Practically everyone with a home theatre surround sound system have their speakers on the windowsill, bolted to the walls or on stands on the floor. This seldom does one’s home decoration any good, and the speaker stands take up floor-space. If you are looking for a more elegant solution, we might suggest these smart powered remote controlled ceiling speakers. They can be dropped down and rotated by pushing buttons on a remote control. It is not a cheap deal, though, the speakers are about SEK 8.000:- (approx. USD 1,200:-). A piece, we suppose. From Altavox.brbr

It is called the Pasta Pot and it is one of the new releases from Alessi. The pot has been developed and designed by designer Patrick Jouin working with chef Alain Ducasse. The basic idea is that you should cook the pasta and the pasta sauce in the same pot, at the same time, and then serve from the Pasta Pot. That is why the pot comes with both its own specially designed trivet and the integrated ladle. Chef Alain Ducasse has also worked out some new recipes for pasta dishes especially for the new pot and method of cooking. We have not seen the pot in any brick-and-mortar stores, but it is GBP 118:- (about USD 238:-) on Amazon UK.brbr

We have gone to Gotland on vacation, but that does no longer mean that the Smart Stuff site needs to go silent. With new tech, an expanded 3G net (and some cash) we can now be online in the country, aboard the boat, in the car, on the bus… well, you name it. With our new wireless modem we can connect to the internet, e-mail and FTP everywhere where 3 has coverage. We have tested numerous places; on the train, the bus, on the dock in Nynäshamn, and now in Havdhem, Gotland. There was no problem installing and setting up. The 3 plan is SEK 99:- (approx. USD 15:-) a month for 0,384 Mbit/s and SEK 199:- (about USD 29:-) a month for 3,6 Mbit/s. With the 0,3 Mbit plan they charge for traffic above 1 GB a month. Both plans also charge SEK 99:- (about USD 15:-) a month for the modem or PC card, but you could also buy it for SEK 1.495:- (about USD 217:-).brbr

During the past couple of days, we have made two discoveries. The first is we have found that the Benjamin Franklin chair and stepladder (A) is available in Sweden, too. They call it Sally, but its origins seem Franklinesque to us. Available from Nils Holger for SEK 1.795:- (approx. USD 260:-). The other is that the Rusta stores now sell a foldable wheel barrow (B) that we posted on earlier, or at least one like it. It is SEK 99:-, (approx. USD 14:40) which has to be considered reasonable since the U.S. version was about USD 145:- when we saw it last.brbr

Researchers from British universities, the charity organization Practical Action, American Los Alamos National Laboratory and the hi-fi company GP Acoustics have cooperated in constructing a revolutionary device that is a stove, a fridge and an electric generator all in one. The machine uses thermo acoustics, a spin off technology from space research that can transform the energy in sound waves to electrical power. The super stove channels the heat from a fire into a specially designed chimney, where gas pressure creates sound. The sound is transformed into electrical current via a linear alternator (described as an inverted loudspeaker) and powers the fridge, a computer, a mobile charger or any number of electrical devices. The stove project, SCORE, is so far a concept, but scientists hope to have a pilot rig for trials within four years.brbr