Selectism turns us to these unique business card cases by Masakage Tanno. “Made from Japanese Oak or Padouk, each case has a magnet embedded in the wood to close them shut. The hinges and detailing are of Ebony.” 

Four months ago, Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal was the richest man in Europe and 4th richest man in the world.  Four months ago, his net worth was estimated to be roughly $45 billion.  But due to the current financial crisis, the man that just bought a Georgian mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens in London earlier this year for $200 million was losing about $240 million a day for the last four months.

Losing $28 billion put a damper on Mittal’s net worth, and will probably end up dropping him on the World’s richest list.  I mean, $17 billion can only take you so far, right?

Thanks Luxist!

For anyone who doesn’t know the name Vint Cerf, he’s one of the brains behind the IP system and one of the world’s most well-known and respected computer scientists.  He’s stated that the internet doesn’t have enough unique codes that allow computers to communicate with each other.

Once the IP addresses run out, the connectivity of the internet will be damaged and some computers won’t be able to go online.

“This is like the internet running out of telephone numbers and with no new numbers, you can’t have more subscribers,” Mr. Cerf said.  He went on to state that the switch to a new system.

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version six) has been ready for a decade and is already used in Japan to connect thousands of earthquake sensors through a computer system that sends automatic alerts to television programmes and turns traffic lights red.

IPv6 addresses are 128 bits long and so provide a possible 340 trillion, trillion, trillion address space compared to the 40-something billion that the current IPv4 is capable of holding.

Source: telegraph

Originally when T-Mobile unveiled the G1, the small print talked of a 1GB cap of data usage. The info was put on front page and now T-Mobile’s retracted the data cap and has chosen a more user-friendly approach. Check the letter below:

“Our goal, when the T-Mobile G1 becomes available in October, is to provide affordable, high-speed data service allowing customers to experience the full data capabilities of the device and our 3G network. At the same time, we have a responsibility to provide the best network experience for all of our customers so we reserve the right to temporarily reduce data throughput for a small fraction of our customers who have excessive or disproportionate usage that interferes with our network performance or our ability to provide quality service to all of our customers.

We removed the 1GB soft limit from our policy statement, and we are confident that T-Mobile G1 customers will enjoy the high speed of data access over our 3G network. The specific terms for our new data plans are still being reviewed and once they are final we will be certain to share this broadly with current customers and potential new customers.”

Source: engadget

The bootleggers on Canal Street are jumping up and down right now and for good reason.

MySpace Music goes live, my friends. We don’t have MySpace, but their reach is vast, with roughly 120 million users.  They signed a deal with the big four music companies – Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI.

As a user, you get to stream full songs for free, build playlists and buy tracks from Amazon or as ringtones from Jamster. On top of that, MySpace will also offer concert ticket purchases and merchandise. Did we mention that the tracks are going to be DRM-free?

Amit Kapur, chief operating officer at MySpace, said that, “In order to really meet the needs of users, you need to unlock the content,” he said. “The only way you’ll solve that is having a free, ad-supported environment.” MySpace chose to partner with Amazon over Apple because Amazon offers music free of rights management restrictions and variable pricing, Kapur said.

Well, if you are part of MySpace, then log in and check it out and let us know what you think. If you’re not already part of the cult, maybe you should consider joining or wait until Facebook unveils their music integration plans.

The upscale department store chain we’ve come to love and appreciate is set to head overseas in February of 2010.  Bloomingdale’s will exercise a relationship they’ve created with Al Tayer Group LLC, a UAE-based company with diversified businesses.  They will open up two, yep two stores in the Dubai Mall.

A three-level, 146,000-square-foot apparel and accessories store and a one-level, 54,000-square-foot home store will open up in the Dubai Mall. The mall’s set to be completed later this year and will then be the world’s largest shopping center, taking the throne from the Mall of American in Bloomington, Minn.

Bloomingdale’s corporate heads said that the formula will stand.  The merchandise assortment, upscale ambience, and high level of customer service will be same in Dubai as it is in its U.S. locations.

We’re not making a trip to Dubai anytime soon, but maybe this will be a good excuse for us to go in 2010, as if we need another excuse to go to capital of luxury.

Source: marketwatch

This is about as absurd as it gets. Zippo’s Circus is one of the UK’s biggest traveling circuses, and they were hit with a heavy blow by council officials today. Birmingham council officials banned the use of musical instruments because it breaches licensing laws.  As part of a six-minute act, the clowns play trumpets and saxophones, but now the act’s turned into silent comedy.

Circus owner Martin Burton claimed the clowns were being picked on as other acts can use instruments and a live keyboard throughout was deemed legitimate.

Apparently, the Licensing Act 2003 in the UK forbids the playing of any live music without a licence. Councils have to think about the four “licensing objectives” when exercising the powers of the Act, which was designed to provide regulated entertainment. They are the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm.

“We had to take the music out. The clowns are from Spain, I explained the situation to them and now they thing the English are mad.”  The circus is allowed to apply for licenses but it takes alot of time and consuming more taxpayer dollars.

But Mr Burton said: “Applying for licenses takes an incredible amount of time and resources, ours and the taxpayer’s money.

Source: telegraph