Kiso Ashtray/Desk Organizer

http://www.core77.com/blog/giftguide/kiso_ashtraydesk_organizer__11910.asp


We know, we know, you don't smoke! But if you did, you could smoke inside any room of this concrete structure--a rarity in these smoke-free times. (Great desk organizer if you've already kicked the habit.)

 When I looked at the picture, I thought it was only an ashtray. The Designer gives this product another function, desk organizer. I knew it when reading this article, then I stared to think I didn't really like it; however, after knowing its multi-functional purpose, this product was more interesting to me.

HP rises to Walmart Design Challenge with packaging-reducing idea

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/hp_rises_to_walmart_design_challenge_with_packagingreducing_idea_11853.asp


As we do our shopping this holiday season, does it not seem a bit silly that we may buy electronics products that will come wrapped in cardboard, plastic and styrofoam, and then the recipient will throw that packaging away, and buy another product to hold the first product in? Not to mention that second product will also come wrapped in its own packaging.
We feel HP is on the right track with this rather brilliant idea--why not sell a laptop packaged in a laptop bag? Cardboard boxes and styrofoam, after all, are designed to protect their contents; so is a laptop bag, and it takes up a heckuva lot less space, meaning more will fit on a shipping pallet.
HP came up with the concept under Walmart's Design Challenge, which "asked electronics manufacturers to produce a product that would reduce environmental impact.... And the result was a winning solution that reduced packaging materials by 97%."
We know it's not practical to sell refrigerators inside of a 'fridge cozy, but for more portable items, if manufacturers can design cases that people actually want, we could be seeing the beginning of a very positive trend.

It is really a good idea. Hope I can buy every product without buying another protective bag in near future.

Wine about the environment

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/wine_about_the_environment_12091.asp




We recently posted about HP's concept of shipping laptops in laptop bags, rather than just cardboard boxes; another packaging-life-extension concept we've seen is a wine bottle package that turns into a lamp.
Designed by Barcelona-based design firm Ciclus, the product isn't perfect--debate rages over whether this is better for the environment or worse--but we feel it's a step in the right direction.

It's also a good idea, but the expense of package is higher than normal paper package. Because of an extra bulb and wire, the package must charge more. I think the customers may not accept extra cost.

Japan: robot nation

http://www.core77.com/blog/technology/japan_robot_nation_12085.asp

http://current.com/items/89610631/japan_robot_nation.htm



Japan, the world's second largest economy, is facing a demographic crisis that will shrink the population dramatically. The Japanese aren't having babies, and the country won't accept immigrants to help bolster the population. But Japan may have a unique solution --- Robots!


This article let me think of "I-Robot." Our world could be replaced by machines one day. The population is getting lower and lower, and the senior people are more and more. Is it a crisis to human being?

Leather keyboard

http://chinese.engadget.com/2008/12/15/goguikawa-leather-keyboard/





The leather keyboard is on the market now, but I want a wooden keyboard. I think the wooden texture is more attractive.

Cellphone gun

http://chinese.engadget.com/2008/12/13/the-cellphone-gun-from-italy/


It was confiscated by Italian police from the Mafia.

TrueMotion Control

http://chinese.engadget.com/2008/11/30/truemotion-3d-enables-true-motion-control/








I don't have chance to play Wii, so it's harder for me to imagine playing this new interactive device. However, I can't wait to try it.

The public domain

http://www.core77.com/blog/book_reviews/the_public_domain_11868.asp


In The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind James Boyle introduces readers to the idea of the public domain and describes how it is being tragically eroded by our current copyright, patent, and trademark laws.
In a series of fascinating case studies, Boyle explains why gene sequences, basic business ideas and pairs of musical notes are now owned, why jazz might be illegal if it were invented today, why most of 20th century culture is legally unavailable to us, and why today's policies would probably have smothered the World Wide Web at its inception.
Appropriately given its theme, the book will be sold commercially but also made available online for free under a Creative Commons license.


After seeing this video, I feel so sad for the mother nature.

Jørn Utzon Dies

http://www.core77.com/blog/news/jrn_utzon_dies_11864.asp

Danish architect Jørn Utzon, designer of the Sydney Opera House, died today. He was 90. Taught by Alvar Aalto and declared a genius by none other than Eero Saarinen, Utzon designed one of the most recognizable structures on the planet.
Still, his name is uncommon, if not unknown. Utzon designed the opera house in 1957 at age 39, but outrageous cost overruns (it was 1,400% over budget) and skirmishes over the design made him quit the project in 1966. It was finished seven years later without him. He never returned to Australia.
The opera house's sail-like roof was supposedly inspired by Utzon peeling an orange; the curved slices fit into a perfect sphere. The house won Utzon the Pritzker Prize—architecture's highest honor—in 2003, proving, the jury declared, that "the marvelous and seemingly impossible in architecture can be achieved."



In the Spring of 2006, I went to Sydney for fun and visited Sydney Opera House. It's so terrible that I don't know who designed Sydney Opera House till now.