A collapsible dish rack for compact kitchens

To save space in your bedroom, the sheet metal shelves we featured in Crave Asia may have tickled your fancy. That's not going to help mum with a tiny kitchen though, so she might need one of these, a collapsible dish rack.

Made from a single sheet of plastic, the Splat dish rack is formed by fitting together its two separate punched-out parts. This concept design is probably too small to handle large items like pots, pans and woks. But because it can be taken apart and kept away, you can choose when it hides in the drawer and when it should sit on the kitchen top. Perfect for occasions when there are lots of dishes to do and your regular rack overflows.

It's just a design concept right now (from JillDavisDesign), but it could be a neat small-kitchen addition if it ever gets made.

If you just can't wait for Davis' stylish version to become a reality, there are several other folding dish racks already on the market.

Click for more images:
     

Via Boing Boing

This post originally appeared on CNET Crave

A laptop straight out of Minority Report

Well, not literally. But the VAIO Zoom concept laptop looks like it could be part of John Anderton's arsenal of tech tools. Composed of two sheets of thin glass hinged together, the Zoom relies on holographic technology for both the screen and the input devices. When the laptop is turned off, the display becomes completely transparent and the keyboard opaque.

Being technology critics, we have to wonder: Where's the power source? What are the components? How comfortable can it be to type on a flat panel? Can an object made entirely of glass be all that portable?

But then we remind ourselves to relax--it's just a concept, something pretty to populate our dreams of the future.

This post originally appeared in CNET Crave.

CD Player Shoe

This tops the tipsy Reef Dram Sandal in terms of crazy things to do with footwear. Somebody's dreamed up (key word being dreamed) a concept CD player shoe complete with speaker, tweeters and volume knob, which probably would have looked cool in Michael Jackson's moonwalking/Thriller heyday. But the idea is cool enough and, if it ever gets made, should be a nice addition to a teenager's room to impress his buddies with.

Via Guzer

Yogis Are Now Hi-Tech

There's something oddly lost in translation with the title of designer Hui-Zong Chen's new-age yoga mat concept. It's a neato idea no doubt, with an exercise mat that rolls out complete with built-in MP3 player, stereo speakers and even what seems to be electronic paper-type video playback. However, Chen probably never took up yoga as the exercise requires mediated harmony of the senses. Can't have all those distractions around, hey? Not to mention that it all looks pretty darn uncomfortable to practice on. On the other hand, if it had a turbo boosters built into the metal pole and some high-weave Moroccan threads for decoration, this might well turn out to be the perfect souped-up flying carpet for Aladdin. A whole new world, yeah...

Via Yanko Design

Price: N.A.
Availability: Concept
Device: Yoga mat
Specs: N.A.

Bolod brings 3D to your LCD

Now's the time to officially snigger at those blokes wearing cheesy headgear so they can enjoy the same 3D experience you're getting from your LCD screen, sans external aids. The Chinese company is already selling LCDs ranging from a 17-incher to a 61-inch model based on its autostereoscopic display technology from the Mainland. The one you see on the right? It costs about 10,000 euros. We guess it's not meant for the average consumers' home, yet.

Some of the company's clients include familiar names like Microsoft, Siemens and Lenovo. According to a representative, you don't need any special device to enjoy the three-dimensional experience because of the parallax barrier principle, the in-depth explanation of which is better left on the brochure. Just in case innocent passers-by don't know, the company made an effort to paste a slip of A4-size paper next to the screen to inform that the optimal viewing distance is 1.4m from the screen. Latecomers who don't get prime front-facing standing space won't have to worry, either, as the panel has a 140-degree viewing angle. Frankly, we got a little dizzy with the out-of-screen effect. If that's what we can expect in the future, we can't imagine how much we have to spend on doctor's fees.

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