Hasta La Gadget!

I dread taking showers on especially cold mornings. While the water heater makes bath water warm and comfortable, there’s the matter of the cold air seeping through the door while toweling off.

This is a problem designer Adrien Lefebvre understands, which is why he came up with the Air Shower.

It looks and functions just like a typical shower, with one important feature added to it: a dryer. When you’re done rinsing off, just switch the head of the device into dryer mode and just dry yourself off. I imagine it works like a high-powered hair dryer by blowing hot air all over your body.

Mock-ups and diagrams indicate that the Air Shower’s head has a ceramic exterior and an interior built using ABS plastic. Waterproofing the dryer and making sure nothing shorts when it’s in use should probably the top priorities for this device.

I definitely like the idea and hope that more people get behind it so there’ll be a bigger chance that it’ll be turned into a reality.

[via Yanko Design]

One of the things that I have yet to purchase – awaiting both product refinement and for the cost to come down – is a proper desktop 3D printer. And while interest has certainly caused numerous 3D printers to be announced and released onto the market, I have still yet to take the plunge. Now, another new 3D printer has been announced which might just be the one I finally break down and buy.

Developed by Pirate3D, the Buccaneer 3D printer is designed to be both easy to use, and affordable. Unlike some more industrial looking 3D printers, the Buccaneer’s modern, minimalistic aluminum and acrylic machine will look great sitting on any desktop – especially alongside Apple’s industrial design. In fact, it looks a whole lot like the original Power Mac G4 Cube.

And while it has a small footprint of just under 10″ square, its printing area will be big enough to produce objects up to 5.9″ x 3.9″ x 4.72″, using fused filament like many other consumer 3D printers (though it will only accept PLA filament at this point, and not ABS). Unlike other 3D printers, the Buccaneer will use a unique central feeding cartridge, which not only looks better, but is designed to make it easier to load filament.

Uploading images to the printer can be done via a wireless network from your mobile device, and the system will include easy-to-use modeling software. It’s unclear if you’ll be able to send images from your PC or Mac, but I can’t imagine they wouldn’t include that capability.

While a release date and final pricing for the Buccaneer hasn’t been announced, it’s makers say it will be priced “under $1,000,” which definitely makes it one of the most competitively priced ready-to-use 3D printers on the market – with the Cubify Cube going for $1299, and the UP! priced at $999.

To sign up for more information on the Buccaneer, head over to the Pirate3D website.

Music boxes are one of the oldest forms of storing and playing back music. Just don’t expect anything fancy. Now the simple music box concept has been taken to the next level. We’re talking huge. If this Steamroller music box ever gets loose, it will flatten you to the tune of The Star Spangled Banner.


Dave Cole completed this sculpture last year, He took an 11-ton steamroller, stripped it apart and turned it into a functional music box. It proudly plays the national anthem of the United States – like a monster delicately playing an instrument.

I don’t know whether to smile or run. Maybe both are appropriate. Just keep away from it’s musical wheel of doom and you’ll be safe.

[via designboom via Neatorama]

If you have been dreaming about flying around in your own Star Trek style shuttlecraft, that day is almost upon us. Terrafugia has unveiled a concept for a flying car that lot like a shuttlecraft that has the Enterprise’s warp nacelles. However, those nacelles have propellers.

This flying car is called the TF-X and is a hybrid gas-electric flying car. Twin 600 horsepower electric propeller pods and a 300 horsepower engine handle the transition from vertical takeoff to a maximum cruising speed of 200 miles per hour. It has a 500 mile range.

It is capable of both driving and landing itself. Terrafugia says that “you always have the final say if its safe to land.” Well, that’s encouraging.

The TF-X is fully capable of handling the entire landing process without you. But if it is about to kill you, it’s nice to know that you get the final say. It’s definitely an interesting design and we would love to see it in the skies.

[via Like Cool]

Anyone who uses Google Maps regularly will be familiar with the sidebar, which has been a staple part of the design for quite some time. That is about to change, however, according to a couple previews leaked ahead of a planned interface update that we may very well be seeing next week or some time in the near future.

The updated user interface will eschew the traditional sidebar for a series of boxes above the map, which will fill the entire screen after the update if the screenshots are to be believed. The interface is called “more immersive,” and suggests that those on mobile devices will find that it works better than the interface that is currently in place. The moved sidebar won’t be the only change users see, however.

According to the preview, the current interface is one that is focused on the navigational components of Maps, such as the sidebars and buttons and sliders. That design theory will change with the update, with the new redesigned interface instead featuring a focus on the map itself with the various elements building on top of it rather than taking up its valuable space.

Along with the design’s change in focus will be some visual changes, which includes updates to the service’s icons, text styles, and the colors of the map itself. When can users expect to see these changes in place? A date isn’t provided, but it is worth mentioning the I/O event is coming up, and we may very well see it rolling out then.

[via Google Operating System]

Google Maps update previewed ahead of launch is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.