dennisyoung’s posterous

 What is the 'thing' you are observing?

World Tour Single X Keyboard Stand

What is the purpose of it?

To support the weight of keyboard instruments

How is it a part of one's everyday life?

A musician needs his keyboard off the ground during performance due to his non-trivial height as well as during storage-- to avoid the hazards of water damage as well as to have it held in place in an orderly fashion.

How is it designed well?

It employs the straightforward single X-brace design which facilitates use of less material for high strength. The heavy-duty 1-inch square and round steel construction ensures reasonable weight distribution up to 130 pounds, which is more than thrice the load it can be expected to shoulder. It is therefore cheap and light.

Furthermore, one can adjust the height of the keyboard stand to suite different play positions (height range is 25.25" to 38.75") as well as fold it flat to facilitate easy storage. This is made possible by an intuitive secure-Lock center clutch height adjustment system. At the end of each 19-inch steel member is non-marking rubber end caps which help provide grip for the structure and also a bit of give.   

How is it designed not so well?

The single X design, in spite of being cheap and relatively strong, is faulted for being wobbly at weights beyond 35 pounds. Also, the use of the center clutch height adjustment system makes it necessary for one to bend and reach for the levers—a process that can definitely be done in a much more elegant way.        

What improvements would you make?

Instead of fitting the vertical members of the structure parallel to the horizontal bases I would have them fitted at a 45-degree angle to the bases in order to better handle lateral forces, thereby making it more stable.

Fitting the clutch assembly to the handle would be my biggest suggestion because one needs more than two hands to depress the clutch and pry open the X-assembly in order to set up or dismantle the keyboard stand.    

Anything else?

To achieve maximal stability and strength for the X-structured keyboard stand, one could need to introduce double bracing. This however is expensive and therefore beats the logic of having a cheap and light keyboard stands—especially for those with light keyboards.   

Dennis Odhiambo

denomyte@mit.edu

       

Click here to download:

Product_Observation_Blogpost_5.zip (3732 KB)

What is the 'thing' you are observing?

Adidas Intelligence 1.1 sneakers

What is the purpose of it?

Running shoes for the astute runner

How is it a part of one's everyday life?

With modernization have come heavy infrastructural developments which have resulted in the swallowing up of traditional running routes such as backyard woods. These have been replaced by hard concrete footpaths which have little give, hence are in the medium to long term are a cause of joint pains and degradation.  For urban running, then, one requires shoes with adequate side and sole padding-- which at the same time transfer as much of your energy to the ground to avoid tiring you. 

Enter the Adidas Intelligence.

How is it designed well?

The Adidas 1.1 shoe utilizes advanced material in the quest for making the shoe as light, sporty and fancy-looking as possible. The upper is made of a blend of natural leather, latex and plastic while the sole is made of a state-of-the-art blend of polyurethane foam, rubber and fiberglass. The whole outer shoe surface is glazed in polyurethane to ensure durability.  

To top up all this sophisticated hardware is the microprocessor-controlled motorized cable system which works hand in hand with a sensor to provide the perfect shoe cushioning level regardless of the runners' weight, pace or running surface. The sensor on the shoe can read up to 200,000 sensor measurements per second therefore the shoe is able to adjust in real time in response to any changes.    

One can also customize the shoe by creating preset shoe-fit modes for various activities by a quick and easy process. A CD guide that ships with the shoe elaborates more on the care and use of the shoe.

How is it designed not so well?

The only downside I have realized of this product is that battery technology has yet to mature to the levels required for the optimal performance of this shoe's motor. Currently, Lithium-ion batteries are in use. These are able to supply high power but tend to get depleted quickly, hence the need to frequently replace them.

NB: Even so, one is able to determine how much power is left in each battery by pressing on buttons mounted on the shoe arch.  

What improvements would you make?

I would develop USB rechargeable motors since a lot of the shoe's users are hardcore athletes who would look up training instructions or eating suggestions on the computer via the website or accompanying help CD.  This would ease the burden on having to replace the batteries every so often.

Anything else? 

This is a novel concept that underlines Adidas' intention of keeping athletics and recreation in line with technological trends—and this may well be the future of footware.  

Dennis Odhiambo

denomyte@mit.edu

     

Click here to download:

Product_Observation_Blogpost_4.zip (1760 KB)

What is the 'thing' you are observing?

Yamaha Motif XS6

 What is the purpose of it?

This is a keyboard workstation arranger—translating to a portable studio that assumes the shape of a piano J

How is it a part of one's everyday life?

Musicians (like me) and more specifically performing pianists are usually so picky about the timbre of their instruments (read: pianos) and would much rather bring theirs around than be made to play random ones at concerts. To get authentic piano sounds that don't sacrifice on portability, one needs an electronic keyboard.

At the same time, composers mostly have to work with computer software that attempts to simulate keyboards, assigning various functions to many keys, [functions] that can only be controlled by the mouse, keyboard and other basic peripheral devices. For them the Yamaha Motif XS provides easy remote controlled interfacing with computers as well as enabling them to leverage their piano skills to make faster recordings by simulating any musical instrument or effect.

How is it designed well?

The Yamaha Motif XS series is the pinnacle of sassy and elegant styling. It features a top aluminum panel painted a cool hue of blue-metallic with the corresponding bottom panel painted black. It also boasts the slimmest design of all the workstations keyboard in its range and capability (high range, that is J) as well as having handy grooves for easy carrying.

It has a large full-color screen with control buttons staggered intuitively for easier, painless control. Its control buttons feature a wide range of textures depending on their use: Volume Controls are sliders, pitch bend and modulation controls are notched wheels, track settings are made of rubberized metal while recording controls (the most abused) are made of light plastic with long travel distance.

On the software side, every element perceivable has been upgraded. Sound sampling has been increased to a massive 1GB of ROM for every instrument rendering it even more piano-like than the grand piano next to you. Controls for particular functions are arranged in designated areas making it the easiest complicated thing you may be able to use—if you have had prior working knowledge of other keyboard workstations. Finally the operating system utilizes a Linux kernel that is famed for its efficiency in resource management, stability, security as well runtime—which comes in handy in a device that operates on gigabytes of data per second.

How is it designed not so well?

I live with it and am therefore too heavily prejudiced in its favor to give a delta comment J  

What improvements would you make?

I would throw in optional detachable Yamaha Motif XS6 designer speakers. At the moment the manufacturer assumes that as a studio-owner the last thing you need is an extra pair of speakers so it a feature has been intentionally left out of high-end workstations as an industry standard. This move is said to cut down on both hardware and software requirements hence favors the manufacturer. Even so it would be cool to play the Yamaha Motif XS6 in a stand-alone set-up without using headphones e.g. for your friends.    

Anything else? 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Dennis Odhiambo

denomyte@mit.edu

     

Click here to download:

Product_Observation_Blog_Post_.zip (1567 KB)

What is the 'thing' you are observing?

The Motorola L6

What is the purpose of it?

It is a cellular phone that doubles up as a WAP page browser, a camera with video capability, and a low capacity mp3 player.

How is it a part of one's everyday life?

The L6 integrates everyday electronic gadgets (as mentioned above) that are otherwise too bulky or would be unreasonably many.    

How is it designed well?

Its slim and flat form factor is the hallmark of its design. To achieve this, the keypad has been made of anodized aluminum with a touch of rubber for better grip. It also assumes a wider profile than your average sized clamshell free phone. It also employs a colorful and intuitive graphical user interface, with many of its applications utilizing Java applets for richer texture and animation.

It comes mainly in two stylish hues: silver-metallic and jet black. The L6's simple yet stylish design has earned it many accessories from unaffiliated companies (OEM), so one is never short of appearance options.  

How is it designed not so well?

The L6's flat profile exposes a center button which on pressing leads to the "Games" menu. As a result, in case one forgot to lock the keypad and accidentally pressed the phone's front panel the phone would inadvertently load java games—which use up a lot of the battery. This has the potential of leaving one stranded with a dead phone.

Also its extra flat integrated keypad has a bit of a learning curve to it due to the reduced key travel distance and space in between keys.  

Having made its debut well before the iPhone era, this phone has no touch screen functionality. It also has a much lower screen resolution compared to phones released post iPhone.        

On the software front, the phone is annoying in that even after putting the phone on silent mode alarms still go off as per previous sound settings… a not too discrete way of informing people that the meeting's being going on long enough!

What improvements would you make?

To prevent unintended loading of the computer games which are a huge drain on the power resources, the projecting center button on the L6 should point to some other 'harmless' feature such as the SMS menu.

To further make the L6 user-friendly and easier to use, there should be the option of installing embossed rubber keypads to facilitate easier and faster timing for those customers willing to sacrifice on thickness.  

Anything else? 

The L6, like the Motorola RAZR (Razor) is past its prime hence any dramatic changes on it would do little on the part of attracting or retaining customers. This is because today's phone user demands PDA-like functionality from their cell phones, many of which [PDA's] have yet to reduce to the L6's slimness—the whole point of the L6.  

Dennis Odhiambo

denomyte@mit.edu

What is the 'thing' you are observing?

BMW M3

What is the purpose of it?

The BMW M-series are sports cars that are supposed to drive like town cars everyday but go bonkers whenever you want them to.

How is it a part of one's everyday life?

They are meant for suburban dwellers that would drive them to work every day but also use them for the occasional long, thrill-filled leisure drive to exotic places accessible by narrow and winding back roads.  

How is it designed well?

This version of BMW packs 420 horsepower (bhp) and 295 ft* lbf of torque, making it the ideal mid high- range sports car. On board electronic systems e.g. Electronic Launch Control, Electronic Stability Control and Electronic Traction Control help the unprofessional (inexperienced) driver keep the car under control at high speeds as well as enable the car launch quickly from start (0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds) and better sustain engine power throughout the rev band.           

How is it designed not so well?

It features the highly digitized I-Drive system that makes use of a computer console to change the settings of any parameter imaginable—for example steering response (sensitivity), engine output percentage, suspension stiffness among many others. Having all these 'knobs' at one's disposal complicates the otherwise straightforward exercise that is driving and can be counted on to waste a few minutes of your life everyday as it takes an average of 30 seconds to pick through the maze of settings and start the car.

What improvements would you make?

I would introduce analog button options for the main drive parameters to make the vehicle friendly to the technophobic masses.

Also, as with the BMW's competitors, like the Mercedes AMG C65 and the Audi RS4, I would have it utilize automatic transmissions with optimized gear ratios and simple four-wheel drive systems to sidestep the problem of having too many options to be set by the mostly non-conversant buyers.

Anything else?  

Lovely shape—gives it an aggressive stance.

Dennis Odhiambo

denomyte@mit.edu