What a cool idea! I’m not sure if this has been released yet or not, but I love the idea of this. It is a touchscreen keyboard that could aid a person in many different ways. It can be used as a keyboard, macbook cover, and photo/movie stand.  

http://petitinvention.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/external-touch-screen/

This was a fun little idea that I came across on Core77. I read an article about the “Energy Bucket”. This was created by Stefano Merlo as a way of addressing the energy crisis that we have found ourselves in. This is an actual bucket shaped object that has solar panels and led lights inside of it. I think the idea of this is neat. It would be left out in the sun during the day, to charge up, and brought in at night, in order to provide light, while saving a great deal of energy. This is not in production yet, but the designer is looking for a company to endourse it. In his words the product is “an honest exchange between man and nature: I do something to have something back, clean light!”

This was an interesting design that I came across by a designer named Tamer Koseli. He created a design for a cell phone. To me, it looks like something that has been seen before. Reading about it, I found that he wanted to create a phone that would go back to the basic theme of communication, as opposed to all of the other things that are incorporated in cell phones these days. He wanted to make it more of an “emotional connection between users and the product”. The phone to me, looks like one of the forms that the Nokia Morph phone can be shaped into. As time goes on, people don’t want a phone that is just a phone… they want those extra gadgets and with the idea of a morph phone coming out with nanotechnology, what would be the point of this?

This was an installastion at the Gallery of Modern Art in Oxford. It is called the "House of Books has no Windows". It is a recreation of a house with no windows, obviously, created out of 5000 differnt books. The layout of it and the design behind it is very cool looking. I found books to be such an interesting tool, using them as building blocks almost. It was a created by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, artists from Canada.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cultureshow/videos/2008/11/s6_e1_cardiff_web/

Again, lights! This peice of art was created by the design studio known as Paprika. It was made to resemble a Christmas tree for the furniture store Domison. They used over 300 bottles that used to have water in them to create the tree. As they described it, "Lights shine on the piece giving it an ice-like sparkle". I'm always amazed at the differnt industrial design pieces that use building materials like water bottles.

This was a collection of film end titles that I came across on a design blog recently. I found the images to be rather interesting... just watching the changes that have been made over time and the different design techniques used in each.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/

A designer from Houston, Texas named Mason Bonar came up with a concept for an electronic boarding pass. It would be a small device with a touch screen that could access all information at the airport. This way, everyone would be able to know when their flight was. It could be used for games and videos while people are waiting. Supposedly, they would have a "stackable chargin system". The thing I found most interesting was the idea that this would help "deaf or hearing impaired stay alert to important changes in their flights". I am not completely sold on the idea, but some aspects did catch my attention. As I see it, why would an airport ever spend their money on a product like this? Most people today have their own electronical devices already, so it would be smarted in my opion to create things that can be sent out to any electronical device that you already have in your position. For example, the stadium for the Seattle Maroners is owned by the Nintendo company. If you bring your Nintendo DS, then you can interact with the stadium... you can order food from your seat, get more information on the players, etc. I remember hearing that things like this would be more likely for airports in the near future.