#solves a non-problem

[f---nobaddesign]

Dumb ‘Smart’ Gadgets: The Bubble Is Set to Burst

http://www.wsj.com/articles/dumb-smart-gadgets-the-bubble-is-set-to-burst-1430693801?mod=e2fb

Mr. Evans’s pan is further along—he is already at the manufacturing stage—and does one thing that is genuinely useful. It can tell you the precise temperature of the pan. But rather than providing a readout in, say, the handle of the pan, Pantelligent’s pan can only tell you through your smartphone, to which it connects wirelessly.

But I also found the logic of nearly all of these startups —that their first connected object was just the start of something bigger, an entire “ecosystem” of connected objects—to be informed more by their ambition than the needs of the consumer.

No one I talked to seemed to fully appreciate the additional complexity they might be introducing into their users’ lives. Do I really want to check a bar-graph infested dashboard of my weekly eating activity, which is a “feature” of the world’s first smart fork? And what about the fact that every smart object I add to my life means one more device to keep charged?

and check out weputachipinit !

[f---nobaddesign]

Not only does it address a non-problem, but the designers apparently assume that a hammer is not swung in an arc, but moved linearly, parallel to the hammer head.

I don't think the designers should be designing anything, but more than that, I don't think their professors should be teaching design. This is horrendous.

[f---nobaddesign]

This is gross and it's dumb.  Assume that everyone who uses the toilet also has to wash their hands.  Putting the sink over the toilet incurs these new problems:

The user now ties up the stall for longer. The purported space saving is entirely undone by this factor.

If hand-dryers / napkins are not installed in the stalls, then users will have to open the doors with wet hands.

Making something move means you've added something else that can break.

Also,the greywater issue could be handled without actually combining sinks and toilets.

[f---nobaddesign]

(via BBC - Future - Technology - The egg box that updates a humble yet classic design)

An amazing 'update' that manages to fix a couple of non-problems and introduces a bunch more. Let's take these in turn:

Flat packing. No. Existing egg cartons already flat-stack when empty. Yes, the new design saves a little space, but it's not nearly as much as one might think.

Boxes do not adjust to size of eggs, part 1: Who cares?! Eggs are sorted by size at the factory!!!

Boxes do not adjust to size of eggs, part 2: This update doesn't account for more than two different egg sizes anyways, and they have to be in separate rows. Consumer eggs come in at least four different sizes in the US...

Eggs can't be seen inside traditional carton... unless you open the carton like everyone does at the store! And if that's too hard, Land of Lakes sells eggs in an egg carton that's functionally identical to the traditional one but made of clear plastic!

The update depends on a rubber band to hold the carton closed enough to protect the eggs. So how awkward is it going to be to remove the last egg from a row?

Also, can the rubber band even keep enough tension on the carton once it's half-empty?