360 DEGREES Weblog

About as slim as the Adamo and just half a pound heavier, Dell

These ungainly plastic diapers go by different names and they’re all over the ass ends of cars in New York City. But why?

This I had not remembered from previous trip to the United States

The Microsoft Courier made its first appearance last week, but now, a leaked video shows just how the interface works. It was “produced by the same firm that collaborated with Microsoft’s Pioneer Studios and it walks through a slightly different iteration of the Courier interface.

Today

The recently-opened Etiqueta Negra boutique in downtown Manhattan has brought a modern take on masculine, equestrian style all the way from Buenos Aires. The store, which features among other d?cor elements a 1938 Alfa Romeo racecar (above), carries suits, jackets, jeans and shirts, as well as a line of leather shoes designed exclusively for Etiqueta Negra by Casa Fagliano, the Argentina-based maker of Prince Charles’ bespoke polo boots. Prices for the princely footwear, which is not available anywhere else in the U.S., begin at $2,500 a pair. They also carry polo gear as well as women’s clothing, though the emphasis is on the menswear.

While the web is disrobing many businesses in the name of transparency, the City of San Francisco is happy to expose itself. A month since the launch of DataSF.org, a public archive of government data, Mayor Gavin Newsom has announced that the site will now showcase applications which manipulate that data to make it more useful and accessible to the city’s residents. Inspired by the success of Apple’s iTunes App Store and Facebook’s open developer platform (60,000 and 350,000 apps respectively), writes Mayor Newsom, San Francisco is encouraging democratic participation by ?giving residents the tools to build the kind of government that works for them.?

A number of apps are already online, with the new showcase expected to stimulate many more creations. Among those currently available, EcoFinder helps residents find out where their nearest recycling services are located, while Cabspotting?a project by the Exploratorium interactive science museum?displays a real-time map of cab locations in San Francisco.

It’s not the first step the tech-centric Bay Area has made towards ?Gov 2.0?? as in June they introduced their Twitter service for civil complaints. But this latest effort could mark the start of a sea-change in the way governments provide public information services.

Thanks Springwise

After collaborating with Jean Paul Gaultier for the Haute Couture bottles, Evian has now teamed up with designer Paul Smith. The association of the two has led to the creation of the exquisite limited edition ?Pr?t-?-Porter? bottle. The unique designer bottle celebrates the holiday season and youthful spirit. Paul Smith, known for his sense of fun and optimistic attitude did perfect justice to this bottle by capturing the true essence of youth. The designer has kept this bottle festive and youthful with vibrant colored stripes that add life to this bottle of natural spring water from the French Alps. Experience the purity of water through this multicolored bottle that comes with five different collectible caps. The ?Pr?t-?-Porter? is sold as a single 750ml bottle. Priced at $14, this bottle is expected to be ready for shipment by October 31st. You can also opt for the limited edition case of the ?Pr?t-?-Porter? that includes 12 bottles and is priced at $118.

This week’s sign of the Carpocalypse? Close-to-the-door hybrid-only parking spaces. Our only question is how much carbon Greenhouse emissions are spewed out the tailpipes of the tow trucks coming to tow away violators?

Thanks Jalopnik

Unlike their Vaio P laptop, whose pocketability is dubious at best, Sony?s PCM-M10 digital audio recorder is small enough to be easily stashed in your back pocket without sacrificing functionality. Audio is captured as 96 kHz/24-bit WAV files (at the maximum quality setting) or as MP3s to max out the 4GB of internal memory, but that can be expanded with microSD or Memory Stick Micro cards. It is a Sony product after all.

Other features include a built-in electret condenser stereo mic and speaker, cross-memory recording, digital pitch and key control, a digital limiter, low-cut filter and a USB connection for easily transferring recordings to your PC. It also uses standard AA batteries instead of an internal rechargeable one, and can be yours for a somewhat hefty $399.99.

Choosing your new watch online just got easier. The days of messing with snobby retailers and hard sells are no longer a requirement of indulging in your beloved passion for watches. The Watch Gallery website has been steadily using its special camera to take 360 degree photo shoots of their watches. I checked out their handiwork on some Tag Heuer watches and was pleased with the results. No more mere marketing shots and the wrong angles. Now you get views of the actual watch from front to back, and side to side. This is a big help to give you a good idea of what you’ve never see looks like in reality. Marketing images are often touched up quite a bit, and it is not always possible to understand how light actually makes the watches we love look. Not all of their watches have this special view, but they are increasing the number of high quality 360 degree images they offer. Hopefully they will allow you to zoom in as well. You can see other Tag Heuer watches photographed like this here. Other brands get this photo treatment as well.