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This week marks the 20th anniversary of Don Eigler’s startling success at being able to move individual atoms around at will. The IBM scientist eventually spelled out the letters I-B-M with 35 Xenon atoms. The process took 22 hours and presumably about a gallon of coffee.
So I proclaim this to be a Happy Very Tiny Things Day. Thanks, Don. You are one of the giants whose shoulders we stand on today, and will even more in the future.
Brenden Macaluso is a forward-thinking human being. Not for designing a new material or photographing atoms or anything like that, but for doing something far more useful and immediate—he noticed a part of our daily first-world existence that could be made more sustainable, and did something about it. Mr. Macaluso noticed that computer cases are ephemeral—they have a limited timespan in which they are useful before new designs make them obsolete. So, he designed a computer case made from cardboard that not only biodegrades very effectively when its purpose has been fulfilled, but also performs well by means of utilizing the air channels created by its corrugated framework.
I can honestly say that I have had similar thoughts (as has anyone in high tech who needed a quick solution from locally-available materials at 3am) but never considered entering the solution as a product into the mainstream. That takes both insight and courage. Well done, Brenden.
UPDATE: Engadget’s take on the new case
Jeff's Open Source Resource 