PRNewswire: AquaCell Media, Inc., a subsidiary of AquaCell Technologies, has tapped into the fast-growing out-of-home advertising segment with their patented self-filling water coolers used as in-store "billboards".

AquaCell installs their unlimited-use water coolers free of charge for retailers so that they can offer their customers a refreshing shopping experience while simultaneously giving advertisers a unique way to reach their targeted audience. AquaCell launched its innovative advertising campaign in Duane Reade stores throughout the NY metro area and Rite Aid drugstores nationwide.

"In today's fragmented media advertising arena, it's getting increasingly more difficult to reach out to the consumer in a relevant timeframe of their purchase intent cycle," said Alan Jope, President of Unilever Home & Personal Care U.S. "In a controlled test, AquaCell's in-store advertising on our largest brand, Dove, revealed a significant sales lift versus same stores without the AquaCell cooler advertising."

"Our advertisers enjoy exclusivity without any diversions from competing ads," said Michael Dougherty, President of AquaCell Media. "As proven by the 34% Dove sales lift, advertising on our patented permanently attached five- gallon bottle and cup holder is a unique and effective way for advertisers to target consumers while they shop."

With approximately 1300 "billboard" water coolers currently in place, AquaCell continues to roll out its program to numerous retailers and expects to expand beyond the pharmacy segment in the near future.

AquaCell Leads the Refreshing Future of Water [PRNewswire]

Popgadget: Brookstone has these pillow speakers called (surprise, surprise) iPillow for those of you who like to listen to music in bed. Just plug in your mp3 player into the pillow. The pillow itself looks to be shaped more like a booster pillow with a visco-elastic foam interior and micro-suede on the outside. A zippered mesh bag holds the player in place. The iPillow's not really such a bad idea. I used to listen to music on headphones when I had insomnia - it helped me to fall asleep, but I'd always end up rolling on top of my music player, and sleeping with headphones isn't the most comfortable thing. If you're going to listen to music on speakers rather than headphones in bed I guess you can always just turn on the stereo or dock your iPod to a speaker base, but it wouldn't be as plush and huggable.

iPillow [Popgadget]

Springwise: Paragraph ("providing an affordable and tranquil working environment for writers of all genres") occupies a 2,500 square foot loft space near Union Square, divided into a writing room and a lounge area. The writing room has 38 partitioned desks, while the lounge area contains a kitchenette, a large round table and smaller café tables. There's a refrigerator and cabinets to store members' food and beverages, as well as a microwave, toaster oven and coffee maker. The space has a laser printer and wifi throughout, and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Members are assigned a pin code to access the space, and don't need to be published authors: a strong drive to write is enough. Monthly access fees range from USD 80 to 132 (EUR 67-110/GBP 45-75). So far, Paragraph has signed up 120 members.

Being spaces, continued [Springwise]

TrendCentral: Just about a year ago, we wrote about the Internet trend of tagging. Since then, the practice has really taken off with everyone from bloggers to dating sites such as www.consumating.com using tags to make searching and identification easier for users. The latest web trend that tech insiders are buzzing about is digging. The name comes from www.digg.com, a site composed of links to technology news articles. What makes this site unique, however, is that its readers are also the editors. Users submit articles for review and also decide which articles go on the homepage by marking them “digg it”, which is essentially giving it the thumbs up. The articles with the most “diggs” go to the top of the page. While Digg.com has the copyright on the term “digg”, other forward-thinking sites such as video sharing site Vimeo are also implementing the “dig” feature.

Digging could become a popular alternative to starred or numbered rating systems. Not only is it simple, positive and lacking ambiguity, but it also gives control to the users.

Digging [TrendCentral]

Yenra: Windjector from Dosho Design uses air resistance to provide a cardio workout, stretching, and strengthening of the core muscles. The twenty-nine core muscles are crucial for improving athletic performance as well as for performing everyday activities. Windjector use of air resistance allows each individual to work out at his own pace. The faster you move, the more resistance you encounter, and the harder you work out.

Windjector provides training for the cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular endurance, and muscular strength systems. This workout helps improve flexibility, agility, and mobility.

Windjector [Yenra]

deepikaglobal.com: The consumer-friendly website mouthshut.com is planning to launch a blogging space for the corporates to contact or respond to their consumers directly.

This will allow a two-way interaction between customers and corporates about complaints, new products, services and mass clarifications, mouthshut.com CEO Faisal Farooqui told UNI.

Mr Farooqui said, most people buy goods on recommendations from friends, who do not gain anything in providing their honest opinion about the products. mouthshut.com is a similar base where people speak of their experience about different products and someone looking for opinions can check up the ratings on that product and consider whether they want to buy it or not.

On many occasions the website has been contacted by corporates who want to respond to the consumers, not on an individual level but rather reach out with the corporate version of a situation on a mass scale, which ultimately led to the development of the to-be-launched corporate blog, he said.

mouthshut.com to launch corporate-consumer blog [deepikaglobal.com]

Iconoculture: Bus tour operator Gray Line New Orleans has been offering visitors a three-hour “Hurricane Katrina – America’s Worst Catastrophe” tour of the devastation. On the first day of touring, demand was so high that the company added a third tour. The tour visits Canal Street, the Superdome, the convention center and some of the worst-hit neighborhoods, including Lakeview and Gentilly. It doesn’t roll through the infamous Ninth Ward, though: Debris in the streets there still makes travel hazardous
$3 of every ticket’s face price goes to relief efforts.

Gray Line New Orleans offers bus tours of Katrina-ravaged parts of the Crescent City [Iconoculture]

Chicago Tribune: Cotton for sheets is, like, so five minutes ago. Several new fabrics have been warming beds for some time now, and many of them are kind to the Earth too.

Try bamboo fiber. It's new and soft and harvested from farms, meaning no forests were decimated to create these sheets.

Mixing the sensual drape of silk with the warmth and softness of cotton, bamboo fiber sheet sets are available at Bed, Bath & Beyond in a variety of soft colors, from $39.99 to $99.99. Linens `n Things also sells a bamboo fiber duvet for about $150.

Hemp, too, is hot, or warm, really. Mixed with cotton to create sheets, it's soft and good for the Earth too. Hypoallergenic and long-lasting, the sheets get softer with each use. Check out hempbedlinen.com.au. Prices are $76.50 for a single twin sheet to $211.50 for a king set.

Or try modal sheets, also available at Bed Bath & Beyond. Made from beech-tree fiber, the sheets are also very soft and become even softer after washing. Light as silk and incredibly bright in color, they use trees harvested from farms. From $19.99 for a twin set to $59.99 for a king, or in modal sateen, from $49.99 to $99.99.

Rest easy, these sheets are Earth-friendly [Chicago Tribune]

The Best Business Idea in an opportunity for individuals or groups from all over Australia to get their business idea off the ground. Australia is booming with innovative and talented people, Crown and Gleeson Business Finance want to support and encourage those people to achieve their goals and dreams.

At once stage in life everyone has had a great business idea that will make a million dollars, but there’s been one big problem – no money to make it work. The Best Business Idea award can change that and make your business idea become a reality.

The award winner will bank a cool $20,000 and most importantly the funding required to get the business to work.

Learn more about the Best Business Idea Awards 2006 competition at http://www.bestidea.com.au

Atiz Innovation: What if you could digitize any book you want with just the push of a button and without having to go through the tedious process of turning the pages manually?

BookDrive® -- the world’ s first and only desktop-sized, automatic page-turning scanner featuring a patent-pending technology that eliminates manually copying and scanning documents.

It is just like any traditional flatbed scanners that you are familiar with, but BookDrive is unique in that it has an automatic page-turning mechanism inside. Simply entering the number of pages you want to scan, BookDrive then automatically outputs the entire content of the scanned book in a digital format without requiring constant supervision and interference. Unlike traditional flatbed scanners, BookDrive enables businesses to digitize content with an automatic page-turning mechanism. BookDrive includes an integrated, easy-to-use software function that performs essential tasks such as auto cropping and image clean-up. Outside is a simple interface. Under the hood it embodies advanced software algorithms to automatically detect edge and crop the results so that what you have resembles the actual scanned page.

Atiz Innovation's BookDrive

Wired: Jennifer Grinnell, Michigan furniture delivery dispatcher turned fashion designer in cyber space, never imagined that she could make a living in a video game.

Grinnell's shop, Mischief, is in Second Life, a virtual world whose users are responsible for creating all content. Grinnell's digital clothing and "skins" allow users to change the appearance of their avatars -- their online representations -- beyond their wildest Barbie dress-up dreams.

Within a month, Grinnell was making more in Second Life than in her real-world job as a dispatcher. And after three months she realized she could quit her day job altogether.

Now Second Life is her primary source of income, and Grinnell, whose avatar answers to the name Janie Marlowe, claims she earns more than four times her previous salary.

Grinnell isn't alone. Artists and designers, landowners and currency speculators, are turning the virtual environment of Second Life into a real-world profit center.

Making a Living in Second Life [Wired]

Iconoculture: Hands-free bottle feeding on the go? Ah, the odd joys of the Pacifeeder. One blogger described the no-hands bottle that attaches to tots via a pacifier-like feeding tube as a beer hat for the diaper set. Sure, the oddball gadget has a Simpsons-like quality about it. But seriously, the Pacifeeder has its place: Think multiple baby mouths to feed and only two arms. Or strolling with a feeding tot without having to continually stop to pick up a dropped bottle.

Pacifeeder allows babes to drink from bottles – hands-free [Iconoculture]

Yanko Design: These days, more and more people are enjoying the habit of drinking wine because they find this habit healthy. In the future, life will be rich so that common people will enjoy wine. Since how one keeps wine determines the taste and the smell, preserving wine will become more important. Coming from this point of view, we designed a digital wine cellar which keeps wine and also act as a decoration in the house. Function-wise, this machine adjusts temperature according to different kinds of wine, indicates quantity of wine bottles, and controls air circulating up, down and sideways within the wine cellar. Also, interior lighting function is added, so that this conceptual preservation machine can not only keep wine fresh but also act as a decoration.

Digital Wine Cellar by Kyoung Min Sung [Yanko Design]

Construction & Maintenance: One of life's constant struggles - keeping carpets, rugs and floors clean - may now be a thing of the past thanks to an innovative new floor mat system that keeps the dirt outside. Contractor Thomas Foote has invented a flush mounted grate, one that allowed dirt and mud to drop through the industrial strength grid, and onto the ground below. The new device is designed to fit between standard joists of 12", 16" and 24". Homebuilders are seizing on the opportunity to spec the Dirt Drain as a new 'smart home' feature. For those with existing homes, the Dirt Drain comes with instructions for cutting into the wood decking or concrete flooring.

The cutout opening also provides side benefits such as additional air circulation under the decking and added lighting through basement windows. If customers don't need an even flush mounting, the Dirt Drain can also be framed with standard lumber in a matter of minutes.

New product eliminates household dirt [Construction & Maintenance]

Iconoculture: South Bronx furniture manufacturing and design company Caoba Colección de Muebles creates high-end furnishings with a Latino flair. Run by two Dominican brothers passionate about interior design and la cultura, the company creates coffee tables, chairs, lamps, sofas, dressers and ottomans priced from $700 to $1,400. All pieces have Latino names derived from the brothers’ relatives, friends and others: the Serrano Dresser, the Manrique Ottoman. Customers include Starwood Hotels, the East Hampton Golf Club and the British Embassy in Washington, DC. Visionary Latinos are turning their passions into businesses that break new ground in industries that traditionally have lacked Latino-owned companies.

South Bronx’s Caoba Colección de Muebles creates high-end furnishings with Latino flair [Iconoculture]

TrendBlog: Banks of the Future create a stylish and user-friendly atmosphere. Target group are people of any income level who want to associate their finances with fun rather than with a strict official approach. Free seminars and events make it easy for first-timers to start dealing with their finances and get involved with the money market. The banks of the Future make banking simple, easy and offer a variety of services which allow the customer to deal with his money independently and flexibly. And it is about more than just money: Banks of the Future present themselves as meeting-places; open spaces for art, culture and discussion.

Trend: Future Banking [TrendBlog]

MercuryNews.com: From industry giants Mattel and Hasbro to smaller players LeapFrog and VTech, toy manufacturers are lowering the age ranges for their high-tech and educational offerings at this year's Toy Fair, betting that "toddler tech'' will help reverse several years of slumping sales.

But perhaps most alarming to the toy business is slumping sales, as video games, cell phones and MP3 players compete for kids' attention and parents' dollars. U.S. retail sales for the toy industry as a whole fell 3.6 percent to $21.3 billion in 2005, according to NPD. That followed a decline of 3 percent in 2004.

The toy industry has responded by embracing technology, adding interactivity, creating whole new categories of educational toys and expanding the use of sophisticated electronics in products for kids as young as newborns. Notably, NPD said that sales of learning and exploration toys rose in 2005, adding 6 percent to $400 million.

Toy makers push high tech for tots [MercuryNews.com]

CNN Money: "If you make the product cool and people love it, it will spread like crazy and you can monetize it later." Talk like that is often ridiculed, especially by those shaken when the dotcom bubble burst. But if a company really understands its customers, it's hard to beat such a formula. Google (Research) comes to mind, or Hotmail, or Amazon (Research). Or Xfire. The speaker in this instance was that company's CEO, Mike Cassidy.

If you're a male online gamer aged 18-34, chances are you've already heard of Xfire. Otherwise, you probably haven't. But this tiny San Francisco company could be the next MySpace, or more relevantly, IGN, the online gaming site bought by News Corp. (Research) last year for $650 million.

Xfire's main purpose is to make it easy to play games online with your friends. "We're a combination of a social networking and community site with a media and ad buying site, all designed around gaming," says Cassidy. One of its great virtues as a business is that it has little value for someone unless their friends also use it. The average user convinces five friends to join the first month. That's what we call a viral business model. It's free. As Cassidy says, the whole thing is "monetized" with advertising.

Is Xfire the next MySpace? [CNN Money]

RotatingHome.com: Perfect for entertaining and personal enjoyment a RotatingHome may be just right for you. No longer will you need to decide which rooms will have a great view and which rooms will have minimal view or no view at all - the RotatingHome allows you to see your entire view from all the major rooms in your home! If you prefer to enjoy your view in the open air, a rotating deck can surround the entire circumference or just part of your home. A RotatingHome can be built in any size or shape with all or part of the home turning and it can have any number of stories with one or all rotating. The structure can turn a 100 times in one direction or a 1,000 in the other or stop in any position while always being connected to all utilities, just like any other home. You can choose the speed it rotates, we recommend a variable speed from one revolution in 30 minutes to one revolution in 24 hours. This is all made possible by the truly unique and patented SWIVEL at the heart of the home.

A rotating home is perfect for an upscale beach house or large mountain cabin or even in areas prone to storm surges! Steep mountain terrain is not a problem as the RotatingHome can be built up on a central steel column. With only one fully Rotating Home that meets 21st century building codes currently in existence, the uniqueness and technology are unprecedented!

Rotating Home: The Exclusive Dream House that Rotates [RotatingHome.com]

Iconoculture: Through its Off the Hook program, Cell-Phones-n-Plans offers teens hankering for cellphones a way to show parents they’re serious about cellular responsibilities. The free program includes prewritten e-mails teens can send to parents explaining that they understand cell responsibilities and a teen/parent contract stipulating things like allowed monthly minutes, phone etiquette, and required discussion of bills with parents.

Parents aren’t pushovers. Teens who honestly show willingness to shoulder responsibility for actions and bills stand a better chance of winning parents’ cellular rewards, while also picking up money-management skills. Teens have purchasing power, but Captain Mom still exerts some control. Include parents in the picture when targeting teens to reach both decision makers.

Off the Hook’s disconnected teens show parents they’re ready for cellphone responsibility [Iconoculture]

Yenra: Traditional elegant white bridal dress for mother-to-be makes pregnant bride feel beautiful on her special day.

Women today are living their lives on their own terms. A Pea in the Pod, Mimi Maternity and Motherhood Maternity celebrate mothers-to-be at every stage, offering stunning wedding gowns for pregnant brides.

Maternity Wedding Gown [Yenra]

Atlanta Business Chronicle: In 2029, people and computers will be "intimately connected" in profound ways, thanks to breakthrough advances in artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and a soon-to-be-acquired knowledge of the human brain.

That's according to futurist Ray Kurzweil, who spoke Feb. 7 at the Technology Association of Georgia's annual summit in Smyrna. Kurzweil, author of "The Age of Spiritual Machines" and inventor of the speech-to-text synthesizer, predicts scientists by 2029 will have created "nanobots" capable of repairing the human body from within and immersing the five senses in full virtual reality environments. Nanobots also will be able to make us smarter too, he predicts: improving memory, sensory and cognitive abilities.

Just around the corner -- in 2009 -- people will have fast Internet connections at all times in all places thanks to advances in small, mobile electronics embedded in clothing and in the environment. "Computers will disappear," he said, as visiting a Web site will become a mobile, virtual reality experience and "displays will be written directly on our retinas" from eyeglasses and contact lenses.

Futurist foresees big gains in nanotechnology [Atlanta Business Chronicle]

Iconoculture: When wedding guests don’t put out, savvy newlyweds cash in. Retailers are toasting just-marrieds with completion sales – post-honeymoon promotions that let start-up spouses score discounts on un-purchased registry items. Staples like Bloomingdale’s, Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn have all integrated completion programs or events into their pre-wedding registry services. Most post-wedding offers give newlyweds a 10% to 20% discount on unfulfilled registry items for three to six months after the ceremony.

Registries help new couples pick up the picket-fence essentials – and get a head start on their new family homes. If guests don’t buy it, chances are they still need (or want) it. When it comes to registering for silver tuna items, it doesn’t hurt to ask. And if friends and family don’t bite on the big ones, enterprising newlyweds can always get a deal.

Completion sales let newlyweds buy out registries for a bargain [Iconoculture]

DailyCandy: The New York Times Sunday crossword? Sudoku? Rubik’s cube? Pfft. You can solve those suckers in your sleep.

Which may explain why you always need just five (okay, twenty) more minutes in bed.

If your propensity to hit the snooze button is the only thing keeping you down, check out the Puzzle Alarm Clock. When it’s time to get up, this good-morning messenger not only starts the requisite racket, but it also shoots off four colorful puzzle pieces from its top. The only way to bring back silence is to put everything back where it belongs.

Piece of Wake [DailyCandy]

Westchester.com: Eighty-nine percent of parents believe that it is important for their child to be involved in hands-on activities outside of the classroom. To help parents meet these needs, The Scholastic Store, located in SoHo and Scarsdale, has created Cool-riculum, a series of fun and enrichment workshops for kids.

Cool-riculum was designed to provide children with enrichment in their daily skills such as literacy, creativity, and independent thinking. It is also a great way for kids and parents to participate in group activities and socialize with friends.

Cool-riculum Workshops at The Scholastic Store include:

- Express Yourself! - A hands-on crafting activity that allows any child to be creative, build skills, and make a mess in a safe, fun environment (that isn’t your house!) Each session includes an arts-and-crafts project, story-time, and a group drawing. (Ages 4-5)

- ABC Language Exchange - Learning French or Spanish is one of the most rewarding challenges for a young mind - it’s also a lot of fun! These lively workshops are filled with songs and stories, from the top N.Y. language school. (Ages 4-9)

- RoboFUN with LEGO® Robotics - Aspiring inventors can design and build whatever they dream up! Kids develop mechanical skills and creativity using LEGOs, motors, sensors, and a special mini-computer. (Vision Education & Media, Ages 7-13)

- Klutz Build-A-Book™ - Kids can build their very own three-dimensional book using words, pictures, objects, and maybe even the kitchen sink! (Ages 4+)

- Stretch Out and Read - Hop, skip, and jump into fun stories with creative movement and imagination. Perfect for tots and moms! (Central Park Dance Studio, Ages 3-4)

- Mad Science© - Hands-on experiments bring the mysteries of science to a real-world level that kids can understand - and enjoy! Budding Einsteins will learn about the science behind everything from sports to nature to secrets codes to outer space! (Ages 3-7)

- Little Maestros - New York City’s #1 music experience helps kids develop essential language abilities, express their creativity and rock out! Every session is a unique musical event with puppet shows, pretend and real instrument play, a musical story-time, and much more! (Ages 3 months - 3 years)

The Scholastic Store™ Launches New Cool-Riculum Workshops [Westchester.com]

eBizAsiaLink.com: Drinks come mostly in cans or bottles, but tubes? No way.

Well, tell that to the Wenger Co, which has been making mustard, vinegar, ketchup, etc for more than a century. In 2003, it decided to fill metal tubes with energy and vodka drinks under the GO range, and it has never looked back since.

The tube is small and handy and can be slotted into bags or pockets without taking up as much space as a bottle. Also, the small tube prevents others from putting drugs into your drink, should the thought ever occur to anyone.

There are nine types to choose from, including GO Wodka Energy, GO Wodka Extreme Cranberry, GO Pure Energy and GO Sport Isotonic Cherry.

You GO girl [eBizAsiaLink.com]

Triple Pundit: Everyone loves Clif Bar, and recognizes them as one of the more admirable companies out there by just about any measure related to the integrated bottom line. But there's one problem that Clif bar has never been able to solve - packaging. In order to keep Clif Bars fresh, the packaging has to be made out of material that is generally not recyclable nor compostable.

A little start up called Matisse & Jack's seems to have an solution for those people seeking a better packaging solution for their energy bars: They sell the mix to bake them yourself at home. Not only is it better from a sustainability concept, but you can tailor the recipe to your taste, have a bunch of fun, and know exactly what you put into it.

Matisse & Jack's Energy Bar Mix Solves the Clif Bar Wrapper Problem [Triple Pundit]

Gizmag: Digital imaging offers the ability to create fantastic images and use them in new ways by creating spaces to transform perceptions and indeed create whole new environments.

We now have the ability to put any image on a wall (via digitally printed wallpaper), curtains, ceilings and now to have digitally imaged carpet created, giving us complete artistic control of interior design like never before

. When we first saw the remarkable work of Iranian artist Seyed Alavi we were transfixed in that he offers perspectives we’d not seen before and for each person, those perspectives were different. Alavi’s latest project is indeed likely to inspire a myriad of ideas from creatives all over the world when they see how he had an aerial view of the Sacramento River woven into a carpet for the floor of a pedestrian bridge connecting the Sacramento International Airport terminal to the parking garage. It is indeed, a “flying carpet”.

The Flying Carpet [Gizmag]

Popgadget: If, for you, a relaxing afternoon on the lanai must include an hour with Oprah, you're in luck. Perfect for patio, gazebo, or cabana, the SunbriteTV is protected from rain, dirt, and excessive temperatures. The flat-panel LCD-design has a variety of mounting options to suit your space and is significantly brighter than standard LCD screens to overcome the inevitable outdoor glare. Available at Hammacher Schlemmer. There's even a remote to lose under the cushion of your chaise.

Weatherproof TV [Popgadget]

All Headline News: The days of baiting hooks with squirmy worms to catch fish may be over. A new product called Fool-a-Fish may make catching fish easier.

Fool-a-Fish works like this: spray the product (which contains titanium dioxide) on the lure and when it's cast into the water, it lights up like a disco ball luring fish from over a half a mile away.

The product was invented by Milan Jeckle, a physician in Spokane, who combined his love of fishing with his love of chemistry to make the product. "You catch three or four times more fish, and the biggest fish," Jeckle contended.

As researchers have discovered, fish see a fourth color in the ultraviolent range, which shows up as a white glow and is invisible to the human eye. The Fool-A-Fish liquid will stay on the lure for two hours, is nontoxic and odorless.

New Fishing Product Uses Ultraviolet Light to Fish [All Headline News]

DailyCandy: The big, bad world can be a very scary place. And sometimes we feel defenseless against things like war, disease, and people who wear socks with sandals.

Horrific images, all.

Thankfully, there are coping mechanisms: little blue pills, champagne cocktails, and Rebecca Turbow’s Safe clothes. Turbow’s playful collection of durable dresses, shorts, skirts, and tops are designed to protect wearers both physically and emotionally. Eschewing all colors but teal and white, Turbow uses the same soothing hues favored for hospital scrubs. Each piece is made with soft fabrics and round pads to provide cushioning around vital organs like the stomach and heart. There are also purses, shoulder bags, and wallets to help soothe anxiety, and guys can turn to her monochromatic tees for a little extra security. And now it’s all available online.

Safety First [DailyCandy]

Iconoculture: WristClinic, made by Ireland’s Telcomed, monitors vital signs with a wireless wrist-top device that measures everything from body temperature and blood pressure to oxygen saturation and one-lead EKG. Patients activate the WristClinic at preset times, using icons on the LCD menu to transmit data to a telemedicine call center or an automated Web-based databank, where it’s stored for later retrieval by e-mail, Web, or fax. Consumers also can opt to have measurements transmitted continuously.

Today’s health-conscious consumers are as concerned with monitoring their stats as they are about long-term physical fitness. Crunching the numbers trumps doing crunches. Globetrotting executives and other busy consumers who need to keep tabs on their vital signs feel more secure leaving home with a mobile wrist-top clinic.

WristClinic monitors vital signs [Iconoculture]

The Cool Hunter: Illuminated dance floors are nothing new. In the seventies they where all the rage, the problem was that dancers flared hot pants would cover the floor panels and kill the effect. Now, flares or not, the illuminated dance floor is back, this time in LED form. Using the latest in pressure sensitive LED technology, these panels are designed to interact with club goers moves as well as D.J's sets. Special plug ins can be downloaded into the D.Js computer equipment allowing an entire set to be pre programmed where the music and lights work together. The panels are not restricted to work only on dance floors and can be fitted to walls, bar tops and Lionel Ritchie's favorite place to dance, ceilings.

L.E.D Dance Flooor [The Cool Hunter]

CoolBusinessIdeas Newsletter Issue 25: 01/01/06 - 31/01/06

New Business Ideas/Opportunities Featured In This Issue:

SERVICES
Mobile Barbers
Dena Kaufer, a 20-year veteran of the hair biz, has retrofitted three Winnebagos into full-feature salons on wheels.

More than Laundry
Slate is an all-inclusive laundry service for NYC residents available through the web.

LUXURY
Vacation Homes
Condo hotels enable you to own a luxury vacation home at a world-class resort and receive rent revenue whenever you're not using it.

LIFESTYLE
Josh, In Search of Cool
When Spear likes something, he posts it on his popular blog, joshspear.com. What happens next? The thing gets noticed!

Cardio Tennis
Cardio Tennis, a national program being offered runs participants around the court urgently enough to keep their heart rates in the cardio-training zone while helping improve tennis skills.

The AeroPress Coffee Machine
The new Aerobie AeroPress delivers the smoothest, richest, purest and fastest cup of coffee (under 30 seconds) you’re likely to find and the bonus is that the AeroPress costs just US$30.

MARKETING
Graffiti Ads
A growing list of companies has dabbled in street art to get their marketing messages out.

Compelling Ad
ANI has appointed DZP Marketing Communications to lead the strategic development and repositioning of Atkins Advantage.

AUTOMOBILES
Cars, Many Years From Now
Highlights from the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show.

GADGETS
Eat Easy
MealPay.com enables parents to set up an electronic debit-card system that logs their kids’ cafeteria purchases and bans certain foods altogether.

Escapist Blending
Those gazing into the Conduit Group’s Daydreams mirror by designer Jason Miller find themselves in a beautiful landscape.

Moody Player
Walt Disney is working on a multimedia player that selects songs based on the owner's latest mood via wrist sensors.

FOOD & BEVERAGES
Mothers of Organic
– otherwise known as M.O.O. – is an online beehive of pro-organic moms. The all-natural network was created by farmer-owned food label Organic Valley.

Chinese New Year Takeout
Whether you're a self-confessed kitchen klutz or a seasoned dabbler in Chinese cuisine-no fuss, no muss-these well-executed dishes offer the perfect chance to put on your own Chinese New Year's celebration at home.

Low-Calorie Chocolate
The Hershey Co. plans to introduce a low-calorie chocolate candy product in March.

Resurrecting Drink
Although initially created as an anti-hangover elixir, Resurrect is now becoming a part of the daily diet for the health conscious individual.

Fortune Cookies
Lucky Fortune has yet to go full-blast with its domestic promotions, but the duo say the "Gold Coin" cookies are hot products during the months of December, January and February.

TECHNOLOGY
What's