A truly satisfying universal control system would involve a simple but expansive user interface, a piece of buttered ham, and a butler to change the channels.

Until then, a fully baked remote with WiFi will do.

Universal Remote’s upcoming MX-6000 appears to be the newest Cadillac of remotes because it’s something of a mini-computer: it includes a 4.3″ LCD wide screen (480×272), 128MB of DDR RAM, and it can process up to 250 different A/V devices.

Scheduled for release at next week’s CEDIA, the remote also combines a narrowband RF connection with the WiFi to find IPs and control everything.

Universal remote control for your devices: [via]

Guopeng Liang’s finalist entry in Electrolux’s Design Lab 2008 is another example of simple ingenuity. There’s no radical new washing technology implied, nor some fancy eco-friendly water-saving technique. All it does is wait until it contains a certain weight of clothing, then do a basic (presumably cold) wash. In the meantime, it sucks air through the clothes, ensuring they don’t spread any unpleasant odors as the pile builds. From the designer:

“…today, people store their clothes in a laundry hamper until it fills up, then carry the basket to the laundry room, wash them, come back, take them out, throw them back into the hamper, carry them to a clothesline and then hang them out. I believe that iBasket offers a much more convenient alternative.”

It also instant-messages you to tell you what it’s up to. For civilized people, it might seem a purposeless appliance. But for those with neither hamper nor washing machine — think disgusting college students — why not?

Laundry basket keeps bad smells and also washes your clothes: [via]

The PowerPlus Piranha is a wind up shaver which means there is no risk of the batteries going dead. Actually, there is still a risk, but not a problem as it can be charged by hand crank.

When you want to have a good shave then wind the crank a few turns and shave away. The internal dynamo generates enough electricity to keep the thing powered for a full shave. If you cannot be bothered winding it up (when the novelty wears off) then you can opt to charge it via a plug.

PowerPlus Piranha – no battery shaver: [via]

As low-powered as they tend to be, you can’t help but like those little-rascal netbooks. Maplin’s Minibook sports a seven-inch screen and weighs a pound and a half.

Selling for $333, the iddy widdy thing includes a 2GB solid state drive, 128MB of RAM and built-in Wi-Fi. Application-wise, it features a web browser, e-mail client, word processor and spreadsheet program. Even cooler is you can add storage with an SD flash memory reader supporting 4GB-or-lower Secure Digital (SD) cards. There are also three USB ports so you can stick a bunch of thumb drives in the Minibook to add storage, too, although if people see you doing that in public they’ll probably think you’re autistic.

Maplin’s Minibook – small on price and small on size: [via] – [maplin]

The definition of a chair has definitely evolved with the evolvement of science and the mere purpose of a chair doesn’t remain providing a place to park the ass anymore. Those jiggles and wiggles have to come in and therefore the likes of the active chair project hit fame these days. This chair aims at hitting the centre point of real and virtual spaces something which a normal chair would never do, would it!

So while you continue finding a new dubbing for a smart chair like this we here reveal more of it.The chair gets its movement with the use of pneumatic cylinders (three of them) in tandem with variable air speed and controllers of pressure. Such ergonomics ensure that the user of this chair feels relieved of stress whilst the cushioning underneath furnishes a high comfort level. This is where we put an end to this description and hope that you have found a synonym for a chair!

Pneumatic, comfortable and ingenious chair: [via]

Somewhat turning the tables on the ubiquitious iPod, this look alike memory stick will let you save data with your faux miniature iPod. Unlike the iPod, this one has some eyes pasted on the screen area that make the whole front look like a face. And the flexible silicon coating makes it simple to get at the USB connector without a removable cover that you would eventually lose. If you are buying this purely for use as a memory stick, it does use USB 2 for faster transfers. That makes it more useful for the people buying it for its novelty appeal as well. Because anything even resembling an Apple product makes it that much cooler.

Useful iPod memory stick with USB connection: [via] - [BoysStuff]

Placed at the foot of the bed, Bed Fan sends a calm breeze directly between your sheets. The cool breeze travels between your top sheet and bottom sheet and bathes sleepers in a stream of cool, comforting air. And it keeps you cool by pushing out the body heat that gets trapped beneath the covers, causing you to sweat.

The BedFan promises to deliver cool soothing air to your bodily parts as you swelter betwixt your summer sheets. No more kicking off the bedclothes and suffering the torment of a thousand prickly rashes ravishing your radiant… You should get this if you’re one of those people that like to have a cool night and feel the breeze.

Bedfan – Cool off at night: [Via] – [FirstStreet]

When you get tired of your
dusty, old office chair and
you want a cool chair like
those you see in the greatest
offices, you could buy one
and pay some good money
or you can just use this
Chair Pad and make it look
like one of those.

Pimp your office chair – Chair Pad: [Via]

The Remember Ring™ utilizes patent pending Hot Spot™ technology to deliver a reminder that it’s “That time of the year again!”
24 hours before your special day, the Hot Spot™ on the interior surface of your Remember Ring™ will warm to 120º F for approximately 10 seconds, and continue to warm up every hour, on the hour, all day long! Hot enough to cause discomfort but not hot enough to burn-the Remember Ring™ is impossible to ignore!

I like this. You shouldn’t forget any of your firend’s aniversary… but even if you do, this ring helps you to remember the dexact date. Trust me… you won’t forget any of your friend’s aiversary with this ring.

Remember Ring – Never forge an aniversary: [Via]

Featuring a Light Keypad, able to create your own code, Beeps sound / voice switchable, Door sound when open, AA battery x 3 pcs and it comes in the size:15 x 14 x 8.5 cm and a good looking interface.

Very handly and extremely usefull if u need a place to store some of your private stuff but it’s not really the safest place in the world … so you better don’t keep your most valuable objects in here.

Talking Mini Safe: [GadgetBrando] - [Via]