Re:turntable

We all miss album cover art work, and the tiny digital cover art on your iPod just isn't the same. English designer, Michael Kennedy, has the answer that makes retro meet modern in a funked up way. I-Deck is a touch screen music player that revitalizes album art and user interaction, that has been lost in current mp3 format. You simply doc your mp3 player into the base and use the touch screen to cycle through and select your tracks, flick it to skip, spin it to fast-forward and turn it to play. Then sit back and watch the album art play. From Nirvana nude baby floating thru to Madonna in a leotard, album art is back in vogue.

AmmonContact

Somewhere in between extraterrestrial innovators Sun Ra and Sa-Ra, in the outer regions of the musical galaxy, lies Ammoncontact. Hard to pigeonhole, Ammoncontact is as much hip-hop for free jazz heads as it is minimal techno for afro-funkateers. Dark, moody, spiritual, and deep, Carlos Nino and Fabian Ammon’s unique blend of acoustic and electronic beats has been evolving organically over the last five years, and is at its ripest yet on this new release.
http://myspace.com/ammoncontact

Logo-motion

Here's a new twist for ya... Around Atlanta I've been spotting cars sporting logos of different brands all over the place. Not the multi-logo wall paper of Nascar, but one brand emblazoned on the hood and quarter panels. I don't know where or why this came about but it's all the rage. It doesent seem to be "officially" sponsored by any company and it doesn't look cheap. Most go as far as actually matching PMS colors to their exterior paint.

Crank calls

Designer Andre Minoli crafted this innovative prototype for Motorola to address that very issued. Dubbed the PVOT concept phone, the unit operates on a single AA rechargeable battery and features a flip handcrank. While a single AA battery won’t provide much talk time, 25 cranks on the flip handle will provide a single minute of talk time.

No doubt busy Wall Street types have better things to do than spend their days cranking away. On the other hand, for the vast majority of the world’s population who still view electricity as a privilege (as opposed to a right), this thing offers true utility.

Like to watch

I love watches. I think I saw this on Gizmodo.com a couple of weeks ago, and figured since I keep thinking about it, I'd go ahead and post it. Available in a tan leather wristband with yellow lights or a black leather wristband with red lights.

Eek -a- dresser

I don't get the name Eek Dresser but I love the style. This piece has me a little floored. It's so simple and yet really well done. It has a baroque pattern which is wallpapered onto a steel base. $3,270.00 http://www.twentieth.net

Mac to the future

MacFormat magazine (http://www.macformat.co.uk/) commissioned a conceptualized future iMac to accompany a related article. The design is based on current Apple design trends, as well as the previous iMac incarnation.

The iMac features a 30" utra-thin LCD screen, which is totally transparent when the iMac is not in use. The screen can also be set to various levels of translucency, and can fade during sleep modes etc. The keyboard is also totally tramsparent, low profile and a curved ergonomic design, with light sensitive illuminated keys.
Everything is of course, wireless.

Cut to the chase

Thieves and criminal thrill seekers beware – the police car chase will never be the same again. Thanks to some sophisticated new technology created by Virginia-based company Starchase, police can now track crooks by shooting Batman-esque GPS homing devices like darts and sticking them to the back of fleeing vehicles. Instead of a frantic pursuit, the pursing police cruiser eases off and allows police headquarters to track the suspect by computer. Police can then move in for a calmer arrest.