The biggest drawback of using the Internet is the threat of your system being infected by Virus and Trojans. APartner is a neat looking device that can be worn on you, and besides enhancing your beauty; it tackles the virus menace. It is a pioneering gadget that integrates the anti-virus process in a virtual interface. It adapts the traditional way of scanning into a more interactive and user-friendly manner. The contemporary looks give it an aesthetic appeal warranting a second look. Luwu LIU has designed it.

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Pleasant Sunday afternoons always make me nostalgic about the barbeque grills and open tandoor that my family used to indulge in when I was a kid. Things have changed drastically since then; we all have outgrown the need to indulge basically because no one has the time. Working up a fire and setting out the elaborate ingredients, not to forget the umpteen heaps of cheese and butter (totally wasted on the hips), all seem futile and time-consuming now…It's easier to order take-away! Designer Nathan Kwak seems to have something in common with me. He too likes grills and barbeque, although his is more of a traditional Korean stone grill fare. Pebbles is his take on the art of grilling food on stones, which is a typical Korean way of cooking. The device is a convenient portable grill that accommodates and adapts to the type of food it is cooking. Flexible in design, you can use it to wrap your fish and meats so that it cooks evenly.

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Making magic out of waste is an art that not everybody possess. Designer Taryn Zychal is one of those few gifted people who has turned around things for discarded materials. Take for instance the Computer Commuter, which is made from salvaged vinyl from old billboards. The design is for TerraCycle, a company that believes in producing eco-friendly stuff. Like Taryn admits, "designing a eco-friendly product is one thing, but making it functional is a tougher task." Keeping this in mind, the design produced is a convertible carrying option, allowing the user to transport their laptops either "briefcase style" or "over the shoulder". This comes in handy for people commuting on bikes.

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Music is a medium that can convey strong messages to the youth, because they are so in-tune with it. How about enforcing some safety norms via music on the impressionable 16 to 20-year olds, who understand the language best. The Automotive Cockpit is an ergonomic music interface embedded into the steering wheel of the car. The design includes Skype-like functions that not only gives you driving tips, but it also enforces secure driving through music and it's driving assistant. If the teen makes a little mistake while driving, the music starts to loop. If it's a Middle-level mistake then David Hasselhoff starts crooning and if it's a Major Blunder, then it plays "hüttenschlager" instead of your own playlist.

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The perfect way to hide flaws of a room is shift focus from the imperative to something more defining like the lights and the flooring. This way you can easy camouflage the imperfection and show-off the obvious. While working for the Todd Bracher Studio in Brooklyn, Billy May did some interesting work with lights. As he rightly points out, the main issue while designing the lamps was to come up with an efficient way of dispersing light. One idea toyed with, was similar to the Castiglioni Taccia lamp (seen in the 'martini' variation), which places the lamp in the foot of the light and reflect the light down from a domed reflector on top. The Snifter and Old fashion lamp take the functional route by opting for frosted glass diffusers..

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The latest form of addiction to hit society is gadget-addiction. If its not the gaming console, then it's the MP3 player or the mobile phone. Our lives are sort of entangled between these gadgets. The implications of our gadget-addiction become evident, when it becomes an extension of our personality. Designer Enrico Pandolfini feels that its time to put our lives in perspective and put the mobile phone on the pedestal it deserves: a simple functional device. He has based this pupa-shaped phone on three focal points. The first focus is on the looks, an appealing design. Then he shifts the light to simplifying the functions by proposing a user-friendly interface.

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Cross branding is a given when you have so many different items in your basket. We all have been waiting on the news for a PSP phone from Sony, but Petros Stambolis has gone ahead and given us the Playstation Compact, a digital camera with a serious PSP hangover. The design was a cross branding exercise, but I think its opened a possibility that probably should be considered by Sony. This will make the console a highly versatile device that packs in so many features. The PSC (Playstation Compact) implements the Digital Living Network that allows you to share photos, videos as well as real time screen wit a PSP; interesting! I know you can attach a webcam to the current iteration, but would you go in for a PSC? Give me your thoughts.

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Its common to be herded as cattle and horses in urban transport systems. And the best thing about is, that people are so used to the routine shoving, that no one complains any longer. However this all may change when the Freight*BUS comes to life. 'On-Route' is a radical new urban transportation system concept designed by Hugh Frost. The bus will carry passengers and freight to the destination. The bus has been designed with a zero-emission propulsion system able to accommodate either a battery fuel-cell system or small biogas generator to maintain fully charged batteries. Other new innovations to be featured on the bus include ceiling-suspended seating, patent-protected pallet-less lifting and handling device, and distributed wheel motors.

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You generally associate a watch as a time keeping element but if Pensar has the way, then it will be used as a medium to share your pictures with the world. The watch lets you send pictures in real time via TwitPic or Twitter simply by hooking it on to a comp. This how Pensar describes the process:

1. Shell out some cash and buy the watch.
2. Connect it to your computer and select your audience (emails, phone numbers, or Transparency Ids can populate your distribution list.)
3. Take a pic. Select your audience: ex: Me (just send to yourself), Friends, Family, Frisbee Team, etc.
4. Hit the button again and you've shared your pic!
5. Images are sent to your audience in real time.

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The hearing impaired has a challenging life but their spirit soars forth with confidence and independence. Given the situation in most countries, you really never know when an emergency can arise. The fact the impaired people usually have heightened senses is a relief but we do need something that can be used as a communication medium, to get the message across during trying times. The Personal Alarm Watch is a concept that relies on vibrations and visual alarms like lights to alert the user of the emergency situation. I suppose it is hooked to some server, which updates the user with its notifications.

Designer Nikita Golovlev

I consider those with a green thumb quite fortunate and blessed because they get so much time to be one with nature and enjoy the abundant beauty of flowers. Tending to their pots and plants, many literally rear their brood as real people. Indoors too, potted plants and flowers in vases do make an aesthetic impression. Adding value and a touch of nature to your home is the Bloom project by designers Pierre Schwenke and his friends. The concept uses items made from a Green Ceramic, that is eco-friendly and recycles easily. The ceramic takes on organic pigments to add a dash of color to the scheme. The square concept is exceptionally versatile because it allows you to grow a patch of grass, a small plant and hold in a bouquet as well.

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Electrolux seems to understand the needs of today's modern and fast paced generation and Nathan Kwak essays their ideology in the conceptual Electrolux Bloom. The biggest requirement today has to be that of preserving the essential nutrients of the food. Usually because of work pressure and a hectic schedule the food gets spoilt or becomes cold due to various delays. Thus, the experience of eating a healthy and happy meal is diminished. But now thanks to the all-new Bloom, that maintains your foods required temperature, you can start looking forward to delicious and healthy meals again. Inspired by Koreas method of preserving food (netted covers for covering food and stone plates to keep food hot), the Electrolux Bloom is the best alternative to the refrigerator. Not only does it keep your food hot, its trendy design ties in very naturally with your table settings.

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Two facts that make the Exitus bookends worth a mention; one-it is an Art Lebedev concept, and two-it's uses the most recognizable sign for a totally different purpose. The bookends feature anti-slip silicone corner pads so that they won't slide away from the weight of the books. Urging you to escape to a land of fantasy, the bookends reflect the urgency of the running man who needs to exit from a situation ASAP.

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There are moments when a writer too faces a loss of words, and this is my moment. Not that I am facing a writer's block, but I don't have much information on this phone to share with you. However, creativity being a forte, I'll try and be as descriptive as possible. Designer Jakub Lekeš tries to push the limits of phone designing with his concept. The phone sports a touchscreen interface; even the keys are touch based. As you guessed it, it's a slider that features a running display of sorts, even on the outer rim. I suppose this comes on when you switch the MP3 player on, and the runner gives you the song details etc. There are several ports to one side of the phone, hinting that you can hook it up to several other devices.

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The byproduct of surfing the net and blogging is spectacles. Many of us are condemned to a lifetime of wearing glasses, but some of us let vanity creep in. Contact lenses are not only a boon to the conscious, but also a better way to manage the glasses-number. The point here is not spectacles design but the humble contact lens cover, which is a drab accessory in our world. Alexey Novikov has taken upon him the task of making this clinical design to an artistic expression. What really impresses is the range of designs that he has come out with. The pirates and boobs do bring out a chuckle! more pics after the break

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