In this first podcast of the new year, Nora Young mentions this article in Technology Review, proposing a possible solution to an intriguing, if chilling, potential problem: once implanted devices are wirelessly enabled, could they be susceptible to hacking?
Meanwhile, Cathi Bond has a great looking product for anyone tired of fighting with an umbrella on a windy day: the Blunt Umbrella.
In today’s trendwatching podcast, Cathi Bond talks about this cool innovation: Philips Research is looking at developing e-skin. Instead of just using this type of ’skin’ for reading newspapers, magazines and books electronically, why not make it cover the whole device, so that you could potentially change its colour? It reminded Nora of something Raphael Grignani has talked about.
Meanwhile, Nora mentions the work of Matt Jones, and his runaway hit, Get Excited and Make Things, a goof on the old, and newly fashionable, Keep Calm and Carry On poster. You can even buy it for a good cause (via Core 77)
In this trendwatching podcast, Cathi Bond, lover of all things robotic, reports on an interview with roboticist, Noel Sharkey, about why he thinks robots will never have enough of a nuanced response to fight wars or take care of elderly or ill people (via New Scientist)
Meanwhile, Nora Young mentions QlockTwo, one of a growing number of clocks that display time in unusual ways. She wonders whether it’s just that we have so many embedded, functional clocks, that we know crave clocks as art. (Via Michael Surtees’ DesignNotes blog)
In this trendwatching podcast, Cathi Bond says she’s finally over the ’small furniture for small spaces’ trend, with this example. The Paket table is designed to fold out, kind of like furniture origami. Cathi thinks it looks like treehouse furniture, but Nora likes it. What do you think?
Meanwhile, Nora revisits a story she talked about in her column, and has talked about on Spark in the past: hyperlocal journalism, and whether it can make a go of it. She was inspired by this New York Times story on the demise of The Washington Post’s experiment in hyperlocal news. She wants Cathi’s opinion, and yours! What would you do to fix local newspapers?
In this trendwatching podcast, Nora Young talks about Jeff Bezos’ vision for the Kindle. If they can sell you the device, great, but the real game is in selling the books themselves. (Via The New York Times). Cathi Bond thinks opening up e-books so they are interoperable could create great opportunities for literary mash-ups, a la Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Meanwhile, Cathi Bond found this beautiful concept for a kitchen table, The Rendez-Vous, from Electrolux. Cook right on the table! Never be banished to the kitchen again! (Via Ubergizmo)
In this trendwatching podcast, Nora Young talks about the blog, Unconsumption, as an example of the broader trend towards making your stuff last longer, hacking it to suit your needs. Cathi Bond calls it 21st century dumpster diving. (via Core 77). It reminded Nora of an interview she did on Spark, with Anil Dash and Gina Trapani, about geeks holding onto their gear longer.
Cathi Bond notes that at the recent International Contemporary Furniture Fair, wood was featured prominently; sort of a dukied-up minimalist meets 70s rec room look. (via Flavorwire) Nora says it reminds her a lot of the aesthetic you find in contemporary Canadian furniture design, such as what you see at MADE. (Note milk crate!)
How about you? Are you seeing the ‘reduce, reuse’ hack your stuff aesthetic? Are you doing it yourself? Tell us your stories!
In this trendwatching podcast, Cathi Bond talks about this very cool solar “power tower” in Spain. Nora Young mentions that the folks at Dyson applied for a patent on a modular system for kitchen gadgets (via New Scientist). Will design/gadget hounds resist, or is it part of the simple, elegant solutions we see for small spaces, like Muji?
In this trendwatching podcast, Nora Young talks about an intriguing research project from the University of Tokyo. Yoichiro Kowaguchi and his team are exploring artificial life by creating organic robot designs that might mimic, say, centipedes, rather than mammals. (via Pink Tentacle).
Plus, Cathi Bond is very jazzed about the AeroCivic, a hacked Honda Civic designed to reduce drag. The designer/hacker is Mike Turner. We’d love to know what car/design savvy listeners think about this project!
In this trendwatching podcast, Cathi Bond bring us her take on two cool gadgets, Pico’s cellphone projector (via Gizmag) and the hot device at CES, the new Palm Pre (watch the video interview at Yahoo Finance).
Meanwhile, Nora Young riffs on the Zero Star Hotel outside Zurich (via DwellMag).
In this trendwatching podcast, Cathi Bond talks about the Royal Shakespeare Company’s concern (via The Guardian) about Shakespeare not being taught as much in UK schools. What do you think? Is Shakespeare still important?
Meanwhile, Nora Young discusses a cool Guitar Hero hack to train people with amputated limbs to use their new prosthetics. (via New Scientist)
Oh, and that thing we were gushing about? Check it out: via Wallpaper
