Flying cars are finally here, and you can reserve one, right now for only $10,000. The Terrafugia airline company has released their new model of flying car, The Transition, soon in production. Once the wings retract and yield, this plane becomes a car in a mere 30-seconds.
Categorized as a Light Sport Aircraft, it can accommodate two people and while a $10,000 deposit will reserve you one of these flying cars, the total cost comes in at $194,000 dollars. Still, the idea of heading out to Main Street, cranking it to 88mph and actually taking off, Doc Brown style, is pretty exciting. Now, if we can just get this thing in DeLorean gun metal gray and have a flux-capacitor installed, we’ll be all set.
At CM4, we’re inspired by the refinement and sophistication of luxury and performance auto and aircraft interiors, these devices are the control surfaces – the cockpit for an elevated gaming experience. The Terrafugia Transition Light Sport Aircraft takes this sophistication and combines it with function and innovation, creating a product that serves the consumer on multiple levels. That’s what we try to do with each of the products we create at CM4, which is why everyone in the office wants one of these flying cars immediately.
Better reinforce the roof, we’re cleared for landing!
When you read all of the stories about Wii remotes flying through television sets, hurling themselves out of buildings, roughing people up with black eyes, and—if not for doggy mouth-to-mouth resuscitation—killing canines, it’s hard to argue that wearing the provided wrist strap during Wii game play is a good idea.
In the midst of a heated midnight bowling championship, though, who has time to fiddle with the locking clasp on your old wrist strap? And can anyone really look sophisticated holding a plastic wand wrapped in that silly silicon condom over their head? Many have tried. Few have succeeded.
Does this mean we are doomed to wrapping our entire living rooms in cellophane and soft foam, forever transforming them into the equivalent of a Mother’s Day Out nursery? No. Fortunately, there is a solution. One that will not only protect your personal possessions, but also your personal style, and sense of dignity.
The solution
When you come home to play Wii, you’re not interested in “average.” And a bunch of “toys” wrapped in silicon just aren’t going to cut it. You need the best quality grips available to showcase your talents. But function alone doesn’t give you the edge you need. Speaking on a personal note, those of us who demand excellence need added style in both equipment and wardrobe to provide a heightened sense of confidence. The Catalyst cover for Nintendo Wii with MotionPlus gives you just the winning edge you need to dominate in epic gaming battles to the death, while maintaining your heightened aesthetics, and keeping your television safe from flying debris.
How it works
The Catalyst cover for Nintendo Wii Remote with MotionPlus works on four levels to ensure you not only look good while you’re playing, but that all of your furnishings and friends remain in one piece all the way through your victory lap around the living room.
Design: Step it up with style
You spent a lot of time deciding how you were going to arrange your living room, and those end tables weren’t cheap. Doesn’t it make sense you’d want to add to the aesthetic you’ve already created by covering your Wii remotes and portable consoles in contemporary colors and materials? Catalyst covers are designed with simple aesthetics to compliment your remote and the room they call home.
Function: Enhanced comfort and grip
You’ll notice that the Catalyst cover is not just an aesthetic piece, though. Each cover has perforated sides and designer materials that allow for enhanced comfort and grip, while being fully optimized for button access. So, even if your hands work up a little nervous sweat, your grip will remain confident.
With your old wrist strap you were constantly fumbling with the locking mechanism, wasting valuable time in between controller hand offs. With the Catalyst custom wrist strap, that is a thing of the past. CM4’s quickslide allows for an incredibly quick remote hand off, making it easier and more desirable to use the wrist strap in the first place. Your television and dog will thank you.
Innovation: Easy battery removal and MotionPlus, FTW
Design and function aren’t always enough. Which is why the Catalyst cover takes things a step above the rest. Let’s face it. With other cases and covers, changing the batteries on your Wii remote can be a pain. Sometimes, it’s not even worth putting the case or wrist strap back on, which leads to yet another smashed TV. Catalyst covers for Wii with MotionPlus include a concealed zipper for easy removal and battery replacement, making battery changing a cinch. And because the Catalyst cover is designed specifically for use with the MotionPlus, you never even have to remove it from your Wiimote.
Quality: Durable materials with a Premium Warranty
We know you like to play hard. That’s why Catalyst covers were designed for strength using durable synthetic leather. Each case is custom tailored to ensure a snug fit on your controller. And a 1-year premium warranty backs it all up. Now you can play for as long as you like knowing your case will last just as long as you can.
Your television, pets, and friends will thank you
So, there you have it. The Catalyst cover for Wii Remote with MotionPlus provides you with a stylish way to keep your Wiimotes, furnishings, and every thing you love in your home safe, while you play hard and long into the Wii [sic] hours of the night. There are plenty of cases out there, when it comes to covering your devices, but the Catalyst line of products gives you the best opportunity to truly experience premium.
For a full product demonstration, see the video below:
It’s, no doubt, been stuck in your head for weeks on end at one time in your life or another. There is an entire underground (and, often times, not so underground) cult following to the 8-bit notes that comprise the Overworld Theme. Whether you’re the type of person that longs for the theme, cranked to 11, on dual guitars, or just want to sit back and relax to a more sophisticated version on the violin, the Super Mario Bros. theme song has been translated into almost every instrument imaginable.
But, as difficult (and weird?) as playing the Super Mario Bros. theme on a theremin might seem, the above video takes the cake for the most elaborate recreation of the classic theme song. These Nintendo fanboys found themselves in the middle of an empty warehouse with a plethora of empty wine bottles and decided to have a little fun. Reportedly, it only took them six tries to get this right, but the jury is still out on how many kids it took to drink all that wine!?
You’ve got to admire their enthusiasm. Meanwhile, we’re putting the interns to work to see which one of them can recreate the Aboveground BGM (Super Mario Bros.) theme, using nothing but the zippers on the back of our Catalyst covers for Wii Remote with MotionPlus. This guy came close with his ruler, but we’ve got high-hopes that our squad of gophers are up to the challenge. They better be, or we might never let them out of the storage closet.
What’s the strangest Super Mario Bros. theme song adaptation you’ve seen?
Sure, maybe you’re too old to go out and start a lemonade stand outside your parents house (although, that’s debatable), and maybe the days of skipping school to play Nintendo 64 Mario Golf are a thing of the past, but the great thing about being an adult is that now, you can buy that game you love, today, instead of saving up six weeks of allowance money, or mowing your neighbors yard. Video games are too much fun to be designated for kids, teens, and college dormitories running XBOX Live illegally over their school’s broadband servers.
More than half of all American adults play video games of some kind, whether on a computer, online, on a gaming console, a cell phone, handheld device, or on another kind of portable gaming device. With the average age of the typical gamer currently at 35 years old, we at CM4 are blurring the line between gaming and contemporary lifestyle by pushing aside the idea that video games are only meant for kids.
CM4’s first line of products is the Catalyst line, a soft case platform for controllers and portables. These products offer protection combined with style to enhance and add confidence to game play. Along with their seductive design, Catalyst covers are made from carefully chosen materials that improve comfort and grip, while seamlessly integrating into contemporary lifestyles. The Catalyst cover is available for Wii Remote with MotionPlus, and Catalyst SLIM COVERS are offered for Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DSi XL, and Sony PSPgo.
Maybe you’re still a kid at heart (we all are), but let’s face it. You’ve grown up. Isn’t it time your gaming consoles dressed the part?
After watching the above commercial for Sony’s new 3D TV, it’s interesting to see that they are making such a strong push for 3D to go mainstream, yet it’s hard for me to believe that the three dimensional content trend is going to take off very quickly. Especially, when you consider the fact that 3D’s biggest deterrent is still the fact that you can only view 3D content while wearing those silly looking glasses.
While, perhaps, sometime in the future, you’ll be able to purchase those glasses at any corner store, I had a hard time locating a pair to watch Sony’s 3D commercial, and became even more frustrated trying to share the video with those in the office. With only one set of 3D glasses, there was a lot of sharing going on, and while the commercial looks great with the glasses on, the ten times I ended up watching it without them started to give me a bit of a headache.
So, is 3D really the next big thing in gaming? Nintendo and Sony seem to think so, with the Nintendo 3DS being slated for sometime around October and Sony’s 3D upgrade for the PlayStation 3 is due on June 10th in Japan. But, are we really going to start meeting up at friends’ houses, all touting our red and blue goggles, to watch the big game, awards show, or first person shooter? It seems unlikely that this trend will truly catch-on until the 3D technology is available for viewing without having to wear special glasses, but according to Kotaku, Nintendo’s official release states that the Nintendo 3DS can be “enjoyed with 3D effects without the need for any special glasses.”
It will be interesting to see how Nintendo produces its 3D effects minus the unsightly eye wear, but, according to sources at Computer World, Glasses-free 3D LCD TVs are likely to be available by 2015. Which poses the question, “Is it worth it to spend the money on the current 3D technology, or should we all just wait a few years?” Will Nintendo’s 3DS really be the first portable console to offer glasses-free 3D technology?
After experiencing the current offering of 3D TVs, first hand, at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, I must say that it was very cool watching the three dimensional content that was available. But, how much content is really out there? Is it worth $6,000 to just be able to watch Avatar over and over, again?
Whether or not 3D takes off in the gaming world is really dependent on how well 3DTVs sell. Right now, I’m not sure enough units are being sold to warrant game developers to make the leap to full three dimensional graphics. But, the trend has to start somewhere and Nintendo has a track record of breaking new boundaries. “The pressure will be on Nintendo at E3 this month to match the surprises and success they achieved with the Wii and DS when they broke from industry trends before,” says Brian Warmouth of MTV Multiplayer. “If they really do have near-HD-quality graphics to put on display, this device will turn some heads.”
CM4 will be out at E3 this year and we will be very interested to see what Nintendo announces and experience 3D gaming for ourselves. What do you think? Is 3D the future of gaming? How do you think 3D gaming is going to be received at E3? Will you own a pair of designer 3D glasses? Find us on Facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think.
There’s a reason you spend weeks (or months) deliberating over what furniture will occupy the space within each room of your house. A reason why you go to painstaking lengths, thumbing through thousands of color swatches, before you ever put paint to your living room wall. The hours spent in front of the mirror mixing and matching every article of clothing you own to find the perfect outfit to emote your current state of mind are not in vain. What you’re looking for, and trying to express, is your own personal style, those tiny details and finishing touches which define you.
At CM4, we understand the motives behind personal style and have positioned our brand to offer high quality, distinct design, and superior functionality in each of our products. These products offer protection combined with style to enhance and add confidence to game play. Along with their seductive design, CM4’s Catalyst covers are made from carefully chosen materials that improve comfort and grip, while seamlessly integrating into contemporary lifestyles, and complimenting your personal style.
Take a look at our new Catalyst line of cases and covers for the Wii Remote with MotionPlus, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DSi XL, and the Sony PSP go. Let us know what you think, and tell us how you define personal style.
CM4’s first line of products is now available at the online store in limited colors. Catalyst, a soft case line, includes premium cases for the Nintendo Wii Remote with MotionPlus, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DSi XL, and Sony PSP go. Along with their seductive design, Catalyst covers are made from carefully chosen materials that improve comfort and grip, while seamlessly integrating into contemporary lifestyles. In January, we will be launching the first of our line of controllers, as we release our premium Wii Remote and Nunchuk for the Wii.
CM4 was founded upon the principals held in place by each of four pillars: design, function, quality, and innovation. With each new concept, CM4 products are inspired by an appreciation for modern design and fresh ideas. The conception of each product begins with improving and evolving current functionality. Superior build quality and reliability is the common thread of every CM4 product. The goal at CM4 is to speed the evolution of how we live with the objects that surround us. CM4 is the catalyst to the next medium – the evolution of how we interface with life.
The idea of a band of robots cooking our food, cleaning our house, and driving our cars, might still be something of the distant future, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start utilizing them for some of life’s challenges, now. Anybots has created their QB model to allow you to be part of the action at work from home or anywhere. All you need is a web browser and you can interact with the whole office, lab, factory, or warehouse. QB glides around smoothly and quietly, giving you total access and presence. And let’s face it, if you’re going to have to go around asking for those TPS reports, over and over, again, wouldn’t it be more fun to drive a remote control robot around, while you bark commands through a video monitor at unsuspecting employees? We think so.
To use an Anybot, you simply put it and the charging dock where you normally sit. Then, you’re free to join meetings, pop into people’s cubicles, greet visitors, or see what they’re building in the lab. You can stay logged in all day, or just part of the day. When you’re logged in, the robots eyes are glowing so your colleagues know you’re there, creepily lingering over their shoulder, as they work. They can just come up to you and ask questions, and you can answer back. If you’re needed in a meeting or in the lab, just drive the robot there.
While it’s far fetched that we’ll start seeing QBs replacing actual employees, anytime soon (the $15,000 price tag creates a bit of a barrier for most employees looking to play hooky), it would be an interesting inner-office experiment. Especially, when you take into account the social implications of a robot contributing to weekly sales meetings, creative brainstorming, and casual chat around the water cooler (a slippery, and potentially deadly, activity for any robot running on a rechargeable batteries). If your colleagues and coworkers start spending all of their time with the Anybot version of you, will they feel weird when you actually show up and put in some real face time? Would it be like all of the people who start treating their Roomba vacuums like pets, only to feel guilty when using a traditional vacuum?
How would you feel having a robot boss or coworker interacting with you? At CM4, we’re all about thinking outside of the box and finding innovative ideas that challenge how we interact with people. The people over at Anybots, if nothing else, have certainly put together an impressive new system for the virtual worker. Potentially, you could use an Anybot to invite customers, vendors & consultants to use your office robot (who doesn’t like playing with remote control robots!?). You email them a special URL which gives them access. When they click on the link, they jump into your robot. You could even use it to give customers a tour of your production line (no hardhats required), or discuss an issue with a vendor’s equipment in your installation, or bring in a specialist to consult on a problem. Of course, this sketch from the Anybots official website promotes the most fun way to use your Anybot.
We already know that director, Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores perros, 21 Grams, Babel) is a badass, but it takes a certain kind of vision to be able to tell a compelling (and visually amazing) story and still keep the product or brand as the hero of the piece.
With Nike’s new Write the Future campaign, Iñárritu and agency, Wieden & Kennedy, do just that. From the Nike press release:
“The epic three-minute “Write the Future” film takes people on a journey that dramatically captures that one moment when headlines are written from a single pass, or one strike can bring a nation eternal happiness, while bringing others to their knees. This epic football journey unfolds through a match of goal line clearances, game-winning tackles and lightning footwork that literally send a ripple effect across the world.”
The thought of one tiny thing or action, drastically, changing the way future events unfold is a fascinating notion. At CM4, we always make an effort to keep this in mind, in our lives, work, and products. Which is why we will always offer high quality, distinct design, and superior functionality in each of our products.
Our goal is for sophisticated consumers to have the ability to seamlessly integrate the devices they use to organize, communicate, and entertain, with their contemporary lifestyle. In this way, our hope is to allow them to effectively communicate their personal style, while we provide them with a new standard to approaching the gaming experience. With CM4 products, our consumers are able to truly elevate their game, metaphorically and actually.
The Olympics are always a wonderful opportunity for the host country to promote its native culture in a beautiful mix of social, economic, and architectural design. For the 2016 Olympics, being held in Rio de Janeiro, a stunning architectural design has been proposed for a giant solar waterfall. The design uses solar power to run pumps which raise water to the top of the falls. When it is released and plummets downward, it spins turbines that also create electricity. The main wall of the waterfall would be over 300 feet above sea level functioning as the symbolic part of a large solar power plant.
The project, standing in the tradition of “a building/city as a machine”, would provide energy both to the city of Rio de Janeiro and its citizens while using natural resources.. At the base of the structure on the ground level, plans call for shops, an amphitheater, auditorium, and walking areas. Bungee jumping could also be possible using the main vertical structure.
The Swiss architecture firm RAFAA is responsible for the Solar City Tower design. An environmental theme was chosen as an homage to the 1992 Earth Summit: “After hosting the United Nation’s Earth Summit in 1992, Rio de Janeiro will once again be the starting point for a global green movement and for a sustainable development of urban structures.”
At CM4, we are always big fans of combining artistic elements with innovative ideas that give added function to a community. We love this proposed project for it’s clever mix of social and economic ideas, and obviously, for its grandiose beauty. Not only does the Solar City Tower give Rio de Janeiro and the 2016 Olympics and iconic landmark, but it acts as a global soap box for the global green movement. Not too shabby.
Would you visit the Solar City Tower? We’ll let you know when bungee jump tickets go on sale.
The CM4 Lounge is a collection of objects, ideas, and inspiration that we draw from on a daily basis when it comes to designing our products and inspiring creativity.
