upgrade the graphic processor, providing users with two choices, either the ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256MB of dedicated memory or the ATI Radeon HD 5670 with 512MB of dedicated memory. But for the 27 inch model, the choices are even better. The same ATI Radeon HD 5670 with 512MB of memory or the ATI Radeon HD 5750 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. As a side note on graphics, all iMacs now feature:

• Mini DisplayPort output with support for DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI (adapters obviously sold separately); 27-inch models also support input from external DisplayPort sources (adapters obviously sold separately)
• Support for extended desktop and video mirroring modes
• Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to a 30-inch display (2560 by 1600 pixels) on an external display

One of the expected upgrades was, as can be expected, with the processor architecture.

With the inclusion of the i5 and i7 processors in the Macbook Pro line, it was to be expected that this processor line would make it over to the iMac. The base model is now available with one of these choices:

• 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB level 3 cache; supports Hyper-Threading
• 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB level 3 cache; supports Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost
• 3.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor with 4MB level 3 cache; supports Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost

The 27 inch model is now available with one of these choices:

• 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB level 3 cache; supports Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost
• 3.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor with 4MB level 3 cache; supports Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost
• 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor with 8MB level 3 cache; supports Turbo Boost
• 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor with 8MB level 3 cache; supports Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost

Along with the improved processor choices, Apple has also updated RAM capacities, with all iMac now coming with a minimum of 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; although all machines feature four SO-DIMM slots to support up to a maximum of 16GB of RAM.

All models retain a Firewire 800 port, as well as 4 USB 2.0 ports and as with all new Apple computers:

All models have also gained an SDXC port to conveniently provide access to SD cards without the need for a separate card reader.

All in all, a well balanced set of updates. I look forward to my next trip to the Apple store to get some hands on experience with these new machines.

An iPad in the family...

Ever since the Apple iPad came out, my wife has been busy trying to determine if she should get one or not. I've watched her pour over reviews and comments, look through the Apple App Store to find applications she likes, browse various manufacturer's sites for accessories and so on. Well, this evening, she returned home with her very own iPad as well as the Apple dock for the device and an iTunes Store gift card!

In two shakes, the device was out of the box and after a few moments of fiddling, she was playing around with it.  I imagine that the next few days should provide some interesting first hand information regarding its use.

Book review: Egypt's Sunken Treasures

Browsing through books at discount prices, one often finds some rather interesting discoveries, including this fascinating book, Egypt's Sunken Treasures, which details the discoveries made by French underwater archeologist Franck Goddio, founder of the European Institute of Underwater Archeology.

With some pretty remarkable photographs of the excavation process, as well as the numerous finds which includes statues, stone tablets, jewelery and architectural elements, the book also dwells on the interactions between the cities of Alexandria, Heraklion and Canopus and ancient Greeks, and the influences they had on each other. A great book to add to you collection and especially worthwhile for anyone interested in ancient history.

The book is available in several languages and makes an excellent gift.

Wedding Photo Project - Anna and James

Another wedding project for my wife's studio, Photo Pulse; as before, I've volunteered to help her as a second on her shoot. In this case though, the client has requested a fairly limited package, so we will not be shooting as much as we did for the last wedding we did. But I'm looking forward to the session as I always love to watch my wife work.

I also enjoy getting to work on an aspect of photography that I am far from mastering. But practice makes perfect!

Inside look at the new Mac Mini

It usually doesn't take very long after a new piece of hardware is out that someone decides to take it apart. That was the case with the new Mac Mini, which iFixit was kind enough to tear down and document. Take a look at some of the pics they posted on the process:

Very nice indeed. You have to hand it to Apple, the hardware is always a step in the next direction!