Garden State of Mind

Modular phones, petrified bird photography, the Empire State Building's green roof and more in our weekly look at the web

In true New York fashion, a LEED Gold certification wasn’t enough for the Empire State Building. The iconic landmark raised its own bar even higher by installing four new green roofs, allowing tenants to enjoy a relaxing lunch by a garden oasis without ever leaving the building. The newly planted greenery benefits more than just tenants; they cleanse rain as stormwater run-off filters, reduce greenhouse …

Selfie Jackpot

Cardboard boombox, Ai Weiwei selfies, Greg Packer's ban and more in our look at the web this week

While we laugh, cry and shake our heads in the midst of the selfie craze, a famed Instagram account featuring loads of ridiculous self-portraits is keeping the mania alive. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei—who is also active in the world of hairdressing, music videos, sculpture and general dissidence and protest—generously provides at least one ridiculous selfie a day for his 40,000 Instagram followers. His stream of …

Camera Phone Facelift

Cardboard boombox, Ai Weiwei selfies, Greg Packer's ban and more in our look at the web this week

The days of camera-phones being inferior to their full-sized predecessors are nearly behind us. While music videos and full-length ad campaigns have been shot on modern smartphone cameras, Sony’s new DCS-X10 and DSC-QX100 lens-sensor modules are taking camera-phone performance to the next level. The modular lens and sensor attaches to any phone or tablet and connects via WiFi (and even boast Near-Field Communications capabilities). The …