The Dell XPS 15z....look familiar?

Currently, I am typing out this blog entry on a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop, which I first bought in 2005. Even with only 512 MB RAM and only a 60 GB hard drive, it's lasted longer than anything else I have ever owned. As you'd expect it's now getting a bit slow and worn out, and with several missing keys and a broken screen hinge it can be quite annoying at times. So I decided it's time for an upgrade, and seeming as this one has lasted me so long I went straight to the Dell website. As I use Photoshop, play the odd game and have quite a hefty music collection I decided to go for an XPS (Xtreme Performance System) laptop. 

Dell (top), Mac (bottom).

This is where I found the Dell XPS 15z, a very powerful laptop and quite an aesthetically orientated one too....but something about the design seemed quite familiar. Then it hit me, it looked very similar to the Apple Macbook Pro. You can't really blame Dell for taking inspiration from arguably the best looking laptop in the world, but it just shows how companies are using Apple products as almost a base to design their own products on. Samsung are one of the main culprits for this, with their 'New' Galaxy tablet having them taken to court by Apple over it's appearance. Granted, here there are a few design features that are different e.g. the hinge, the colour of the inside bottom layer and the design of the keys, but apart from that they look very alike. They are also in a similar price range, and have similar features e.g. a back lit keyboard, a tray-less disc drive and a HD screen.


 Below are some images from different angles of each product to compare....but what do you think?

Dell images (top), Mac images (bottom).

LEGO Art by Nathan Sawaya

Today I was trawling through the many pages of the internet, when I came across something that instantly made me think...wow!

The image I saw is the image to the left. It's work produced by LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya, a former lawyer turned artist. After seeing this I did more research, and found he has done many other pieces with the same impact of this piece. His pieces are mostly based on human form, but he has also created a life size cello along with more abstract pieces. Each piece is being sold for around $10,000, with his biggest piece needing half a million LEGO bricks to complete. In my opinion, these LEGO pieces are some of the most creative and innovative pieces of art I personally have seen. Using a product of which it's primary purpose is a toy and using it to create modern pieces of art, in my eyes is brilliant...plus I love LEGO! 

To see the original article and more images of his art work, visit this link :
http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/the-lego-world-of-nathan-sawaya.html

Gamers brains are proven to 'differ'

I was browsing the BBC News website, and found an article about how the brain of a frequent gamer differs to that of an infrequent gamer. 

Research has shown that the Ventral Straitum : which is connected to addiction, is larger in the brain of a frequent gamer compared to the brain of a non-frequent gamer. This part of the brain is usually activated when people anticipate positive environmental effects or experience pleasure, such as winning or good food. That part of the brain has also been linked with addiction to drugs.

To view the original article, visit this link : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15720178 

New Subaru XV Unveiled

The new Subaru XV was unveiled recently at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany. The car is scheduled to be on sale by early 2012, but they haven't released too many details. From a first look it seems to be a modern and big 5 seat MPV, and in my opinion looks like a great car.

But in this instance it's not the car I'm interested in, it is how they have advertised the new vehicle on the Subaru website. They have used a method of interactive advertising called Augmented Reality. All you need to have is a webcam to make use of this very innovative and interactive service. You then print off a pattern on a sheet of paper, which acts as a plain to which the image of the vehicle is projected onto on the screen. You can then tilt the paper to see the vehicle from all angles.

As I don't have a webcam I cannot show the final result, but as soon as I can get my hands on one I will give it a try and post a picture. 








Feel free to check out the site for yourself at : http://subaru.co.uk/vehicles/xv