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BEAF is an Innovation Agency that takes a consumer-centred approach to assist organisations deliver sustainable business growth.

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IBM’s predictions all involve big data and using computing to glean intelligence from vast systems. We discuss them with IBM’s research boss. December 20, 2013 at 05:31PM

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LEGO-Like Set Enables Homeowners To Build Customizable Appliances [Pics] LEGO-LIKE SET ENABLES HOMEOWNERS TO BUILD CUSTOMIZABLE APPLIANCES

In an effort to create more sustainable electronic devices, Eindhoven-based designer Weilun Tseng has developed a system of modular pieces that can be combined in different ways to create various household appliances. The collection of modular pieces not only makes it easy to replace broken parts and recombine old ones into new appliances, but it also reduces the overall amount of waste created by damaged and obsolete appliances.

The system is called “Open E-Components” and the various electronic building elements include a rotating module, lighting module, air-heating module, liquid-heating module, and warming module, all of which can be pieced together like LEGO bricks. Each of these components can function independently or be combined with supporting parts, creating endless possibilities for producing, repairing and adapting to the owner’s requirements.

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Extracting Editable Objects from a Single Photo, allows for low-fidelity, super rapid prototyping.

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Phonebloks. A phone worth keeping.

Incredible idea. Take that built-in obsolescence!

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The ChargeCard

 Few tech products are actually as portable as they claim to be. A hardware design team from San Francisco is out to make things right with tools designed for the "modern nomad."

By reducing a USB cable down to its core elements, the team created the ChargeCard. It's a thin smartphone cable—perfect for charging and synching—that's designed to fit in your wallet. The cable is width of just two credit cards and is flexible to allow for plug access. There are ChargeCards for the iPhone 4/4S and 5, as well as for Androids and everything else suited for a microUSB.

The ChargeCard is available at Photojojo for $25.

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Fi looks at the possible future of the airline website.

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Forebruary

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Forebruary is a wall calendar that you do not need to replace. Ever. The movable frame above the surface contains every month needed. The red stripe is not just decoration but highlights the weekend, by Ilya Birman.

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Canary is a beautifully designed device that contains an HD video camera and multiple sensors that track everything from motion, temperature and air quality to vibration, sound, and activity in your home.

Controlled entirely from your iPhone or Android, Canary alerts you when it senses anything out of the ordinary — from sudden temperature changes that can indicate a fire, to the sound and movement that could mean an intrusion. Instantly receive, view and act on the alerts wherever you are. And over time, Canary learns your home’s rhythms to send you smarter alerts.

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SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT SHOES MADE FROM TYVEK

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Would you believe a pair of comfortable shoes could be made out of Tyvek paper and weigh less than 150 grams each?

Well Unbelievable Testing Laboratory has proved it with their limited-edition, “impossibly light” Light Wing trainers. 

Check out the full story here.

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Break Dance

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Break Dance Not Hearts by Josh Reichlin.

Cotton Bureau is a new service that takes the pain out of t-shirts for designers. Designers can submit a shirt design, and if CB likes it they put it on the site. If at least 25 people people pre-order, the shirt will go to press. Cotton Bureau handles all the printing malarky, and they split the profits with the designer, fair and square.

Nice business model.

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IBM's Smarter Cities Billboard Campaign

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Apple explaining their evolving design philosophy.

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The key to consumerism is consume less, but consume better, according to Yvon Chouinard  founder of Patagonia. Again it is all about keeping things simple. 

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PAPER-COVERED DESK ENCOURAGES WORKERS TO JOT DOWN THEIR IDEAS

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Minneapolis-based designer Kirsten Camara created a wooden desk for people to record their lists, notes and doodles. The Analogue Memory Desk has two circular handles and a surface that lets the user jot down their thoughts onto a reel of paper.

The desk is made out of hard maple, 1,100 yards of butcher paper and a glass panel.

  Kirsten Camara

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Motorola Shows Off Electronic Tattoo and Vitamin Authentication “Password” Pill

At the D11 conference, Regina Dugan, Senior Vice President for advanced technology and projects at Motorola, showed off some… well, advanced projects.

The first was a prototype electronic tattoo, which she quipped “teenagers might not want to wear a watch, but you can be sure they’ll wear a tattoo just to piss off their parents.” The second technology was the real show stealer: a pill from Proteus Digital Health that you can swallow and which is then powered by the acid in your stomach. Once ingested, it creates an 18-bit signal in your body — and thereby makes your entire person an “authentication token.” Dugan called it “vitamin authentication.”

Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside added that the Proteus pill has already been approved by the FDA. 

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Share a can with Coca-Cola.

The soft drink company has always put a strong emphasis on the idea of sharing – in addition to their recent “Share A Coke” campaign, Coca-Cola has also introduced a can that can be shared between two people – by pulling it apart.

Awesome work, Coca-Cola and Ogilvy.

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COLGATE PATENTING CAFFEINE-RELEASING TOOTHBRUSH

Dentists recommend brushing at least twice a day, but would you consider brushing more often if you got a boost of caffeine or a taste of apple?

In a recently published patent application, Colgate-Palmolive is looking to gain intellectual property rights over a ‘toothbrush that releases a chemical into the mouth during use.’ According to the patent, the new toothbrush would have a special patch on the back of the head with a toothpaste that releases flavouring and chemicals.

While the patch hasn't yet been approved, Colgate is also exploring other flavouring options like mint, lemon, other fruits, and pain relief chemicals in addition to caffeine.

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