We already know that cork is the most amazing material in the world to keep your wine tasty but how does the material perform elsewhere? Like, for example, in shoes. Check out these new Nike Lebron X Cork shoes. Yes, shoes that are made from cork. It looks fantastic. More »
I like this visualization, perhaps because its crude, almost childish look contrasts with the horror it depicts in such a simple way: Worldwide dictators ordered by the number of killings, one drop, one million dead. More »
Not content with simply being masters of the clock, the Swiss have apparently decided to take over another crucial aspect of our day: caffeine. The Delizio Uno, a minimalist capsule coffee maker, boasts clean lines and vibrant colors enough to brighten any morning. More »
If your humble abode only has room for a single table, Bernotat&Co’s new Doppeldecker is a double decker thing of beauty that hides your work and mess under a hinged lid. So gone are the days when you simply had to slide everything off onto the floor when it was time to eat. More »
The explosion of touchscreen devices have not made the mouse obsolete. But what if you could use your finger as a mouse on any surface? That’s the point of Magic Finger, a concept device made by a team from Autodesk Research and the University of Toronto that can sense touch, motion and texture.
The Magic Finger is basically a micro RGB camera, an LED and an optical mouse sensor cobbled together. Talk about ripping off the mouse. Contrary to its name, the magic here seems to be in the software. Aside from letting you point and click on any surface, the camera can also recognize different textures, which the researchers use in a variety of ways, such as reading data, launching applications and controlling other devices. Watch the dorky demo in the video below:
I’m not too sold on the Magic Finger for a couple of reasons. First of all the Magic Finger is intrusive; the finger or hand wearing the device will be of limited use because you don’t want to damage the Magic Finger. Second, I don’t think the data matrix or the Morse code transfer is practical. That said, the shortcuts and its use as a mouse could be very practical. Perhaps those two functions could be integrated in a less intrusive device like Google Glass or Digits.
[via Autodesk Research via MAKE]
Like hiding a comic book inside the textbook you’re supposed to be studying, this handy bookmark ensures you’ve always got something interesting to read when your book takes a boring turn. It features Shakespeare’s complete Hamlet, so reading it can’t be considered slacking off since you’re still getting a dose of culture. More »
Apple is a hardware design company. It owns ideas not factories. And because it runs its own operating systems, an intrinsic part of the design of its products is software. But this crucial area is showing signs of weakness as competitors copy its innovations. More »
A lot of people I know play it safe when it comes to their outfit choices because they don’t think they can pull off the more fashionable or edgy look. But if there’s one thing I learned, it’s that being ‘fashionable’ doesn’t mean you have to totally be out there.
In fact, you can still be outrageous subtly, as these tooth-soled shoes will allow you to be when you put them on.
These shoes by British studio Fantich and Young look like your typical pair of black shoes when viewed from above, but take a closer look and you’ll see that all is not normal. Instead of a rubber sole, these shoes are lined with teeth at the bottom.
They’re fake teeth, thankfully, so no humans were harmed in the making of these shoes. Regardless, they’re still pretty hard to stomach.
What do you think? Can you replace your old Oxfords with these this tooth-lined pair (it’s called the ‘Apex Predator’ shoe by the way, which is as apt as names can get.) It’s not for sale though so if you want a pair for Halloween, you’ll have to make your own.
[via Designboom]
Convertible furniture is nothing new, but the Viera manages to make a distinct mark in an already well-explored territory. It’s basically a foldable chair that can be re-arranged into different positions to suit your preferences.
A group headed by designer Sergio Aleman did some research and discovered that the equilateral triangle was the best shape to use since it allowed for more folding opportunities and configurations. They set about to making a prototype by cutting soy base foam triangles supported by polycarbonate honeycomb which were then wrapped in felt foam.
The result is what you see above and in the photos in the gallery below.
Frankly, I’d love to see the Viera turned into a reality (as in, commercially) because it looks like it can replace a lot of the other, bulkier furniture that are currently available today. What do you think?
[via Coroflot]
Pills, they’re the answer to every one of life’s little problems, or so the pharmaceutical companies would like us to think. They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours, but have you ever thought about why? Why are some boring white and round, while others are bright pink and look like a torpedo? More »
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
