Posts in Lifestyle

Portable Pod Home

Juniper Foo | Jul 28, 2004

Imagine a whole population of pod homes bobbing up and down the Singapore River, up for grabs. It'll no doubt solve the land scarcity issue, but we're not quite sure if we'd want to share our backyard (or dockyard) so intimately with our nearest pod neighbor or have those yellow rubber duckies invade our turf come the bizarre annual Million Dollar Duck Race. Polish-born architect Marcin Panpuch envisions his floating pod fitted with solar panels and retractable screens for privacy, and split into three floors built around a core containing spiral staircase, kitchen, bathroom and toilets. The bottom lies beneath the river surface and can be utilized for storage, water tanks, heating and computer equipment. The spherical shape apparently minimizes the surface area of the house, cutting down heat loss to the environment. Whether it'll prove seaworthy is quite something else.

Price: Est. to cost from £20,000 to £30,000 (US$36,427 to US$54,640) to build
Availability: N.A.
Device: Concept portable home
Basic specs: Clear spherical pods that float, photovoltaic solar cells, water tank, amenities for a home

Filed under: Future Tech, Lifestyle
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mp3blue Jacket

Juniper Foo | Jul 27, 2004

From reel to real, tech firms are doing the most amazing things to fabric a la Jackie Chan's Tuxedo. Today's technology-driven garments make phone calls, play music and do just about anything short of microwave your food. And who knows when that'll happen. The latest performance threads by German chip firm Infineon follows along the same lines as the multi-versatile Scott eVest, but ups the ante with a built-in sleeve keyboard and Bluetooth unit. A music system in the Rosner mp3blue jacket's electrically conductive material doubles as a headset when a phone call is made or received. Even as we write, word is Infineon is now working on a smart carpet embedded with microchips and sensors.

Price: 600 euros (US$728.50)
Availability: August 1
Device: Fabric with embedded electronic circuitry
Basic specs: Jacket with removable hood, built-in 128MB memory module Bluetooth gateway for phones, integrated Seinheiser headset, mic in collar, textile keyboard on the left sleeve, MP3 module holder, rechargeable 8-hour battery.

Filed under: Lifestyle
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MetroNap Pods

Juniper Foo | Jul 16, 2004

The idea of noon-time siesta in workaholic Asia is probably as alien as, well, our pungent century egg is to the Eskimos. So it's interesting to learn that on the other side of the globe, specifically New York, one company MetroNap has developed sleep facilities in Empire State Building. For US$14 a pop, stressed-out cubicle dwellers can walk into a quiet, darkened room filled with pod-like chairs for 20-minute power naps. White noise machines block out ambient noise, while sleepers lie cocooned within the reclining seats, blankets covering their legs and music piped into headphones. These plush spherical cradles gently wake up the sleeper with a combination of vibrations and light. If the idea of power naps sounds attractive, the company also sells and leases its Pods. That said, don't let your boss catch you snoozing at your desk.

Price: From US$7,950
Availability: New York City
Device: Sleep pods
Basic specs: Reclining function, timer activated light and vibration, optional ambient sound system and privacy visor

Filed under: Lifestyle
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