Madplanet

Schick's magnificent beard simulator

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:20:35 +0900

Schick’s attempting to get Japan interested in beards (and sell more beard trimmers) with a beard simulator that lets you upload a photo and experiment with hundreds of beard styles. I suspect that with a few photos of friends hours of fun could be had with this.

(Via Japan Probe)

SoftBank starts taking online iPhone orders

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:15:29 +0900

SoftBank starts taking online iPhone orders:

You can now apply for an iPhone via Softbank’s website, which also lets you upload scans of the relevant ID docs. (Only in Japanese.)

So, basically, they just overcame my resistance — which stemmed from the fact that you couldn’t confirm their stock without phoning individual stores. And would presumably have to sit around like an arse while they did all the procedures (which took a friend a couple of hours). Now, the universe is back to its rightful state; whereby gadgets arrive on one’s doorstep borne by a man in uniform :)

Incidentally, you can’t use MNP when ordering online, but I have one of the most unmemorable cellphone numbers ever and figured that the chance of getting something better was worth it :)

Reformat the Planet

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:23:48 +0900

Reformat the Planet: Fabulous documentary on the NY chiptune scene, centring on the Blip Festival that includes chippers from around the world. Only available for a week on Pitchfork TV. Despite the incredibly geeky image, this is really all about people having fun making music and their palpable enthusiasm for it and lack of attitude is what stands out.

Music, Sound & Audio Tutorials - AUDIOTUTS

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:38:49 +0900

Music, Sound & Audio Tutorials - AUDIOTUTS

Griffin Technology: iTrip Universal

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:13:31 +0900

Griffin Technology: iTrip Universal: Cables are a pain. Many’s the time I’ve been left with either zero or crappy music due to a lack of them. I suspect a universal FM transmitter could really be a boon.

headZshop

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:21:53 +0900

headZshop: Many unusual Lomoesque film cameras

Whatever you think of tetrapods’ environmental impact,...

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:17:48 +0900

Whatever you think of tetrapods’ environmental impact, this set of photos is amazing. (Via Pink Tentacle)

Some friends got married on August 8, 2008, at 8a.m., and...

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:05:38 +0900

Some friends got married on August 8, 2008, at 8a.m., and were eighth in the queue at the registry counter.

But these—one hesitates to call them tedious, killjoy bastards, but you know what I mean—trumped that by at the same time climbing 8,888 stairs up a mountainside. (Via asahi.com)

Beijing Olympics opening ceremony photos

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:58:42 +0900

Beijing Olympics opening ceremony photos:

Gizmodo has a few high-quality images of the opening courtesy of Getty.

A couple of observations, after watching the thing live:

(1) Wow.

(2) Little girl on wires flying into Bird Nest stadium made from human pyramids = riff on jetpack at LA Olympic opening?

(3) Overall aura of “Kim Jong Il birthday celebrations with higher technology budget and less malnutrition” —i.e., shitloads of people doing things in formation—intended to convey sinister message that “there are more of us than of all of you put together”?

(4) Since when was it “5,000 years of civilization”? I thought 4,000 was the already somewhat hyperbolic but generally accepted standard.

Another reminder of Japan’s neverending love for ingesting...

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:58:37 +0900

Another reminder of Japan’s neverending love for ingesting gold leaf, this time wrapped around ice cream. As these things go, the price is a steal at JPY400 per bar. I’ll spare you a translation of the weak puns that appear both in the product name, and of those that riddle the article itself. (Via asahi.com)

AquesTone - VOCAL SYNTHESIZER PLUG-IN

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:55:13 +0900

AquesTone - VOCAL SYNTHESIZER PLUG-IN

Multitrack recording application for Windows Mobile. Have to say...

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:22:26 +0900

Multitrack recording application for Windows Mobile. Have to say I’m a bit sceptical about how well this’ll work, but at least they offer a demo to have a crack at.

4Pockets.com

Softbank cuts iPhone data plan pricing

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:03:00 +0900

Softbank cuts iPhone data plan pricing:

Softbank has announced it’s changing the pricing for its iPhone data plan, such that low-volume users will pay JPY1,695 for up to 20,175 packets, with the charges sliding up to a ceiling of JPY5,985 as data use goes beyond that threshold. That contrasts with the previous plan’s flat JPY5,985 rate and means that in a light month your total bill could fall to JPY2,990 instead of the previous floor of JPY7,280. Softbank haven’t yet said how many iPhones they’ve sold, but given that they’re still in short supply I presume the pricing cut isn’t to stimulate demand. What it might be aimed at, if we’re really going to speculate, is trying to get high-roller users to move from DoCoMo before the latter launches the iPhone itself.

And after a dry spell in terms of news on that old subject, the Japanese blogs are suddenly going nuts about it. Apparently the 2.0.1 firmware includes “JP DoCoMo (3G)” in the carrier selection screen [SEE BELOW for correction]; and after writing the above about Softbank wanting to woo DoCoMo subscribers quickly, I see there’s also a (now deleted?) blog post (second in this list of Google blog search results) on Pasona Tech’s site speculating that Softbank has revised its all-you-can-eat data plans to prepare for a DoCoMo iPhone launch; and so on and so on.

[CORRECTION: On further investigation, it seems that the carrier selection screen simply displays all compatible networks that the phone has detected; since Softbank and DoCoMo both use the same W-CDMA format, apparently DoCoMo shows up there — and has been doing since launch in Japan. Nothing new with 2.0.1, therefore.]

Tokyo Fantasy: Images of the apocalypse ::: Pink Tentacle

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:40:50 +0900

Tokyo Fantasy: Images of the apocalypse ::: Pink Tentacle

Bonbonkakku.com

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:29:11 +0900

Bonbonkakku.com: Fabric design website that allows you to submit your own custom designs and have them picked up for sale in the online shop if successful.

Murakami's Norwegian Wood heads for the big screen

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:21:00 +0900

Murakami's Norwegian Wood heads for the big screen:

Tran Anh Hung, who filmed Scent of Green Papayas and Cyclo, is signed on to direct Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood, with filming starting next year for a 2010 release.

The last work of Murakami’s to be filmed, Tony Takitani, seemed to be well received, but very little of his output has even made it close to the screen thus far. (There was the famous example of the director who wanted to do A Wild Sheep Chase Blade Runner-style with cyborg sheep, so you can appreciate any scepticism Murakami might feel about having his stuff filmed.)

Will be interested to see who they cast in the lead roles, for one thing.

mixi app for iPhone/iPod Touch

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:26:07 +0900

mixi app for iPhone/iPod Touch: Japanese SNS mixi has been quick to get into the App Store. A couple of nice features here, like the ability to take a photo and start a blog post based on it. Free.

Tumblr Statzer

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:39:08 +0900

Tumblr Statzer

Name of the day: Arny Kapshitzer

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:56:24 +0900

Name of the day: Arny Kapshitzer

A useful little gadget, the Eftel FOMA de Dock. Allows you to...

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:37:55 +0900

A useful little gadget, the Eftel FOMA de Dock. Allows you to charge an iPhone 3G using most DoCoMo or Softbank power adapters, for a princely JPY898. (Via K-Tai Watch)