Life Cycle Analysis Calculator

IDC in England has created this simple Life Cycle Analysis Calculator. This free online tool was developed in response to a need. IDC surveyed a number of design and engineering firms that all agreed - paying attention to a product's environmental impact throughout its life is becoming increasingly more important, but that many firms don't currently do the calculations. The Life Cycle Analysis Calculator helps estimate the carbon footprint and embodied energy of any product and its packaging. This is a great resource for designers. Its quick and easy. I will definitely use it in the future. (Found through Core77).

BBC's British History Timeline

The BBC's British History Timeline is a (insert best British accent here...) gorgeous (...end accent) way to brush up on your British history. It's a simple but sophisticated interactive timeline that lets you explore significant events in British history from 862BC to today.

Guide to Greener Electronics

If you are involved in product development or just a conciencious consumer, you should take the time to read Greenpeace's latest Guide to Greener Electronics. It ranks some of the big electronics manufacturers based on their global policies, use of harmful chemicals, and on taking responsibility for products at the end of their life cycle. (Found through Engadget).

Campaign Monitor

If you have ever worked on an email campaign, you know that testing your flyer in all the different mail clients can be a time consuming and difficult task. Campaign Monitor has an all in one test which previews how your email will look in 17 of the most popular email clients, as well as testing it against some spam filters and firewall protection programs. Unfortunately it's not free. It's $10/test. Probably still worth it if your are working on high profile email campaigns. Way to see a need and fill it Campaign Monitor creators. (Found through Swissmiss).

GOOD's Weights and Measures

I've recently become addicted to GOOD Magazine. One of the articles in their most recent issue looks at weights and measures. It features this astounding graphic depicting countries that have not adopted the metric system.

Google Earth Sky View

The latest version of Google Earth (4.2) includes a feature that they they have been promising for a while, called Sky View. It is an awesome astronomy resource which allows you to navigate the universe, as well as the Earth. It is still Google Earth as you know it, but with a little button that allows you to switch from a view of the Earth to a view of the sky. The Sky View feature includes constellation labels, images and information from the Hubble Telescope, star names, and animated planetary orbits. Watch a video demonstration here. Or better yet, to experience it yourself, download it here.

Idea Generator

They say there is no wrong way to inspire ideas. If you need some brainstorming assistance today, why not try out this Idea Generator from The Director's Bureau Special Projects. Just push the button and voila! (Found through DesignNotes)

Kuler by Adobe Labs

Adobe Labs has just launched a new site called Kuler. Kuler is a tool to help create color schemes. You can browse through schemes created by other users or create your own. Start with a specified color (using RGB, CMYK, etc.) and Kuler will show you Analgous colors, complementary colors, or different shades of the same color amongst other options. I always find choosing color schemes really difficult. This is a great tool.