Warm Shoestrings concept is a unique way to dry your wet shoes. Instead of using electric shoe dryer, it dries your shoes from the shoestrings. Would this be possible? Well, you can read the explanation from the designer below.

The base of the design is the material that conducts electricity, self heats and emits heat. The material is flexible, elastic and resistant to any mechanical impact that is packed in a special safe nonflammable case. It looks esthetically good and almost doesn't differ from normal shoestrings (has a variety of textures and colors). The only visual difference is colorful isolating caps on the metal ends of shoestrings (pins). They help user to determine which pin should be connected to which socket of the controller.
The controller unit is light and needs little space in a bag or pocket. Apart from power line connection the controller also provides shoestrings heating up to the necessary temperature ("The iron" principle- it heats up to the certain temperature and then maintains this temperature level). The heated air temperature ranges between 40 and 60 °C. The heated air goes into the inside through the upper part of the shoe and through air gaps.
The big advantage of the "Warm Shoestrings" is their location. They are always with the shoes that might need drying, and therefore they are highly portable. It's possible to start a drying process anytime and anywhere if you have a power line connection and "Warm Shoestrings".

Designer : Alexey Chugunnikov
Warm Shoestrings by Alexey Chugunnikov

"Warm Shoestrings" may be used by sportsmen, rescuers, military men, workmen…Those people, whose calling or profession is connected with long hours on foot, outside or in severe climate conditions. That's the reason why their shoes need special care.
"Warm shoestrings" will definitely be helpful to parents of the future discoverers and researchers, and also to people who experience discomfort from sweating. "Warm shoestrings" will provide elderly people who take care of their health with dry and warm shoes.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

apple´s greatest fails

Apple 3 (1980)

When you're looking for a home computer that will probably overheat and catch fire, look no further than the Apple 3. The successor to the hugely popular Apple 2 (see what they did there), this was a huge flop. Also, a genuine fire hazard.

Apple Lisa (1983)

The Lisa was actually pretty groundbreaking for its time - it was one of the first personal computers to utilise a graphical user interface (ie: on screen icons), came with a mouse, and could multi-task across programs. All very impressive for 1983. The $10 thousand price tag was considerably less impressive. In today's terms it equates to approximately $22 thousand. Ouch.

Macintosh Portable (1989)

A portable Mac! Sweet... Wait, why do I have these crippling back pains? Maybe it's because this laptop weights over seven kilos and is larger than a briefcase. Crapsticks.

Apple Newton (1993)

The original iPad. Released in 1993, the Newton was an all-in-one portable office that could send faxes (remember those?), splutter out emails, store your clients' details, take notes and other relevant stuff. Anyway, its man claim to fame was its ability to read handwriting (via stylus input). Unfortunately, this feature was less reliable then your weed dealer. Also, it cost $1000 bucks.

Macintosh TV (1993)

If you're going to release a computer that can display TV signals on the monitor than you wanna make sure it can actually do so. The Macintosh TV was a bit of a shambles and watching TV on it was slightly less satisfying poking yourself in the eyes with a stick.

QuickTake (1994)

The QuickTakes were some of the very first digital cameras available on the market, which again points to Apple's uncanny knack for meeting needs that consumers don't yet know they have. A QuickTake camera was easy to use, had a .3 Megapixel resolution (which isn't bad for 1994), and ranged in price from $600 to $750.

Apple Pippin (1996)

A mutant PC/games consoles hybrid, this was a bit of a mess from the get-go. Apple partnered with Japanese entertainment giant Bandai and somewhere along the way things got lost in translation. Released around the same time as the original Playstation, this quickly sank without a trace, selling fewer than 45 thousand units internationally.

20th Anniversary Macintosh (1997)

Creating a deluxe version of your computer to mark 20 years in the business is all good and well. Charging nearly $8000 for some pointless 'special features' and a new casing? Not so much.