Hasta La Gadget!

After invading living rooms with his Space Invaders couch (which btw are now for sale), Igor Chak imagines the king of shelves, patterned after one of the most famous videogame stages ever made: the construction site aka Barrels stage from the legendary 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong.

The concept took shape when Chak imagined where the props in games are taken after they’ve served their purpose. He thought of a way to “encourage Mario” – who has since moved on to pipes and bricks – to take back these old steel beams and ladders. I’m not sure if Mario owns the construction site, but I’m sure both he and Donkey Kong would love to have this shelf in their cribs. After all, they owe a lot to this pixelated scene.

Insert a token in your browser and jump to Chak’s website for gorilla-sized versions of the images. I sense a trend of platformer-inspired shelves incoming.

[via HiConsumption]

It’s official: after rejecting the tobacco companies’ appeal, the High Court of Australia has declared the country’s new obligatory cigarette packaging law constitutional. Look at them above—starting on December 1, the packages’ iconic brand design will be fully replaced by the horrors of smoking. More »

Apple rested its case in the trial against Samsung this week, and now the South Korean company is doing everything possible to prove its innocence. AllThingsD reports that Samsung attempted to dismiss allegations that its products copied the design of the iPhone, with senior user experience design Jeeyuen Wang testifying that the company didn’t copy any of Apple’s icons. She went on to say that Samsung tested multiple icons, ultimately falling back on familiar pictures such as the traditional telephone because users responded better to them.

Samsung’s lawyers then attempted to demonstrate that the iPhone’s design wasn’t original, showing various pieces of prior art, including several patents and LG’s Prada phone, all of which came before the release of the iPhone. After that, Samsung moved on to the design of the iPad, playing a video to the jury of Roger Fidler, who created several prototypes for tablets. Although they were mockups and not working devices, some features were reminiscent of the iPad, including a large touchscreen, a rectangular shape with rounded corners, and an all black bezel.

The electronics manufacturer then addressed Apple’s design patents, saying that they should be invalidated due to prior art, and that the elements that have been patented covered functions rather than ornamental design. Samsung’s lawyers argued that two iPhone design patents were invalid, saying that a Japanese patent “renders both of these designs obvious.” Samsung looks to be sticking to its original argument that Apple is essentially trying to patent a rectangular display with rounded corners.

Apple’s counterargument to the claims boiled down to the fact that there are alternative designs that Samsung could have used for its phones. Apple cited one of Sony’s tablets, saying that while it has a rectangular display and rounded corners, it doesn’t look like the iPad nor does it infringe on Apple’s design patents. Apple also introduced the design of the Nokia Lumia 800 and GzOne phone from Casio, again suggesting that there were alternative designs that Samsung could have pursued.

Samsung argues that Apple’s designs are “obvious” is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Over the years, the Batmobile has shown up in all kinds of crazy designs. It’s amazing how geeks change things around and create all kinds of cool versions of the classic Bat car. And now it has been converted into an Formula One race car by Knightvision3D. I can only imagine how awesome the Joker’s car would look if he had an F1 racer too.

It is pretty impressive and was made in 3DS Max 2013. It’s a combination of F1 design, Tumbler technology and powered by jet turbines. They even added hydraulic flaps and allowed the air collected above the cockpit to be funneled around the turbine exhaust and out under the rear diffuser. Who cares that it defies good aerodynamics?

Man, if I had Bruce Wayne’s money I would so build one of these.

[via Obvious Winner]

Why do people drink? Usually it’s because they’re thirsty. But sometimes, it’s just to taste whatever it is they’re drinking – and appreciating that taste. And what better way to do that than by taking whiffs of it so you’ll keep wanting more? Le Whaf has come up with a totally unusual yet awesome way to enjoy your drinks: by turning them into vapors that you’re supposed to sip through straws.

Here’s a video showing the Le Whaf and some of their awesome smokey beverages:

The people look a bit strange, drinking “smoke” and all that, but it seems like a pretty neat idea, plus it cuts down on the calories big time. Extremely novel too, although it’s a bit pricey at €129 (~$160 USD).

[via Gadget Review]