Free Lines make extension cables fun again

From what we can glean, Sung-hun Choi's Free Lines are merely a concept at this point, but any DIY'er trying to run power from the garage (or your neighbor's crib) to the home could appreciate the vision. Essentially, the design consists of a series of snappable cables and modular outlet blocks which can be strung along to just the right length, and better still, the artsy type could even use it to dress up a bare wall. Thinking there's just too much promise in this for it to stay stuck at the drawing board? Yeah, us too.

[StrangeBum @ Jan 18th 2008 8:27AM]

That's a pretty damn good idea. It could really help make things look nice again in a generally simple bedroom, if you need the cables. I honestly don't use extension cables that often but if I ever had the need, these would be nice.

[EMoShunz @ Jan 18th 2008 8:46AM]

totally agree, way too good an idea to stay down, especially for stations with multiple computers in close proximity. add a master surge module at the beginning of the chain and this is a huge winner.

[Peter @ Jan 18th 2008 9:05AM]

Ah those young designers... Drawing nice things is art, not design. If you can have a nice thing that also works, THAT is.

Unfortunately what we have here is just art, the pictures show plenty of nice opportunities for electrocution, so I dearly hope these concept things were not connected to any power source.

Sure, there are nice flowers on the socket and the 4-hole-style looks much nicer than the european recessed socket, but without ground and touch protection I hope your kids live long enough to enjoy the looks.
And true, the tiny plug with the possibility to connect two cables almost invisibly is intriguing. Now if someone had a look at the electrical and mechanical issues with that he'd know why the exisiting plugs are so bulky.
But clearly Mr. Sung-hun Choi hasn't bothered too much with that. Maybe someone could tell him there's no + and - with AC, though... :)

[Naegling @ Jan 18th 2008 9:11AM]

So someone invented a nice looking extension cord? I think I can pick up the exact same thing @ the local hardwares store for .99 US... and guess what, they work with every other extension cord in my house not some funky proprietary plug! Wow what a concept. Meh.

[Rocketboy @ Jan 18th 2008 9:14AM]

This thing will NEVER pass safety regulations. There's nothing to stop some dolt from overloading the circuit and causing a fire. Granted, you can do the same thing by daisy-chaining extension cords, bu that's you abusing a product. The ability for abuse is built right into this.

[Richard @ Jan 18th 2008 9:47AM]

There could be a fuse or breaker in the plug that connects to the normal wiring. We will never know because they haven't designed that part yet.

And no, its not possible to overload an outlet with normal multi plugs because they have a breaker in them to you cant pull more then a wall outlet can provide.

This to me looks like something that was not designed from the right end of the process. Who needs it, where is there a situation that would need one or 2 or 3 outlets then a long cable that you can adjust then another outlet? Every place I have a multi plug is because I have a need for lots of plugs in one location. further along the wall, I plug another one into the power outlet there. If you live in some prehistoric house with few outlets then put the cash towards rewiring it since the wiring is probably so old its about to fall to pieces and short out.

[Meridimus @ Jan 18th 2008 9:51AM]

It's a great Idea for neat freaks, and there alot of neat freaks who use computers. It will be a winner at the right price point and commercial availability.

[lanoitarus @ Jan 18th 2008 11:05AM]

What a terrible and poorly thought out idea on both an asthetic and logistical level.

First, they may look really nice strung along your wall, but only until you actually try to USE them- How nice does a flowery thing at eye level look once you have a cell phone charger hanging from it?

Second, as several people have pointed out, these are death waiting to happen. you have mateable coaxial AC power? What happens if one of these is live and you touch the end of the damn wire? At least with regular AC outlets you need a paperclip before you can fry yourself. Not to mention, from the design pictures, the "positive" and "negative" terminals appear to be about half a centimeter apart-- 120v AC can easily arc over this distance (particularly when bending the cable shortens the distance slightly, shorting your entire house.

Brilliant. These guys should design airplanes too.

[Andir3.0 @ Jan 18th 2008 4:07PM]

I'm just trying to figure out what happens if you pull on one of the boxes. Will it come unplugged easily? Are the wires stiff/bendable?

[APH @ Jan 18th 2008 12:21PM]

Something like this would have come in handy around Christmas time. I have trees and bushes in the front yard in rows, and wanted to illuminate them with lights. I had the choice of running lots of individual extension cords or a few nifty ones where there's a plug every couple yards on a single long cord. Of course I got the special ones, because it's so much neater like that.

It would be nice to have that kind of flexibility when doing temporary things (like extension cords should be used). Permanently in the house, though? Not so much.

[Welby @ Jan 18th 2008 1:29PM]

I take issue with the original premise. Who says the currently available extension cables aren't fun? I can use one single cord to both tie up my pesky neighbor and power up my electric chainsaw. That's practically performance art...

[Nick @ Jan 20th 2008 12:14AM]

Yeah, this is a BRILLIANT idea. As in, the light and heat from the wire will be BRILLIANT when some dolt fires up three refrigerators, two washing machines, 4 A/C units, a sump pump, a pressure washer, an electric range and a hair dryer at the same time. There are very good reasons why the cabling that supplies communities is BIG and HEAVY, compared to that ugly, unfashionable, non-modular 12 foot, 2 outlet extension cable some aesthetically (but not educationally) challenged engineer designed. A modular extension cable that doesn't either limit the total load or FORCE the use of heavier-guage wiring will never be safe. You REALLY think nobody thought of this before?