I never got into the whole foosball thing. I am pretty sure that it is due to a lack of hand to eye co-ordination, not to mention the two times I did play people around me must have thought it was a comedy show due to all the laughing.

After seeing this incredibly sexy looking foosball table from GRO Design however I am seriously reconsidering my feelings about the game.

And here’s a video showing off this thing of beauty.

11 The Beautiful Game from GRO design on Vimeo.

A foosball table so damn sexy you’ll want to learn how to play is a post from: The Inquisitr

I know that everyone uttered their oohs and awwsss when the Tumbler made it appearance in the latest Batman movie but little did we know that BAE System liked it so much that they are incorporating some of the Batman ride into designs for their next generation of  Future Protected Vehicle program.

Among the designs being lifted from the Tumbler is levitating armor and vehicles that sweat. Not only that but the company is admitting that they actually used the movie as a basis for the BAE Raider’s design.

‘We liked the look of that, so we designed something similar. You see, it turns like a motorbike and it has the same wheel configuration. We decided that we didn’t have a monopoly on inspiration, and if we saw something in a film that we thought might be a good idea, why not take a look at it and see if there’s something practical we can develop?’

via DVICE

Gee, talk about life imitating art.

Batman’s Tumbler seems to be good enough for defense company is a post from: The Inquisitr

It’s been interesting reading over the last little while the hype over Android becoming the number two handset operating system at some point in the near future and how the majority of tech pundits are wondering what Apple will do to counter this competition.

Let’s make one thing clear right off the bat. It is inevitable that Android will become the dominant smartphone OS. After all when the OS is on multiple of hundreds of different handsets on the different carriers around the world you can’t help but dominate. On the other side of the fence you have Apple that has two different versions of their smartphone on one carrier in the US and limited number of carriers in other countries.

It’s obvious in this light that Apple will never surpass Android once Google smartphone OS passes that tipping point but here’s the question.

Does Apple really care?

Let’s look to the desktop and laptop world for a second to get an idea of what Apple might feel in this. From day one of the PC revolution there has been an ongoing back and forth between it and Microsoft. In a world where Windows became the dominant operating system Apple has just kept following its own path with the one exception that almost bankrupted the company.

As long as Steve Jobs has controlled Apple there has been one unifying vision – his vision – and regardless of what other companies might be doing Apple continues to follow its own roadmap.

Even in the mobile phone business iPhone has never been a market leader. Yes it’s been a design leader and innovator to the point that they transformed the smartphone business. Keep in mind that outside of the US Finland’s Nokia has 45%, or more, of the mobile market and even though Apple might have sold 13 million iPhones this is just a dip in the mobile market worldwide.

Yet none of this has bothered Jobs and Apple, just as it never bothered the company that Microsoft controlled the desktop and laptop OS market. Apple is one of the few companies today that seems to put its design ethic and consumer appeal over the effort of  increasing marketshare and profit. It seems that they are happy to let marketshare grow organically rather than possibly sacrificing their ethics of design in order to attract a larger consumer base.

Regardless of one’s feelings about the company and things like iTunes, the App Store and their seemingly anal attitude about controlling everything to do with their products you have to appreciate a company that is willing to put their vision and ethics above the profit margin.

I truly believe that as long as Steve Jobs is in control of Apple it will never care what other companies are doing, or will do. For him Apple is the epitome of style and classic design – even if they have to set the standards.

As much as I might disagree with things the company does I appreciate and respect both the company and the man. Just as Microsoft changed the personal computing world at one time Steve Jobs has forever changed the consumer electronics world. He has succeeded in giving it the shake-up it desperately needed and he did it without caring about the competition.

Is Apple in competition with anyone? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Illustrator Nick Dewar, popular in design circles but perhaps best publicly known for his cover of book The Devil Wears Prada, has died at the age of 37, his agent Kate Larkworthy confirms.

No cause of death has been announced and details are scant at this point. Nick Dewar was born in Scotland, and lived Prague, London and New York before settling in California with his wife.

Dewar’s agent posted the following statement on her Facebook page:

Nick Dewar–what a lovely man and dedicated friend. I can’t believe he is gone in body but never, ever, ever in spirit. They surely threw away the mold when they made Nick. Those of us who were lucky to know him will have a void in our lives forever. Nick’s wife, Sri, can be reached at (redacted).

A small family service will be held in Newport Beach later this week. A memorial service will be held in New York at a later date. Contributions can be made in Nick’s name to radio station WFMU New Jersey.

If you’re interested in learning a bit more about Dewar, Design*Sponge did a profile of the artist and his home last year. You can also check out his stylish website, a showcase of many of his colorful, whimsical works.

Illustrator Nick Dewar dies at 37 is a post from: The Inquisitr

The only real extended use of a laptop that I have had is with the one I bought for my wife recently so they have never been high on my priority list of things to get. However some of these concept laptops would be really cool to own if they ever made it past the rendering stage.

Canvas Laptop Concept – designed by Kyle Cherry

Vaio Zoom

Compenion Laptop concept

HP Concept Laptop

Frog Concept Design

top graphic is the Fujitisu Turn Table Concept Laptop – hat tip to Technology.am

Some really cool laptops, too bad they’re just concepts is a post from: The Inquisitr

I am not one for posting anything about the various design oriented blogs I read but every once in awhile something does come along that is worth sharing – this is one of those ideas, even if irritating non-smokers get their panties in a bunch. Over on Yanko Design they have a post showing the design idea and renderings of an open smoking booth called FRESH for airports.

The idea is that when the system starts up the smoke is filtered by the arm top. A resultant ‘air wall’ keeps the smoke within it and the purified air is sent out to the center of the booth from the lower part of the arm. Like I said though the chances of this ever really seeing the light of day is next to nil <sigh>.

An idea smoker’s can only dream of seeing is a post from: The Inquisitr