(Click image for big-i-fied version.)

For a few thousand dollars, Japanese design firm D-Barcode will make your business a custom barcode, incorporating these simple vertical lines into pretty much any type of scene you can imagine (the code serves as everything from noodles to trees to rain to strands of melty cheese in the work we've seen)...which makes us ask, why is our packaging so lame?

If you'd like to see more D-Barcode work, hit these links: [Bar Code Revolution and TheDieline via FastCompany via NewLaunches]

Technology is all about what's new and what's next—today's iPhone is just tomorrow's paperweight. What about the things that were "new" and "next" yesterday or the day before? We live in a time of so much change and progress that there's nostalgia for things that kinda still exist. Here are a few that, for better or worse, are fading fast.

Got any more dead innovations you want to lament or wish good riddance? Chances are Anna Jane covered them in her book, but until you pick up a copy, you might as well comment about it below.

Anna Jane Grossman is the author of Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By (Abrams Image) and the creator of iamobsolete.net. Her writing has appeared in dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Salon.com, the Associated Press, Elle and the Huffington Post. She has a complicated relationship with technology, but she does have an eponymous website: AnnaJane.net. Follow her on Twitter at @AnnaJane. [ Photo of Anna Jane by Amber Marlow Blatt, from Hey Brooklyn]

The first one is the Snow Leopard that comes in the box and Apple's site. The second one, which shows clear traces of blood around his mouth, is the one that ships inside Mac OS X Snow Leopard, as a desktop background. It seems that our Windows 7 killing Snow Leopard and eating it report was greatly exaggerated.

It was totally wrong in fact. It is Snow Leopard who killed Windows 7. And all its development team. A two zoo guides. And six babies and their moms. BAD CAT!

Check the commentary for every design in this gallery

I understand cost-cutting measures. Production-wise, the first Leopard box is probably the most expensive of them all. But after the good design logic that went into every single box before Snow Leopard, I can't understand how they have settled with this bland design. Especially in this release: The new OS is packed with strong features under the hood, but no wowiezowie eye candy or any must-have-or-die new tool... so why don't mark the engine improvements with an awesome box? Or, if not awesome, at least a solid design that tells a good story.

Because right now, the only story I get is "hi, I'm a bloody white cat with spots who has been hunting wabbits on the snow all day. I'm wet." Veehee lame indeed.

The only thing that came in this monstrous package is a simple power cord that HP inexplicably shipped in a box sturdy enough to ship the entire Canadian army. There's probably a story behind it—I've never in my life seen a package delivered while still strapped to a wooden pallet—but as it stands, we can just bask in the ridiculous juxtaposition of tiny item, giant box. [Notebook Review Forums]

It's from CES says Josh T. It's the same difference to me, because I am indifferent to unboxing, but if this isn't a final retail package, etc, it apparently has no ceremonial value. [Thanks, shopperciti.com!]

...Still, I didn't want you people to miss out! More pics over at BGR. [Boy Genius Report]

Boxed Water Is Better sells water in cartons, ditching the plastic bottles while reducing the overall carbon footprint of packing and distribution by 80%.

20% of the company's profits are passed along to reforestation (10%) and water relief (10%) while you sip on the sweet hydrogen/oxygen nectar of Minnesota and a few parts per billion of paper pulp.

But while Boxed Water is undoubtedly more sustainable than bottled water, I can't help but think the product's absurdity does less to open a new market than close an old one. In other words, Boxed Water is a ridiculous solution to an even more ridiculous problem—that we'd rather buy packaged water than drink it for nearly free out of the tap. [Boxed Water via Cool Hunting and image]

Thanks Thomas! And thanks to Rob, who also sent in an example ridiculous packaging today:

Let's put it this way. If our reader had ordered two packs of photo paper, the world's rainforests would be but a pile of sawdust, plus enough air would be trapped within plastic polyair bubbles to make a simple walk around the block into a death-defying Everest summit.

Instead, the Earth chooses to kill us slowly, having deemed the prospect of a swift, global-scale execution too painless. [Thanks Jeromy!]

UPDATE from the tipster: "I ordered a printer from Bestbuy, and the paper came free with the order. I do not make it a practice to buy paper in small quantities online, as it is generally not cost effective, but when it was free, I thought "what the hell."

As we reported yesterday, Sony is but one of several big name companies that have pledged an end to wasteful, destructive clamshell product packaging. Others include Amazon, Microsoft and Best Buy.

Maybe with the money they save on packaging Sony can make a better video about how much they also hate clamshells. And maybe a new office. A beach volleyball court, guys? Really? Maybe this recession thing is real after all. [Sony via Kotaku]

Referring to this ad, Pearson throws down the gauntlet on Apple's commitment to the environment. He says Apple has not participated in discussions on environmentally-friendly electronics manufacturing, and that "Apple employees are not allowed to blog," which is sort of true but not very relevant. He also claims that Apple's boasting of "the world's greenest laptop" are without backing information, and that Dell's laptops demonstrate a greater commitment to the environment than Apple's. And lastly, he mentions Dell's recycling program, their carbon-neutral construction, and reduction of packaging, and questions whether Apple has achieved any of these goals.

This kind of back-and-forth is fun for us, but Pearson's claims are as limited and flawed as any fault he finds with Apple's television spots. First, Apple is not a particularly transparent company, but have been fairly open about their environmental developments and achievements, as seen here. Apple also has reduced packaging, which Pearson ignores, and Dell was not able to fulfill its stated goal of eliminating all PVC plastic and brominated flame retardants as promised. However, Dell's universal recycling program is far ahead of Apple's, so he makes a valid point there.

Dell and Apple are both making strides toward environmental responsibility, and we don't want to discourage them from competing on that front, however childish the arguments might be. But Pearson's post is full of the same kind of empty rhetoric of which he accuses Apple. My advice? Take the high road, Dell. Focus on what you do right, not what others do wrong. [Dell via TUAW]

As Kevin notes, it might seem nitpicky, but when you compare this to how much Apple boasts on the MacBook's green packaging, it is kind of jarring:

"The new MacBook packaging is up to 41 percent smaller than the previous generation. And smaller boxes are much better for the planet. Because smaller boxes mean we can fit more boxes on each shipping pallet — up to 25 percent more. Which means more products will fit on each boat and plane. Which means fewer boats and planes are used, resulting in fewer CO2 emissions. It’s just one seemingly minor change. But it has a major positive impact on our environment."

Surely they've got a smaller box lying around somewhere. If not, we hope they transition all of their shipping boxes to a greener variation—not just to align them with Apple's own standards and goals, but to set an example for the rest of the industry. [jkOnTheRun]

Oh, and in the spirit of Amazon's "frustration-free wrapping promise," and the vicious gash I got in my hand last week when unwrapping a simple flashdrive, let's bundle overly-protective gadget wrapping in there too. You know— those "plastic-wrapped in seven different bullet-proof layers" blister packages, in a box, in a cellophane wrapper that even a chainsaw can't free-up inside of half an hour.

We need your photos, chaps.

Simply email me with the subject line "packaging hall of shame" at keaton@gizmodo.com with your pics and a few words to describe your packaging woes.

[BTW. I now how dumb it is to cut yourself on packaging. I've used enough scalpels and high-power lasers in my career to be careful with stuff. But you know, I swear that plastic they use is 50% unobtanium, 20% indestructiblium, and 30% scalpelbladeslippium. I swear. —Ed.]

Apparently over 6,000 Americans per year make hospital visits because of injuries (cuts, mostly) sustained by opening the damn clamshells. The design was created to curb theft, so it's no problem for Amazon to implement it; it's awfully tough to shoplift from an online store. But when Microsoft decides to sell its Explorer mouse at Best Buy in an easily-opened zipper package, you know times are a'changin.

Sony is implementing a package, for use at Best Buy and Walmart, that is easily opened but emits a loud noise, like Velcro tearing, to deter in-store thieves. Mike Fasulo, chief marketing officer for Sony, said, "None of us intentionally tried to make this a hassle for consumers," which is pretty nice for a total non-apology apology. Death to the clamshell! [NYTimes]