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Around The Home
Velcro-tipped FlexiSnake drain unclogger
By Mike Hanlon
January 2, 2007 For all the high tech wonders in our life, there’s nothing quite as humbling as a simple blocked rain to remind us that we have yet to solve all the mysteries of the universe. A new product designed to open a slow-running drain caught our eye over the holiday period - a velcro-tipped, disposable drain snake called FlexiSnake. Read More
Dance your way to cleanliness – Electrolux Dustmate shoes
By Mike Hanlon
December 18, 2006 They may only be a design exercise at this point, but the Electrolux Dustmate shoes strike a chord, if only in expectation of the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers commercials which would surely result if the product ever came to market. The Dustmates are shoes with built-in vacuum cleaners. There’s also the slight problem of fitting an effective mechanism for vacuuming into the shoes, not to mention the repository for the dirt. Nice idea though! Read More
The expanding dining table
By Mike Hanlon
December 12, 2006 It is not often that we see a product of exquisite beauty, ingenious design, and made from extraordinary materials that scores 10 from 10 on the usefulness scale. This is such a product. David Fletcher is a bespoke furniture manufacturer who has spent many years producing distinctive pieces of exceptional quality, each custom designed and built for each commission. Nothing is copied, nor are any two pieces ever created the same. The expanding table shown here is the result of many years of development, but follows a line of history of more than one and a half centuries. The Fletcher Capstan Table is the only table in the world with its unique properties. It is a circular table which, when rotated at its outer perimeter, doubles its seating capacity, yet astonishingly remains truly circular. The masterpiece is of course the operating mechanism which is beautifully engineered, yet simple and robust … and you can have one built to your exact requirements for a sum commensurate with this functional work of art. Gizmodo’s comments are worth reading and the videos are here, here and here. Just to show they know their way around functional design, the company also manufactures another expanding table done by entirely different means - the Fletcher Rising & Folding Table achieves many of the same functions, but also raises and lowers. And if you like this table, you'll also like this one. Read More
The Cyberlux EverOn LED Portable Light – a 'must-have' for the emergency kit
By Mike Hanlon
December 8, 2006 We do get excited about useful things that become more useful in an emergency and the Cyberlux EverOn fits that bill perfectly – it is an easy-to-use, inexpensive emergency light that offers over 500 hours of nightlight level light, or 60 hours of a medium, room-filling light, or 30 hours of intensely bright white light – all from one set of 4 AA batteries. It can perform this seemingly magical feat because it is bulb free - it uses Cyberlux solid-state LED technology which is 90 percent more energy efficient than conventional incandescent lighting elements found in most lanterns and flashlights. And an ideal safety light for young children. Read More
The Chumby, the wifi internet-connected news-gathering squishy clock radio
By Mike Hanlon
December 6, 2006 The chumby is a modern day equivalent of the clock radio, but it’s very different in what it will enable you to do, and enables you to appropriately introduce or conduct your day just as you would wish. It’s a really low-cost, WiFi, Internet-connected information device that will accompany you in the bedroom (or any other room) and wake you up. The starting point was the humble clock radio concept of audio information presentation, but it was extended into multimedia and is designed to connect up to the information resources you require, such as pictures that your friends send you from their cellphones, messages from your IM buddies, your blogs and social network sites. In fact, you can set up your chumby to show you almost any information you want, and anything your friends want to send you. It will wake you up with anything you wish - AM or FM radio, MP3 files or podcasts from the Internet, from your computer, or even from your iPod. It can display your daily horoscope and the weather, and a whole community of artists and animators can send their creations around the chumby network to entertain you. Chumby is the product of a group of hackers who wanted to create something interesting, useful and different. It doesn’t look like a clock radio - it’s soft, and squishy and you communicate with it by tapping or squeezing it and in the true spirit of open collaboration, its open and hackable and they encourage everyone to “pull out its electronic guts and reprogram it.” There are alternative skins for your chumby so you can do whatever you want to personalize it. Several hundred chumbys are currently being beta tested with a view to a commercial product some time in in the 2007-2008 time frame with a target retail price of US$150. If you are a serious alpha-geek hacker, they can be convinced to give you a prototype. Read More
Melitta Smart Mill & Brew – the Intelligent Coffee Pot
By Mike Hanlon
November 17, 2006 Now here’s a must have for any self-respecting, caffeine-powered technophile – a coffee maker with real-time weather forecast information and the ability to brew a cup of coffee from either whole beans or ground coffee. The US$200 Melitta Smart Mill & Brew with MSN Direct incorporates Microsoft's Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) and automatically detects current weather conditions, the day's forecast, probability for precipitation, and sunrise and sunset times, without the need for outdoor sensors, through MSN Direct. Read More
The Rotating Home – high efficiency, high tech and dial-a-view
By Mike Hanlon
October 24, 2006 Which way do you orient your home when you have spectacular views on all sides? Luke Everingham had that problem but having worked as a high-end audio/video engineer and construction contractor, he looked for and found the solution to the problem in a different way. Taking an idea from a throwaway comment from his wife, he conceived, designed and built a rotating house that offers not only dial-a-view, but can take full advantage of its rotational powers to optimise the use of sunlight to create better thermal efficiency. The Everingham Rotating House is situated four hours north of Sydney, NSW, and any room in the house can choose its view from pristine rapids and deep water river views on one side to soaring mountains on the other. The rotating home is one of the most remarkable and unique homes in the world but it wasn’t always that way. Luke and wife Debbie lived initially just a few metres away in a 90-year-old farmhouse and had theorised for some time on how to take most advantage of the landscape when they built their dream home. One night at a dinner party Debbie made a comment about how it would be nice to be able to turn an existing design by 15 degrees and Luke came up with the idea of a rotating home. Ingeniously solving engineering problems for a living in the construction industry had prepped him well. The drawings took six months and were the start of thousands of hours of research over six years to the completion of the house. “There’s a fair bit (of work) in it to make it work,” says Luke. Everingham is now seeking to commercialise the expertise he gained in constructing ERH Mk I and living in it for several years, and looks forward to creating new and innovative solutions for using natural light and the environment to assist the house… and check out this stunning pictorial. Read More
The combination wine cabinet and refrigerator
By Mike Hanlon
October 20, 2006 Liebherr is well known for its high quality wine cabinets and also makes a range of superb refrigerators so it was only a matter of time before someone got the bright idea for combining them. If you’re a regular wine drinker, it’s heaven sent as the wine cabinet holds 32 bottles and has two zones for storing and/or serving wine at the exact temperature desired, ranging from +41°F (+5°C) to +64°F (+18°C). In all, the SBS 24I5 unit has five different climate zones and ensures everything is kept as it should be. As such, we figure it qualifies as a new and innovative appliance that allows you to store all food and drink under perfect conditions. Read More
The handheld vacuum cleaner that never clogs and never loses suction
By Mike Hanlon
October 19, 2006 Gone forever are the days of frustrating, ineffective handheld cleaners. Loss of suction, poor pick-up and useless clogged filters may have once been standard fare, but will no longer interfere with your cleaning if you buy a Dyson Root 6 Cyclone, or at least that’s what Dyson is claiming. The Root 6 uses a lithium ion battery and comes with a specially designed combination brush/stair tool for versatile cleaning. Given that the company’s other products always do the business as claimed, we figure that makes the Root Cyclone a likely winner when it goes on sale next week at US$150. Read More
Bespoke apartments created in 24 hours
By Mike Hanlon
October 16, 2006 From any tall building in almost any major city, dozens, possibly hundreds of roofs can be seen which carry free space which is not being employed the owner’s benefit. The free space on top of buildings has never been ascribed much value, and rarely gets any consideration on a balance sheet, but offers a major opportunity because in some locations, it represents very valuable virgin real estate indeed. Last week we wrote about the pre-fabricated Loftcube which can be made-to-order and helicoptered into position, commisiioned and fully functional in 24 hours, with prices starting at US$138,000. The Loftcube is a modern construction and doesn’t suite everybody, as in most such instances, additional construction must be in sympathy with existing, important buildings. St. John's Wood Court is a century-old double winged mansion block directly opposite the W. C. Grace Gates, the main entrance to Lords Cricket Ground, the home of the sport of cricket. One of several major Central London apartment projects by specialist rooftop developer First Penthouse, the project added seven ultra-exclusive apartments to the building. First Penthouse uses a modular construction system not dissimilar to that used in custom automobile construction – all components are handcrafted, assembled and tested in a controlled factory environment. By finishing the apartments off-site, then loading them into position with cranes, one-day installation is also possible. Instant-use residential and commercial property is hence viable, without noise, dust and disruption and with the units constructed in the style and values of the original, traditionally-constructed buildings. First Penthouse is actively seeking new developments and can prepare portfolio surveys for property owners which will identify short, medium and long term opportunities. Read More
The kitchen timer/clock for serious multi-taskers
By Mike Hanlon
October 12, 2006 Like it or not, no matter how much you try to avoid it, there are some things that run to a very strict schedule. It might be the personal trainer every Tuesday morning at 6am when on all other days you can sleep to 7.30am, or it might be that the exquisite meal you wish to prepare needs military precision in coinciding the readiness of the hollandaise sauce with the Chateaubriand. American Innovative is a company which specialises in creating “products that make sense” – interestingly it’s key successes so far have been related to solving timing issues. The company's first offering, the Neverlate 7-day Alarm Clock is a bedside clock radio designed with a variable schedule in mind and the company’s latest product is a kitchen timer for the serious home chef, the avid entertainer and the modern multi-tasker. The Chef's Quad-Timer provides four countdown timers with indicators arranged to look like a 4-burner cooktop -- what's on the stove and what's being timed are intuitively linked - green lamps indicate which burners are still cooking, red lamps are done. Though both products are available in some countries other than the U.S., the company is seeking international distributors. Read More
The relocatable KITAHAUS Pod
By Mike Hanlon
October 10, 2006 As technology evolves, our ability to create remarkable temporary living and working environments has grown considerably, as can be evidenced by our recent stories on relocatable structures such as the off-the-grid home, the Sphere House, the Nackros Villa, the Free Spirit Sphere, the LoftCube and the first mobile hotel room. Now we can add to that the KitaHaus Pod which is designed as a stand-alone accommodation or temporary office and can also be interlink to create unique temporary or permanent living and working environments. The KitaHaus legs are adjustable so it can be situated in almost any site including normally unusable sloped and wooded areas. The construction is of sustainable materials using glulam frame, over boarded in 12mm ply and insulated using Actis super 9 fabric. The entire surface is then tiled using larch timber shingles which will eventually turn a silver grey colour. The pod’s main usage is envisaged as a holiday retreat but clearly it has many possibilities with an anticipated cost of GBP 50,000 to GBP 75,000 depending on volumes. Read More
The Vocal Smoke Alarm
By Mike Hanlon
October 9, 2006 The SignalONE Safety vocal smoke alarm is the only smoke alarm on the market that allows the appropriate caregiver to record a personalized "wake up and escape" message for their child. We wouldn’t have picked that this was such an important feature off the bat, but apparently there’s a growing body of evidence showing that children do not awaken reliably to the tones found in conventional smoke alarms and the key aspect of the vocal smoke alarm is the use of a familiar voice to awaken a child by name and urge the child to escape a burning home safely. A new study, released last week by the American Academy of Pediatrics, showed that 96 percent of children woke up to the recorded sound of their mothers voice in a median time of 20 seconds, compared to only 58 percent who woke up to conventional smoke alarm tones. We’ve seen a few good ideas in smoke alarms over the years, such as the wireless smoke alarm and the ingenious snap alarm – interestingly, none of their compelling features are mutually exclusive. Read More
The maintenance-free indoor waterwall
By Mike Hanlon
October 5, 2006 There’s something about running water that has a calming effect, though having a water feature inside your home or office can be problematic for obvious reasons. Creating your ideal environment for living and integrating a water feature just got much easier because Rock'N Crab Aquatics (RnC) has released the AQUAframe, the world's first maintenance-free waterwall. Unlike traditional waterwalls, the AQUAframe eliminates the need for service, damage from potential splashing and the requirement for complex filtration to control water health risks making it ideal for hospitals, restaurants, museums and home installation. Read More
Microwave In-A-Drawer enables new possibilities in Kitchen Design
By Mike Hanlon
September 26, 2007 The Millennia 30” Microwave In-A-Drawer promises to remove the design limitations that have forced the conspicuous placement of the microwave oven in the kitchen. It’s unconventional configuration allows for installation almost anywhere in the kitchen yet be easily accessible and unobtrusive. As it can be installed at waist height or lower, it is perfect for under-the-counter installations, in islands and open-plan kitchens. It’s a similar concept as the Liftmatic space-saving oven with an elevator and the door on the bottom, though it solves different problems. Read More
Turn a bedroom into an office in 60 seconds
By Mike Hanlon
September 26, 2006 With more of the workforce working from home every day, there’s now another room required in a lot of homes – an office. As houses and apartments don’t just grow another room when you want it, using rooms for multiple purposes is becoming big business and if you’re in the market for a few ideas on turning an office or living room into a bedroom inside 60 seconds, check this out. Clei UK specialises in designing for compact living and though our prize for the most ingenious mechanism they’ve created goes to this sofa (centre pics on main photo) which transforms into a bunk bed with integrated supporting ladder and protection guard, the company has two desks (here and here) which transform into beds, and an entire range of thought-provoking solutions for getting twice as much usage from any room. The company is currently seeking retailers in Scotland and Ireland, and international distributors. Our image gallery is chock full of great ideas and implementations. Read More
How far below sea level will your home be if …
By Mike Hanlon
September 26, 2006 Last week we reported on the rapid and dramatic melting of the arctic icecap, and joked that the upside was perhaps that the property you bought with ocean views might soon become beachfront. Now some people might think it’s a good thing to plan for rising sea levels given that people have long been predicting that global warming will result in thermal expansion of the ocean and melting glaciers and ice sheets. In 1995 a report from the International Panel on Climate Change estimated that the sea will rise 50 centimeters (20 inches) with lowest range at 15 centimeters (6 inches) and high range at 95 centimeters (37 inches) by 2100, and NASA's take is supported with lots of evidence the warming is accelerating (temperature trends, sea level trends ) might come at us in a rush. If you go here, you can dial in the rise in water levels and see which properties will be waterfront if that occurs. Read More
Magnetic tiles enable the spontaneous room makeover
By Mike Hanlon
September 22, 2006 “We change our clothing, handbags and shoes with the season, why not our tile?” posits Nancy Epstein, CEO of Artistic Tile, and head of new product development. “Rather than old-fashioned summer slipcovers, why not change the look of the entire room by switching the floor or wall from the warmth of naturally fur-covered cowhide tile to a smooth Natura leather tile for the warmer months. Or you can simply add a new look by applying a border of saddle stitched tile, or changing the configuration of the accent tile from a border to an inset. It’s not so different from changing your outfit, and takes very little time to achieve,” she adds. Unfortunately, the mix and match Pampa Leather tile collection is offered in six styles including the black and white cowhide shown but there’s no facility for some of the other collections on offer just yet. But it’s a great idea. Designed by Epstein, the tile adheres by means of a clever system of magnets, requires no mortar, adhesives or grout and is an easy care alternative to carpet. A layer of galvanized sheet metal between the substrate and the tile means tiles may be changed whenever the mood strikes. Read More
The Fraunhofer Multimedia Dome
By Mike Hanlon
September 6, 2006 Making its first public appearance at the IFA international consumer electronics fair in Berlin, the Multimedia Dome is the first digital dome theatre to feature natural spatial sound: it envelops visitors in fascinating universe of video pictures and sound. The Multimedia Dome was developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology FIRST and the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT, the inventors of the MP3 format which has taken over the world in the last decade. Read More
Panasonic’s 160GB audio player dock
By Mike Hanlon
September 4, 2006 Japanese giant Panasonic (AKA Matsushita) has come up with yet another variation on the theme of seamlessly connecting the home stereo system with the portable audio player, specifically, it’s own D-snap. The SX850D-dock minicomponent audio system combines an SD card slot, 160GB hard drive, and a CD drive, so it’s possible to copy audio CDs to SDHC cards, record them direct to the hard drive, or connect it to your home network and load files from your PC. As it contains an on-board Gracenote database with auto recognition and track, artist and album info, users will never have to enter album information manually. Available later this week in Japan, the 160 GB SX850D-dock will cost JPY80,000 (US$690), while a lesser 80GB SX450 model will sell for JPY39,000 (US$340). Read More
The iRocker - iPod Gaming Music Chair
By Mike Hanlon
August 31, 2006 The iRocker is an interactive gaming chair with docking station that allows the user to lounge comfortably while enjoying surround-sound music . It comes complete with remote control, a multi-position reclining back, Heavy Magnet speakers, Base Tube (on many models), audio inputs, additional line input (to use with brands of MP3 players other than iPod) and master volume dial with LED indicator light (for non-docking models). It can also be used with any electronic device that has an audio output, making it ideal for video game sound set-up. Read More
The Fish-N-Flush Toilet
By Mike Hanlon
August 29, 2006 The Fish ‘n Flush two-piece aquarium toilet tank was designed as a source of entertainment and conversation and from the moment it debuted earlier this year at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Chicago, it’s been getting serious main media attention. Firstly, let’s be clear that the fish in the aquarium are in no danger of being flushed. Fish-n-Flush is a two-piece aquarium toilet tank with an aquarium that wraps itself around a clear inner tank. The special tank within a tank retails for US$400, and comes with everything but water and fish. Manufacturer AquaOne worked with a marine biologist to develop the technology and produce a certified working aquarium. Read More
Audio speakers constructed like a guitar
By Mike Hanlon
August 24, 2006 Audiophiles and audio engineers have long debated the relative sound quality of vacuum tubes, vinyl records, Class A amplifiers, and exotic speaker cables, however, while the musical character of some acoustic devices was often a happy coincidence, there is nothing unintentional about a new loudspeaker from Onkyo and Takamine. Onkyo is now shipping the unusual loudspeaker, designed jointly with renowned guitar manufacturer Takamine, to express the positive qualities of both speaker performance and musical instrument design and construction. The Onkyo D-TK10 designers consciously rejected the inert-box acoustics of conventional speaker cabinetry in favour of a freely-vibrating thin-wall enclosure based on high-end guitar construction. Through strategic placement of struts, stringers, and thickness variations, the speaker harnesses the sounds that would normally be absorbed within the enclosure to stimulate carefully controlled cabinet resonances for a much fuller and richer sonic character. Read More
Gizmo launches Australian comprehensive in-home and phone support technology support taskforce
By Mike Hanlon
August 9, 2006 There’s a fundamental shift in consumer digital technology currently underway as the world embraces the digital lifestyle. Led by the growth of broadband, home networking, digital devices and digital media services, the uptake of new technologies has been extraordinary despite complexity, integration and interoperability issues. A recent GfK Group study showed that 77 percent of Australians now have more than eight digital devices in their homes so it’s timely that Australia is about to get its equivalent of America’s GeekSquad – a reliable, comprehensive in-home and phone support technology support taskforce. To be known as Gizmo, the comprehensive support service is designed to help Australians get the most out of their computer and related gadgets, launched today by announcing the opening of its Sydney operation. The Gizmo service provides home support with customising, setting up and maintaining computer systems, home networking, peripherals and media/entertainment centres. Read More
The world's most secure front door
By Mike Hanlon
August 1, 2006 Necessity, it is said, is the mother of invention, so we weren’t surprised to get an email from TechnoImport in beautiful downtown Bogota, capital of one of the world’s toughest countries, Colombia, explaining the development of what TechnoImport believes is the most secure armoured door in the world for residential homes – a bargain at just US$2500 given the remarkable array of technology it contains. The steel door is bulletproof (it’ll stop a Magnum 57 bullet - see main pic), offers antifire protection, cannot be cut through with cutting/welding equipment and is designed to withstand the use of explosives, having a steel frame as well. It has two inboard engines guaranteed to a minimum 30,000 openings and locks in ten places with 3/4 inch pins, on all sides of the door. Even the biometric lock is intelligent, sensing for bloodflow and the correct fingerprint to foil those unscrupulous fiends who found a way past the first generation fingerprint locks by hacking off the fingers of their victims. Read More
william
- November 26, 2009 @ 19:45 UTC
