You are 5 Minutes from Inbox Zero
The Issue:
On a day to day basis, I find that I am most productive when I start by jotting down my priorities for the day. I often then try to budget how long each priority will take and make a schedule with it before responding email. I typically look at the number of emails I have, double it and that's how long I estimate responding will take that morning. This is rarely accurate. The truth is, it tough to know how long clearing an inbox will take- until you go through each email.
Proposed Solution:
A Gmail labs/ plugin that tells you [...]
Sponge in Style
A while back we interviewed Priscilla Barton, creator of the OXO MagTacks a genius product that added functionality in its simple style. Well, she has done it again!
We are loving these Smart Sponges with their retro styling. The sponges come wafer thin and expand before use saving space till you actually need them. The best part is each sponge is labeled so you never forget what you use it for! No more getting confused on which is for the countertop and which for the dishes.
Here is an excerpt from the Smart Sponge site on the sponges:
If you have guests or [...]
Smart Phone, Smart Car…Why not Smart Volume?
As I was driving around sunny Southern California, running errands with my windows open, blasting music, I realized that at each stoplight my music was too loud, so I would turn it down. Then, when I started again, the music would be too quiet. I did some research and found that the cars already have a system to compensate for this. Lexus and Toyota have "auto sound leveling" which I did not know that I had on my prius. I tested it out and it seems as though it does not compensate for having the windows open- only for speed. [...]
Future of Retail
Increasingly I find people are going into stores with no intention of actually buying anything. They are going to stores to touch, try and ask questions about a product in person then jot down the description of the ones plan to buy so later they can go online to purchase it for less $ and have it sent directly to them. A trend like this which provides so much benefit to consumers is likely to grow, even at the detriment of retail stores.
What if stores just stopped holding inventory or distributing physical products all together? By taking the 'Experience Store' [...]
young innovation contest
I was recently browsing thru the entries for the James Dyson Awards and came across some neat new concepts that I wanted to share. If you are unfamiliar with the award, it is a contest to uncover the best new product design, industrial design and engineering university level students all over the world.
Shrinking Milk Jug - I have actually seen this one on a few other blogs as well. The idea is the milk jug collapses in size as you drink more milk leaving less air trapped inside. As a result, less air means less milk spoilage...great concept for [...]
learn more
What do you really learn in elementary school? Parents spend so much time stressing out over picking the perfect school district or program that they sometimes follow the “book” too closely. Should we be concerned at getting the highest test score or reading above your grade level? A few innovative programs challenge the norm and focus on inspiring the creative and lifestyle qualities in young learners. I really find them interesting and hope to find more programs budding up in our local neighborhoods.
The Blue school is a program created by the same people who brought us the Blue Man Group [...]
We’ve Moved!
Thanks to the amazing people at Arnold Worldwide, we have moved into our new office space here in NYC. The air is fresh here on the 11th floor, and we are excited to continue to creating from this lovely space! The three floor office we share is full of inspiration, and overflowing with technology, books, and and some of the most creative people in the city, we couldn't have dreamed of a better space!
So, if you are in Union Sq. shoot us an email (tank[at]incubaker.com) and we can meet up, trade stories, share ideas and who knows, perhaps we can [...]
Amazing race tour
So I spent an awesome weekend in Zurich with fellow incubaker, Fabian. As he was showing me around the sites of Zurich, he told me about an awesome scavenger hunt in NYC for his friend's birthday. In a nutshell, the scavenger hunt paired groups of 3 on a quest of clues that pointed them all over Manhattan. Every effort was made to make this an event to remember as people scoured the city looking into bars, gardens and other locations for puzzles, clues and even passwords into secret gmail accounts.
We got to thinking...why isnt there a tour group that offers [...]
I Go smart card
I recently read about the I Go smart card and was truly blown away. The I Go concept is pretty straightforward as it connects all of Chicago's buses, subways, trains and car-sharing programs into one shared system all accessible from ONE smart card. Imagine going up to one universal kiosk and putting money on your smart card that allows you to ride a bus to a train and then finally drive in a shared car.
I appreciate the concept since living in San Francisco has been a public transportation headache as its disconnected systems have been a interesting learning curve from the BART, [...]
ink less printer
I came across this neat new technology from Zink Imaging that has essentially eliminated the need for ink cartridges. We all go thru that painful cycle of not wanting to go out and buy new ink while our printers slowly churn out unreadable copies of spotted ink. Zink is neat in that the ink is actually embedded in the paper while the printer uses special heat sensors to heat up the crystals in the ink to bring the color to life.
It is especially useful in mobile printers as it greatly reduces the size and weight. The printer shown here is [...]
