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Time to get retro back up in this place. By retro, I mean really retro, as in Apple. You are carrying around that new iPhone of yours, and no one is impressed anymore. There’s just no mojo left in it that will dazzle people, like your interaction with Siri for example. You are carrying dead weight so to speak. Well, not really, but you know what I mean, and it is not going to get any more impressive. What you need is to customize that badboy of yours. You’ve got to get accessorizing as we say here at Bit Rebels. There are a million ways to do that, but only one that will suffice in today’s domination of Apple. Do I need to say more?

I guess I do, right? Have a look at these insanely great (put in the late founder, Steve Jobs’ words) cases for your hot new iPhone. They will certainly bring back the badboy or badgirl image you have been looking for since the mojo of your iPhone wore off. These cases will take you back a decade or two, to when your Mac looked a little more geeky. How about an iMac case that will turn your iPhone into a piece of technology history memorabilia?

Again, if you want one, you will have to move quick before Apple goes ballistic on these fellas. They are available for around $45 and will totally pimp out that new dead weight of yours. I don’t know, to me these look awesomely cool and geeky, and it will be sad to see them go once Apple manages to stop the selling of them. But, don’t worry about it. There will be other cases in the future that will bump that iPhone up to awesomeness again. You just wait and see. These ones are made available by Schreer Delights.

Via: [DVICE]

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Planning and executing a startup is one of the hardest things you can do in order to make sure you stay on course. Having an intricate plan for how you will scale your business is key to your success in many cases, and it’s a necessity to stay inspired and not lose focus. However, building the perfect plan is anything but easy these days. If you want the best possible start, it’s vital that you use the Internet to your advantage. This will in turn require quite a few different tech roles to be included in your master plan. Everything from a web designer to your customers need to be aligned with what you offer, and the better they understand your concept, the better your results will be in the beginning.

To further give you an idea about the different roles in a startup, Udemy has taken their “data” to Column Five to produce an infographic that will guide you through the different positions, if that is what you could call it. It’s evident that they have spent some time building this badboy, and the fact that they have used the animal kingdom as their form of data visualization is quite interesting. I don’t know if it makes it all clearer though, or if it just jumbles it up, but that’s all the same.

The purpose of this infographic is purely to give you a better understanding about the different roles in a startup and what might be their focus and “enemies” as you progress your startup from idea to reality. For anyone who isn’t inside the core of a newly formed company, it could be hard to understand what each role really does within the startup, but this thing should clear that right up. After having looked at it for a few minutes, I must say however that it takes a while to get used to the whole animal concept of it all. Once that hurdle is gone, it is a quite neat and interesting infographic that could really open some eyes regarding what it takes and what roles are involved with a great idea when it comes to gaining success.

Click Infographic To Enlarge

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Categorizing and classifying: these are the sorts of things that taxonomists are good at. While the rest of us may be able to sort our clothes by brand, our plant classification skills have really gone downhill in the last 100 years. Today, our hunting and gathering takes place in the grocery store, where there are convenient little signs above the fruit, proclaiming that this apple is a McIntosh, Fuji, or Gala.

I’m someone who works outdoors, and I love knowing which plants are which. It’s rather useful to know your stinging nettles and your poison ivy, of course. It’s also helpful to know that certain berries won’t poison you and that certain fungi definitely will. I like eating wild plants, and I like using them as medicine. Like all naturalists, I have my favorite field guides. However, I may have just found a new favorite: Leafsnap. To the amateur or professional naturalist, Leapsnap is the coolest brain extension (oops, I mean – app) that you ever did see.

What is Leafsnap? It’s biometrics for plants. The same technology that can be used to scan your facial features can now scan leaves. It’s a free app that allows you to scan a leaf and help you identify the plant, and it comes to us courtesy of Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Imagine walking through the woods. You see a plant. You wonder whether it’s edible, or whether it could make you itchy. You take out your phone, snap a picture, and connect to Leafsnap, which gives you options that will help you determine what your plant might be. It’s like having a really outdoor-savvy friend who lives in your pocket. An outdoor-savvy friend who doesn’t eat much or make your place messy.

Right now, the technology is limited to the plants of Washington, DC and New York. After all, there are a lot of leaves out there to catalogue. If you’re a leaf aficionado and you want to help, the Leafsnap website lists volunteer opportunities. So get snap happy and start scanning!

Image Credits: [arianna873] [wallco]

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If you are an every day developer for the Internet, it is always important to stay on top of the trends when it comes to what is going on and what is going to be the next big thing. It is of course almost impossible to know exactly what will be the next success, but that doesn’t keep us from predicting it. Usually this works to at least stay in the path of what is coming and not completely put us going an opposite direction. There is a lot of data from last year that can help us point our feet in the right direction. It’s just a matter of putting it all together and crunching the numbers. The result should be somewhat of a road map for 2012, and where Internet usage might be heading.

That is exactly what the people over at Slots of Vegas have done. They took their findings and created a fresh and quite interesting infographic. It’s a voyage through the different areas of the Internet, and the predictions are quite clear. Internet usage isn’t about to get any less important. As a matter of fact, it’s going to increase by quite a lot. Online gaming, in particular, is going to become even more widespread. Games we have only seen on consoles and computers before will spring to life entirely powered by the servers on the Internet.

A negative aspect of it all is that they predict that 51% of the users on the Internet will suffer from e-anxiety. It’s a particularly nasty experience which origin lies in the inability to check one’s email or Facebook profile. The Internet has become so widespread today that if we are not able to check our services or pages, we get stressed out to the point where we will actually get physically sick. But, there are of course more positives than negatives when it comes to increased Internet usage. For example, the long term effect of this is that more and more people will be able to do their work from home. Well, if that is good or not depends on your ability to stay focused I guess.

Click Infographic To Enlarge

Via: [Daily Infographic]

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Have you ever needed to charge your cell phone only to realize that you left the USB power adapter at home on your desk? How many times can you stop by the same Apple store to borrow one of their cradles conveniently hot glued to the display table? Seriously, you’ve never jack powered while pretending to casually shop? Worse, you traveled internationally and just arrived home only to realize that your AC adapter is still in your former hotel room in Istanbul.

Imagine walking in the door and just plugging your USB cable into the wall right next to the coffee maker. This way, when you get up in the morning, everything is right there where you need it ready to go. Fresh hot coffee ready to jump start your day, assuming you remembered to program the clock correctly, and your mobile device fully charged and loaded with the days digital news. At this point, you are likely to pinch yourself wondering if you are dreaming, or worse, if I am making all this up.

The reality is that NewerTech has developed the Power2u AC/USB wall outlet. This item lists for $29.99 and is available from retailers like Other World Computing. While the buy in price may be rather steep to retrofit your entire home, a few strategically placed outlets could save you a lot of trouble. A word of caution though, I would not encourage you to replace any GFCI type outlets with these, so please consult your regional building and electrical code for installation details relating to your area.

One place that these outlet would be truly welcome is in your favorite bar/restaurant. In addition, imagine if every hotel room had one of these. It would sure make traveling a fair bit easier. Truthfully, some of the 4 star accommodations already do have similar devices, but in this economy, who can afford to stay in 4 star hotels?

Image Credit: [NewerTech]

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Now that so many people are meeting their sweethearts online with the help of social media, it makes sense that we’d start seeing more and more gadgets that are designed to make the romantic online dynamic feel the same as if it was romantic IRL, sort of. As much as we (me included) will argue that online relationships are as real as offline relationships are, when it comes to romance, that may not always be the case. There is nothing, in my opinion, which can replace the feeling of holding a man’s hand, touching his skin, and of course, kissing his lips.

However, that doesn’t stop people from trying to find viable ways to create these experiences. What you see below is the Kissenger, which is a long distance kiss messenger. In order for this to work, both people have to have that little pig looking robot thing. When they want to kiss each other, they simply kiss their pieces of plastic. The Kissenger will then transmit the lip movements from one to the other.

I have a few things to say about this. First of all, I wonder why they chose to make the little robot look like a bunny or a pig or whatever that is. It seems like a heart or something might be a little bit more pleasant to kiss. Secondly, who wants to kiss cold plastic? I wish it was softer and warmer. Oh well, I guess it’s better than this smartphone which allows you to feel someone’s kiss by using a wet sponge inside the phone. The more I type about this, the more I think I’ll keep my romantic encounters offline, but that’s just me. Maybe you have found something that works much better for you and your sweetie. If so, tell us about it!

Via: [Oddity Central]

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It has long been debated just what tools, software and debugging approaches developers of websites and web solutions should use. Everyone seems to have their own software park to play in, and to some extent it has a lot to do with what each individual finds easiest to work with. Some might find Dreamweaver, for example, to be the best way to approach coding a website. Others might feel that hard coding their website keeps them alert of problems that might arise later on, and so they choose to code it in something as simple as a notepad software. It’s really up to each person to decide I guess. However, there are of course a lot of different tools that might add speed and aid to your development process.

Not too long ago, Mozilla announced that they are launching new developer tools into the core of Firefox, which would make the debugging and building of a website solution ultimately easy. It’s a robust and most welcome addition. The features are not only helpful, but also bring a whole new way of creating websites, at least for me. Usually I have been stuck with server coding websites since I find it easier to do. It’s fast, and it gives me a great overview of things while the site is injected as I move production forward. But as always, I have to make changes directly in the code and continuously view my website in order to see the changes.

The new “change and view” approach that Mozilla introduces is quite extraordinary. You will be able to change every conceivable parameter in your website live before you make the changes to the core code. This is great since you will be able to view the result instantly and without the hassle of having to upload or view your website locally. I can’t wait to start using this new developer tool, and I am sure this is just the beginning of a long line of truly awesome developer tools. Now, if Mozilla could only address all the memory leaks in Firefox and once and for all bust out a stable version of the browser, I think they just might be able to show that Firefox really is a good browser.

Via: [Geeky Gadgets]

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In an age when basic devices are more complicated than anything you could get your hands on in the ’80s, people are constantly looking for simpler ways to get their business done. Just about a week ago, we reported that there was a new application for jailbroken iPhones to tweet by just using your voice with Siri. That app has now been released, and people are already working on new renditions of this highly anticipated hack. However, even though it is the ultimate way to tweet, there is still that element of getting your iPhone jailbroken in order to use it. A lot of people don’t want to go through all that trouble and lose their warranty in the process, so they wait until something comes along for all of us non-jailbroken people.

There are of course other ways that you can shackle the simple ways to tweet without having to cancel the warranty for your smartphone. That way is made available by Tworsekey, and it is a really nutty one. The approach is quite simple, but the implementation is ultimately geeky. If you can master Morse code, tweeting will be a dream come true. Tworsekey has actually managed to create a Morse Code Twitter Device that will tweet your sentences using Morse code. DUH!

The whole build is actually tutorialized over at their website, and it is a good one. Don’t expect it to be super easy though. We are not talking about origami here. We’re talking about some rather intricate technical stuff coupled with the Twitter API. Once the device is built, I am sure you will have a really good time tweeting. Now they can send you back in time to sit at the front lines of the future, just tweeting away before anyone else even knows what Twitter is or what it will become. This is definitely a great example of mashing the past with the future. I wish I could just try it out to see how it really works. I know nothing about Morse code, but I could always pick away at the thing like a Twitter bird to see what the results are, right?

Via: [OhGizmo!]

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Here on Bit Rebels we’ve reviewed scales (mostly mean ones) before, but honestly, I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything quite like this. Truthfully, this is not one of my favorite subjects. I mean who really cares about something that reminds you that you shouldn’t have washed down that bacon cheddar burger and fries with two pints of Bass Ale for lunch. No we are not fans of anything, let alone fancy technology, that tells you; you are getting fatter. However, this is an amazing piece of technology that is actually worth getting excited about.

What’s not to love about the scale that scales? The Scale2 on Behance Network has built in biometric scanners to differentiate each user and automatic orientation adjustments just in case you forget to step on it the right way. It also keeps track of your progress so it will alter the color of the display in accordance with your weight gain or loss. In addition, it is adjustable so that you can verify the weight of your luggage prior to leaving for the airport.

Most importantly, this thing is stylishly cool. I think even your dog will think this scale is cool, or at least he/she will appreciate not having to go to the vet for a weight check. Honestly, I doubt your dog will care about the bluetooth connection and associated mobile app, but I am sure you will. Ultimately, I believe that this scale might actually make me want to use it, well, at least once or twice before the novelty wears off. Thankfully, it doesn’t send out automatic tweets or facebook updates with your progress.

Image Credit: [Behance]

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Japanese researcher, Mitsuyuki Ikeda, has discovered a way to synthesize edible steaks and burgers from proteins derived from human feces. Due to the overabundance of sewage in Japan, Tokyo Sewage approached Ikeda to explore its possible uses. Ikeda discovered that the sewage mud contained high levels of protein because of all the bacteria.

The proteins are extracted from the sewage mud, treated with a reaction enhancer, and put in an exploder which creates the artificial meat. The “meat” consists of 63% protein, 25% carbohydrates, 3% lipids, and 9% minerals. It is colored red with food coloring, and the flavor is enhanced with soy protein.

Researchers say it tastes just like beef. Ikeda’s recycled meat would reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions. By some measures, the livestock sector accounts for 18% of all green house gas emissions. Livestock production generates large volumes of potent gasses like nitrous oxide (296 times stronger than carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping gas), methane (23 times stronger than carbon dioxide), and ammonia (key ingredient in acid rain). By 2050, research suggests that global meat production will more than double, which will significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Ikeda, a resourceful man, wanted to help create food for the needy and less fortunate. However, when you factor in the cost of research, the cost of synthetic meat is ten to twenty times the cost of regular meat. In addition, the psychological barriers for knowingly ingesting human fecal matter are difficult to overcome. In the end, Ikeda believes that once research is finished, people will be able to overlook its unappetizing origins in favor of perks like environmental responsibility, and consider it as an option or solution for feeding the less fortunate and underprivileged in third world countries. Perhaps the Chinese have already found a way to synthesize recycled meat for a lower cost per patty. A likely next step would be to begin aggressive testing and implementation in government-owned hospitals, secondary schools, and prisons. Bon Appetit! (Full Story by Ethan A. Huff on Natural News)

Via: [Natural News]