<![CDATA[Gizmodo: ben arent]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: ben arent]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/benarent http://gizmodo.com/tag/benarent <![CDATA[Jive is Hardware-Based System to Get Grandpa Social-Networking]]> I thought silver-surfers were one of the fastest rising 'netted sectors of society, but designer Ben Arent thinks there are technophobic grandparents who could do with a helping hand. His Jive system integrates hardware-based social networking gizmos with a simple router to make everything a bit simpler. The idea is that instead of using a mouse, you simply slot in a physical key to the "Betty" unit and it'll do the online status updating automatically for you.

The conceptual system starts with a simple one-touch router which gives free ADSL by having targeted 50+ advertising. Then the "Betty" unit is the comms core, with slots which you pop specialized keys into: a "friend key" means you could easily send a message to that person, for example. Those "friend" keys are given by individuals to their friends, providing a one-stop digital life database and controllable access via a registration website.

While it seems like a great design idea to allow tech-wary people to get online, Jive's got one major flaw that I can spot: not much can beat a real letter or a phone call to your older relatives. [Yanko design]

]]> http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=391995&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[EnergyTree—Forget to Recycle, Kill a Living Thing]]> Ben Arent, a creative young designer, has proposed the EnergyTree. Basically it's an actual tree that is connected to a processor that monitors your in-home environmental habits. And depending on your energy/recycling routines you will either feed your baby tree water & nutrients or poison. That's right, if you are bad to the planet you will see the effects in your very own home, as your tree begins to die.

Currently the EnergyTree is only a concept, but it's entered in Microsoft's StartSomething PC design competition. So hopefully we will see it make its way into production, because we currently have no idea if keeping our office at a crisp 65 degrees is outweighing our gadget power consumption.– Ben Longo

The Energy Tree [Treehugger]
Product Page [EnergyTree]

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