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Feature Removal:

Any time a pile of hacks is involved, it’s going to need to be updated and improved frequently. Sometimes, that means removing some of the hacks. But there’s a bigger point, even for simple features.

Making a product better often requires removing features.

Yet another of the many reasons I have so much nerd love for Marco.

Evicting Justin Case | Unclutterer:

I agree whole-hardily. This Justin guy has got to go. And, while you are at it, stop him from using your computer too. He downloads stuff, saves the installers, keeps your Dropbox full of documents and PDF’s you don’t need, and is just a general worry wart. Seriously, I know he means well but for your own sake you need to kick him to the curb.

Love this quote from Helen Keller:

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”

This is not a stool.

This is N° 019: a chair disguised as a stool. The chair is completely flat, until someone sits in it.

N° 019 is designed by Andreas Aas, a designer and architect who lives and works between Paris, France and Fredrikstad, Norway. Here’s what he says about the concept:

When not in use, the chair occupies minimal space – both physically and mentally. It is only when used that the chair takes on the more strenuous shape of the human body.

With this in mind, the N° 019 must be the ultimate chair for Über-minimalist interiors.

There’s a tendency, even among those who are trying to buy less stuff, to call everyone “consumers”. The company needs to please its consumers … we consumers need to vote with our dollars … we need watchdogs to protect consumers … consumers are buying less during the recession.

Let’s stop that. We are not consumers.

We’re people.

When we allow ourselves to be branded with these types of corporate terms, we’ve given in to the consumerist mindset. We’ve allowed the debate to be framed around buying: should we buy organic or local? How can we protect consumers? Do consumers have rights? What’s the best way to spend our money on products? How can we be savvy consumers? How can we affect change in society by making ethical or conscious buying choices?

What about the question of whether we should be buying or not? That gets thrown out the window, because it’s already assumed in the term: we’re consumers. Of course we buy. It’s just a matter of how, how much, where, from whom, how often.

But if we stop thinking of ourselves as consumers, and start calling ourselves “people”, then we open up the question. Should we even buy in the first place? Is it possible to live a life without buying?

We talked a bit about that in society, reimagined … that we can grow our own food, make and trade and share everything we need. It’s possible — of course it’s possible! Human beings (not consumers) did it for hundreds of thousands of years, and at least 10,000 years in civilized society: we lived and worked and played and loved, without buying. We did it in tribes, of course, but also in larger societies that weren’t based around the basic unit of corporation -> consumer.

I’m not advocating a return to tribalism. I’m saying we need to change the debate. We need to stop calling ourselves consumers. We need to open up our minds, so that a different way is possible.

Allandale House is a minimal version of the forest cabin based on an extruded A-frame. The Allandale House also provides space for an eccentric collection of artifacts that resist straightforward classification. Wines, rare books, stuffed birds and an elk mount are among the relics on display in this small vacation house.

The house links three horizontal extrusions of asymmetrical A-frames: the western side contains the library, wine cellar and garage. In the centre lay two floors of bedrooms and bathrooms. On the Eastern side, a medium A-frame holds the living, kitchen and dining areas. The medium A-frame on the eastern side consists of living, kitchen and dining areas. The house aims to undermine the seeming limitations of a triangular section by augmenting and revealing the extreme proportion in the vertical direction, and utilizing the acutely angled corners meeting the floor as moments for thickened walls, telescopic apertures and built-in storage.

William O’Brien Jr. is Assistant Professor of Architecture at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning and is principal of an independent design practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His research and creative practice have been fostered by an interest in the relationships between architecture, technology, landscape, and urbanism with an emphasis on the development of alternative resonances between natural and artificial systems.

em:

Woah. Totally forgot that Apple’s Dictionary App has Wikipedia built in.

I always forget this too but it is very handy when you are looking for more than just the spelling. Very handy indeed.

SE/30 System & Newton 2100 (by jd_wages)

The most tricked out SE30 I have ever seen. Seriously. I mean, the thing is Internet capable for Jobs sake! Click through to see all of the upgrades and modifications done.


Not even sure where to begin with how cool I think this is. One thing I like is that it is way more than sticking a Mac Mini into a classic case. Longtime followers of this site will know that I am a big believer in getting the most out of what you already have (versus buying the latest and greatest). This is an extreme, yet perfect, example of that. (via Mottram)