It’s probably fair to assume that when Lionel Richie sang “Dancing on the ceiling”, he was on an altogether different trip to William A. Calderwood of Peoria, Arizona, author of US patent 4888836 (1989) – “Lighter-than-air furniture”.
< Check out Cool Mobility’s the YouTube video MOVING AND GROOVING COMPANY NAME: COOL Mobility Pty Ltd FOUNDERS: Colin Johanson & Moira McEwan ORIGINS: Company set up 2007 after five years of R&D. MARKET: The global market for the disabled equipment is “gargantuan”. In 2004, the US market alone for electric wheelchairs topped US$2 billion….
BI-GOODNESS is a bi-monthly column dedicated to the quirky, generally funny and often dangerously impractical inventions and business concepts that occasionally come our way. It is a tribute to the one-eyed entrepreneur, the nutty professor and dotcom jockey in each of us. There are many benefits to getting old. Wisdom, adult progeny, comfortable clothes. In…
BI-GOODNESS is a bi-monthly column dedicated to the quirky, generally funny and often dangerously impractical inventions and business concepts that occasionally come our way. It is a tribute to the one-eyed entrepreneur, the nutty professor and dotcom jockey in each of us. Shakespeare might have been talking sex when he wrote that alcohol “provokes the…
It’s time to reach beyond the wayward solitary invention of a wayward solitary inventor to embrace an entire conceptual school of wayward invention: the artful Japanese science of Chindogu.
Inventors are lone wolf types, too often misunderstood and under-appreciated. So is it any wonder that their inventions sometimes reflect their sense of isolation and defiant self-reliance? It speaks to the credo: ingenuity conquers all (love is overrated).
Have you ever stopped to think about how many ideas you have each day? Probably thousands. Ideas like ‘I’ll take the dog for a walk before it starts to rain’. If it rains, then that was a good idea. Everything in life starts with an idea. There are good ideas and bad ideas. But stop…
Illustration: Sam Griffin BI-GOODNESS is a bi-monthly column dedicated to the quirky, generally funny and often dangerously impractical inventions and business concepts that occasionally come our way. It is a tribute to the one-eyed entrepreneur, the nutty professor and dotcom jockey in each of us. US Patent 7,051,371, filed in August 2003 Beachwear has come…
With much of Australia in the grip of the most serious drought in modern memory, technology promoting the efficient consumption of our most essential resource is most welcome. A key part of any water management strategy includes a precise and consistent method of monitoring water consumption.
“Innovation” is a woolly beast. It has many disguises and aliases. To get face-to-face and down and dirty with innovation is no mean feat.
James Tuckerman reviews THE GOOGLE STORY and HOW TO TURN YOUR MILLION-DOLLAR IDEA INTO A REALITY
Newsflash! Virtual Reality has arrived. If you think it’s still the domain of pasty-faced geeks in bulky black goggles slaying digital dragons or bedding impossibly voluptuous sprites, brace yourself.
BI-GOODNESS is a bi-monthly column dedicated to the quirky, generally funny and often dangerously impractical inventions and business concepts that occasionally come our way. It is a tribute to the one-eyed entrepreneur, the nutty professor and dotcom jockey in each of us. In this virtual world where expert Xbox gamers gain B-grade celebrity while swathes…
First off, let’s be clear. We have to kill the phrase ‘online classifieds’. At best, it has the weary note of strained metaphors, like moving staircases and horseless carriages. At worst, it’s symptomatic of a dated way of thinking about the world. These days, winning in classifieds really means winning in markets. And that, dear readers, is a much tougher job.
It seems like every bus shelter you pass features a back-lit silhouette of a dancing girl or boy with wires coming out of their ears. You don’t have to read the logo to know that it’s another ad for iPod. But did you know that the ad is doing wonders for Apple PCs?
About four years ago I took a break from my day job and went to Hollywood to chase Australian actors and filmmakers. The idea was to write a piece for Rolling Stone Australia on the lives of Aussie expats working in the entertainment industry. It was a similar project to one I had done a year earlier looking into the lives of expats in the technology equivalent of Hollywood – San Francisco’s Bay Area.
Some companies are built to be sold. The intellectual property and business processes are bedded down and bundled into a transferable package. Find a market gap, identify potential buyers, build it, drive home the value and make the trade sale. And then, if you enjoyed the ride, do it again.
The path from start-up to success story can be a challenging journey. These two Victorian innovators are taking the path less travelled, turning good ideas into profitable international businesses, and they’re not looking back!
One of the great misconceptions about patents is that they can only be obtained on an invention of a tangible item. However, patents can also be obtained for how a business function is performed, provided certain criteria are met. These patents are known as “business method patents”.
Illustration by Sam Griffin Are you under the pump at work? A soothing massage could be just the ticket, if only you could find the time. What if you could take matters into your own hands (or, hand)? Well thanks to a flash of inspiration by Brent Gunnon from Washington state, USA, now anyone can…
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