Denuo - denuology.com

I recently upgraded to the iPhone 4. I was waiting for the white one but I could wait no longer. Especially after this rather curt press release outlining that the white iPhone was delayed again and would be available “later this year.”

So I hopped over to the Apple Store last week, waited in line (!!), and got my new phone. I was expecting to love it. I mean I’m a sucker for all Apple design (especially in the Jon Ives era) and I loved my 3GS. What I wasn’t expecting was to be reminded, ever so humbly, of Clarke’s third law.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

I was browsing the internets the other day when I happened upon the news that Nintendo’s releasing new colors of their mega-sized DSi XL in Japan. They look pretty fantastic (I’m especially diggin’ on that yellow one).

The video reminded me how much I love the smurf blue DSi. It kinda reflects my odd taste, and I dig that. Sadly the digital tool that reflects my odd digital tastes the most is boring on the outside. My smartphone. The 2010 smartphone is a decidedly black, white, and grey affair. Well consider this my call to arms. For color. My call for color if you will (clever, right?).

We’re very excited about this April Fool’s day, and not just because the long-awaited Meeting Roulette debuted. April 1st, 2010 marks the next stage of the betacup challenge – the betacup contest is officially live.

Everyone and anyone can now submit ideas that rethink the way we consume coffee and help reduce paper cup waste through jovoto.com.

The contest starts today and will be accepting submissions through June 1st, 2010. Ratings will be accepted through June 8th. Experts in design, coffee, and innovation (including some from threadless, Starbucks, and yes even Denuo) will offer professional advice and guidance throughout the contest. There’s also $20,000 up for grabs for the best ideas as determined by the expert jury and the larger community.

We’re excited to partner with such a fantastic cause and pumped to see what the power of mass collaboration and creativity can do. We’ve got even more brewing in the betacup pot (see what I did there?!), so keep an eye out and get cracking on submitting your breakthrough, world-saving ideas.

Denuo loves Dreamcast, that wacky Sega gaming console released on 9.9.99 in America.

Denuo loves Dreamcast because it swung for the technological fences against the impending juggernaut of the Playstation 2. It ushered in a new era of videogame console specs: 128-bits, built-in internet connectivity (56kbps worth!), discs that stored more than a CDs worth of data, and VGA-capable graphic resolutions.

Everyone around here knows that Dan is the music-ologist of the group. His recent 100 songs of 2009 post will no doubt be inspiring me throughout 2010. But while spending some time with his list, I realized that the way we experienced music this year was really different. Which is funny, because Dan is the guy I spoke to about music the most this past year.

So, in an effort to show an alternative view of the music world, I present my favorite albums of the past year. There are a couple key differences between our lists that reflect our different listening styles:

• These albums weren’t necessarily released in 2009, but albums I discovered in 2009. I’m not a “new music” searcher, I just kinda stumble upon stuff haphazardly throughout the year.
• These are albums, not singles or tracks. Ironically, I left the “singles” mentality during music’s transition to digital distribution. I’ll discover a song I like and I’ll need to hear the album.
• I’ve tried to keep it to one album per artist, but this was the year I found the Beatles. And I can’t just pick one Beatles album, dammit.
• I’ve tried to approximate what season I discovered the music in. It reflects how long the album has “been with me” – which (sometimes)  effected its position. It’s not anymore specific than that because I have the memory of a goldfish.
• I have a really obsessive relationship of album artwork – so you, dear reader, get to enjoy the fruits of my artwork searches.
• I’ve tried to post a link on the album in some form or fashion – note that some of them are obscure or prohibitively expensive. Sorry, I’ve got weird musical tastes.