Wed May 7, 2008 1:57AM EDT
See Comments (9)
I don't think designers know how to deal with the earbud concern out there.
On one hand, you have designers who try to create ways to manage your earbud's
wires, and on the other hand, you have designers trying to completely remove
earbuds from the equation to eliminate distractions and hearing loss.
Tim Dubitsky falls squarely in
the second category. Core
77 featured Tim's prototype design called Hood.e, which he created for his
young nephew. It appears his nephew walks a dangerous
route to school, so Tim
wanted to free him from earbuds that block out street sounds. To do this, he
embedded a pair of speakers into the hood of the sweatshirt that plug straight into his
nephew's music player.
Hood.e is still in a concept stage, but it's possible it could go into production in the near future if enough people ask for it. After all, Think Geek turned a speaker shirt (meant as an April Fool's joke) into a profitable product after being inundated with thousands of emails.
I like the idea, but I doubt something like the Hood.e would ever take off. I think it's perfect for people walking down a noisy street or riding a bike, but I doubt people on the subway will want to listen to your music. What do you think? Is this something you would wear?
In all seriousness folks, protect your hearing. A while back I wrote about ways to prevent tech-related hearing loss, but really, the best way to avoid hearing loss is by turning down the volume. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association says loud noises above 85 decibels can cause permanent hearing loss, so please, turn it down a notch.
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
Dirt and body odor happen so I am wondering how you wash the hood-e?
would I wear it ? probley not. would I buy it ? probley so. I might even put it on a credit card so I can pay for it over time.
. . . or this guy could tell his nephew to leave his mp3 player at home as it is not a required item for school . . . the dumbing down of america continues . . .
. . . oh yeah . . . what's uncle's reaction going to be when his nephew gets mugged for his expensive-looking hi-tech hood.e whilst walking through the rough neighborhood on the way to school???
Finally! After all the hype I got my hands on the iPhone and, yes, it does live up to all the hoopla ...
| Computers | Home Office | Wi-Fi & Networking | Phones & PDAs | Cameras & Camcorders | TV & Home Theater | Portable Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Posted by gullwingdoors on Wed May 7, 2008 3:08AM EDT Report Abuse
I've already done essentially this same thing myself.