The days of monolithic stereo systems in the home are fast fading. While not quite extinct, they are not the style today's consumer wants in a living room or den, or whatever. New technologies allow for sizing down of stereo systems while still allowing for superior sound quality. The B & W iPod Zeppelin Speakers System is a perfect example of this direction in high fidelity compact stereo systems.

Now this is one of those gifts that's perfect as a Christmas, birthday, or graduation or other significant milestone gift. Because it retails between $500-600 its not one of those last minute "I better get him or her something, fast" type gifts.

Bowers & Wilkins, hence B & W, are known for their recording studio equipment that world-class studios rely on. Now, that technology is making its way into the average home more and more. With the B & W Zeppelin, you can load that iPod up with your favorite music and blast it into any room where you want full stereo speaker sound. What's great is everything's within one sleek unit.

The unit is compact enough to carry around from room to room. It is great for parties when you want clarity of sound from a device that sits subtly in the background playing your inventory of tunes. You just plug the Zeppelin in, place your iPod on the docking station, and hit play. The next step is to sit back, relax, and enjoy.

The design looks like something out of the Jetson's (am I dating myself? LOL). It is an elegant design and one based on acoustic principles. The narrower the enclosures of the tweeter part of the speaker the better the sound dispersion. That's why the Zeppelin narrows at its ends.

The unit comes with a remote control for adjusting sound. It also has connections at the back so you can plug in and play other sources through the system. Another feature is the ability to send images from your iPod, through the Zeppelin to your television.

The B & W Zeppelin has an internal subwoofer driver.  Its central location in the deepest part of the unit, handles deep rich bass sounds with power. What makes the Zeppelin's sound that much better are the three high-quality amplifiers it has. These are for left, right, and bass. Most iPod playing units only have two; it's this third one in the Zeppelin, which gives the system its top-quality stereophonic sound.

Advancements in technology and sound design are making it easier to enjoy studio quality playback in the home. With the new unobtrusive sophisticated designs out there, you can have music playing on a unit that blends into a room's aesthetic. A stereo system no longer has to take over a room's aesthetic. That's what The B & W Zeppelin strives to achieve. Cue the music, grab your favorite libation, and enjoy technology made for the home with the heart of a recording studio.
 
Posted by Mike.

You want to buy a funky, unique gift for someone who's moving into his or her new digs. You want practical but not run-of-the-mill. You want something that someone will look at and say…"now that's a cool idea!"

Think about buying a Concealed Invisible Bookshelf. It's a product designed to make a personal library look like it's hanging in the air.

Guests will enter the room and stand with a quizzical look on their faces as they stare at what's before them on the wall. This gift is a great addition to an apartment or condominium because of their limited floor space. It's also an inexpensive way to 'funkifize' a room. They retail in the $10 to $13 range.

The Concealed Invisible Bookshelf operates with one hardcover book as its base. You can add any assortment of paperbacks and hardcover's to this base.

You simply screw the bookshelf into the wall (hopefully the wall stud).

Then you take the hardcover book, which will serve as the base and insert the back cover into the lip at the bottom of the bookshelf. Next, you fold over the top of the book onto the small protruding ledge of the Conceal Invisible Bookshelf. Then you start stacking any other books atop this hardcover. The hardcover serves as the strong support base for all the others.

 
The result is books floating in the air like stacks of cumulous-nimbus clouds. You can even set up a few bookshelves in an undulating pattern instead of a straight-line pattern. You can be as creative as you want to be with these invisible bookshelves. Your canvas is your wall; your creative tools are your screwdriver and bookshelf plates. The artistic result is up to you.

The Conceal Invisible Bookshelf comes in two sizes. The Standard size can handle a book depth of 8 inches and a total book weight of fifteen pounds. The Large size can handle a book depth of 10 inches and a total book weight of twenty pounds. However, if you do not screw the unit into a wall stud you should use wall anchors, drywall anchors, and the like.

The trick to giving your bookshelf the invisible look is to pile your books high enough on the unit to cover the metal apparatus screwed into the wall. This way no visible means of support are exposed and the books look like their suspended in air.

I think this would be a great gift idea for someone with a flair for the different. Again, it's an ideal gift for those with limited storage space as everything is off the floor. The floor space saved is now available for other uses.

For the friend or family member who's a reader, the Conceal Invisible Bookshelf always has their favorite books floating before there very eyes.

Invisible Bookshelves

Posted by Mike.

Are you bored with your morning coffee?  Want a cup that will entertain you and hold enough coffee to provide you with a good amount of liquid energy?  The Stacked Cup might be the right solution. 

It looks like three regular sized coffee mugs stacked on top of one another but it’s all one piece.  There are three handles, each pointing in a different direction so no matter what angle you need to grab your coffee from, chances are, you’ll grab a handle. 

With all the novelty mugs out there, this one is pretty unique.  Folks will do a double take when they see you drinking from the top of the stack and it’s sure to start a conversation.  That is, unless they really think you’re drinking from a stack of mugs, in which case you may be deemed too crazy for conversation. If that’s the case, you’ll get more work done and have plenty of peace and quiet in the morning to drink your coffee in solitude!

The Stacked Cup may not be colorful or have any witty puns emblazoned upon it, but its design is a bit zany all on its own!  Give it to a friend or co-worker as a gift and it’ll be sure to become a favorite in their collection.

Stacked Coffee Cup

Posted by Jennifer.