An Introduction to Firefox’s Tab Candy from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Ever since these videos started hitting the web a few days ago I have been trying to wrap my head around the new addition to Mozilla’s FireFox, “Tab Candy” … Why? Why do I need a desktop within a desktop? The web changes, even when you dont want it to. So does the desktop metaphor work for what ultimately amount to bookmarks? The bottom line is, Mozilla didn’t invent anything here, they simply took the GUI that we are all used to and left out the folders in favor of Apple-esque stacks and applied it to the web.

Perhaps the single most interesting aspect of this product, is its that it hints towards the future of the relationship between personal computers and the internet. In some ways this could be the first widely adopted desktop in the cloud.

It’s mind blowing to see the images that can be produced without stepping a foot outside.

Apple Computer's iPad

This past week Apple Computer announced it’s highly anticipated tablet. Now christened with the somewhat odd monicker “iPad” the product surfaced as what basically amounts to an iPod Touch XL. The bare bones feature-set combined with a handful of functional holes make the iPad a tough sell as a game changing computer. It’s also raises the question: How this device fits into the consumer home?

As a professional, I’m not sure what I would do with a device like the iPad. It’s not a phone, communication device (of any sort) and it’s also not a computer. So, what is it? I guess it’s somewhere in between. Like the iPod, it is a device that is built around consumption, intended to bring what was once static media (magazines, newspapers etc) to the interactive space.

In the end you can look at the iPad in one of two ways. It is either a crippled computer or an amazingly feature-rich eReader. With competition like Amazon’s Kindle on the market at a comparable price point, I would expect Apple’s iPad to shine. I would also speculate that the iPad is a prelude to a growing suite of touch-driven devices.

Braun Pocket Radio circa the 1960's and Jonathan Ive's iPod

Today I was browsing through Fast Company’s write-up of  ”The Decade’s 14 Biggest Design Moments” and in the beginning of the  list was “2002: Midcentury Modern Renaissance”. The list continued to include several items that themselves were filled with hues of design past (smaller is better ideals, iPod, propaganda posters etc). It struck me, because I was not expecting a look back to be one of the biggest “moments” of today. Recently, I watched an indy film called “RiP A Remix Manifesto“, the film focused on a generation of music which borrowed pieces of it’s past to create it’s present. When reviewing Fast Company’s Design moments it was clear that this extended to design as well. We are a generation of remixers.

NuFormer Digital Media has created some  very cool 3D video mapping projections. The projections are custom-made to fit any building and are created by a “battery of powerful projectors”. With this technology at hand advertisers will be frothing to convert cities, towns and even villages to something reminiscent of Times Square .

Check out more work from NuFormer on Vimeo

In 1984 “Dr. Egon Spengler” from the Ghostbusers may have been the first intellectual mind (despite being fictional) to declare, “Print is dead“. Now 25 years later, we are seeing the once far-fetched statement come to fruition. This week Time, Inc. announced they would be moving into the digital publication space with the “Manhattan Project”. A focused effort on digitizing its publications into interactive and media-rich portals tailored to tablet/touch PC’s. The design of the project has been lead by David Link at the Wonderfactory and has been executed in Adobe Air. I don’t think this is “it” or even close. But it is another step in the right direction. It will be VERY interesting to see the implications of this move on Time, Inc.’s business.

Read more about the “Manhattan Project” on TechCrunch »

I have seen this technology floating around for misc. web applications and it looks like someone has finally figured out a good format for the technology. With a relatively short engagement, retail looks like the perfect application of this augmented reality web cam + 3d technology.

The Eigenharp Alpha is a “professional level instrument” produced by London based Eigenlabs. This new-aged instrument allows the musician to “play and improvise using a limitless range of sounds with virtuoso skill”. The Eigenharp Alph has 120 playing keys, 12 percussion keys, two strip controllers and a breath pipe.

Check out the Product page: Click Here

It’s been a while since the bicycle has been re-invented by any stretch of the imagination. Designed by Olli Erkkila, this bizarre looking bicycle forgoes the front fork for a much different approach. The “Forkless-Cruiser” was made as Erkkila’s graduation project at the Institute of Design in Lahti, Finland.

Innovation in the beverage industry has stagnated for the past decade or so, with little to no change in the delivery of product. The above video shows how Coke is looking to push the envelope with all sorts of new technology… and clearly no plans to stop serving its product by the gallon if possible.