The tiny shoulder slung vacuum is encased in brushed metal, costs a modest $130, and weighs just five pounds. It's somewhat quiet too, says Toshiba, with an output of 65dB.

Still, vacuuming is a solitary, relatively noisy activity that pisses off family pets and annoys me to no end—this coming from a guy with hardwood floors and one rug. Why bother making it pretty? [Toshiba via Wired Gadget Lab]

This 'Silence Amplified' concept follows the UltraSilencer model which is on sale now, but I think we all know which model we'd spring for. As it's a completely silent vacuum cleaner, you'd be able to hear the music played via the inbuilt iPod dock (guess that's a concept iPod in the dock, too?) and integrated speakers, with Electrolux claiming:

"One of the results is that vacuuming to music gets the job done faster, with less stress, and it can even result in some more calories burned."

Sure, we'll take what exercise we can get, especially if it picks up all that cat hair from the tiles. [Electrolux]

The concept involves some sort of magical ceramic from outer space that starts out opaque, but becomes transparent when exposed to the heat of a flame. The fireplace also seems like it would be small enough to fit in one hand. I wouldn't expect to go to the grocery store anytime soon to pick up a six-pack of fire—but it is an interesting design at least. [Six Different Ways via Apartment Therapy via DVICE]

It's a mere design concept, sadly, as we don't have the science of growing animal proteins quite figured out yet. But Electrolux is serious about making it a reality, giving the designer at $7,347 prize and a six month paid internship at their design center. Will this someday result in Cocoon-grown steaks? One can only hope. [Daily Mail via Fast Company]

Teleport Fridge

Why: Unless you can find a way to live for another 1000 years, a fridge that teleports food to you probably won't be a part of your kitchen of the future.

Cocoon

Why: Test tube meat...mmmm good!

Wall Oven

Why: The fire department might have a problem with you openly zapping food with a three laser cooking system.

Origin Bubbles

Why: "Self-contained, palmed-size packets, the Origin Bubbles electronically regulate the temperature of food molecules. These molecules are then transformed into tasty, real life dishes at the touch of a button."

Is this molecule...submarine...thingy even based on actual science?

Vaccine Refrigerator

Why: If you need a magnetically cooled fridge to house over 1000 vaccines and antivenins, chances are the apocalypse has occurred. [Electrolux via Appliancist]

Taste Test is our weeklong tribute to the leaps that occur when technology meets cuisine, spanning everything from the historic breakthroughs that made food tastier and safer to the Earl-Grey-friendly replicators we impatiently await in the future.

The Mini Kitchen is designed for the growing numbers of young and single people in China, and features an all-in-one design including tiny facsimiles of a fridge, stovetop, and silverware. The "cook box" is sort of like a compartmentalized bento box that can be used for both cooking and serving, which is actually pretty clever. The tablet PC is a small netbook-type that is mostly intended for chatting (as it features a webcam) and looking up recipes. Unfortunately for all you single-and-staying-that-way types, it is just a concept for now, but it seems fairly marketable if the price could be kept down. [Yanko Design]

Buchberger said he decided to create Flatshare from personal experience, after discovering that “there is nothing more disgusting than a dirty fridge in a shared flat.” I had one of those experiences. One former roommate had made a creamy fruit salad in the fall, and plum forgotten about it when she moved out in the winter. I could've sworn the monstrosity that greeted me three months later asked me if I was the Gatekeeper. [Flatshare Fridge set via Electrolux

The device sports an all clear body and is programmed to begin the wash cycle once your clothes pile up to a certain weight. After giving your unmentionables a good rinse down, it sends a message to your PC or cellphone via its integrated wi-fi. Other than the annoyingly unimaginative name (trust me, iAm as iSick of iThis and iThat as you guys are), this gadget idea seems pretty golden. [Born Rich]

[Product Design Forums via The Design Blog]

"When auto-exposure and auto-focus were new features on cameras, there was a lot of skepticism," claims Stråberg. "But, with time, auto-focus has been accepted and today it is a standard feature. For the oven and for the camera, it is all about pushing one button to ensure a professional result."

To cook a joint of meat, you simply select "roast" on the oven's single dial, before indicating whether you want it rare, medium or well-done. The oven, apparently, will tell you whether to put it on its top, middle or bottom shelf—while it is still cold. Then the Inspiro's special maths stuff begins.

It works out the energy consumption and time needed to get the meat to the right temperature of the. That information, alongside its database of professional cooking techniques, calculates what combination of heating modes is required—whether the heat needs to come from the top, bottom, side, whether it needs to use its fan or the grill—to get the dish cooked to perfection.

There's also a manual mode, which means you can ignore the Inspiro's epicurean brain and cook things exactly how you want it. It looks good, too. Here's a video of how it is put together in the Electrolux factory in the German city of Rothenburg.

[Electrolux Inspiro]

The Fridge is pretty spanky too, no? [Electrolux Design Lab via MoCo Loco]

It doses out the perfect amount of light and gives your budding plants nutrient cocktails to make sure they grow just the way they should. This is just a concept at the moment, but perhaps you lazy green thumbs out there will get to pick one of these up sooner or later. –Adam Frucci

Electrolux VEGE [Gadget Candy]

If I were in the market, and this went into production, I'd try it, though. I've always dreamed of having a sushi bar fridge in my home, and this would give me a similar transparent casing, and potentially, the same landscape form. But it's still my second choice, next to the invisible fridge.–Brian Lam

[via Yanko]

The only real flaw I can see is that the shoes still require you to actually walk around the house. Maybe if they could attach a vacuum to my wheeled computer chair, or a Segway, we'd have a winner. – Mark Wilson

Vacuum Shoes! [via randomgoodstuff]

We like that all this technology means less chemicals, not so much for the environment, but our tendency to always be out of detergent because we never go to the store. Then we find ourselves in a bind with no clean undies, thinking maybe we can borrow the wife's as long as we avoid urinals for the day. All is well until we unconsciously bend over in the afternoon, revealing a blue sparkle thong to our coworkers. Yeah, this washing machine is pretty much the greatest thing ever. – Mark Wilson

Electrolux Washing System [via crave]

But wait, isn't that a touchscreen up there? Apparently only the taller members of the household will be allowed to use this PC. Anyway, when are these appliance companies going to give up on this lame idea? People who have enough money to buy such a high-end refrigerator are probably smart enough to know what they have in the refrigerator and what they need to add to it or not. Give it up, dopes, nobody's that stupid. – Charlie White

Electrolux Cyber fridge [The Appliancist]