Around The Home

April 21, 2005--Yahoo and Mediaedge:cia have revealed the findings of an in-depth broadband research study that examined the impact of high speed Internet access on people's daily lives. The Yahoo/Mediaedge:cia study found that consumers are increasingly growing closer to multiple media, and are turning to the Web for deeper content, entertainment and communication capabilities without forsaking other media. Broadband users view twice as many pages per month as their dial-up counterparts. The Internet is intersecting with all aspects of people's lives in dramatically new ways. The study showed that over half of broadband users say they are using online and offline media simultaneously, turning to the Internet to supplement other traditional media such as radio, newspapers and television. Broadband capabilities -- speed plus "always on" -- sparked this new "media meshing" trend, by allowing users to easily supplement one medium with another.  Read More

April 21, 2005 Italian design is synonymous with names like Pininfarina, Giugaro, Ferrari, Alessi, Prada, Gucci, Ferragamo, Valentino, Versace and more recently, Snaidero. Snaidero began as a small carpentry shop 50 years ago and has grown into one of the icons of Italian innovation and design with several of its creations being exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York – not bad for a company that only makes kitchens. Now these are clearly not ordinary kitchens, but kitchens of immense beauty and practicality such as the Acropolis. Designed by Pininfarina, the concentric kitchen combines visual appeal with the ultimate functionality- optimising every movement for minimum effort. The Acropolis has recently been revamped. Whereas the original design was a complete circle, the new version has shed its closed and strict round shape to now gently “unfurl.” The price has remained unchanged at US$157,000  Read More

April 20, 2005 One & Co is a technology design consultancy of the first order, having designed many important products for companies such as Nike, Palm, Timex, Dell, Plantronics and Sony. The company recently released information on some work it has been doing with Microsoft in envisioning the Media Center PC that defines a new paradigm for computer hardware in the home. “The Microsoft Living Room PC concepts on our site are just that - concepts,” said One and Co’s Jonah Becker. “It was a project to visualise the media center PC as its own niche within the PC market, with unique functional and stylistic requirements. Microsoft uses such design references to encourage their hardware partners (Dell, HP, etc.) to innovate.”  Read More

April 15, 2005 Not everybody wants to make an LCD/Plasma screen the central focus of a room and there are now a number of creative solutions to this aesthetic dilemma. Home entertainment furniture company Reversica has come up with a new twist on creating flexible living spaces with the introduction of the Gyre 6300 flat screen concealment hardware system. The design uses an unusual rotaxial motion to flip between a 50” flat screen TV and a bookcase – all in a slim 18" case.  Read More

Sometimes we see an idea that is just so damned clever we know it is a winner. This is such an idea. Indeed, much more than just an idea, it is a fully implemented, ready-to-do-the-business, killer product. Battery-free, wireless light switches save time, reduce costs and enhance flexibility over traditional wired switches. They are applicable anywhere there’s electricity so the opportunity to save money is global. The manufacturers estimate cost savings over traditional wired switches at 80% and that’s probably being modest. Like we said ... a killer product!!!  Read More

April 12, 2005 The weather report has long been one of the most critical information services for humankind. Most people check it every day to decide what they will wear, how they will manage their schedule and in some areas, how they will prepare in order to survive. Despite a comprehensive set of Government-run weather forecasting services around the globe, more and better-delivered weather information is now shaping as one of mobile’s killer applications. Get set for the complete hand-held weather information service via your mobile phone - instant live local weather, severe weather alerts, forecasts, radar, camera images and international weather conditions from 200 countries are all about to become available via Windows Mobile-based Smartphone mobile phones.  Read More

April 11, 2005 For everyone who has ever wrestled a mattress from one room to another, from one residence to another or into temporary storage, there’s now a product that makes the job easy. We know it’s not super high tech, but one of our staff just moved house and when he saw it, he insisted that our readers should be made aware of the product because it’s just plain useful and permanently solves the problem. The Carry-Pro mattress storage bag features integrated, built-in handles that make carrying simple. It’s lightweight, re-usable, cost effective and does not require any additional straps or harnesses.  Read More

Ladders are useful in a myriad of places though they are clumsy difficult items to store and carry. Accordingly, we think the Xtend & Climb telescoping ladder is a very simple, very good idea. It compacts and stores in a bag that is a very manageable 30 inches (76 cm) by 19 inches (48 cm) by 3 inches (7.5 cm) and 25 pounds (11.3 kg) then miraculously transforms to a stable 12.5 feet (3.8 metre) ladder with a duty rating of 225 pounds (100 kilograms). Accordingly, it’s a perfect ladder for the apartment, condo, motor home or shop.  Read More

Media creation and distribution is evolving rapidly, with the “contrived reality” genre dominating traditional mass media and a new groundswell of home-grown media produced on personal digital devices and distributed by email and the World Wide Web quickly evolving. With the device-formerly-known-as-the-mobile-phone quickly evolving into a multimediavideo/image/sound recorder, Siemens has come up with a novel way of promoting its SX-1 mobile phone with inbuilt “camcorder” functionality by sponsoring a new award category for budding and established film makers at the St Kilda Film Festival. The video-equipped mobile phone is likely to become an important conduit for creativity in the future, and Siemens’ promotion of a new category for 90 second micro-movies shot with a Siemens SX1 mobile phone is a portent if things to come.  Read More