Medical devices are among the subtlest, trickiest design problems to solve: we only encounter them when we're frightened or sick, and they often look like science fiction torture machines. But what if an assistive device, like a respirator or a dialysis machine, were cuddleable -- and alive itself?
We know it's a bit past season for this, what with spring weather springing (and then some), but we couldn't resist: Paris-based 5.5 Designers have designed a line of heaters that's so gorgeous, you'll wish it were Snowpocalypse all over again.
![Crotchety Old Furniture Becomes Gorgeous New Platform For Plants [Slideshow]](/multisite_files/codesign/imagecache/642x368/article_feature/DaMortoaOrto_lede.jpg "Crotchety Old Furniture Becomes Gorgeous New Platform For Plants [Slideshow]")
If you're stuck with furniture that's been collecting dust in your attic since the Eisenhower administration -- or even just a terribly unhip old rug your mom forced you schlep to college -- you might want to take a lesson from Peter Bottazzi and Denise Bonapace. The Italian design pair recently hacked what could pass for an estate sale's worth of disused tables, chairs, windows, and other household miscellany, and transformed them into whimsical little monuments to the great outdoors.
Here at Co.Design, we like Rem Koolhaas so much we could eat him. Now -- thank the archigods! -- we can.
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![UPenn Engineering Students Design The Ultimate High-Tech Bike [Video]](/multisite_files/codesign/imagecache/642x368/article_feature/Crappy-Image-Of-Bike.jpg "UPenn Engineering Students Design The Ultimate High-Tech Bike [Video]")
Geek cyclists, eat your heart out: engineering students at UPenn have reached inside your collective consciousness and pulled out the stuff of dreams to create Alpha, a concept bike so sleek and tech'd out you'll gladly cut off a pinky just to take one ride on it.
There are enough musical-instrument apps to fill an orchestra, converting iPhones and iPads into everything from pocket pianos to trombones. But the new NodeBeat doesn't just ape another instrument; it transforms your iPad into a miniature, interactive music generator.
Developed by Seth Sandler and Justin Windle, NodeBeat was inspired by Bloom--a blockbuster app from Brian Eno, the ambient-music guru, with the developer Peter Chilvers--that allows users to create hypnotic sounds (and accompanying colored circles that grow and fade like ripples in a pond) by tapping the screen:
Written by: Gadi Amit
In the world of service providers, the last few years have been defined by a struggle to capture the home triple play: Selling consumers internet, phone, and TV services in one package, with Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast all offering deals to buy all three services.
Meanwhile, Apple has worked diligently to define a new triple play of its own. Apple is now closer than ever to offering a unique combination of home computing, back-end web support, and entertainment services.
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