Jun 2007
Open Road Podcast releases episode #024
30 June 2007 23:33 Filed in: Podcast
Open Road Podcast
Episode #024, Freeman Thomas Interview, Part 5 (Final)
I’m Mr Black and I’m here with Mr Blonde in our virtual studio editing the interview carried out yesterday with Freeman Thomas, the head of Advanced Design at Ford.
Whaddya think so far, Mr Blonde? For guys like us, who want cars that are both efficient and fast, Freeman’s thinking holds a lot of appeal. Nothing waste, get the job done, like a hummingbird or a Cheetah. I’d also ask for a healthy does of good looks and materials.
You know, at this Cars & Coffee show, a guy had an Ariel Atom. Now that’s efficient like a hummingbird, but you need to wear a helmet and a rubber suit to drive around in it. That’s perhaps a little too efficient for a road car. Still, I’d love to have one as a toy for track day.
OK, Mr Blonde, we’ll roll into Jaguar and Mazda commentaries.
|
We picked up two new iPhones
30 June 2007 00:16 Filed in: Announcement
Apple posts new finger tips video for the iPhone
29 June 2007 12:13 Filed in: Tech News
AT&T launches new iPhone store locator
27 June 2007 09:32 Filed in: Tech News
Today AT&T published a store locator for the new iPhone. You can now search for only the stores that will have the iPhone available.
iPhone Store Locator
Apple releases new How-To video for the iPhone keyboard
27 June 2007 09:31 Filed in: Tech News
Open Road Podcast releases episode #023
26 June 2007 23:38 Filed in: Podcast
Open Road Podcast
Episode #023, Freeman Thomas Interview, Part 4
I’m Mr Black and I’m here with Mr Blonde in our virtual studio editing the interview carried out yesterday with Freeman Thomas, the head of Advanced Design at Ford.
What did you think of that last part, Mr Blonde? Designers as artists and engineers rather than just taste fairy stylists. Works for me.
One of the few things I miss about my time in Detroit—and man, after four years and 18 days I ran home—is the smell of the clay from the design studios. I used to take a pinch of it and take it back to my desk just because I loved the scent so much.
When he talks about conversion vans, I get a little scared. Eddie Bauer editions, beige fender flares, gold-anodized ladders. Not for me.
Let’s role it, Mr Blonde.
Apple and AT&T announce new iPhone service plans
26 June 2007 09:43 Filed in: Tech News
Today AT&T and Apple announced new iPhone service plans. Syncing and phone activation is done through iTunes. Apple posted videos on syncing and activation. All iPhone service plans include Visual Voicemail and unlimited data (Internet and email).
AT&T Service Plans
Apple Syncing and Activation
AT&T Coverage Viewer
Open Road Podcast releases episode #022
23 June 2007 11:19 Filed in: Podcast
Open Road Podcast
Episode #022, Freeman Thomas Interview, Part 3
I’m Mr Black and I’m here with Mr Blonde in our virtual studio editing the interview carried out yesterday with Freeman Thomas, the head of Advanced Design at Ford. In the period when I worked in Detroit, I got to attend quite a few clay reviews. And boy, you can sure tell whether or not a car is worth building. It takes just a few moments to see if somehow the car takes hold. Now, you might not understand it, but a good design makes you feel a bit unsettled. Mr Blonde, you’ve had babies. Must be like that feeling when you see your kid pop out and you’re in a state of wonder, but also your stomach is clenched up with worry that you roll the kid over and he’s got a tail!
As we go through this, you’ll hear me blurt out something about a Ferrari going by. Well, a Ferrari 430 Modena passed by outside the design center.
This next part deals with how you redesign an icon, particularly something like the current Mustang, which feeds heavily off the late Sixties past of the Mustang. And then we take a journey into abstract thinking about how designers function, talking about Kelly Johnson, the man who designed so many great American jet aircraft, to Burt Rutan, who designed SpaceShip One, and Freeman even reaches to Andy Warhol.
Open Road Podcast releases episode #021
20 June 2007 19:16 Filed in: Podcast
Open Road Podcast
Episode #021, Freeman Thomas Interview, Part 2
I’m Mr Black and we’re continuing our conversation with Freeman Thomas, the head of Advanced Design at Ford. Mr Blonde, let me tell you a bit about the studio, or at least what I was allowed to see. After the Cars & Coffee show, Freeman and I went to the lobby of the advanced design studio. There was a one-family 1962 Lincoln Continental on display, owned by the family of another design engineer who works for one of the Japanese advanced design studios. There was also a super-low-mileage and totally original Series 1.5 E-type coupe with 4.2 liter engine and covered headlights. Nice cars to have around.
Open Road Podcast releases episode #020
15 June 2007 23:49 Filed in: Podcast
Open Road Podcast
Episode #020, Freeman Thomas Interview, Part 1
I’m Mr Black and today I’m at Cars & Coffee at the home of Ford’s Advanced Design Center. Now that the show has broken up, I’m sitting down with Freeman Thomas, the head of Advanced Design at Ford.
Rumors about the new Canon killer from Nikon are out
15 June 2007 23:17 Filed in: Tech News
Engadget is reporting that
Nikon may soon be releasing the next leap
forward in digital SLR technology. Rumor has it
that the new D3 will have an 18.7-megapixel full
size image image sensor and that it may be
available as soon as this August. Stay tuned...
