Author Archives: Gaurav Sood

Porsche-edition La Marzocco Linea Micra espresso machine exhibits 911 Carrera graphics and specifics

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Not all coffee machines look the same. Certainly not the ones that have Porsche’s name on them. Arguably, any espresso maker would pass as a hot seller with Porsche branding, but if it’s a La Marzocco – the biggest name in premium Italian coffee makers – you’ve got yourself a dream machine to shell that cash for.

The Linea Micra espresso machine, in this case, is made in collaboration by La Marzocco and Porsche. It exudes Italian craftsmanship from the ground up, and is embellished with automaker’s design aesthetics that most fans would recognize from the 911 Carrera’s details. No wonder then, a limited-edition color variant of this machine sold out in less than a day of its announcement.

Designer: Porsche

Owing to its design influence from the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR, Linea Micra Italian coffee machine has been crafted in two exclusive color options. Both are special-edition and are limited to the magical 911 number. The machine in both original Porsche color Slate Grey Neo or – now sold out – Martini Racing design (a tribute to Porsche and Martini Racing’s partnership), features the noticeable iconic blue and red livery from the inspiration sports car.

Besides the iconic Porsche stripes and the subtle dos of the automaker’s ingenuity, the coffee machine thrives with La Marzocco’s unwavering quality. The Linea Micra is based between the company’s Linea Classic – a barista-level brewer – and the Linea Mini – a countertop genius. It is the same dual-boiler version of the Classic, in a smaller size, emitting luxury and elegance with the dual branding. The use of two stainless steel boilers means brewing temperature and steam pressure can be controlled separately.

The machine touts quick heat-up time and easy operation to provide automotive coffee enthusiasts with perfect espresso every time in only a few steps. The Linea Micra is paired with a multi-purpose portafilter that allows switching between single-spout, double-spout, and bottomless spout setups at will. The easy-to-fill two-litre water tank and integrated steam wand for frothing the milk have a single-point Porsche touch. The handles for hot water and steam are inspired by Porsche drive mode, while the pressure gauge on the coffee maker reminds of the racecar’s speedometer.

A fan collectible, this Porsche-edition La Marzocco Linea Micra espresso machine is available through Porsche online shop and in Porsche Design stores now. Priced either $6,555 or $6,949, based on the color option (the latter unavailable), the coffee maker also has a magnetic drip tray and cup warmer that take design cues from the Porsche 911 GT3.

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Nike earbuds concept is an active lifestyle accessory oriented towards minimalist lifestyle

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Weak sales forecasts and the relentless innovation by Adidas have forced Nike on the back foot. They’ve banked too much on the success of the Air Force 1, while the low-rise multi-colored Samba and Gazelle sneakers by Adidas are the current rage. Does that signal a bleak future for Nike footwear? We hope not and expect Nike to bounce back with a successful pair similar to the Air Jordan.

Foraying into the highly competitive yet lucrative audio accessories market could be on the cards. If Nike does decide to extend its influence beyond the athletic apparel and footwear line this could be it. This concept design for a pair of earbuds with the Nike branding gives active individuals a fair idea of what they’ll be like if they ever exist.

Designer: Jinkyo Han

Crafted for Nike, these concept earbuds are sporty and have a comfortable fit with a secure design that should stay in even during intense physical activity. The design is minimal making them lightweight and easy to use. This means people with active lifestyles will love them. Due to the small size don’t expect drivers comparable to the flagship earbuds like B&W Pi8, Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4, Technics AZ 80, or Denon Pearl Pro.

They have a very recessed form that flows to the case that has a unique top in a sporty finish. In a way they emulate the soles of a shoe and that goes well with the theme. Just like the Nothing Ear (2) buds they have a horizontal positioning of the buds in the case, but in the face first position which can make them harder to take out.

The Nike branding is embellished on the sides very aggressively and I hope there are touch controls in there since they are the norm these days even with budget options out there. Jinkyo doesn’t enlist any specifications or features on this one, but I assume there should be ANC and transparency options too. Overall, this concept is heavily weighed in towards the design and look, but a little more imagination in the features and functionality of the buds would have spiced up things.

 

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Based on Logitech EDU research, this interactive AAC device can be a learner’s best friend

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Technology is today bridging gaps between thought and expression in more ways than previously possible. This is especially true in the case of people facing limitations with verbal speech and expression thereof. Many who resonate with the thought that every person – irrespective of their limitation – deserves a voice or perhaps a way to communicate have been working with neurodiverse learners facing communication challenges to facilitate their lifestyle with AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices.

Whether it’s due to developmental, neurological, or physical conditions, the struggle to communicate verbally no longer has to limit someone’s ability to connect with the world around them. Modern ACC communication devices – like this Logitech EDU multifunctional device – have stepped up to make it easier for those struggling with verbal communication to connect with the world around them not through words, but through the use of symbols and pictures.

Designer: Monica Bhyrappa and Fan Fang

More than 2 million children and adults use AAC to communicate on a daily basis. Such tools support those with difficulties communicating using speech to communicate their requirements, attend classes and participate in them, and also socialize with peers and society easily without words. The project by Monica and Fang is based on the preliminary research within the Logitech EDU team catering to the adaptive needs of students, especially those on the autism spectrum.

This computer mouse-like pocket-sized AAC device that measures 4-inches tall is based on a picture symbol system and wears the Logi branding. It is created and tested for the K-12 age group. The autistic learners in this age segment are trained to use symbols instead of words to communicate and this device intends to make that more interactive and convenient, overcoming the limitations of other AAC devices. For just convenience and interactivity, the accessory is made of interchangeable pieces rendering it an adaptable device in a student’s daily life. For instance, it has loops to wear as a lanyard, swap in the clip and fasten it to a book or folder, or strap it around the wrist to be worn as a watch.

The device features different modes comprising a set of words or phrases displayed on its interactive screen. The learner can access and click on their choice of interaction at any point of the day. These symbols are imported from the learner’s primary AAC device so that at no point there is a chance of an unfamiliar message that they do not associate with. The parents and educators can have control over this device and customize the interaction models at any time. To make it easy to be accepted as a device the learners would like with them, Monica has designed these in muted colors and minimal textural inundations.

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HMD Fusion gets Venom-themed Smart Outfits that transform the phone and change its functionality

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HMD Fusion is a new kid on the block but already with so many differences for the user to toil with. Embracing the idea of repairability and taking that notch further with support for ‘Smart Outfits,’ it allows you to clip an outfit – basically a smartphone case – to a pogo pin connector on the back of the phone and change its functionality.

The Finish company is taking advantage of this functionality and is teaming up with Marvel’s Venom: The Last Dance movie and give users an antihero experience to integrate on their phones: An experience not limited to hardware! Meant to transform the HMD Fusion’s functionality and appearance in real-time, the Venom-themed Smart Outfits bring iconic elements from the Venom franchise to the phone.

Designer: HMD

HMD has been away from the top celebrated phone-makers for a while. It has not been a very active player at that, but it’s trying to make some dishevel nonetheless, by giving users the choice of how they wish to use their phones. Customizing the experience with Smart Outfits, such as the three Venom exclusives showcased at the Venom: The Last Dance pop-up event on October 20 and the film’s premier the following day.

Clipping to the back of the Fusion, these Smart Outfits render custom theme, wallpapers, and some famous lines from Venom to put it in the intriguing sphere of the fans and the Marvel franchise to adore. Each of these custom outfits integrates “160 electromagnetic arrays controlling ferrofluid in a glass chamber” to create a venom-like effect on the Fusion’s physical appearance and software; a cool customization!

The customizations include phrases inspired by the movie that go up for instance in the boot up or when a notification sounds. When the device is booted it sounds the phrase “We are Venom,” followed by an animation from the new flick. The phone alerts on an alarm with “Eddie, the time has come,” or “Who sent that thing?” upon receiving a new notification. Interestingly, the Venom-themed HMD Fusion outfit also includes a “We are screwed” ringtone in Venom’s voice.

No matter how fascinating this may all seem, these outfits are only to showcase the unique possibilities of the Fusion and may not see the light of day. However, HMD allows interested ones with some technical skills and access to a 3D printer to create their own outfits or download wallpapers. The latest HMD smartphone is already available in Europe and pre-orders have started in the US.

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Nike Kobe 5 Protro ‘X-Ray’ with a glow-in-the-dark sole, skeletal graphic upper lands in time for Halloween

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One of the greatest basket players of his time, Kobe Brayant left us untimely, but Vanessa Bryant has since ensured her late husband’s legacy is continuously honored. Ever since the launch of Mamba Fury, the first shoe Nike rolled out after Kobe, to the latest “X-Ray” Kobe sneakers, the athlete’s collaboration with Nike is growing leaps and bounds with Vanessa’s proactive promotion.

Vanessa had first teased the Nike Kobe 5 Protro X-Ray Kobe sneakers, with glow-in-the-dark outsoles and toe box featuring skeleton foot graphic, in the beginning of the year. Come Halloween and the sneakers are likely to see the light of day. The silhouette is “inspired by haunted houses the family would visit on Halloween, Venessa informed.

Designer: Nike

The intriguing pair of Nike Kobe 5 Protro with X-Ray moniker could, at the first glimpse, remind fans of the Kobe’s infamous X-ray T-shirt he wore in 2010 promo trip to Paris. It featured the x-ray of Kobe’s hand injuries and showed each finger topped with a championship rings suggesting, “beaten not broken.”

Besides the abovementioned two, the imagery on the toe box of this new release is also speculated to be inspired by Kobe’s own feet, which would be drawn from the attention Nike had dedicated to creating the Black Mamba signature footwear line dedicated to the late legend. Whatever may be the inspiration, the skeletal graphics in white on the deep royal blue upper make a spooky effect.

The performance-driven Nike Kobe 5 with glow in the dark sole, X-ray graphics and skeletal foot comes imprinted with Kobe’s sheath logo on the tongue and the shoe’s bottom, and the heels are graced with his signatures. Featuring responsive Zoom Air cushioning and enhanced traction patterns, the sneaker has gone up for purchase starting October 17. It will be released alongside X-Ray T-Shirts making a comeback.

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Autonomous Driverless Scooter Offers a Smart Ride Through City Streets

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Increasing traffic in cities has led to a market for personal commuters that are becoming more interesting with every new development. On the same lines, industrial design house OfMyImagination (OMI) has reimagined what a city commuter of the future will be like.

Meet Hop, a multi-person scooter platform designed to offer an alternative to urban transportation. A two-person scooter is the norm but a scooter that can haul four people at a time is rare. It’s unique since this autonomous concept vehicle proposes to transport up to four people easily in a footprint similar to a two-wheeler.

Designer: OfMyImagination

The idea is to use the space efficiently as commuters stand inside the open design of the scooter. This is similar to standing in buses and metro that are overcrowded. Given the small footprint of the OMI’s vehicle, it can easily navigate tight spaces, just like a normal scooter. The last-mile travel solution wants to take center stage connecting train stations and transport hubs for a smoother travel experience. This makes complete sense during peak hour traffic, where getting to the destinations in time is of utmost importance.

To make transportation within the city as streamlined as possible, OMI imagines the Hop scooter to be level 5 autonomy enabled. It will travel along pre-determined routes, just like bicycle lanes in a city for minimum congestion. As the namesake makes it clear, the compact vehicle will allow people to hop on and off easily. The ultimate target of this network would be to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, especially four-wheelers. Using the accompanying app users can book the ride and also check the routes their Hop will cover. There will be an option to book the ride in private or for a group.

To keep things cost-effective without compromising user safety, the tubular frame creates a robust structure for the vehicle. These tubular bars will double as a holding option for the users. The interiors are kept minimal featuring two baskets for keeping bags and a perch bench just in case someone needs to relax for a few minutes. Given the Hop will be completely driverless, there will be space for luggage as well. According to the budding design studio, Hop will be a complete user-focused vehicle tailored for intercity travel.

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Marvel X-Men: The X-Mansion LEGO set recreates the glory days of your favorite mutants

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Just when you think LEGO Group has created its best set, another one comes along to take its place. While the ranking for best LEGO sets is subjective, anything related to pop culture does trigger instinctive liking. The latest from the LEGO universe is a set dedicated to honing the unique skills of our favorite Marvel heroes.

Yes, we are talking of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning (a.k.a. Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters) from where all our present Marvel superheroes have graduated. The immersive 3,093-piece set for adult LEGO fans brings the X-Men universe to your living room shelf, giving company to the Avengers Tower. You won’t need mutant powers to assemble this one, rather you’ll need a lot of focus!

Designer: LEGO Group

The Marvel X-Men: The X-Mansion set features the iconic characters from the X-Men 97 animated series including wheelchair-ridden Professor X, Jean Grey’s new avatar, Gambit, Iceman, Bishop, Magneto, Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Rogue. The modular two-floor building has six individual sections that can be removed. Unlike some other LEGO building sets that are open from the back, this one is closed from all sides. That said the interiors are wholly furnished including the Cerebro, Lean Grey’s lab and Danger Room. Guarding the building is a huge Sentinel robot in case other superheroes on your shelf decide to stage an attack.

This is by far the biggest LEGO set dedicated to X-Men with intricate details like the Wolverine’s motorcycle or the exploding cupola. Just so that you don’t know, four of these minifigures are making their LEGO debut. The newbies are Professor X, Gambit, Iceman and Bishop. The LEGO Marvel X-Men: The X-Mansion set is set for a wider release on November 4 for $330. If you are a LEGO Insider, you can your hands on one a little earlier on November 1 from the official website. Insiders picking it up from November 1 to 7 will get a complementary LEGO Marvel Cerebro.

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A Zero-Waste Seedling Bag You Can Plant Directly into Soil

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I tried baking, painting, and gardening to pass the time during the pandemic in my small city apartment. While the pandemic is long over, gardening continues to be a better part of my life. It helps soothe my mind and provides home-grown vegetables and herbs. One thing that I despise about procuring seedlings from local nurseries is the plastic grow bags they come in. If you are anything like me and do not like these seedling bags, industrial designer Jacob Boyd has come up with a biodegradable solution that brings people and urban farms closer.

Meet Bough Pot, a biodegradable seedling bag made from recycled pulp, bound by rice paste. Born out of a collaboration of Vancouver-based Jacob Boyd with Carleton University and a local community center, the plant vessel is a way to connect community center users and urban farms. The pot is produced in the centers using 3D-printed compression molds.

Designer: Jacob Boyd

The Bough Pot is designed as a holistic system to link users with urban farms. In winter, community center visitors are gifted a pot with a vegetable seed sown inside. Users take care of the pot through the germination phase of the seed and in its early life stages. Once the soil temperature rises in spring, the pots are returned to be planted at local urban farms. The entire process helps foster farming practices in community center users’ homes and produce a higher yield of food in urban farms.

The Bough Pot is fully decomposable and can be directly planted in the soil with a seedling inside. This way, the roots of the plants don’t get disturbed and the breaking down of the pot will act as a food source for microbes. It offers a healthier alternative to germination or seedling trays and take better care of the plant.

Boyd has designed the Bough Pots in different sizes with impressions on each vessel. These impressions help the pots ‘nestle’ when placed together, allowing users to make custom arrangements. The plant vessels are available in a handleless and a handled version. Handled variation makes transportation easier from farm to home, and vice versa. Boyd has made these open-source molds available for free to facilitate wider use.

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Ferrari F80 V6-powered Hybrid is Italian marque’s fastest ever road car inspired by F1 and aerospace industry

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Ferrari has some really fast road cars like the 288 GTO, Enzo, and LaFerrari that reflect the marque’s affinity towards innovation, exclusivity and performance. Now, the new age F80 joins the ranks with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo 120-degree V-6 engine, complemented by three electric motors. Yes, it’s a hybrid supercar and one of the most powerful the Italian automotive giant has ever produced.

The road-legal car can produce 1,184 horsepower – churning out 888 hp (at max) from the V6 engine, adding 140 hp each from the two front motors, and 80 hp with the rear electric motor. The latter makes use of regenerative braking for another trickle of speed boost when needed. This e-4WD system completely engineered and designed in Maranello is similar to the SF90 Stradale since the rear motor lends torque fill for the V6. So, don’t count out this scarlet monster when it comes to drag racing culture!

Designer: Ferrari

At the Ferrari’s Fiorano test track, the F80 managed to slice out a couple of seconds from the SF90’s best time around the lap. The official top speed clocked at 217 mph and acceleration of 0-60 mph in a mere 2.15 seconds. The car has a dry weight of 3,362 pounds courtesy of the carbon fiber central monocoque structure and some 3D printed parts including the upper wishbone. The composite material approach extends with the use of aluminum and titanium for parts such as subframes and screws. According to chief product development officer Gianmaria Fulgenzi, “F80 gives you butterflies in the stomach when you drive the car, it’s an incredible experience.” He adds that the car symbolizes the marque’s “Ferrari Forever” philosophy.

There were thoughts of designing it as a single-seater supercar but ultimately it materialized as a two-seater speed demon. The driver’s cell is slightly more prominent than the passenger’s cell, as the former is oriented more towards the center. The F1 inspiration is evident from the yoke-styled steering wheel with tactile button controls. The physical buttons make a comeback on the right and left and spokes – breaking the recent tradition of all digital layouts by Ferrari in recent years.

Ferrari F80 will be limited to just 800 units, and all of them have already been allocated to filthy rich buyers. Of course, you won’t even think of spending $3 million on this hybrid prancing horse unless you have a fat bank account.

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Analogue 3D console lets you enjoy classic Nintendo 64 games in 4K

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Want to reexperience the Nintendo 64 as it was meant to be without any compromises in gaming experience? One is the graphics that are hard to emulate on modern screens in 4K via HDMI. Then Analogue 3D has got you covered if you’ve got the game console cartridges and controllers stashed in your library. It’ll come with an in-built bespoke 4K-upscaler and original display modes for a lag-free method to enjoy your classic titles how you want.

Analogue who previously created versions of the Game Boy, NES and Sega Genesis, has finally revealed that the long-awaited clone console will arrive in Q1 2025, and you can preorder it from 21 October (11 AM ET onwards) for $250. This console powered by 3DOS (the evolution of AnalogueOS) comes with features including support for saved states and capturing screenshots.

Designer: Analogue

The original Nintendo console’s vibe is intact with power and reset buttons. In case you’ve got no controller to go with the 3D console or want a modern compatible controller to play, they’ve got you covered there as well. They’ve collaborated with 8BitDo to redesign a N64 controller that’s got all the buttons to make you go crazy. As I mentioned, it’ll work fine with old cartridges and has an expansion pack built-in. It will be safe to say, the console can save your game progress and might even have the trickery to import your old saved progress back from the late 90s.

The 8BitDo N64 controllers will cost $40 a piece and the complete package will cost $290. These modern controllers will have a Hall effect stick and will be compatible with Switch, PC and Android as it has support for D-input and S-input modes. Since we are talking Analogue here, you will only get the console in two colors – black or white – and controllers from their website or via third-party resellers. Given the N64 can be a big hassle with emulators, the Analogue 3D is a big win since you’ll play right from the source. Therefore, you can expect a glitch-free experience playing titles like Super Mario, FIFA 99, or The Legend of Zelda.

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