It’s easy to understand why the town of Järfälla, Sweden, chose Tham & Videgård‘s Double-Helix Tower as the winning design in a competition held to select an observation deck from which to watch the progress of on the Barkarbystaden urban development project, just west of Stockholm. More »
You don’t have to look all that far to find crappy ideas. The world is littered with the mental detritus of foolish designers. But this—oh, lord—this… A rooftop dining set? Ugh why please no. More »
Apple filed a stealth lawsuit last summer alleging that the Motorola Xoom violated the design patent that underpins the iPad. While Apple has had some success leveling its big patent gun against Samsung, the same can’t be said for Motorola: a German court just declared that the reference Android tablet doesn’t infringe on Apple’s design claim. The ruling isn’t a complete win for Motorola, however, as the court wouldn’t invalidate the patent — it could theoretically be leveled against other tablets in the future. The loss will still sting for Apple, which now has to resort to a multi-touch patent claim (among others) if it wants to make Motorola feel the heat in Mannheim.
Filed under: Tablet PCs
German court rules Motorola Xoom doesn’t violate Apple’s iPad design patent originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ever wanted to match your iPhone’s case with your wardrobe? I actually know a lot of people who do this, and this case takes the possible customization a bit further. At the end, it will match your clothes, but you most probably will have to sacrifice some of your old clothes to make it happen.
The Case Cord was created by the Korean designer Lee Ji Hoon and it uses spare fabric from your apparel as the backplate. You’ll need to cut out a portion of your clothes with the supplied template, then fit it into the designated casing. Having played around with old denim, I can imagine that might look cool.
For now, the case is just a concept/prototype, but I’m sure that there will be enough interest for this to be made into a real product at some point.
[via designboom]
For its new Chinese headquarters, the industrial vehicle manufacturer Zoomlion commissioned for the building a special facade that actually moves and transforms, its two sets of steel-and-glass wings mounted on hydraulic frames. More »
Ever wanted a yacht? How about one that works like a Transformer? This new yacht expands so that you can enjoy it even more. Once fully-deployed, this yacht ends up with a walkable surface of 193.5 square feet with a width of 21.6 feet, which was apparently unthinkable a couple of years ago for a 42 foot yacht.
The Wider Yacht’s transformable cockpit was designed by Tilli Antonelli, and its automatic operation makes it possible to have a large surface area without having a very big boat. It’s fast and luxurious as well. Super yachts beware! The Wider Yacht is lightweight and was built using new vacuum infusion molding techniques for carbon, something that’s also used in aerospace and Formula 1 racing.
The Wider Yacht sells for $1.12 million, so you’d better start saving now.
[via If It’s Hip It’s Here]
A team of young engineers have invented a wearable keyboard. They’re calling it the G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T. – the Generally Accessible Universal Nomadic Tactile Low-power Electronic Typist. I can’t decide which is more awkward, the acronym or the G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T. itself.
The glove was conceptualized by Jiake Liu, who was inspired by sci-fi movies Children of Men and Minority Report. The glove pairs with devices via Bluetooth, which makes it convenient. What doesn’t make it convenient is the position of the letters, which are scattered all over the glove.
It appears that Liu and his peers invented G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T. as part of a school project, so even though the device itself isn’t that practical I am still thoroughly impressed. Liu imagines a future where the glove can be used to operate almost any device: “Need to microwave something? Touch the microwave oven with GAUNTLET (version 10), and through NFC (near field communication) you are paired with the oven, whose interface will pop up on your glasses, and you can use GAUNTLET to set the cook time. Need to print something? Touch the printer, and now you can control the printer. Etc.” But if you need to type something? Stick with your phone’s keyboard.
A lot of parents who want their kids to grow up with an appreciation for great design, but that doesn’t make them any less disappointed that this minimal metal tube rocking horse is designed and sized specifically for the smaller set. Because most grownups would love to take it for a spin rock. More »
What looks like an elaborate gardening implement is actually a student-designed multi-tool prototype that could serve as an entire toolbox of rescue equipment. One that can be used to free trapped survivors after a natural disaster. More »
In New York City, the instantly-recognizable tinkling of the Mr. Softee truck approaching is the hallmark sound of summer. Those old white trucks might deliver melty dairy goodness, but whatever comes out of their tailpipes can’t be good for the planet—which is what makes these solar-powered ice cream carts so awesome. 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.
