Speaking of AOL, I’m always amazed at how large companies don’t really have to react that fast to threats from better technologies, products or services. In fact in some cases the worst technology actually wins. Email me if you have any suggestions of examples of ‘non-design classics’ that are still around. Here’s a start: 1. PC Laptops – is it my imagination or, other than Apple, is laptop design actually going backwards? 2. Windows – the original Apple Os was more elegant. We are stuck with impossible uninstalls and no full-text search. 3. Office – I have to fork out $200 just so that I can add comments to other people’s Word files -and Powerpoint – aaargh – the greatest crime in design history, a substandard piece of shareware that pollutes the world with blue blends and horrible fonts. 4. AOL – how did a nasty dial-up service to a…

Yesterday I had an unexpected treat from a friend, Addy, who gave me a full tour around Ideo in Palo Alto. This tour made me wistful of architecture, so many tech offices are so boring or like Google’s HQ, have slightly forced and oh so obvious eccentricity – bean bags and lava lamps and a Segway. Ideo, like many design operations has a real feel of creativity, an Exploratorium for grown ups – it has all the toys, from video editing suites, photographic studios, model shops, paint shops, electronics assembling etc. but there are some nice touches. Everywhere you look, gleaming high-tech bicycles hang from the ceiling – each desk has a pulley to hoist your bike above your desk and drawers full of high tech goodies are scattered around the office. My favorite of these was the ‘tech box’ which had drawers marked ‘cool mechanisms’ and ‘amazing materials’ full…