Hasta La Ideas

The Huffington Post’s 16th international edition—HuffPost Mexico—has officially launched. The Spanish-language site is published in conjunction with Mexico City-based Grupo Imagen Multimedia.

Given Donald Trump’s trip to Mexico, the launch of HuffPost Mexico is quite timely.

As HuffPost global editorial director Howard Fineman explained in a post about the new site, quality reporting is extremely important; especially now.

“Reporters, videographers, photographers, researchers and the rest of the media can’t forge peace, abolish injustice or elevate wise leaders,” wrote Fineman. “But good journalism explodes stereotypes, dispels destructive myths and gives us all access to accurate representations of our fellow humans — not as their enemies, rulers, propagandists or demagogues depict them.”

During the day, it’s quite easy to see the brightly colored orange traffic cones lining the street around constructions zones or other driving hazards, but at night, most of them are barely lit and so it’s easy to run them over, or not see clearly what the dangers are that may lie ahead of you. This can cause a vehicle to run over the traffic cone, or be knocked down which can cause even more issues for the motorists to follow – an endless vicious cycle.

Well now we have the Dynamic Traffic Cone designed by Yuhui Wang. These environmentally friendly cones light up the way via their solar powered LED lights that make them more noticeable at night – even at a distance. The cones are easy to operate. Once you open the release, the LED lights will spring out to resemble a cone and can easily be replaced back into the cube for storage, taking up less space than the other type of cone we are accustomed to.

The bottom of the Cones are made from organic plastics which house the solar panels that light up the LED lighting. At 380mm wide x 380mm depth and 60mm height, these cones are perfect as a safe and convenient alternative to the traffic cones of yesterday, and definitely much easier on the eyes.

Designer: Yuhui Wang

Bluetooth entry locks are common enough to be found in any hardware or big box store. Bluetooth padlocks—not so much. They’re out there but are harder to find, because with the exception of the ones from MasterLock, most are made by small companies that lack the means to promote them in a big way.

Dog and Bone is one such company. Based in Australia, they’re best known for their smartphone cases, some of which offer wireless charging. But their Bluetooth padlocks are cooler. I encountered them this May at the National Hardware Show and was taken with the sleek simplicity of their LockSmart model—which has been out since last year.

Designed to be used indoors or out, it has the look and feel of an old school lock. But the red rubber cap on the bottom gives it away. The cap covers the micro USB port used to charge the lock’s internal battery and the button used to rouse the unit from “sleep mode”.

The lock can be paired with any Bluetooth enabled smart device that has the LockSmart app on it. Once paired, it can be opened by keying in a pass code, using Touch ID or Fingerprint, or by pushing the shackle into the lock when it’s set to proximity mode. In all instances the smart device must be within 15 meters of lock for Bluetooth to connect.

It’s great that there is no key to carry or combination to remember but if this was all the lock could do it would not be that interesting. The best thing about it is that you can share access by providing others with a “digital key.” This can be done by opening the app and texting an invitation to a recipient who has the app on their phone—if they don’t have it they can get it via a link in the text. 

The owner of the lock can grant that person unlimited access, one-time access, or access on a fixed schedule—with or without an expiration date. Access can be revoked at any time. Keys can be shared with multiple recipients, each with their own level of access.

The app can control multiple locks, which can be identified by the name of your choice or an uploaded photo of where they are located. The owner can receive text notifications or use an activity log to track who has accessed the lock and when.

According to Dog and Bone, a fully charged battery is good for 2 years or 3,000 opens. The app will alert you to the lock’s state of charge. A depleted battery can be recharged from any device that can supply 2 amps of power to a mini USB cord. It takes two hours to fully charge a battery but a few minutes of charging should be enough to get the lock open.

Google has hired Kate Lanphear to oversee its new search product for fashion week.

According to WWD, the new product “includes a searchable calendar of shows, a feed of relevant stories and social media posts from featured designers and influencers.”

Lanphear previously served as editor of Maxim. Lanphear stepped down from that post late last year.

In addition to her role at Google, Lanphear is serving as a contributing editor for The Editorialist.

Go Ahead Tours is looking for a Designer to join our team, working at our Boston headquarters. Reporting to the Art Director, you’ll be an integral part of our creative team. You’ll work closely with writers, other designers and business stakeholders to create a holistic experience for a direct to consumer brand.

View the full design job here