The first new Swiss Army soldier knife since 1961

January 23, 2009 Swiss Army Knives have not been left behind by the advent of modern technology with the inclusion of Flash drives, MP3 players, laser pointers, recently even biometric security into the 200 strong model range to compliment the traditional offerings which began when the first Swiss developed Soldier Knife arrived back in 1891. These knives are still part of standard kit for the Swiss Army and, following the issue of the first new specification since 1961, Victorinox has produced a new take on an old favorite.

As you might expect, there are a few changes from the original wooden-handled Soldiers Knife from 1891 which featured a blade punch, can opener and screwdriver. The new incarnation features a new ergonomic handle made from dual-density materials designed to provide better grip in wet and cold conditions and a serrated locking blade that can be opened with one hand, plus the usual array of the most practical tools found on a Swiss Army Knife - a Phillips screwdriver, can opener, bottle opener, wire stripper, reamer, tweezers, toothpick and wood saw.

Despite having provided knives to the Swiss Army for over 100 years, Victorinox was not an automatic choice as the new supplier. The company won the right to produce the new Soldiers Knife after a tender process in which contenders from seven international suppliers were rigorously field and laboratory tested and analyses for cost benefit. A contract was signed between Victorinox AG, Ibach and armasuisse in September 2008 for 75,000 soldier’s knives worth CHF 1.38 million. The new knives will be issued to troops during the first basic training sessions of 2009 and will hit stores in Spring.

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Brand new Google Reader for iPhone

Hi! Now iPhone and iPod Touch owners know how powerful having a full-featured browser is. We on the Reader team are heavy mobile Safari userson iPhone. Sometimes we use it to kill time, other times for answering important questions that come up during brunch: What is Tyrol's first name? How is maple butter made? How do you sweeten rhubarb for sangria? What is John Gruber saying now? For questions like the last one, we of course use Reader to keep up with our subscriptions.

To make our (and your) Reader iPhone experience better, we wanted to really take advantage of the iPhone's capabilities. Today we're releasing a new beta version of Reader designed for the iPhone and other mobile phones with advanced browsers. You can use it by visiting http://www.google.com/reader/i/ on your phone.

This new version is designed to offer many of the same features as the desktop, while making it quick and easy to act on items. If you've used list view on iPhone, then it should be familiar to you. Scan the titles for an item that interests you, tap and it expands in place. Starring, sharing, and keeping unread are done in place, so you never have to leave the list view or refresh the page. We think it's a very fast way to power through your reading list.

Brand new Google Reader for iPhone - Official Google Reader Blog

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Slice Computing System

he ‘Slice’ concept is an organically inspired computing system which envisions a new approach to accessing, organizing and interacting with information and data stored on the PC. Current file management systems force users to store and manage files in a hierarchy of folders. The files are buried deep within folders providing no visual indication of where files are located, further adding to the confusion.

Slice brings the information out of the computer putting it into the users hand. By physically interacting with the slice, users can organize and place files accordingly. Each of the slices visually represent different folders seen in current operating software such as My Documents, My Music, My Videos, etc. The visual and touch based experience associated with slice provides the user with a tangible connection to their information stored on the computer reassuring the safety and placement of their files.

Slice Computing System

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External Touch Screen Concept

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had an external touch screen that works as a keyboard, macbook cover and a photo/movie stand?

External Touch Screen Concept

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Subscriber Stats, Summed Up

There's been a lot of discussion this weekend about the subscriber counts that have recently appeared in Reader's search results. Leaderboards have been drawn up, numbers are being compared and in some cases there's confusion as to how these numbers compare with other subscriber metrics. Additionally, we've made changes (some as recently as today) as to how counts are being calculated. This is probably going to be pretty boring unless you're a feed publisher, but we thought it would be best to explain things a bit. Here are the various numbers you may come across, and what they all mean:

Google subscriber counts: These numbers include subscribers across all Google services, including Reader, iGoogle, and Orkut. You can see them in Reader's feed search results (pictured below) and the Google Webmaster Tools. Additionally, our crawler reports them to the publisher each time we fetch the feed. Reader's feed search was recently showing stale and incomplete data, but as of today (October 15) the numbers should be the same everywhere.

FeedBurner numbers: If you use FeedBurner to manage and track your feed, you will see a subscriber count there that is attributed to "Google Feedfetcher." This number is a sum of all the feeds that you have redirecting to your FeedBurner feed URL. So if http://www.example.com/atom.xml has 3 subscribers, http://www.example.com/rss.xml has 7 subscribers and http://feeds.feedburner.com/Example (where you redirect the other two feeds now) has 12 subscribers, then you will see 3 + 7 + 12 = 22 subscribers reported in the FeedBurner interface.

What this all means if you're a feed publisher is that if you're interested in getting the most comprehensive overview of your subscribers, you should be using a service like FeedBurner or Google Webmaster Tools. On the other hand, if you're a Reader user, we hope you take advantage of the numbers that we now show next to search results, so that you can pick the most appropriate feed to subscribe to.

Official Google Reader Blog: Subscriber Stats, Summed Up

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Breaking up isn't hard to do

Dear "Labs",

We don't know how to tell you this, but it's time that we break up. It's just that we're different now. People can search. They can share what they read. They can even see trends about what they read, and how often they do it. There are all sorts of things we could do in the future to make feed reading awesome. And that means you just can't be around anymore.

But don't be sad. We'll always remember the good times: our first date, when we rolled out the new user-interface together, and the way sometimes we could just sit there and not talk at all because you are just a label.

When we get all teary-eyed and reminiscent we might even put on that mix tape you made us; the one with Paula Cole and Guster. We'll think of you.

Today is a big day for us. We learned to speak some new languages. And frankly, you don't translate well. But we both speak English, and we know that "u" and "I" are far apart in the alphabet. We're farther in real life.

Official Google Reader Blog: Breaking up isn't hard to do

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Now you can feed your television

Earlier this year, I acquired a Nintendo Wii. As I was recovering from Wii elbow, I began to explore the capabilities of the Opera-based Internet Channel. It occurred that Reader may be a lot of fun on the Wii, especially with many photo and video feeds.

Some weekend hacking confirmed my suspicions, and the rest of the team also seemed to think it'd be a neat side project. As some have discovered, we recently flipped the switch on this feature. If you'd like to try it out, simply visit reader.google.com on your Wii (you may find it even easier to just do a Google search for "reader"). Keep in mind that this is something very experimental, the labs of Google Labs if you will.

If you're curious to see what it looks like, here's a recording:

You'll also notice that Reader on the Wii takes advantage of the famous Wiimote:

• up/down: scroll up/down
• right/left: next/previous item
• 1 button: show subscriptions
• 2 button: show links

When showing subscriptions:

• up/down: previous/next subscription
• right: select current subscription
• left: close
• -/+: collapse/expand folder

If you'd like to try the Reader interface in a regular browser, visit www.google.com/reader/wii to go into Wii mode. The Wiimote buttons all have keyboard equivalents (e.g. the "1" key for the 1 button).

Now that this is done, I've heard that the Commodore 64 has a web browser...

Official Google Reader Blog: Feed Your Television

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Google Reader for iPhone and iPod Touch

Mobile web browsers have come a long way since we first introduced an XHTML version of Reader back in 2006. For example, iPhone and iPod Touch owners know how powerful having a full-featured browser is. We on the Reader team are heavy mobile Safari users. Sometimes we use it to kill time, other times for answering important questions that come up during brunch: What is Tyrol's first name? How is maple butter made? How do you sweeten rhubarb for sangria? What is John Gruber saying now? For questions like the last one, we of course use Reader to keep up with our subscriptions.

Official Google Reader Blog: Brand new Google Reader for iPhone

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Coca-Cola advertising in time

In the archive files of a Coca-Cola advertising the good quality pictures 37.2 MB: Download for free

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Lockheed Lounge

Can you imagine that the most expensive seat in the world will look like so as Lockheed Lounge...? Frankly say, we were surprised, too. This chair, made of aluminum and fiberglass on preliminary estimates of experts will be sold at Christie's auction in London for 800 thousand - 1.2 million pound sterling. Lockheed Lounge (as it is called) was established in 1986 th year designer Mark Nyusonom and was in the personal collections of a European couple until they agreed to improve their well-being through its sale:)

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Caffiene and Cream

If you’re like most any designer, you’re fueled on caffiene and a healthy dose of insomnia. They say great ideas don’t sleep - and neither do great images. If you’re a coffee lover, take a look at these amazing macro shots of Caffiene and Cream. They’re taken with a high speed camera and showcase the amazingly simple concept of a drop hitting a standing body of water. If you’re amused by the beautifully simplistic, take a look at this gallery. It’s fascinating to say the least.

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