Dictionary widget

Dictionary.com not cutting any more? Well thefreedictionary.com has upgraded to their site to include widgets. Now you can personalize your homepage by adding and removing content windows based on your preference. In addition you can add your own bookmarks, weather information and RSS feeds for anywhere on the web. On of my new favorite site!

The site has everything you need from medical, legal, financial and computer dictionaries, to idioms, a literature reference library and a search engine all wrapped up into one.

Online Icon Maker

If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person and you are looking for a way to release your creative juices check out the online icon maker. Its a web application that allows the creation of 16x16 icons (favicons) using simple drawing tools.


Here's how it works:

• Select one of basic colors by clicking on a color square on the right side of the window.

• Erase pixels by drawing with transparent color (checkboard) or erase the entire canvas by clicking the Clear Canvas toolbar button.

• Select a custom color by typing its hexadecimal web color code to the box under the default colors and click the 'Set' button

• Choose drawing tool by clicking a button in the toolbar:

• "Pencil" is changing colors of pixels when a mouse is moving over the canvas while the left button is pressed.

• Download your new icon by simply clicking the 'Download Icon' button in the toolbar.

Drink Trends in the S7ven

As we move into 2007 some interesting things happened in 2006 with alcoholic brands. Below are some highlights over the past year that will continue in the S7ven:

Natural Cravings

Quinn's a fruit ferment blended drink is made from 100% fruit. Because of its composition, Quinn is being marketed as as a new type of alcoholic beverage that is a "natural evolution" of the ready-to-drink (RTD) category.


Exotic Appeal

People love things from exotic places and beer and other drinks are no exception. In Jan. 07 Miller Brewing will begin importing No.1 Columbia beer Aguila and leading Peruvian brands Cistal and Cusquena. Meanwhile Diageo bought a major stake in Sichuan Swellfun Company.

Packaging

Bong Vodka made inroads into elevating art AND keeping us all buzzed with a program called Spirit of the Brand.

It gives artist a chance to get their names and work out, while giving you the opportunity to show off pimped out bong-shaped vodka bottles with some kickass art.

Other big trends in '06 that will grow in '07 include pears, R&D, Partnerships and Community Building

ScenarioDNA put together a really comprehensive report on this very subject

The Inner Life of The Cell

A beautful 8 minute animation created for Harvard;s Molecular & Cellular Biology program. It is intented to "transports Harvard Biology undergraduate students into a three-dimensional journey through the microscopic world of a cell" The animation illustrates the mechanisms that allow a white blood cell to sense its surroundings & respond to an external stimulus.




links: infomation aesthetics

Adobe’s Icon Rebranding

With the upcoming release of CS3 Suite, Adobe has decided to rebrand over hundreds of their icons.

Veerle writes:

While this color-wheel beautifully presents the approach in the entire re-branding, I think it fails in bringing the message across on how it will tie together as a whole. The idea is great though but the color-wheel is very overwhelming, taking away all the attention and the icons are scattered over the place. People seems to fail to grasp the bigger picture. It seems that most just want to make it look pretty because the app is giving these possibilities, but it’s more than that, it’s about problem-solving too. It’s a major undertaking to revamp and re-brand both Adobe’s and Macromedia’s apps as one brand, we’re talking thousands of icons.

Read the interview with Ryan Hicks, Sr. Experience Designer here

iPod Vending Machine Makes $55,000 in One Month!

The Atlanta Journal reports that 300 vending machines rolled out to sell iPods are bringing in high revenues. One in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport that makes $55,000 a month.

The AJ says:
The vending machines are user-friendly, providing easy-to-access product information through a video touch screen. And, unlike traditional retailers, they never close... The Hartsfield machines have created a buzz among travelers for dispensing a variety of iPods, but offer about 30 different electronic items, from headphones to rechargers, as well.

Check out the article here, you may have to register to read it

Send to Mobile

Company: Yellow Pages

What is it: Allows consumers to send search results directly to their mobile handsets for future use.

Importance: party-goers can now look up the number to taxi services on yellowpages.com and text message the listing to their cell phones for easy reference

Find out more at Yellow Pages