Hasta La Ideas

A while back we were forced to perform a disc drive transplant, since the old drive started making horrible dying noises. Our computer mechanic guessed the old drive was just worn out mechanically. This event came to mind when we read about Samsung’s new Solid State Drive, a flash memory without moving parts that cannot crash. At least not mechanically. SSD is not just mechanically safe, it is also faster than any disc drive, and the allow laptops to be built smaller lighter and quieter. The only problem is that SSDs do not yet have the capacity of disc drives. But with this memory Samsung has managed to join together several flash memory units and have reached 64GB. Another step on the way to finally retiring disc drives. brbr

Everybody knows you should apply pressure to stop a severe blood flow, for instance from a nasty cut or a bullet wound. But applying a tourniquet has never been as easy as it sounds, in particular if you are the one that has been wounded. The device in the picture, MAT (Mechanical Advantage Tourniquet), has been developed to help solve this, and it could prove to be a life saver. It is simple to apply, just hook it up around the injured limb, tighten, and turn the dial until the flow of blood is stopped. The MAT won a gold medal in IDEA 2006 in the medical products category, but the best thing is really that it is relatively cheap (about USD 35:-) and re-usable. More on the Ewing Design Group site and with Cybertech Medical. brbr

Am I Collective illustrated this series of posters for Ogilvy & Mather / MTV South Africa.

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It is New Zealand company Travelsafe that has come up with this multi function alarm they call Cavius (possibly from latin caveat, meaning warning). As a luggage alarm it uses a motion sensor, as fire alarm an optical smoke detector, and as an attack alarm you will have to push the red button yourself. It has a 130 dB siren, and it could be an alternative to using different devices for luggage protection, fire warning and door safety. It is USD 70:- on Cavius’ own website.brbr

The most fun with carpentry is wielding a powerful nail-gun. But there are of course moments when the good old hammer still is the best tool. And in those cases there is always the risk of accidentally hitting oneself on a finger or two. So, to avoid this, perhaps the Nail Assist (concept) may be just the thing. Place the nail in the holder, the holder against the wall, pull out and bang away. The holder will keep the nail against the wall, and protect your pinkies at the same time. Now, this method may be slightly slower than the more straight forward thumb-and-forfinger approach but if you are in the habit of hitting yourself… Design Michael Harris.brbr