Posts in Future Tech

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Get your kitchen tap into gear with the +Shifter

Juniper Foo | Jan 12, 2009

(Credit: Shen Di/Yanko Design)

Design savvy is about clever little ideas like this. Designer Shen Di's +Shifter faucet taps on the idea of a gearbox from a premium sportscar, turning this into an instant conversation piece for the home. The brushed black metal and copper faceplate's luxurious look ought to prepare you for future sticker shock should this make it into production. Still, it's an idea worth following up since this marries clever design with water conservation, as each gear ratio equates to the amount of water flowing out. Of course, that feeling that you're tied to the kitchen sink will never be truer since you'll need a sink to match, which in turn means regular elbow grease just to keep all that expensive investment looking sparkling new.
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Filed under: Future Tech, Gadgets
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Charge your gadgets without a powercord

Wayne Cunningham | Jan 09, 2009

A cell phone and flashlight get charged sitting in this car console.
(Credit: Leggett and Platt)

Imagine dropping your cell phone and MP3 player into a special pocket in the console of your car, and having them automatically charge up. Leggett and Platt, an automotive parts supplier, is using technology from Fulton Innovation that makes this scenario a reality. Fulton's ECouple technology lets devices charge up wirelessly, just by setting them down on a special charging surface. At CES, Leggett and Platt is showing various applications of this technology, including a car console with special pockets to recharge a BlackBerry and a flashlight. The company also has a Bosch power toolbox that automatically charges a wireless drill and saw.

This Bosch toolbox recharges the tools it holds.
(Credit: Leggett and Platt)

Of course, the devices being charged need to have an ECouple element that can receive the power from a charging surface, so you can't currently throw any old device in and have it get charged up. But Leggett and Platt is already releasing some in-car power tool charging boxes for commercial use. The charging surfaces come in three power levels: Low is for devices less than 5 watts, medium can handle 100 watt charging, and high power charging surfaces can produce kilowatts. These charging surfaces are harmless to touch, and a Leggett and Platt representative assured us there were no dangerous radiation levels.

You won't see this technology in consumer cars any time soon, but it does have promise, as long as device makers integrate the ECouple technology.

Via CNET.com

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Microsoft outlines pay-per-use PC vision

David Meyer | Jan 01, 2009

Microsoft has applied for a patent on metered, pay-as-you-go computing.

US patent application number 20080319910, published on Christmas Day, details Microsoft's vision of a situation where a "standard model" of PC is given away or heavily subsidized by someone in the supply chain. The end user then pays to use the computer, with charges based on both the length of usage time and the performance levels utilized, along with a "one-time charge."

Microsoft notes in the application that the end user could end up paying more for the computer, compared with the one-off cost entailed in the existing PC business model, but argues the user would benefit by having a PC with an extended "useful life."
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Filed under: Future Tech, PC & Peripherals
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