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October 15, 2008 10:23 AM PDT

If you're really, really serious about keeping prying hands off your laptop

by Dan Ackerman
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Computer security gets a new meaning in this mockup from Yanko Design, a "Web magazine dedicated to introducing the best modern international design." We can't think of too many people who would risk checking their e-mail on your laptop with this laptop finger trap installed.

The designer calls it "an analog extension is used for deterrence of unsolicited use of your own laptop." We call it the new No. 1 item on our stocking stuffer holiday gift list.

(Credit: Yanko Design)
(Credit: Yanko Design)
September 18, 2008 5:02 AM PDT

Qantas Airbus A380 designer wins London award

by Candace Lombardi
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Marc Newson, the Australian industrial designer known for his passion for melding art and technology, was awarded the London Design Medal on Wednesday at the London Design Festival.

Though you may not recognize the name Marc Newson, chances are you recognize Newson's work.

Newson designed the space plane for EADS Astrium in 2007.

Marc Newson (right) inside the interior of the EADS Astrium space plane he designed.

(Credit: EADS Astrium/Marc Newson/Eyedea Presse Gamma/Marie-Sophie Leturcq)

The famous "Lockheed Lounge" chair that fetched record-breaking auction sums for a living designer was designed by Newson in 1985.

Newson's "Lockheed Lounge" chair.

(Credit: Marc Newson/Pod)
... Read more
Originally posted at Planetary Gear
Candace Lombardi is a journalist who divides her time between the U.S. and the U.K. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgets, or industrial machines, she enjoys examining the moving parts that keep our world rotating. Email her at CandaceLombardi@gmail.com. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
October 11, 2007 7:46 AM PDT

Speakers that are literally works of Art: the $140,000 KEF Muon

by Steve Guttenberg
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You have to see them for real.

(Credit: KEF)

KEF, one of Britain's leading speaker manufacturers, had a press event earlier this week in New York City to show off their new Muon speakers. I was curious to see the speaker in the flesh, and now that I have I can say the pictures don't do it justice. They are the most beautiful speakers I've ever seen.

Designed by Ross Lovegrove (a top industrial designer), they are indeed works of 21 century art, fabricated from malleable sheets of heated aluminum. The process was required to produce the Muon's complex curves, dictated by the design's acoustical properties, and of course, Lovegrove's aesthetics. The raw material, starting out as six foot long hunks of aluminum are milled and formed over a one week period. I couldn't keep my fingers off the undulating, thoroughly sensual surfaces. Best of all the shape is said to be in large part responsible for the speaker's extraordinary sound. Each Muon weighs 253 pounds.

They are great sounding speakers, with prodigious bass response, awesome dynamic range, and great finesse on classical music, but they are more than that. The Muon is a work of art. The markets for high-end everything are booming--cars, boats, watches, clothes, even refrigerators and stoves--it's about time audio manufacturers started making exquisite products for the rich and famous. The Muon NYC premier took place in a lavishly appointed penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park, and the speakers looked right at home. In fact, when I stop and think about it, a plain Jane Bose system would have stood out like a sore thumb. It never ceases to amaze me that the folks who live well rarely seek out state of the art audio.

Originally posted at The Audiophiliac
Steve Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to magazines and Web sites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
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