coupland
Latest
Douglas Coupland's V-Pole unifies wireless connectivity and EV charging in an LED streetlight
It's still very much a concept, and not something being described as a business venture, but author / designer Douglas Coupland is hoping that his new "V-Pole" design will serve as something of a model for cities looking to build out their technology infrastructure. As you can see, it's a rather nondescript (albeit brightly-colored) pole on the outside, but Coupland sees the inside being packed with an array of the latest technology, including Alcatel-Lucent lightRadios for wireless connectivity (both WiFi and cellular), an LED street light on top, and connections to nearby wireless charging stations for electric vehicles. As for the "V" in the name, that stands for Coupland's home city of Vancouver, which he sees as a natural fit for the pole -- something the city's mayor apparently agrees with.
IDEO's e-book concepts threaten our enjoyment of reading with social networking, online commentary
Every once in a while we come across a product designed by IDEO, but generally not anything to write home (or at least blog) about. But that doesn't mean that the industrial design firm's not hard at work conceptualizin' stuff, as this promo vid chock full of possible future e-books amply demonstrates. Nelson is meant to clue you in on a book's context by providing online commentary, fact-checking, and statistics about cultural impact, which is great when you're studying global warming for a class, perhaps, but seems a little over the top if you're curling up with the latest Left Behind novel. Coupland? Think Apple iBookstore-meets-Linked In, with colleague's reading lists, recommended books, and book clubs. This is for those of you whose summer beach reading includes Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices. Last but not least, Alice is the e-reader for those of you who want to "experience narratives in new and engaging ways," which seems to mean some sort of Web 2.0 / Choose Your Own Adventure hybrid. Actually, now that we think of it, we're probably better off with our old fashioned print books after all. Speaking of which, where did we put out copy of Left Behind? Video after the break.
Roots and Douglas Coupland team up for 'Roots x Douglas Coupland' collection
Douglas Coupland may be best known as the author that popularized the term "Generation X," but he's also an artist, a designer, and a Canadian, so it makes a bit of sense that he would team up with that most iconically Canadian clothing retailer, Roots, for a new clothing line. The result of that collaboration is "Roots x Douglas Coupland," which is apparently inspired in part by Canada's history in telecommunications, and by Coupland's idea that "what really links Canadians together is that we're all far apart." Of course, that hardly means the collection is just for Canadians. After all, who can't appreciate a wireframe beaver t-shirt or a motherboard tube skirt?
