Around The Home
April 2, 2005 Smoke detectors are something you can do without if you have a death wish, sleep with one eye open like James Bond or have never had kids. That’s not to say that most people haven’t thought of doing without them on account of them being so ugly – they look like they belong in a prison cell, not part of the decor in one’s castle. On top of that, when you want to inspect or replace them, having them screwed into the ceiling is also a bummer. That’s why we love this idea. The Snap Alarm smoke detector simply clips to the chord of any light fitting. This means it can be retrofitted almost anywhere, in a few seconds, without the need for tools by someone with an IQ larger than their shoe size, and it sits in exactly the right place in a room for a smoke detector – high and central. Read More
April 1, 2005 Sonance, the company that originated high fidelity in-wall loudspeakers some 22 years ago, has acquired the IP of its major competitor Sound Advance Systems for “invisible” loud speaker technology. These technologies offer a range of unique and compelling loudspeaker features in that they are completely undetectable and provide a wide, virtually omnidirectional sound dispersion pattern and are ideal for applications requiring background and foreground music, voice paging, surround sound, and multi-room systems. Sound Advance speakers can be found in such exclusive locations as the Dolce & Gabana, Luis Vuitton, Prada, Armani and Chanel boutiques in cities such as Milan, Paris, New York, Beverly Hills, and St. Moritz, and have been the centerpiece of numerous CEDIA Electronic Lifestyle award winning residential installations. Read More
March 30, 2005 Japanese companies Yamato House and TOTO have jointly created a system named the “intelligent rest room” which integrates into the bathroom monitors the health of family members. Going on sale next week (April 5), the idea is to monitor the major vital statistics (urine sugar levels, blood pressure, body fat percentages and weight) at the same time every day so it becomes a part of the daily routine. The day’s findings are then automatically uploaded through the intelligent home network to the family computer so history and trends can be seen, and so the diagnostic program that comes with it can advise on diet, exercise and so on. Read More
March 30, 2005 If the aesthetic qualities of a speaker were more important than sound, the Japanese-made Solid Acoustics SIKKIM would be one of the most sought after speaker systems in the world. As it is, they sell for US$3150 a pair (including a sound equalizer, tabletop stand, and cables), so they’ll never set sales records but they are extraordinary to look at and unique in many ways. Each dodecahedron (12 sided) Sikkim speaker is created by casting aluminium and then mounting an extremely high quality 5cm speaker on each face. This enables the Sikkims to radiate sound through a full 360 degrees and produce “room-filling sound” that emanates from a single point. As each speaker within the 100w Sikkim has an opposing twin on the same axis, the units also have very low vibration, making them ideal for apartments with paper-thin walls and floors. Similarly, because the units radiate sound, they make good use of acoustically imperfect locations and give a much better result than traditional speaker systems. Read More
March 6, 2005. The theme was fortune, magic and lucky charms but with his project, Raffaele Iannello chose to probe the world of black magic with this knife set and distinctive holder. The striking result has gone through several iterations and is now to be produced in commercial form by Viceversa, so we guess Raffaele was lucky after all. The final Voodoo Knife set will be released in the near future at Viceversa. Read More
March 4, 2005 Not everyone wants to hang their flat screen teevs on the wall. Indeed, one of the major problems is where to put the speaks, because they're not necessarily big and flat. Onkyo has come up with an elegant solution for some of us - the CB-SP1200 is a video display stand with integrated left, right, and centre channel speakers for high quality audio, and no added clutter. The gloss black stand is compatible with LCD or Plasma flat panel displays, and tabletop rear projection or conventional CRT models weighing up to 250 pounds. Read More
March 2, 2005: Nespresso and Miele, have announced the launch of a new built-In Miele/Nespresso coffee machine. Gizmag tested a Nespresso coffee machine 15 months ago and we were knocked out by the quality and range of the sealed Nespresso coffee cartridges. The Miele/Nespresso CVA 2000 machine also represents a new generation of kitchen appliances offering a sophisticated design and cutting edge espresso machine technology that integrates into modern kitchen environments. Read More
March 1, 2005 danish design icon Bang & Olufsen has released its BeoVision 7 television, a 32” LCD widescreen TV with integrated DVD player, digital surround sound module and a three-way stereo loudspeaker system. The BeoVision 7 system also incorporates Bang & Olufsen’s VisionClear, a package of picture technologies designed to deliver the best possible picture in all situations. For example, if the curtains are opened, the BeoVision 7 automatically adjusts its picture to match the light conditions of the room. A special anti-reflection coating reduces the effect of incoming light, allowing the TV to be viewed even in broad daylight. Read More
February 28, 2005 We've already covered the Homelab Mirror TV, which helps get the kids to brush their teeth, the MYHeart mirror that displays your vital health statistics and Accenture's Intelligent mirror that analyses your behavioural patterns and can show you what you'll look like in five years time. Now ultra-trendy design house SUCK UK has created a mirror with a scrolling LED message board inside. The SUCK Mirror can scroll information such as time and date, or leave messages for other household members, and you can do it wirelessly from your PC - so you can have it play your Gizmag RSS news feed in the morning while you're scrubbing your vizog, and trimming the nose hairs. COOOOL!!!!! Read More
February 26, 2005 Renowned Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava is normally associated with public places on a grand scale. The Athens Olympic Sports Complex, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center Transport Hub, plus dozens of the most beautiful buildings in major cities around the world - airports, opera houses, bridges, train stations. Calatrava creates landmarks. Now he has teamed with one of New York's leading construction companies to design a visually striking, 835-foot-tall residential tower to be developed on the East River waterfront, just blocks from the World Trade Center site. Read More
