You want a real office but all The Man will give you is some half-height cubicle walls? Why not create your own privacy with one of the groovy blow-up structures from U.K. specialist Inflate. Options range from full-fledged huts to an "office in a bag" horseshoe just big enough to insulate your desk in sweet, productivity-boosting privacy.

Pricing is a mystery, and one can only assume a deliberate one, given the Flash- and PDF-encumbered design of the Inflate site.

Inflate- 02.26.08 [NOTCOT]

Game developer Iron Lore Entertainment has closed its doors this week, with all games development coming to an end.

Those of you who don’t recognize the name may know its well-received game Titan Quest. It got a Metacritic score of 77/100, a user score of 8.4/10, and the expansion pack Immortal Throne scored even higher (80/100 and 8.7/10 respectively).

Reasons for the closure seem to be due to a lack of new funding. A statement on the Iron Lore website included the following:

It is with great regret that we must announce that as of close of business Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Iron Lore Entertainment has ceased active game development. Several unrelated events occurred which resulted in Iron Lore being unable to secure funding for its next project.

We owe all of the success we’ve had to you, and our greatest satisfaction has come from creating games that have given enjoyment to the community … While Iron Lore will not continue, the talent of the team is embodied in the individuals now available for other opportunities.

Iron Lore Entertainment was formed back in 2000 by Brian Sullivan (co-creator of Age of Empires) and Paul Chieffo and won the Best New Studio title at the 2006 Game Developer Choice Awards. Even though it is no longer developing games, the company still owns the engine and toolset it used and is pursuing licensing deals.

It’s a shame to see such a talented group of people split up for reasons unknown. With an excellent engine, what is bound to be a very competent toolset, and the talent on hand, I’m surprised the company couldn’t keep the place going. Still, this forced break up may just allow for at least one smaller studio to form from the wreckage and give us some new great games.

Read more at Gamasutra.

Let it be stated for the record that Josh Bomb tienen cojones. The courageous Zune owner took a perfectly good Belkin protective case for the gadget and modded it to make its Zune-ness (Zune-ocity?) more prominent. Unavoidable, even.

This is in contrast to weasels like me who rely on protective cases for a certain bit of anonymity.

Zune case mod, for really insane Zune fans [CrunchGear]

Meet the Micropod SE from Scandyna, a Danish speaker company (the country, not the pastry).  Scandyna has been at making speakers for 40 years and does so with a certain flair.  These kind of makes me want to crawl inside one of these and make some honey.

The full feature list is copied below but highlights include: a Kevlar bass/midrange unit, a soft dome tweeter and an
extra durable finish.  Hot.  At $199 a pair, performance and style don’t come cheap. 

The maker has some much larger versions that look quite Dr. Seuss-ish, which in my book, is what every designer should aspire too.

Product page: [podspeakers]

Colours White, Black, Silver, Blue, Yellow, Red.
Shape 2 way closed box, abs cabinet.
Applications Stereo arrangement, AV, 5.1, multimedia.
Frequency Minus 3db at 65hz and 20khz.
Sensitivity 86db spl (1w @ 1m) 4 ohm.
Sound Compatible with amplifiers from 10w - 100w output.
Drive units One 70mm (3”22) long throw bass/midrange feat. Kevlar piston and 19mm (3/4”) dia free-mounted
high frequency.
Weight 0.95 kg (2.3lbs) without spikes and packing.
Dimensions Width: 125mm.
Height: 160mm (195mm with spikes).
Depth: 114mm.

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There comes a time in every cube-dweller’s life, when he or she has to take the law into his or her hands. Maybe it’s finding out that stooge from marketing has stolen your last pencil…again! Or perhaps you’re tired of having your office moved repeatedly. Well, it’s time to draw a line in the low pile carpet. “No more,” you’ll cry as you stand your ground. With a Nerf Maverick by your side, you will prevail.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $9.99

I don’t know much about fashion (that sound you just heard was my wife choking back a huge laugh), but even I can tell that the new ipod/iphone case from design duo Working Class Heroes is the kind of understated form-plus-function goodie that would dignify many an urban ensemble.

Their case/sleeve is made from wool felt and leather and includes a credit card sleeve and earbud retainer. They’re $50 or so.

Finding a new soft spot for your iPhone [Refinery29]

Why should your iPod have all the cool cases? Griffin has now released two of their most popular cases for the iPhone. For the rugged individual, there’s the multi-purpose Courier which is made of compression-molded EVA outer jacket for abrasion-resistant durability and can either wrap around the strap of your backpack or bag (up to 4 inches wide), or be secured by a industrial-strength hook & loop closure (see photo above). The detachable case fits ipod classic/iPod with video and iPod touch, and your precious iPhone. With a hidden zipper pocket for key, money, ID, and a second flapped pocket for sync cable, earphones, or whatever you need, this utiilty case is all you need to carry. 34.99 at Griffin.; now $24.01 at Amazon.

My iphone had been envious of my iPod’s stylish Reflect case, but is now sporting its own. Made of a durable polycarbonate shell that surrounds the face of your iPhone with seamless, chrome-like protection, and a rubberized matte black back, it protects while still giving you access to all the controls of your iPhone. At $24.99 it’s a great way to dress up your iPhone.

No, Inkel is no typo as it is a Korean-based company that rolls out a wide range of consumer electronic goods such as TVs and audio systems. What they have on offer today is the MU-D Multimedia Dictionary that merges both a portable media player and DMB TV tuner functionalities together, throwing in an electronic dictionary as well. Features include a 4.3″ LCD display at 480 x 272 resolution, 4GB of internal memory and a microSDHC memory card slot. The MU-D is powered by Windows CE 5.0. There is no word on pricing, but we do know that this will be a Korea-only exclusive.

In another round of Verizon Loves/Hates consumers, we have the new AirCard/smartphone data plans that are being announced on March 2nd in the spotlight. With Verizon having announced their unlimited calling plans and also details about their new “Open Network” to be set loose later this year, they looked like they were becoming more user-friendly. Well, that’s changed with this most recent event.

Beginning March 2, the newly-announced data plans for smartphones and AirCards are now beinging advertised as 5GB per month for $59.99, the same price as before. But this time, it has a catch that shoots them in the foot multiple times: if you go over your 5GB limit, each megabyte afterwards is 50 cents. So even if you go to 5,121 megabytes, you’ll be paying $60.49. We knew there were going to be tradeoffs in the good/bad Verizon ordeal, but did they really have to keep it the same? All you out there who’d like truly unlimited data, check out Sprint with their EVDO cards. Unfortunately for those like me who’s only EVDO Rev. A provider is Verizon and were getting ready to buy an AirCard, you’ll be stuck with the new plan.

No word on if you’ll be able to keep your old terms of service on your existing data plan, though.

Via [MobileBurn]

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Sprint has joined AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in offering unlimited cell phone calling plans. Sprint’s first unlimited plan is $99 and includes *everything*, not just calls, but data and PTT (Push to Talk) if you have one of those phones. Sprint is certainly pushing its competitors harder, and they must if they are to stem the financial bleeding they’ve been experiencing.

Ah, competition. It may be a cliche, but it really is amazing for consumers, although these price breaks and the possible ensuing price war may sink 1 or more of these cell providers before this is all over. But then again, it’s never over.