Fake Steve Jobs:

Yes, there will be a backlash. Wait until you see what the mobile phone guys have planned. Like Nokia. God love those Finns, but they never met a button or a switch that they could resist. They’ll load their devices up with every possible feature and they’ll create a software interface that nobody can understand, and for reasons I don’t understand, weird people all over Europe (the artsy kind wearing too-small jackets and scarves wrapped around their necks) will embrace this clusterfuck of useless features and impossible operating design as a new breakthrough.

Not us, though. We’re going to keep driving toward even greater minimalism. My goal is to have zero buttons. Zero visible screws. Just nothing at all on the outside. Perfectly smooth surfaces. Remember the Pet Rock craze in the ’70s? That was a huge inspiration for me. People spent a fortune buying those little rocks, just because everyone else around them was doing it too. Huge lesson in that and it led directly to the founding of Apple in 1977. My pet rock — I call him Frank, after Frank Gehry — still sits on the desk at my office. Kind of a reminder of what our company is all about.

Bruce Sterling

Yeah, it’s incredible how much power [the real Steve] Jobs has, isn’t it? Even when his company’s on the ropes, if he says, “It’ll be translucent, blob-shaped and in lickable candy-colors,” people from Toledo to Taiwan just go for it. Whereas, if an iPod or iPhone’s got no buttons, all of a sudden buttons are like leprosy. You can “backlash” the Reality Distortion Field, but you’re better off not trying.

Projects Watch Designer Daniel Will-Harris

Minimalist designs like the iPhone are quite beautiful, but also, in a way, invisible. They become frames to the content. But fashions in design are always evolving, and what’s cool now may look dated, or at least “not new” in a few years.

I see a time when devices have a standard core of electronics designed to be placed into a wide design of cases tailored to your specific needs and desires. These cases would be offered by the device manufacturer, and also by third-parties who are given the open specs for creating a case. Think software skins, but as hardware. You could get a custom device case that specifically is molded to your grip, or is shaped like your favourite pet pygmy hamster. Maybe you want your device to be made of waterproof soft orange silicone, or milled out of hard cold malachite.

Now with rapid prototyping machines [and other new techniques], mass production doesn’t have to mean endless sameness, it can mean endless variety. Sure, there will always be those who want what Madonna is carrying (and knockoffs will be easier and cheaper than ever). But customisation and personalisation will let you make devices more uniquely your own.

Yves Behar, head of fuseproject design firm:

Rather than going with a trend—minimalism vs. a more showy design—we’re gonna get much more diversity. Companies will have the opportunity to be unique. The hope here is that there is opportunity that is taken by tech companies to create their own direction, create their own ethos recognisable, one from the other. Wired Magazine created something like this from the start, a unique look. Whether you like fluorescent colours or not, it’s that kind of individualism or uniqueness, eclecticism. Hopefully this is something we’ll see happening more. Living in a trend-driven environment with everything being matchy matchy isn’t very interesting.

Trust us on this one. If the designer included a miniature dog pouch, we’d reconsider. [diddovelema via techdigest]

These desk lights are made of genuine, disused (we hope), moped parts. They are designed individually to exact customer requirements. Yes, you guessed it, they are not cheap; prices range from $1772 – $2044. You cannot put a price on high fashion, made of junkyard scraps or not! The fittings are all the real deal, apart from the lamp itself; a road legal light on your bedside table would probably be better at blinding you. Not much use when you need light to read that terrible Dan Brown book all your friends think is so cool.

If you are thinking of whipping your wallet out, do not do it. Instead, take it out in a calm manner and call Mr. Leopardi, tell him you have just taken your wallet out in a cool and collected fashion and would very much wish to purchase one of his splendid lighting products. We offer you this good advice because Mr. Leopardi, who builds these fantastic artworks, does so from scratch. He takes his sweet time too, possibly because they are expertly crafted and they take ages to get down to perfection. Alternatively, it could be because Mr. Leopardi is in fact a big-time gangster and does not like to be rushed. We can deduce this from our astute observations that all gangsters enjoy the finer things in life and have names ending in vowels. Who would have thought the Godfather would have been such a great learning resource? (The last comment was a joke; Mr. Leopardi is not a gangster in any underworld, he is a colloquial gangster because his lamps are so cool he makes other lamp designers look like poo. Lawsuit averted). [Product Page via Shiny Shiny]

On the other hand (arm?), we hear these S+arck watches are more of the “just a pretty face” variety, because their innards are cheap as a dime store windup toy. But for some, appearances are everything. No pricing was announced, but Fossil says these models will show up on its website this fall. [Technabob]

“Simply put, people like light and illuminations – it just enhances any accessory; especially in Japan, where it gets dark so early.

For example, mobiles are just so part of our daily lives now and they have become very accessoried in trying to be unique and user-friendly with their displays. I think watches are just another accessory and LED lights give off an illumination everyone enjoys. The lights are like those small insects in the night, those bugs that can light up.”

What ever man, all we care about is that you keep coming out with more watch designs like the Scope.[PingMag Photos by PingMag]

The new Horizon stereo and surround sound systems come in Midnight with Onyx grilles or Mist with Silver grilles, but can be tricked out with six other grille colors using the Boston Acoustic “Personal Options Plan”: in addition to Onyx and Silver, you can get Glacier, Rosebud, Pearl Gray, Caramel, Chocolat and Chili Pepper. Prices range from a couple hundred for a pair to $800 for a full-on deluxe 5.1 setup.

Cooler still, the small indoor/outdoor SoundWare speakers ($100 a piece) can mount in all sorts of places, angling every which way. They come in seven colors, and can be painted whatever color you damn well please.

Great Sound Gets an Exciting New Shape With Launch of Boston Acoustics “SoundWare” Loudspeakers

– Indoor/Outdoor Speakers Feature Unique Shape and One-of-a-Kind Mounting Bracket for Unprecedented Placement Flexibility –

Peabody, MA, August 13, 2007 — Boston Acoustics, Inc., a world-renowned manufacturer of high performance loudspeakers, has taken a fresh look at great sound with the introduction of its innovative and space-saving new SoundWare loudspeaker. The all-purpose 2-way SoundWare indoor/outdoor speaker offers an unprecedented range of easy and flexible mounting options, and makes it possible to enjoy high-performance audio in new and exciting ways. Ideal for use in restaurants, retail stores, homes, smaller apartments and even by outdoor entertainers, SoundWare speakers are a unique combination of sonic performance, space efficiency and application flexibility.

Enjoy the Amazing Disappearing Loudspeaker…
SoundWare speakers are designed to literally disappear into a surrounding d̩cor if desired. Thanks to its unique shape and one-of-a-kind internal mounting bracket, a SoundWare speaker can be placed virtually anywhere Рflush in a corner, flat on a wall, flat on a table or angled up 30 or 45 degrees on a flat surface. The 2 included brackets mount the speaker just 1 cm from any flat surface or flush in a corner. When mounted flush on a wall, the speaker can be articulated down or sideways to provide the ideal sonic angle.

Or Make It Stand Out with “Paint-Ready” Surfaces and Multiple Color Options…
For consumers who want to customize the look of their SoundWare speakers to stand out or complement the décor of any environment, they feature paint-ready cabinet surfaces. Additionally, they’re available in seven colors, including Black, White, Silver, Just Red, Bamboo, Natural and Espresso.

Each SoundWare loudspeaker features a 4 ½-inch driver and a powerful 3/4″ tweeter built into the high-tech plastic cabinet. Built from durable weather resistant materials, SoundWare offers a new level of space efficiency and placement flexibility for either indoor or outdoor soundscaping. For commercial applications there is a “Safety bar” on one of the speaker surfaces allowing for secondary independent security mounting if desired.

Noted Eli Harary, Boston Acoustics Sr. Vice-President & General Manager: “To create SoundWare, our design engineers basically went back to the drawing board to rethink what a loudspeaker can or should look like, and how it can integrate into any location. SoundWare literally means, ‘great sound anywhere,’ and that’s exactly what the speakers offer. Without compromising on performance or quality, we’ve created a new type of speaker that provides consumers with placement options and ways to enjoy great sound that they’ve never imagined before. They can be installed into a corner, on the middle of a wall, where the wall meets the ceiling, outdoors and under eaves minimizing their visibility, or even behind a couch facing straight up for total invisibility as a great surround speaker.”

Boston Acoustics SoundWare loudspeakers will be available this month for a suggested retail price of only $ 99.99 each.

Ushering in a New Era of Form and Function with Extraordinary Performance, Boston Acoustics Introduces Horizon,
a New Range of Stereo and Home Theater Products

– Elegantly Designed High-Performance Speakers Range from Compact Bookshelf to Floorstanding Models, Powered Subwoofers and More –

Peabody, MA, August 13, 2007 — Boston Acoustics, Inc., a world-renowned manufacturer of high-performance loudspeakers and entertainment products, is combining loudspeaker form and function in an elegant new way with the upcoming introduction of its Boston “Horizon” Series loudspeakers. Created with keen attention to aesthetic detail and design, Boston’s Horizon speakers offer consumers a way to enjoy no-compromise audio performance while complementing the décor of virtually any room in the home.

The Boston Acoustics Horizon Series includes a range of ten different speaker sizes and configurations, from compact bookshelf models to full-sized floor-standing units to home theater LCR models and powered subwoofers. The line includes the following models: HS 40 4.5″ 2-way bookshelf (SRP: $99.99); HS 50 5.25″ 2-way bookshelf (SRP: $129.99); HS 60 6.5″ 2-way bookshelf (SRP: $149.99); HS 225 Dual 5.25″ 2-way LCR (SRP: $249.99); HS 450 dual 5.25″ 2-way floor standing (SRP $299.95); and HS 460 dual 6.5″ 2-way floor-standing (SRP: $399.95), as well an 8-inch wireless powered subwoofer, HPS 8Wi (SRP: $399.95), and three powered subwoofers, the 10″ HPS10 SE (SRP: $299.99), HPS 10HO (SRP: $399.99) and 12″ HPS 12HO (SRP: $499.99), with 150-, 250- and 300-watt built-in amplifiers respectively.

Horizon Speakers Look Great and “Play Smartâ„¢”
Boston Acoustics’ Horizon Series loudspeakers exemplify the company’s new Play Smartâ„¢ attitude and design philosophy, combining an element of design fun with extraordinary performance and sonic accuracy. From their soft-touch painted finish (all speakers are available in either mist with silver grilles or midnight with Onyx grilles) and integrated color coordinated rubber trim to their leading-edge audio technologies, Horizon speakers are designed to literally sound as good as they look. With their elegantly slim profiles and the soft smooth radiuses of their back cabinets, Boston Horizon Series speakers complement the décor of any room and offer no-compromise audio excellence.

“Make It Your Own” with Boston’s Personal Option Plan (P.O.P.)
To make it easy for customers to express their personal taste and style and individualize the look of their Boston Horizon loudspeakers, they all feature Boston Acoustics’ new P.O.P.(Personal Option Plan) design concept. P.O.P. lets users customize the look of their product using easily removable cloth grilles that are available in a wide variety of colors, including Glacier, Rosebud, Onyx, Pearl Gray, Caramel, Chocolat, Silver, and Chili Pepper. To purchase a new grille, customers can simply visit the Boston Acoustics website www.bostonacoustics.com/POP) and select the color of their choice or contact those dealers that will be stocking the grille color options.

Leading-Edge Technologies for Sonic Performance
Horizon loudspeakers are designed to excel in a wide range of listening applications, including both powerful home theater and advanced stereo and multi-channel music reproduction. Advanced technologies ensure excellence in audio reproduction. For example, a barely noticeable phase plug pole piece extension in all Horizon drivers improves
performance and clarity, soft-dome tweeters in all models deliver crystalline sound, and 5-way gold-plated binding posts ensure purity of signal transfer in all speaker connections.

Total Convenience Placement Flexibility
The small footprint choices of the bookshelf and LCR models in the Horizon line are ideal for placement on bookshelves, side tables, and desktops, and the dual-woofer LCR speaker is specifically designed to complement flat-panel video displays. All feature design-integrated wall-mounting brackets and adjustable footing that affords maximum placement flexibility. In addition to their 1″ soft-dome tweeters and dual woofers, they incorporate both dual passive radiators as well as rear ports for incredible bass extension and output. And for easy portability and placement, both the HS 450 and HS 460 speakers feature integrated footings and a convenient recessed carrying handle.

Boston’s Horizon Series Powered Subwoofers
The four subwoofers in Boston’s Horizon Series provide powerful deep bass response. All are front firing, rear-ported configurations that feature amplifier-mounted controls (level, phase, auto power, line level input, LFE input) for maximum flexibility and customizable sound. Boston’s Deep Channel Design (DCD) technology ensures dramatic and powerful bass performance. Boston Acoustics Horizon Series loudspeakers and the optional P.O.P. cloth grilles are scheduled for shipment to retailers in October 2007.

Boston Acoustics Debuts Two High-Performance Horizon Series 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Loudspeaker Systems
– Uniquely Styled Compact Systems Make It Easy to Add Dynamic, Room-Filling Surround Sound to Any Room in the House -
Peabody, MA, August 13, 2007 — Boston Acoustics, Inc., a world-renowned manufacturer of high performance loudspeakers and entertainment products, is making great multi-channel music and home theater surround sound simpler and more stylish with the upcoming introduction of its two new Horizon Series 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Loudspeaker Systems, Models MCS 130 (SRP: $799.99) and MCS 100 (SRP: $499.99).

Both Boston Horizon Series systems are designed to give consumers an easy way to add the dynamics and excitement of room-filling multi-channel audio to their home entertainment. In addition to their leading-edge sound reproduction technologies, the new systems feature a variety of design enhancements and aesthetic touches, such as gently contoured speaker cabinets and color-coordinated rubber trim, providing a stylish alternative to traditional surround sound speaker systems.

“Play Smartâ„¢” with Boston P.O.P.
Both systems feature the Boston Personal Options Plan (P.O.P.) design concept, which makes it easy for customers to express their personal taste and style and individualize the look of their systems. With P.O.P., owners can customize the look of their product using easily removable cloth grilles that are available in a wide variety of colors, including Glacier, Rosebud, Onyx, Pearl Gray, Caramel, Chocolat, Silver, and Chili Pepper. To purchase a new grille, customers can simply visit the Boston Acoustics website www.bostonacoustics.com/POP) and select the color of their choice or contact those dealers who will be stocking the grille color options. Like all Boston Horizon loudspeakers, the new systems are available in a choice of two soft touch painted finishes, either Midnight with Onyx grilles or Mist with Silver grilles. All speakers feature integrated wall-mounting brackets and adjustable table-top footings for total installation flexibility.

Great Sound Never Looked So Good!
The Boston Horizon Series systems stand apart from all other products in the 5.1-channel speaker system category for their combination of high-performance and unique styling. Leading-edge Boston Acoustics sonic technologies, including soft dome tweeters, mid bass drivers and powerful subwoofers, ensure dynamic audio reproduction. The MC 130 features 3 LCR speakers with 1-inch tweeters and dual 3.5-inch mid bass drivers, 2 surround speakers with 1-inch tweeters and 3.5-inch mid bass drivers as well as a 10-inch down-firing, 200-watt powered subwoofer. The MCS 100 features 4 satellite speakers with ¾-inch tweeters and 3-inch drivers, one center channel speaker with ¾-inch tweeters and dual 3-inch mid bass drivers, and an 8-inch, 100-watt powered subwoofer. 5-way binding posts on the MCS130 system ensure pure signal transfer, and all system speakers feature rear ports and (Reduced Baffle Diffraction Design (RBDD) for wider, smoother dispersion. The subwoofers have Deep Channel™ Design for more bass from less amplifier power. The new Boston Horizon Series MCS systems and the accompanying P.O.P. cloth grills are scheduled for delivery in late September 2007.

Both models are based on the three-inch Executive-Type knife, with a nail file and nail cleaner, orange peeler with screwdriver, ring and tweezers alongside a couple of blades (ah, so that’s what executives do, hang out in the office having manicures and feeding orange pigs to each other. Best not think about what they do with the tweezers, eh?).

With around four carats of flawless diamonds—that’s 430 stones—each knife comes with a gold or platinum chain so you can hang it round your neck and show everyone just what a tool you are. The yellow gold version will set you back $50,000, and the platinum one $70,000. [VIctorinox Swiss Army]