Future Routers pass themselves off as common household items: clocks, tables, jellyfish

We see plenty of sweet concept designs 'round here (not to mention some downright bizarre ones) so we're all pretty acquainted with wanting things that we can't have. That said, there are a couple of these Future Routers -- designed by a firm called TalkTalk in conjunction with Goldsmiths, University of London -- that inspire some serious techno-lust. Route O'Clock, for instance, not only keeps tabs on your bandwidth utilization, but it displays the info on the clock face itself -- and looks good doing it. Also quite eye-pleasing is the Hybrid, a model that passes itself off as a hardwood side table. On the slightly more bizarre end of the spectrum is the aptly name Jellyfish, which apparently takes up a lot of space and gives off a creepy blue glow (not one for those of you in one bedroom / studio apartments). Last but not least, the Energy Saver doubles as a key holder, with the dubious benefit of shutting itself off when the last key is picked up. The rationale behind this one is that when everyone leaves the flat, no one will be using the Internets -- we guess these guys have never heard of bit.torrent. Get a better look in the gallery below, and don't forget to check out the video after the break.

Gallery: Future Routers concepts

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[Via SlashGear]

[Kwok @ Jul 17th 2009 3:18AM]

wonderful

[loocas @ Jul 17th 2009 8:04AM]

Indeed. We'll progress from a mini, cell-phone, sized little boxes to a hideous jellyfish rubbish in the future... Great!







*rolls eyes*

[dsteve303 @ Jul 17th 2009 3:12AM]

In a realistic world, one of those would be a mac.

[Ellianth @ Jul 17th 2009 3:25AM]

I'd settle for people saying router instead of: ROOTAH.

Effin' chikun Chasaz.

[Tiptup300 @ Jul 17th 2009 3:25AM]

I don't know anyone who owns a mac.

I'm not downing them, just saying.

Actually, i do know one jobless person does that count?

[ijyt @ Jul 17th 2009 3:40AM]

@Ellianth

Real english speakers pronounce route as root, so it really should be "rootah". Only with an "err", not an "ah".

:D

[David @ Jul 17th 2009 3:55AM]

Weird.. most people I know have Macs.. my physics class was like a 3:1 ratio, outside of school its more like 2:1 tho. Odd. I guess I know too many girls with wealthy parents lol.

[j_g_puff @ Jul 17th 2009 5:05AM]

Router (rowter) - tool for hollowing out or profiling the edges of bits of wood
Router (rooter) - device for routing data in a network

[Garst @ Jul 17th 2009 6:17AM]

The percentage of Apple's laptop market share is between 12-18%, which means that there would have to be six laptops to ensure statistically that one should be an Apple laptop. However, in a realistic world, people will use whatever they have sitting around when making video like this.

[j_g_puff @ Jul 17th 2009 7:08AM]

I know this is no place to start a discussion about statistics, but having 6 people does not 'statistically guarantee' that at least one of them will be using a Mac. Assuming that your 12% figure is correct, in any group of 6 users there is about a 46% chance that all 6 would be using non-Macs, and hence a 54% chance that at least one user would be using a Mac.

With three users, as in the above picture, there's a 68% chance that all are using non-Macs.

[DssTrainer @ Jul 17th 2009 11:09AM]

in a realistic world, they would be using wireless jellyfish

[Quikboy @ Jul 17th 2009 12:44PM]

Why? A lot of people here use Vaios and other computers, but not many Macs.

[Ellianth @ Jul 17th 2009 12:51PM]

I say route the way real english speakers say it. But rootah is a very annoying word. I just had to make fun of them :p.

[dadisms @ Jul 18th 2009 3:09PM]

I love my VAIO. Payed wayyyyyyyyy to much though. But, raid ssd drives......fast!!

[CraigJ @ Jul 17th 2009 3:16AM]

routers, servers and whatnot belong in a rack in a closet.

[j_g_puff @ Jul 17th 2009 4:57AM]

Agreed. If you start making network hardware which is large and has a strange physical appearance, it's going to get really hard to choose one - there's a whole new dimension to consider. Even if that side table thing was perfect feature-wise, I could never buy it because the other half would go mental -- it's just too ugly.

[loosely_coupled @ Jul 17th 2009 4:05PM]

Except for HD media streaming and I guess NAS use, I would assume the majority of people use WiFi anyways..

[Munky @ Jul 17th 2009 3:17AM]

The jellyfish router (or should I say rooter?) is pretty sexay...

[schrutefan @ Jul 17th 2009 3:19AM]

It's fairly common for people to sit in a circle in the same room with laptops wired together through ethernet smiling and laughing at each other via IM or Twitter rather than talking face to face.

[Ellianth @ Jul 17th 2009 3:22AM]

Yes.
I do that in the library at school sometimes. Especially if I'm talking shit about the people in front of me :p.

[Ellianth @ Jul 17th 2009 3:26AM]

Yes. I do it all the time, and I'm perfectly normal!

[j_g_puff @ Jul 17th 2009 5:00AM]

Maybe it's designed for Internet Addicts Anonymous meetings?

[Orinjz @ Jul 17th 2009 5:18AM]

You know what the tragic thing is? I've actually done that a few times at my place and other people's for various reasons; sometimes necessity, sometimes coincidence when other people just happen to be in the house. Maybe it's just a London thing.

[bu`[ @ Jul 17th 2009 3:23AM]

That's one stupid concept.

[videonevin @ Jul 17th 2009 3:25AM]

yeah except everything is wireless now...

[bublik @ Jul 17th 2009 3:27AM]

very creapY

[zacheryjensen @ Jul 17th 2009 3:28AM]

Yeah, I think I've seen this concept somewhere before... http://tinypic.com/r/2e2gnbm/3

[Fred @ Jul 17th 2009 3:31AM]

This would be great if routers weren't already small boxes that you can just put in a closet and connect to wirelessly.

[iknowaeiou @ Jul 17th 2009 3:36AM]

Looks like the Imperial probe that Chewie blew up.

But I gotta say, that chick w/ the loose shirt-strap is not dressed for Hoth at all.

[Uncontrol @ Jul 17th 2009 3:40AM]

would go for this if it was wireless and wiggled

[ED @ Jul 17th 2009 4:15AM]

Kill it! Kill it before it reproduces!

[Allston @ Jul 17th 2009 4:42AM]

"In the future, all routers will be wireless!"

[pablito @ Jul 17th 2009 4:43AM]

The models are thinkng "Just smile...don't look it...oh shiI think that bitch moved a tentacle, dont look it, just smile...two shoots more and I'm out..."

[Daniel @ Jul 17th 2009 5:02AM]

Anyone notice that the dude kept on saying "reeta" rather than "router"?

[fieldcar @ Jul 17th 2009 9:33AM]

lol.

[fieldcar @ Jul 17th 2009 9:44AM]

more like rooh-tah!

"Router" is of course derived from the word "route". Its damn creative how the British can butcher the language.
One of my friends from Crew, England, says the letter 'H' as "hāych" instead of the common and correct "āch"

[Bird @ Jul 17th 2009 1:48PM]

When you start putting bars above letters is when you stop comprehending.

[feraligatr8 @ Jul 18th 2009 4:31AM]

@fieldcar lol the english butcher the pronunciation????? That's how you're supposed to say it, American english is just butchered english english. You're the ones who changed it.

[Tommy Mang @ Jul 22nd 2009 8:50AM]

Let's sit around the router and chat with eachother via messenger ... Is that a good thing?

[CJ @ Jul 17th 2009 6:41AM]

Hhaha, that jellyfish one looks like a Mister Handy!

[10minutehobo @ Jul 17th 2009 6:55AM]

Be grateful it comes with a combat inhibitor chip.

[Str1ker @ Jul 17th 2009 8:01AM]

"common household items: jellyfish"

Yep, I got plenty of jellyfish lying around the house.

[The Avatar @ Jul 17th 2009 8:34AM]

Freaky.

[Fooliecoolie @ Jul 17th 2009 8:48AM]

I am surprised there hasn't been a Yogg-Saron comment entered in yet...

[RedSky @ Jul 18th 2009 5:03AM]

Yep, jellyfish in the middle of your living room sure are common household items.

[JayAlmasy @ Jul 17th 2009 10:12AM]

Metriod Fans Unite!!!

[ferrell @ Jul 17th 2009 11:03AM]

Hold on: I don't think those cables are attached to their computers...

[Guy @ Jul 17th 2009 12:26PM]

I'm just going to through this one out there- who the f*** uses wired networks anymore?!

802.11n

[dan2600 @ Jul 17th 2009 1:26PM]

if your router turns off when you leave home how are your TORRENTS going to download?

considering a router uses 1.5-3.5cents per day to run...seems kinda silly that a router would need POWER SAVING...

[Windhawk @ Jul 17th 2009 2:11PM]

Squiddies!