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Archive for the 'Design' Category

Wine Bottle Thermometer - for the wine snob in you - or your friend

Posted December 1, 2007

Most people don’t know or care what temperature wine should be when drinking, but I have a friend who is way into wine, he even has a little temperature controlled fridge for them, so I am sure he wouldn’t mind double checking the temperature again before he is ready to serve.

I like its simple design. It simply wraps around the bottle and gives you a temperature reading. I thought its C-shape would allow it to adjust in size but the ad only mentions 750mL bottles, which are most common anyway. It’s $29.95.

I think red is around 60F, but what about white or champagne? It is probably in the manual but no one reads those things. It should at least be written on the band somewhere like the one at Kickerland makes. You can buy the Kickerland version through amazon.com. It is not digital and is a bit bigger but its only $9.99!!

In any case, what if it’s not the right temperature? I don’t want to sit there and wait for it to cool down or warm up.

Can’t they add a little logic chip and a piezo buzzer so it could ring when the temperature is just right?
What if it could sense the color of the wine?

ok. Stop dreaming. Or go make one yourself.

Car Mouse - could be so much more

Posted December 1, 2007

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Ok, this could be cheezy but if you are going to have a mouse living next to your desktop 24/7 you might as well have it look like something other than a simple mouse, right? I have seen some other versions on the web but not many in the stores. This is actually the better looking of the bunch available from Solutions.com. Pretty cheap at $24.95.

I think they should have gone wireless on this one. Better yet let it double as an R/C car. You don’t need a lot of space for the mouse guts and can fit wheels and motor nicely. Then when you are bored at work you can just run the car around your desk a bit. Maybe even control it by bluetooth. And put a camera on it, and a pellet gun.

How do you think it should be improved?

Kaboost - Chair Booster replaces the Phone Book

Posted December 1, 2007

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My rule is - if it folds buy it. I just like things that can collapse and take less space. This looks like a good idea. I don’t have kids but I guess its nice not to have a separate high chair around for a toddler. What did we ever do before Kaboost? Oh yeah, big yellow phone books. Do they print those anymore? I can’t remember the last time I had one.

You can also take this with you when you travel to people’s houses who don’t have high chairs or phone books. Amazon has them in chocolate color and it’s on sale, I guess it’s not as popular as lime green.

If I ever buy one it would be really hard to resist the urge to throw it like a boomerang and see if it opens mid flight. Not in front of kids, or at kids, of course. Maybe I’d put some caster wheels under the feet and wheel my kid around the room. This is ProdMod after all.

Aha! How about Radio Controlled Motorized Wheeled Kaboost High Chair! My kids would love that!

Did you realize its called the Kaboost Chair Booster? Have you said it out loud yet?

Kaboost.

Kaboooooost.

Ka - boo.

sounds catchy. I want one.

Christmas Gift Ideas for the ProdModder in you

Posted November 29, 2007

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I received some catalogs in the mail this week showing off some products for this holiday season. I sometimes look through these just to see what’s new and maybe get some ideas for new products or stuff to modify. One catalog that caught my eye was Solutions. You can see all there stuff at Solutions.com.

I am going to list a few items that caught my attention either because they are so simple I wish I thought of it, or because they are handy, or just unique enough to post. I might also comment on a few that I think are dumb, poorly executed, or could be improved.

Since I am only browsing a catalog I do not own any of these and have not tried any of the items I am only commenting on what is offered. I am also not affiliated with solutions.com in anyway and do not receive any incentives for the free advertising I am about to give them. (but I wouldn’t say no to it).

Actually amazon.com has some of these things and usually for less. And I am affiliated with amazon.com so I will give you a link if it applies.

As I find other interesting products I will put them in new posts and categorize them under “gift ideas”. You can then see all related posts by clicking that category in the sidebar to your right. or just click here.

This first product is a Shadow Wall Light #82057.

This caught my eye because they basically copied Adam Frank’s lumen. The Frank Adam’s version is a real oil lamp with a real flame that jitters about and brings the image to life. This one at solutions.com however is an LED light and it sounds like it just projects a steady light no flickering, so there is no perceived motion in the projected image it is just static. I met Adam Frank this summer at a local Design Meetup in NYC he was nice enough to answer my questions about the design world so I feel I can at least help market his products when I can… The Solutions LED version is $29.95, but for a bit more - $48 - you can get the original lumen oil lamp from Adam Frank. So why buy the LED one? To avoid open flames? Well, my prodmod intuition is very skeptical of this “LED projector”. I don’t think the image will look too well and as you can see in their photo the edge of the focused LED light is visible, sharp, and artificial in the bottom area. Whereas the lumen is more.. organic. I know I sound artsy but how else would you describe it? Oh and the LED one is an ugly gold color and the lumen is a cool stainless steel. Is that better?

Here is a photo of Adam Frank’s lumen for comparison. His silhouettes artwork is a lot cooler too.

And I just found this video about the Lumen on brightcove.tv which originates from gifts.com.

The lumen is also available at the momastore in NYC and in the video they market it as a substitute Christmas tree. Hmmm perfect for a studio apartment.