We’re surprised it took this long for such a product to hit the market: Logitech’s Portable Lapdesk N315 is a simple heat-shielding laptop surface with a slide-out mouse pad. Runs 30 bucks U.S., and no, it’s not just for righties–you sinisters can just flip the thing ’round.
Le groupe éléctro-français Daft Punk vient d’être inclus au prochain jeu DJ Hero produit par l’éditeur Activision. La nouveauté : près de 11 mix exclusifs du groupe seront présents dans le jeu. Disponible le 29 octobre dans le monde. Plus d’images et un trailer à découvrir dans la suite.
The October issue of Real Simple magazine quotes a Microsoft and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study that claims it takes 17 minutes “for a worker interrupted by e-mail to get back to what she was doing.”
If this statistic is true, and I know from experience that there is a refractory time after any distraction, it is strong evidence against leaving the notification alert active on your e-mail program. Instead, you should schedule time in your day to check your e-mail. Based on the type of office environment you work in, you might need to check your e-mail at the top of every hour. However, most people can get by only checking their e-mail two to four times during the work day.
I also recommend checking e-mail during the times when you are usually distracted during the day. Whether this is when others tend to interrupt you or when your mind typically wanders on its own, it’s best not to try to do high-functioning activities when you plan to work through your e-mail inbox. For me, this is right after lunch when I find it difficult to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time. I check e-mail, return phone calls, and do a little bit of filing.
Try turning off the notification alert on your e-mail system and only checking e-mail on a schedule and see if it improves your productivity. If the interruption refractory period really is 17 minutes, you should immediately notice significant gains in your focus.
The Gramophone Speakers are the result of four years of intense development. Thanks to Ergonomidesign, Eker Design and Carbocomp The Gramophone speake..
 | Inspired by the colors of the Rosa Cha Spring 2010 collection, hairstylist Edward Tricomi and MAC makeup artist Philippe Chancel created a fresh, feminine look for the runway. The hair was styled into chic chignons and the makeup was kept minimal. From bright bandeaus to an iridescent glow, the two pros shared with me how to recreate this summery look. Click here for a step-by-step guide to get the hair and makeup looks. |
UK based artist Dan Tobin Smith updated his portfolio with some work you might already be familiar with.
Check out his site here. Just be forewarned that this site will resize your browser. ugh.
Students of the ALICE studio at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have built a wooden structure for viewing the surroundings next to a lake in Zermatt, Switzerland. (more…)
Thilo Fuente, a Swiss designer who recently graduated from ECAL in Lausanne, has tired of the endless, meaningless variations on the Swiss Army Knife. In response, he’s teamed up with Wenger, maker of the original, to “strengthen the original design values by quoting the great classics and modernising some of the most characteristic details.” But we think he goes further, questioning the archetype of the folding pocket knife—for some, maybe it is more handy to have the tools hanging loosely around one’s neck, for others the knife is a luxury item, suited best for preparing absinthe.
All his variations are the real deal, made from anodized aluminum and original Wenger blade steel. For example:
Bent: New, iconic look. Lets you grip the blade easily between two fingers without ever breaking off your fingernails. Good ergonomics.
Many more knives and process pics after the jump.
 | Anyone who ever goes out on the town with a gaggle of gal-pals knows that before you leave the house, you need to take a mandatory self-timer group pic. Now, thanks to the DigiDudes Portable Camera Tripods, you don’t have to balance your digital camera on random textbooks and appliances to get just the right angle for you, or kick one unlucky lady out of the picture to just take the freakin’ photo so you can leave already. Digidudes are small and portable and can be attached to your keys or your camera bag, and simply unscrew to serve as a tripod for your digital camera, camcorder, Flip, or what-have-you for stable picture-taking on the go. They even come in a variety of colors and “characters” — like Pinky Scorsese, G-Bling-Money-Son, and Snot Buster (um, ew) — to serve as the perfect portable pal for you and your picture-taking needs! Price: $24.99 each |
Bruggenhoofd Chabot is an alternative entrance to the Chabot Museum Gardens in Rotterdam, conceived and constructed by Snodevormgevers and Paul Segers of Nieuw Brabants Front. Most of the information on this project is in Dutch, but I did find this little tidbit from Snodevormgevers:
“Bruggenhoofd Chabot” is a landing craft in which visitors can use as a crossover borders from street level into the garden of the Chabot museum. It’s a frontal attack upon the museum’s borders and outer-walls. As artists it can be difficult to get through to the museum world, so we
decided to make our own entrance.
I’m still not sure exactly how or why this project materialized, but I love it’s playful charm—it looks like a bridge dressed up as a spaceship for Halloween.
More photos after the jump.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
