Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Tech that reads your mood, hangover-free booze, clever advertising and more in this week's look at the web

1. Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture Though the museum was originally proposed a century ago, Washington DC’s Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture finally opened its doors this past weekend. Telling important stories about black people, issues and culture, the museum has some 36,000 artifacts on display. We’re most excited about items that represent some of the first …

Solo Radio Matches Music to Your Mood

After reading your facial expressions, Solo Radio chooses music to play to match your mood. The device takes a photo of your face and then sends it to Microsoft, whose program analyzes it. Next, “Solo translates this information into a valence rating, and uses Spotify to play a track with corresponding valence ratings, therefore matching your mood.” The endearing device even changes its own expression …

Grundig and the Future of Food, Design and Interaction

The appliance-maker thinks about the home, but also the globe

When it comes to designing and engineering household appliances, one of the most significant issues is energy and water consumption. But the waste of other precious resources (like food) is also the driving force behind Grundig‘s most recent projects. The brand—whose mantra is “Respect For Food”—was founded in 1930 by Max Grundig and started off making radios, now they make 500+ products for every room …