Link Banana

I enjoy a piece of technology forecasting from time to time, and Joel Johnson offered an interesting one:

I never want to touch a piece of proprietary hardware to access content again. There’s no need! We’ll be able to stream HD content soon enough; in the interim, even these browser-based solutions could pre-fetch and cache it. The only reason companies like Blockbuster and Vudu want dedicated hardware is because it locks you into their service. They’re recreating the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war for streaming digital media. How silly is that?

In the clever but pointless category, I submit these rings. Made of gold, silver, or platinum, their face clearly displays the information from their square on the periodic table an nothing else.

(via BB Gadgets)

These are very cool. You should look at them. That is all.

(via BBGadgets)

Google’s satellite picture of Broomfield, New Jersey (near Newark) was clearly taken at three different times of year. One bit’s a lush green, another’s a solid white, and the last bit is distinctly brown. Isn’t technology grand?

(via BBGadgets)

Joel Johnson takes a novel approach to celebrating the 50th anniversary of Lego: he lists the nine Lego sets he’s wanted most during his life. It’s fun read, and a reminder of when I too yearned for Lego sets more than any other toys.

Joel Johnson, who became one of my favorite gadget prognosticators with this, explains the problem with Apple’s new MacBook Air:

It’s too big.

The internet’s been busy calling the TSA dumb — what else is new? — for banning (spare) batteries on airplanes. So, Boing Boing Gadgets comes to a shocking conclusion: it’s not that bad. Here’s the best point of all:

• A spare battery is one not installed in a device. This is an important distinction to remember.

More practically, Mr. Johnson sums up what it all means like this:

It’s really not that bad. Take all your electronics on board as carry-on and pack loose batteries in plastic.