[Wow, almost makes me wish I had an android. -egg]
Tasker:
Tasker is an automation tool for Android phones. I’ve used Android and Tasker for a couple years now for a wide variety of tasks. Simply put, this app can change settings on your phone based on practically any information or input available to the phone.

Personally, I use it to silence the ringer during church, class, etc. This can be activated by time or location. I also have it update podcasts when I connect to my access point at home. Or, turn off mobile data when the device starts, and only enable it if wifi is unavailable and certain apps are running. The list goes on and on. I have it set to enable GPS when certain apps are running. When without wifi, I have a task set to turn on 3G for one minute every half hour and have all apps to autosync (this saves a considerable amount of battery). I also use it to prevent wifi from sleeping when the screen is off if Pandora or other apps are running.

It can also be used to adjust call volume, ringtone, and availability based on caller ID, start apps and change settings when a headset is plugged in or the phone is docked, read text messages out loud in the car, and all sorts of other useful things. The application costs $6.50, but I believe it’s absolutely worth it given how much functionality it provides.

— Matt Sturing

[For those interested in learning what else Tasker can do this wiki is full of How-to’s.–OH ]

Tasker

$6.50

Available from the Android Marketplace

Produced by Tasker

Model crowdsources name-and-shame for lecherous airline seatmate:
Our Avram takes to Making Light to tell the remarkable story of a model who found herself sitting next to a lecherous married man on an airplane, and who crowdsourced a name-and-shame campaign for him on Twitter that uncovered his identity. Avram makes the point that this is more science fictional than most science fiction:

Ms Stetten is a twenty-something model living in New York (though possibly not a native). Yesterday she was on a plane when the fellow sitting next to her, wearing a wedding ring, tried hitting on her. She turned him down, and tweeted about it. He kept at it.

Over the course of the conversation, Brian mentioned not just his first name, but also that he’s an actor, and born in Oklahoma. Eventually he brought up that he’d just been working on a project with Matthew McConaughey, and that’s all it takes nowadays. Inside a minute, one of Stetten’s followers had found him on the IMDB.

Things got worse for Brian from there — lied about his marriage, turned out to be lying about being “clean and sober”, etc. The story’s been picked up by a Hollywood gossip site, so I imagine he’s got some ’splainin’ to do back home. I’m interested in this not so much for the sake of schadenfreude about some actor I’d never heard of (although it is fun) as for the implications for science fiction. How much have you read recently that gives you that glimpse of the possibilities of heavily networked societies? How many authors (other than Charlie Stross) are really writing about the possibilities of a crowd-sourced panopticon? And how many are still living in the ’70s?

A little bird tells me…

Waveform Necklaces and Bracelets Designed from a Recording of Your Voice:

The Waveform Necklace by Berlin-based designer David Bizer is created from a digital audio recording of a voice or song. Bizer offers the jewelry in a wide range of materials including silver and wood and also offers a tutorial on how you can do it yourself. (via laughing squid)

Light Painting by Simon Berger:




Here’s a number of fantastic light painting shots by photographer Simon Berger. The first shot on top with the umbrella is just incredibly stunning, what a unique image. (via 500px)

[Holy shit, this is SO BEAUTIFUL. I am going to watch this every morning and weep tears of joy. -egg]

Super-slow motion video of skateboard tricks:

Perfectly-executed skateboard tricks seen through the magic of super-slow motion. Makes it look easy, doesn’t it? Actually, never mind. It doesn’t.

Dead catcopter in flight:

Good morning. Here is a high-quality photograph of the taxidermy catcopter Xeni posted video of yesterday. [Cris Toala Olivares / Reuters]

New Street Art from Nomerz:






Street artist Nomerz (previously) has been busy lately, cranking out at least four new large-scale pieces in the last few weeks. I really enjoy his blending of graffiti, architecture, and found objects to create each piece.

Explosive Mixed Media Paintings by Danny O’Conner:





These vibrant paintings by artist Danny O’Conner are created using acrylic, spray paint, emulsion and correction fluid resulting in explosive portraits that seem to shatter and pulse off the canvas. He currently has a number of original works available in his shop. (via cosas cool)

[It’s a stranger world every day. -egg]

Picturesque Austrian town secretly cloned in China:
A Chinese property developer called Minmetals Land Inc secretly built a copy of a picturesque Austrian village called Hallstatt, building it in Guangdong province, the white-hot center of the Chinese manufacturing revolution, on a site 60km from Hong Kong. The Austrians are both proud and miffed, though the argument that ancient designs of buildings, or characteristic layout of ancient villages are somehow the property of their temporary residents is a bit odd — sort of like claiming that because your town has a gothic cathedral, no one else should be able to reproduce its centuries-old design without your permission.

The original is a centuries-old village of 900 and a UNESCO heritage site that survives on tourism. The copycat is a housing estate that thrives on China’s new rich. In a China famous for pirated products, the replica Hallstatt sets a new standard.

The Chinese Hallstatt features a church spire, a town square ringed by pastel-colored buildings and angel statues. They’re among architectural flourishes inspired by the original, a centuries-old village of 900.

Chinese secretly copy Austrian town

(via /.)

(Image: a downsized, cropped thumbnail from a larger picture on Spiegel.de)