The Cuisipro® Ice Cream Scoop & Stack has come up with an simple, elegant redesign of the ice cream scooper. Where a flat spatula is enough for gelato and the industrial-strength spoon version is found in ice cream parlors and kitchens everywhere, this scooper elegantly rethinks that model: Plunge the device into the ice cream, twist and lift out a cone-sized scoop. A button releases the dollop, which is flat on top for stacking multiple layers.
I’m delighted to find things like this, with simple improvements on age-old gadgets.
The latest issue of The Economist takes a look at how Speedo’s new LZR swimsuit has revolutionized the sport in the four months. Forty-two world swimming records have been broken since the suit was introduced in February, and 38 of those record-breaking swims were by competitors wearing LZRs.
The technology that went into the $600 suit is remarkable:
A dense, but light material that compresses the swimmer’s body into a sleek shape but is extremely light. The suit also has no seams, but is held together by ultrasonic welding to reduce drag.
A corset-like “internal core stabilizer” that holds the swimmer’s form in the water, keeping their hips high and allowing them to swim with less effort.
Polyurethane panels in spots on the suit to further reduce drag in the water.
A three-dimensional design — in that the suit is more like a second skin than a piece of clothing. It holds its form when not is use and doesn’t lie flat.
The improvements have been so drastic that some people have referred to the suit as “high-tech doping”. Swimmers at the Beijing Olympics this summer who are wearing the LZR will have a distinct advantage, so much so that athletes who are sponsored by other companies, like Nike, will be wearing them, rather than equipment from their main sponsor.
The Science of Sport weblog has been doing excellent reporting and analysis on this topic. The international governing body of swimming has approved the LZR for use in the Olympics, so it’s inevitable that other manufacturers will produce suits to compete with this breakthrough piece of equipment.
As IBM researcher John Tang says here, there is “a certain amount of irony” in the fact that top technology firms are banding together to study ways to solve information overload. Even more ironic is the proposal that the solution to this particular technology problem is “simply more and better technology”.
It’s not a technology problem, however. Mark Hurst, whose book Bit Literacy addresses this very issue, has said time and again that the solution lies not with technology, but with learning to “let the bits go“: getting your email inbox down to zero once a day and deferring action items to a to-do list. Psychology and human action is the key — not technology.
Merlin Mann of 43 Folders also is skeptical that technology or rules like “No Email Friday” will address the problem:
Bottom line (and I’ll never stop saying this): stop trying to eradicate human communication problems by introducing waves of new technology or made-up rules of social engineering. A company with email problems is also experiencing people problems. Until you understand why the wetware isn’t working like you’d expected, don’t go nuts with top-down technology solutions and over-clever edicts.
At the end of this video of BMW’s GINA fabric-covered, shape-shifting concept car, designer Chris Bangle describes the philosophy as “Context over dogma”. It’s a nice moment to close a remarkable three-minute video presentation, but there’s something more profound lurking there as well.
Certainly it’s about, as Bangle says, being flexible and acting flexible, but it’s also about challenging the traditional way of doing things in favor of ways that work in their particular circumstances. It’s a concept that’s easy to understand in a number of fields, for example, how web design and information architecture should favor what makes sense over a rule that there needs to be a link in a particular place on every page. 37 Signals promotes this in their Getting Real book as “Context Over Consistency” and even demonstrates how the home screen of the iPhone puts an icon not where it must be, but where it makes sense to be.
Bangle has been a controversial figure while at BMW, but it’s exciting to see his refreshing approach to the automotive industry.
Nick Carr has a terrific article in this month’s Atlantic magazine titled “Is Google Making Us Stupid?“. It’s an insightful look at how the Web is changing the way we think — moving away from deep concentration, understanding and analysis toward short, scannable, sharable bursts of information.
I don’t agree that Google and the Web are making us stupid, but they are changing the way that we think. Rather than take in a long, scholarly article in one sitting and absorb its meaning, we can read that same article online and easily look up related topics, contextual information, and explanations of key concepts.
There’s definitely irony in the fact that Carr’s article is featured online (broken into four pages), but without the type of linking and contextual information that would make it even more valuable on the Web.
The answer is not all or nothing, however. We need that method of continuous partial attention and quick information retrieval, but we also need to carve out time for quiet thought and contemplation. Although the tools exist now that encourage the former, there is history and tradition to continue and uphold the latter.
One additional note: Last year, our summer interns helped me put together a list of panel and presentation ideas to submit for the South by Southwest Interactive Conference. Among the ones we liked was:
Has Google made us brainless?
Got a question? More than likely, Google has the answer. Has the most powerful search engine made us stupid? It’s easier than ever to find a cursory answer to a meaningful question and the methods of intensive research may be falling by the wayside. Also, how do we determine which results are credible and which are not?
No disrespect to Carr — one of the things his article did was remind me of just how sharp our interns were. In fact, their idea about Google never made it beyond my boss’ email in-box. We submitted three other ideas to SXSW.
This week’s Economist looks into the field of open-source hardware: “an emerging class of electronic devices, for which the specifications have been made public, so that enthusiasts can suggest refinements, write and share software improvements, and even build their own devices from scratch.”
Owners of open-source devices benefit by owning something that doesn’t go out-of-date or become antiquated quickly, and makers of the those devices can get their products to market faster and respond to their customers’ needs in a more timely way. Such advantages, the article says, outweigh the drawbacks of exposing what are usually seen as corporate secrets. It’s another example of how “open” beats “closed”.
One such open-source device is the Chumby, a coffee-cup-sized, soft-sided, Web-enabled puff that can be used as an Internet radio player, a digital picture frame, an alarm clock, weather station, and more. It’s got a touch screen and can run off AC or battery power.
Experts quoted in the article disagree on whether open-source hardware appeals to the tinkerer or the everyday consumer, but it also correctly points out that everyone benefits from open-source collaboration — the choices and improvements made in an open-source environment lead to better products all around.
Wired News reports that even though cellphones in Japan have become increasingly difficult to use, and that their owners only use 5 to 10 percent of the functions available, the complexity of the devices remains a positive to buyers.
When the iPhone hits Japan later this year, it’s possible that the simplicity of that device would be a turn-off to consumers there.
“It doesn’t have 3G, the camera is only 2 megapixels, and it lacks fun little features like mobile wallet functions and an LED flashlight,” journalist Nobi Hayashi said. “It may sell modestly as a smart phone or as an upgraded iPod, but it’s not quite cutting it as a competitor in our mobile-based culture.”
It’s an interesting look into the Japanese culture, where people experiment with different key combinations to kill time during long commutes and discover cool features hidden deep within the phone’s complicated menu system.
While there’s a sharp contrast between the Japanese fondness for technical specifications and complexity and the U.S. trend toward simplicity, there is another angle that the two cultures share. A shiny new device serves as a social object — a conversation piece that draws like-minded people together.
“Cellphones are always part of any conversation,” Daiji Hirata, an executive at News2u Corporation said. “People are always using them and holding them, even in the middle of a meal, so they might not think you’re hip if you’re carrying an old one.”
Casting a vote for simplicity in today’s gadgets, it turns out that only 5 percent of electronics that are returned are actually defective. Customers say (or think) that they’re broken, when actually, they’re either too hard to use or don’t meet their expectations.
A report by Accenture says that 68 percent of returned electronics fall into that category, while an additional 27 percent are returned because of buyer’s remorse. That means only 5 percent of returns were items that were defective.
Terry Steger of Accenture says making products easier to set up and use would reduce the return rate significantly. The report cited a 2006 study that determined that the average U.S. consumer spends only 20 minutes trying to make a device work before giving up and returning it to the seller.
For years, Texas Monthly has been at the top of the list in the City and Regional Magazines Association contest, consistently winning for writing, design, layout and photography. That was the case again this year, as the magazine won first place (or gold) awards for general criticism, writer of the year, excellence in writing, and cover.
The even better news is that this year Texas Monthly won a gold award for excellence online. The magazine’s website has been getting better and better after bringing on Eileen Smith as site editor last year. Congratulations to the TM staff on some well-deserved honors.
Sure, awards are subjective — they subjectively good when you’re included in the finalists and winners, and subjectively bad when you’re not. But there is an interesting commonality running through many of the media websites nominated for 2008 EPpy Awards, the top interactive contest put on by Editor & Publisher and Mediaweek.
For news web sites, the winning strategy is clear — focus heavily on local content and make the most of the web, don’t simply take the stories from the morning print edition and make them available online. The best of this model can be found at sites that are, or have been, run by folks from a very small pool — people like Rob Curley, Dave Toplikar, and Adrian Holovaty, who worked together at one time or another at the Lawrence Journal-World.
Looking at the nominees for Best News Web Site (fewer than 1 million monthly visitors), there’s the Las Vegas Sun, LJWorld.com (the Lawrence newspaper site), and NaplesNews.com from Florida. All of those are places where these guys have worked. And Curley’s current site, WashingtonPost.com, is up for Best Overall Newspaper-Affiliated Web Site (1 million + monthly visitors).
