MetropolisMag.com: Neil Poulton’s latest lighting design was the product of technical ingenuity, exhaustive trial and error—and self-interest. “I am the main client,” he says. “It was designed for me.” The Paris-based Scottish designer wanted an adjustable lamp that would cast a wash of light over his desk but could be easily moved out of the way when not in use. After experimenting with concepts over several months, he built a deceptively simple-looking system: a plastic-encased fluorescent tube that cantilevers on a thin chrome stem. Produced by Artemide and now available in the United States, the Talak series includes table, clamp, and wall-mounted versions, and the Italian lighting giant plans to introduce a floor-standing model as well as new colors—anthracite, matte silver, and fluorescent orange—at Euroluce this spring. Here the designer takes us through the intricacies of the Talak.

The logic behind the design was that anything horizontal is white and anything vertical is chrome. If you put a chrome tube in a room, it picks up the reflections of everything around it and in effect disappears; the head tahen appears to float.

The magic is that you don’t know what’s holding the head up and why it doesn’t slide down the tube. It’s just a simple cantilever, and the internal mechanism is a sheet-steel spring.

More than two heads can be stacked on the pole to create a central lighting support.

Self-Lumination [MetropolisMag.com]

adagio teas: Looking to simplify preparation of loose tea? Our electric tea maker is the answer. Say goodbye to kettles, teapots and over-steeped cups. This wondrous appliance does it all - heats water, steeps leaves, and keeps tea warm so you may enjoy it all day long. Variable timer and temperature control lets you adjust the strength of an infusion, ensuring a perfect cup of tea each time. Works well with all tea varieties. Made in China. 32 oz (1L).

"It simplifies the tea making process tremendously as no other device will make tea properly like this one does." - Reviewer, Greg A.

TriniTEA Electric Maker [adagio teas]

Springwise: What could be better than having an insider walk you through his or her favourite spots in a new city or travel destination? How about having access to a whole library of such tours that can be downloaded right to your iPod or MP3 player? That's what Chicago-based AudioSnacks is offering consumers. Users can download audio tours of select destinations and can put up their own tours for purchase.

“AudioSnack is a place to find, purchase, download, listen to and appreciate audio tours that people just like you have created to share, and a place where you can do the same for others.” Tours are modestly priced—some are even free. Many feature downloadable maps to accompany the audio footage, and customers can listen to a sample snippet of a tour before deciding to purchase.

User-generated Pod Tours [Springwise]

Webware: How many times have you been IMing with a friend or co-worker across the country, placed a bet ("If that Sanjaya guy gets the boot tonight, you owe me a beer!"), completed said bet, but had no immediate way to fulfill it because the other person involved was miles away? Well, now there's a brand-new solution--but just for New Yorkers, for the time being.

BuyYourFriendADrink.com was launched today and announced on the New York edition of e-mail events service Thrillist. BuyYourFriendADrink, or BYFAD, is a way to purchase libations for your friends online, which they can then redeem at participating establishments with the help of a text message. If you owe a friend a drink, or just want to be nice, head on over to the BYFAD Web site and fill out the form--you'll need to have that friend's cell phone number on hand. You can opt to give them a dollar amount between $5 and $250, and there's a 99-cent processing fee. Then, your friend receives an e-mail and a text message alerting them of the yummy drinkable gift, along with a promotional code.

Happy hour by SMS, with BuyYourFriendADrink [Webware]

Popgadget: My girlfriend told me that toothbrushes harbor more germs than a toilet bowl. Yeeewwwww!

That was enough to get me looking for a solution, and fortunately for my sanity, VIOlight has already come up with a solution. Their little gizmo is proven to kill 99.9% of germs found on your toothbrush using UV light. And did I mention that it was designed by Philippe Starck, so it looks good in any bathroom? With the adaptors that come with, you can even fit your electric toothbrush head in the unit.

The company sent me the bath unit to try out, and I can report that it's easy to set up. Just plug it into the wall, place toothbrushes in the slots (4 of them), press the button, and after 10 minutes of ultra violet light, you've killed all those nasty germs and bugs. That’s millions of microscopic bugs that can cause flu, colds and other illnesses.

VIOlight Toothbrush Sanitizer [Popgadget]

YumSugar: The first trend on the list is personalized cakes. Edith Meyer said that "Cakes for 2007 seem to be much more personal and less I-saw-this-in-a-magazine." She's even had clients bring in handpainted heirloom china to create on the cake. Another personalized trend is the introduction of the initial monogramming, as well as the return of the personalized cake topper.

Another trend in the wedding cake world is a unique shape. People are steering further from the traditional three-tiered cake and are delving into the worlds of odd shapes, crooked pieces and unique shapes. Colette Peters, author of Colette's Wedding Cakes, believes that this year, in addition to more personalized cakes, there are more crooked cakes. This cake was made by her and definitely features a rather unique stacking.

An additional trend for 2007 is colorful cakes. Susan Morgan stated that although she has been doing colored cakes for years, now "everyone wants coordination throughout the wedding." Cakes are no longer just white and cream. You'll now find colors from hot pink, orange, spring green, etc - whatever matches the wedding scheme.

Personally I think wedding cakes are going to start upstaging wedding dresses. Watch out fashion designers, these cake decorators are really stepping things up!

Wedding Cake Trends for 2007 [YumSugar]

The New York Times: Impulse shoppers, watch out. Your cellphone might soon get you into trouble. A company called ShopText has introduced a system that lets people buy products instantly using text messages, a process that eliminates the need to go to a store or even visit a Web site. For instance, a woman seeing an ad for a pocketbook in a magazine can order it on the spot simply by sending the text code found beside the item through her cellphone.

Consumers can already use text messages to buy some products. Ads for the new CD by singer Tim McGraw carry a texting code, as do magazine writeups for the new Harry Potter novel coming this summer. Some concert halls are selling tickets by text message, and some charities are taking donations that way.

CosmoGirl magazine will feature text-message codes throughout its June/July issue, both in the advertising and editorial pages. And Stuff magazine is introducing text-to-buy on products like CDs, DVDs and video games featured in its pages.

At the center of the technology is ShopText, a small company in New York that takes the orders, charges the consumer’s credit card and ships out the merchandise. To use the system, a consumer must first place a phone call to ShopText to set up an account, specifying a shipping address and card account. After that, all purchases can be made by thumb.

When ShopText receives text messages about donations or products, it charges the credit card it has on file for the buyer, then, if appropriate, sends the product from one of its warehouses around the country.

New Form of Impulse: Shopping via Text Message [The New York Times]

CherryFlava: Ok so there's that restaurant in Thailand called Bed where you eat dinner in...well...a big bed. And now - this place, WDuck...where you sit on a toilet during your meal. It's perhaps a little extreme for South African steakhouse tastes, but the point is that the hospitality industry is getting a personality. From boutique hotels like Daddy Long Legs in Cape Town to restaurants like this, these brands are in a unique position to offer an experience a little different to the rest. Even if it does require extra bottles of toilet duck.

Restaurant marketing: Fine dining on the toilet [CherryFlava]

CakeAmerica is a website that is dedicated to help web users find cakes and other baked products in their localities and empower the local cake businesses to promote and advertise their cakes on the web.

The heart of the website is its local cake search. It can find the cake items posted to the website as long as the words being searched exist in the cake’s name, description or promotional ad text and the cake provider is within the area specified. To search for cakes, users has to type any words related to the cake that they are searching for, specify the zip code, select the number of miles within the specified zip code and click the search button. Users may also search by city. When cake items are found, users may add the cakes into their cake list that can later be viewed or printed. Cake list information includes the contact details of the cake provider, cake name, and cake thumbnail picture.

The popular cake categories in CakeAmerica are birthday cakes, wedding cakes, anniversary cakes, graduation cakes, and unique custom cakes. CakeAmerica lets local cake businesses create their own searchable cake web pages by just posting their business profiles, stores information, cakes pictures and cake information.

BornRich: Philips and Swarovski have teamed-up to bling the tech goodies with their ‘Active Crystals’ collection that features I GB flashy USB memory keys studded with swarovski. The collection includes four different designs: Heart Ware, Heart Beat, Lock In and Lock Out. Heart Ware and Heart Beat are worn as pendants and The Lock In and Lock Out attaches to a keychain.

The sparkling collection will be hitting the market in August and the price details are yet to be disclosed. The collection will also include four pairs of noise-cancelling headphones.

Philips and Swarovski Designs Sparkling USB Drives and Headphones [BornRich]

MobileCrunch: Mobio, which we’ve covered previously, is launching the public beta of its mobile application platform today. They’re pitching themselves as a “lifestyle platform” to consumers, where you can access all kinds of data on the go, such as restaurants, weather, and flight schedules. However, to developers, Mobio is a mashup platform, enabling developers to weave together all kinds of information into a single application.

The Mobio platform is not open to all developers yet, but they have already developed 50 of their own free applications. One example is their movie time search engine, where you can find the closest movie theater, map directions to it, and buy your tickets from within your phone.

Mobio Mobile Mashups Go Beta [MobileCrunch]

Business 2.0: It's not enough to have your customers' eyes and ears--now you need to attract their noses too. This month, 100 gas stations in California will be trying technology that wafts coffee aroma at the pump in a bid to tempt its pay-and-go customers into the store for java.

Clear Channel, meanwhile, is experimenting with scented billboards. USA Today and the Wall Street Journal are set to offer "rub and sniff" newspaper ads. And some retailers are also preparing products with added smell. Wal-Mart is rolling out experimental DVDs with "smell-o-vision," electronic scent wafers that release the odor of a burning building, say, or a freshly fired gun, at precisely timed moments during the movie.

Gas pumps that smell like coffee [Business 2.0]

Detroit Free Press: There is a growing group of wine drinkers who are turning to the box rather than the bottle. With better wine varieties now available in boxes, wineries are attempting to give the category a new identity far from the rowdy boating trips and drunken fraternity parties that gave box vino its cheap, low-quality image.

The effort seems to be paying off. Box wine is now the fastest-growing wine category. According to data from AC Nielsen, three-liter box wine sales grew 44% in the past year, compared to a 3% gain in overall table wine volume.

"It's gaining tremendous acceptance by the consumer," said Ben Dollard, president of Pacific Wine Partners, a division of Constellation Brands. "It's just the tip of the iceberg."

Vintners have been doing a good deal of experimenting in the last few years. Wine even comes in plastic bottles and cans.

Although wine has been packaged in a box for some time, the new boxes aren't like the five-liter jugs of sweet, headache-inducing wines of the past.

Although those still are readily available, premium varieties on the market show a bit more complexity with hints of berry, apple or oak.

Of course, the premium entries are more expensive. For example, a Chardonnay can run $20 for a box that contains the equivalent of four bottles, whereas the lower quality five-liter boxes sell for between $6 and $10 for more than 6 bottles of wine.

The premium boxes are still a steal, however, because one quality bottle can cost $10 to $30 or more.

Box wine manufacturers can afford to charge less for quality when the packaging materials are far less expensive.

And of course, you can't beat the convenience. You can take a box of wine just about anywhere or you can leave it at home and not worry that it will go bad. Box wines stay fresh for as long as four weeks after they're opened because the boxes contain a vacuum-sealed bag that prevents the wine from being exposed to air.

"A box just kind of sits in the fridge and I don't have to think about it," said Waller.

Box wines are worth toasting [Detroit Free Press]

Cherryflava: Soon to be released in August 2007, the Picard Solar Bag picks up where Eskom left off by charging your gadget essentials like laptops and iPods. The solar panels on the flap are set to give you enough juice to make it through the day. We say it's a damn fine idea considering the lack of plug points in most SA coffee spots. You might need to throw in a couple of frosties, just in case you get thirsty while standing in the hot African sun waiting for your stuff to charge.

Picard solar bag [Cherryflava]

TrendCentral: For those who love to read, and show off their personal library, Italian company nobody&co has a fabulous looking seat for you. Literally covered in five meters worth (around 16 feet) of shelving area, the Bibliochaise makes storage look incredibly cool, and cuts down on space taken up by a typical bookshelf. On their site, interested buyers can change the shelf and cushion colors, all with the click of the mouse, in order to create the perfect color combination. Being a bookworm never looked so cool...

Bibliochaise [TrendCentral]

Popgadet: If you're in the market for a new pair of headphones and don't mind looking foolish or being stared at by strangers, you may be interested to know that the iWalk will be available in a week or two. For about $60, you can slip a first- or second-generation iPod nano into the iWalk's dedicated slot and take a jog around the park while carrying pepper spray in one hand and a cell phone in the other to ward off and/or call the police when you're approached by someone asking whether you're taking part in a new prank show. Alternatively, since the iWalk gives you complete access to the nano's clickwheel, you could also just crank up the volume to drown out the laughter and keep on jogging.

Keep your hands free with iWalk [Popgadet]

New Business Ideas/Opportunities Featured In This Issue:

FASHION
Chic Celicase
Here’s a superlative mini bag for all the Gizmodivas! Celicase, or Celi for short is a Turkish leather, compact purse that is designed to carry your most essentials. And when I mean most essentials, it can be a cell, PDA, ID, iPod, cash, passport, tickets, gum, lipgloss, cards..

Demin Code
DENIM CODE, the new French brand of jeans, has come up with a revolutionary concept consisting of making it possible to access an audio/video recording free of charge from a pair of DENIM CODE jeans.

FOOD & BEVERAGE
Eating Greens
Kids eat up a healthy menu of herb-crusted chicken, sushi rolls and plenty of fresh veggies. No, really: Mean Greens outsells two competing cafés that dish up traditional campus fare like cheeseburgers and pizza.

TECHNOLOGY
Voicemail To Email
Why listen to your voice mail messages when you can read them? That's what a new crop of companies is asking — they're developing software that turns voice mail messages into transcribed e-mail or text messages.

TRAVEL & TRANSPORT
1-800-CAB-RIDE
Jason Diaz’s 1-800-cab-ride.com (800-222-7433) plans to be the one-stop online shop for scheduling taxi cabs. Essentially, 1800cabride.com is a car service that doesn't own a single automobile - it uses a network of independent cab shops around the country to arrange rides from one central dispatch office.

HOMES & LIVING
Toilet Breeze
You’ll overcome your bathroom shyness with the Breeza, a deodorizing toilet seat. The four-stage process removes 95.8 percent of bathroom odors. (And with a number that specific, you know it’s scientifically tested.)

ADVERTISING
Free Photocopying
An innovative Japanese company is offering university students free photocopies. This free love is made possible by printing ads on the back of the copy paper, which is slightly thicker than normal to prevent ads from shining through. For JPY 400,000, advertisers can have their message printed on 10,000 sheets of paper.

FOOD & BEVERAGE
Caffeinated Seeds
Now they're selling sunflower seeds laced with energy boosters like caffeine, taurine, lysine, and ginseng. The product named, "SumSeeds", are described as premium roasted sunflower seeds supercharged with the same stuff found in "energy" sodas.

AUTOMOBILES
Steering Wheel Notebook
If you feel that driving is too safe, than you should ‘danger things up’ with a steering wheel laptop. While the design is still in concept stage, I’m sure you can copy the idea by duct taping your laptop to the wheel.

DESIGN
Funky Coffin
Well, little did we know that the good people of Ghana had taken their art to a whole new level. We just stumbled across a website that sells a variety of African goods, particularly this line of wonderful coffins. Aside from the pictured Nokia coffin, they sell a Ferrari, a Subaru, a beer bottle (!) and a computer mouse coffin.

SmudgeGuard
The SmudgeGuard stays dry making it less likely to re-smudge the paper. Because it's only protecting the areas most prone to smudges and because the material is thin, he can also type on a keyboard or do other things while wearing it.

CULTURE & MUSIC
BurnLounge
BurnLounge is a community-powered digital music service. BurnLounge provides music fans with the necessary software and an expansive catalog of music, to create and sell music (and fan merchandise) to peers from their own digital music stores.

MOBILE
Mobile Network
Sonopia works with Verizon to handle calls and data transfer, and lets anyone from a rock band to a church group set up their own mobile network brand. In return, the mini carrier will receive 3-8% of revenues generated by the customers they sign up.

ONLINE & SOCIAL NETWORKS
Lifecasting
Not since the ‘90s JenniCam craze has a personal webcam attracted so much attention. Justin.tv is the live videostream of Justin Kan, a 23-year-old web entrepreneur in San Francisco who has coined the term “lifecasting” with his no holds barred self-documentation approach. Kan has attached a camera to his head that delivers a 24/7 stream of his life from his point of view.

E-COMMERCE
Voice Advantage
Starting today you can test out a new service that attempts to combine the best of social networking with Internet-based telephony. In short, it gives visitors to your Web site or a blog a free local number to call from virtually anywhere. All you have to do is add a widget to your site, blog or e-mail signature.

LIFESTYLE & LUXURY
Music Craftmanship
Now, Gresso have developed their own line of MP3 players called, The Symphonia Collection. The model is again crafted from African Black wood, whilst the front panel is made of a scratch resistant 18 carat gold surface. The idea behind it's conception is for the Symphonia to be worn as a piece of jewelry rather than an MP3 on a lanyard.

View this issue of the CoolBusinessIdeas Newsletter by clicking here. Subscribe for free by clicking here

Iconoculture: U of North Texas students don't have to worry about gaining the "freshman 15" if they eat at Mean Greens.

Kids eat up a healthy menu of herb-crusted chicken, sushi rolls and plenty of fresh veggies. No, really: Mean Greens outsells two competing cafés that dish up traditional campus fare like cheeseburgers and pizza.

"Eat your greens" used to be anathema to anyone under 21. No more. Amid all the uproar about childhood and teen obesity, it's nice to take note of a significant counter-trend.

In overweight America, the scales are still heavily tipped to the junk food side. But if a new generation is starting to eat lighter, it bodes well for a healthier future.

Low-cal campus café packs 'em in [Iconoculture]

USATODAY: Why listen to your voice mail messages when you can read them? That's what a new crop of companies is asking — they're developing software that turns voice mail messages into transcribed e-mail or text messages.

We've all gotten those long voice mail messages from a friend, relative, business associate — or in this reporter's case a PR person pitching a story idea — that seem to drag on forever. New companies, such as Simulscribe, SpinVox and now Callwave, are emerging to provide a fix for busy people who don't want to listen to long messages anymore.

Even though cellphones are increasingly being used to do everything from sending text messages to surfing the Web to playing music, the main reason to use a phone is voice communication. New applications, such as voice-to-text, could be part of a growing trend of new services based on voice-recognition technology.

Tech turns voice mails into emails [USATODAY]

Gizmodiva: Here’s a superlative mini bag for all the Gizmodivas! Celicase, or Celi for short is a Turkish leather, compact purse that is designed to carry your most essentials. And when I mean most essentials, it can be a cell, PDA, ID, iPod, cash, passport, tickets, gum, lipgloss, cards..… you know a woman’s basic essential’s list is endless! I quite like the idea of carrying in four different carrying options. You can clip it, belt it, strap it, or simply clutch it. Just effortlessly carry it when traveling, clubbing, shopping, attending concerts or sporting events.

Celicase - a chic bag to carry all your essentials [Gizmodiva]

Springwise: An innovative Japanese company is offering university students free photocopies. This free love is made possible by printing ads on the back of the copy paper, which is slightly thicker than normal to prevent ads from shining through. For JPY 400,000, advertisers can have their message printed on 10,000 sheets of paper.

Tadacopy machines have been placed at a few dozen campuses, and are a big hit with students. The company was founded by students at the universities of Keio, Chuo and Hosei, who installed the first free copy machine in April of last year. Nice one for student entrepreneurs to set up in other countries! You'll make some extra money, your fellow students will thank you, and local advertisers will be able to reach a targeted audience in a novel way. Like any good free love concept, it’s a win-win-win situation.

Free Photocopies for Students [Springwise]

Popgadget: Hailing a cab works great in certain neighborhoods, but if you're off the beaten path there's not a lot of chances that a cabbie is going to randomly swing by for a pickup. One man is betting that the Digg generation would be more inclined to use taxis if there was a convenient web interface. Jason Diaz’s 1-800-cab-ride.com (800-222-7433) plans to be the one-stop online shop for scheduling taxi cabs. Essentially, 800cabride.com is a car service that doesn't own a single automobile - it uses a network of independent cab shops around the country to arrange rides from one central dispatch office.

It's a pretty simple setup. Just go to the website, choose pickup and drop off locations, and the service will have a ride dispatched. Cab rides are billed at a flat rate that includes all applicable fees and tip, and payment is made on the website via credit card or corporate account. Airline pickups are "will call" when debarking so there's no chance of a delayed flight causing a missed ride. If you don't call the 800 number to confirm arrival there's no charge to the credit card. It's nice that they've kept it flexible because traveling can sometimes turn into a nebulous form of performance art.

Hail a cab with point and click [Popgadget]

DailyCandy: You’ll overcome your bathroom shyness with the Breeza, a deodorizing toilet seat. The four-stage process removes 95.8 percent of bathroom odors. (And with a number that specific, you know it’s scientifically tested.)

First the sensor tells the seat you’ve plopped down. Next a super-quiet fan sucks up the stink and sends it through a carbonated filter. Finally the clean air passes through a replaceable fragrance vent and comes back out smelling like roses (or at least not like caca).

The Breeza also comes in a warm version with three temperature settings, so you can warm your buns while you drop off the kids.

Holy Crap [DailyCandy]

TrendHunter: If you feel that driving is too safe, than you should ‘danger things up’ with a steering wheel laptop. While the design is still in concept stage, I’m sure you can copy the idea by duct taping your laptop to the wheel.

This steering wheel notebook is made for people that travel with their cars to work. The unique design allows you to mount your laptop securely on your steering wheel so you can comfortably use your laptop while sitting in the driver's seat of your vehicle. The Cario Notebook is easily positioned by the existing steering wheel adjustment.

Steering Wheel Laptop - Don't Crash [TrendHunter]

OhGizmo!: You know how when you go to these multi-cultural fairs, and come across the Africa stand, you always have cool wooden sculptures of elongated people and stuff. Yeah? Well, little did we know that the good people of Ghana had taken their art to a whole new level. We just stumbled across a website that sells a variety of African goods, particularly this line of wonderful coffins. Aside from the pictured Nokia coffin, they sell a Ferrari, a Subaru, a beer bottle (!) and a computer mouse coffin. In fact, the company claims they will make you a coffin in any shape or size you desire, if you have up to three months to wait for them. Not only that, but we reckon their prices are more than reasonable: a full-sized (6ft) Ferrari coffin will set you back $1,000.

The World’s Coolest Coffins [OhGizmo!]

Springwise: Sonopia works with Verizon to handle calls and data transfer, and lets anyone from a rock band to a church group set up their own mobile network brand. In return, the mini carrier will receive 3-8% of revenues generated by the customers they sign up. Brands create their own calling plans, get a co-branded website and are able to send their members messages about the latest news or special events.

Organizations that have already set up a Sonopia MVNO include the National Wildlife Fund, the American Medical Student Association and the Long Island Ducks (minor-league baseball). Someone also started a San Francisco Foodies group and the LonelyGirl15 Fan Club.

Since Sonopia doesn’t charge set-up costs, there’s nothing stopping you from setting up your own mobile network today. It might not make you a telecom mogul, but it could provide a nice additional stream of income.

Launch your own mobile network [Springwise]

TrendCentral: Not since the ‘90s JenniCam craze has a personal webcam attracted so much attention. Justin.tv is the live videostream of Justin Kan, a 23-year-old web entrepreneur in San Francisco who has coined the term “lifecasting” with his no holds barred self-documentation approach. Kan has attached a camera to his head that delivers a 24/7 stream of his life from his point of view. (The only time he takes the camera off is when he goes to sleep at night, which leads viewers to wonder what will happen when the opportunity to get intimate with someone presents itself.) Not only do tens of thousands of viewers reportedly “tune in” to see what antics Kan and his buddies are up to, but Kan is also trying to keep his fans by interacting with them through hundreds of e-mails and 21 chat rooms each day. Until recently, he even took calls on his cellphone!

With a business model based on product placement, Justin.tv already has sponsorship from Zipcar rentals and Bawls energy drink, who are given prominent airtime in the form of posters on the walls of the site’s headquarters. Kan’s ultimate goal is to build the site into a network of hundreds of lifecasters, each with their own channel—making it yet another competitor to traditional television.

Justin.TV

Ecommerce-Guide: Every business owner knows it: If you could just talk to prospects one-on-one, you could convert them to customers.

Click-to-chat and click-to-call features, of course, have existed for years, but now there's a new, more viral twist. Starting today you can test out a new service that attempts to combine the best of social networking with Internet-based telephony. In short, it gives visitors to your Web site or a blog a free local number to call from virtually anywhere. All you have to do is add a widget to your site, blog or e-mail signature.

Jaxtr has been in private beta testing, but now you can see and hear it for yourself as the company today announced the launch of the public beta of its service. After you sign up for a free Jaxtr account, you can link your mobile or landline phone with your online network. And while it's not strictly an e-commerce tool, it could prove itself to be a new way for you to interact with your customers. For example, the VoiceBlast feature allows you to record your own voice to automatically greet and update customers who visit your blog or Web site. By adding a "Jaxtr widget" to your online profile or blog, you can take calls from prospects worldwide while keeping both parties' phone numbers private.

Jaxtr Looks to Give Social Networking a Voice [Ecommerce-Guide]

Cool Tools: My son is left-handed and kept getting the side of his hand dirty from unwanted graphite and ink smudges in school, so we ordered him a SmudgeGuard. The glove, which covers his pinky, is made of nylon and spandex, so it fits snug to his hand and glides easily over the paper when he's writing fast. Usually, when my son writes, his hand will start to perspire. The SmudgeGuard stays dry making it less likely to re-smudge the paper. Because it's only protecting the areas most prone to smudges and because the material is thin, he can also type on a keyboard or do other things while wearing it.

Mess-free handwriting/drawing for lefties & artists [Cool Tools]

TrendBlog: BurnLounge is a community-powered digital music service. BurnLounge provides music fans with the necessary software and an expansive catalog of music, to create and sell music (and fan merchandise) to peers from their own digital music stores. This consumer-driven retailing model draws on the power of peer relationships and shared interests of its seller’s communities. After purchasing the software, participating sellers can sign up as “fans” for free and redeem their BurnReward points for products, services or music downloads on BurnLounge. Affiliates pay an additional $6.95 per month but can redeem BurnRewards points for cash. Music Mogul have to pay a one-time set-up fee off $215 and $14.95 per month to gain access to Business Management features, which allows them to build teams.

Peer-Selling Sites - Peer2Business [TrendBlog]

TrendHunter: Levi’s invented jeans and Diesel turned them into a fashion item. Now DENIM CODE is taking jeans into the interactive digital communication era. DENIM CODE, the new French brand of jeans, has come up with a revolutionary concept consisting of making it possible to access an audio/video recording free of charge from a pair of DENIM CODE jeans.”

Simple and glamorous:
- The consumer can choose not only their jeans but their universe: by snapshotting* the tag** with their mobile phone, they can watch video clips, listen to music, see films, watch programmes, listen to the news…..
- A collection of over 200 different models for men and women enabling you to access the worlds of music, sport, films, video games or people…
- Jeans are evolving in line with the times, thanks to the content of the denim code tag, which will be regularly updated.

Interactive Denim Jeans - Denim Code [TrendHunter]