Text Messaging-Enabled Crystal Chandelier Shown In Milan

An anonymous reader writes "The Austrian crystal manufacturer Swarovski showed a chandelier capable of displaying text messages via SMS at last week's Milan furniture fair. The Ron Arad-designed piece was at the center of the attention during the opening show, with hundreds of partygoers sending uncensored messages to the chandelier. More info can be found at the official Swarovski site, and photos of the construction are available at the manufacturer's website."

Glance-able technology

[jrj102]

I realize that this thing was intended as a "look at me!" publicity stunt, but it is indicative of a trend that I'm really fascinated by: the notion of Internet-enabled "glance-able" technologies. More mainstream examples (if you can call these mainstream) include the Microsoft SPOT technology [msn.com] as implemented in Fossil and Sunto watches, as well as the more elegant implementations by Ambient technologies [slashdot.org]. (They sell an excellent "dashboard" device that has analog "VU" style meters that respond to various configurable events--web traffic, weather, etc. I want one. That's a hint, ThinkGeek folks. You need to carry these.)

As a user of the SPOT watch, I can say that the argument "Yeah, but I can look that information up in my web browser or on my cell phone" doesn't hold up in the real world: there's a difference between actively looking something up and simply glancing at an object on the wall, or being peripherally aware of a more subtle way of indicating the status of something important to you. (Another great ambient device, the Orb [slashdot.org], glows in a different color based on Internet-based information.) Do you pull up a web page to see what time it is [slashdot.org]? Of course not--you look at a wall clock, or your watch... why not do the same for weather? For stock quotes? For Instant Messages? For traffic information? Heck... your Slashdot karma? :)

I hope that this kind of technology (in less gaudy form than this hideous chandelier) takes off. I really think it is useful. However, in terms of text messaging or Instant Messages, they are less useful because of the inherent one-way nature of the devices. However, my wife sends IMs to my SPOT watch all the time.

Ambient Devices

[jrj102]

For some reason, my links to Ambient got munged...

Just go to AmbientDevices.com [ambientdevices.com] to check out the orb and the dashboard.

Re:Glance-able technology

[Anonymous Coward]

> some of us find watches (and all jewelery) to be uncomfortable and unnecessary

I feel the same way about pants.

Re:Glance-able technology

[nlindstrom]

LOL! Mod the parent up. That's a very funny quip.

Re:Glance-able technology

[bickerdyke]

me too...

but thats ok cause I find a wall clock or a computer screen or a vcr (with clock) everywhere I am with a single glance.

but on the other hand I see many SMS too late cause I just dont have a look at my phone.

Re:Glance-able technology

[jacquesm]

as a publicity stunt it worked like a dream though.

Re:Glance-able technology

[Karamchand]

Do you pull up a web page to see what time it is? Of course not?you look at a wall clock, or your watch? why not do the same for weather?

Why not just take a look out of the window? :-)

Re:Glance-able technology

[jrj102]

>Why not just take a look out of the window?

Geek-heretic. :)

---JRJ

Re:Glance-able technology

[tricops]

Why, has somebody come up with a sky-clock or projected temperature/weather/etc report? :-)

Re:Glance-able technology

[tricops]

Shoot, should have previewed that. It munged my <oblivious> tag :-D

My office does not have a window...

[PaulBu]

... you insensitive clod!!!

(OTOH, it is in So.Cal., so weather is the same all year long anyway...)

Paul B.

Re:Glance-able technology

[scavenger87]

What about ppl living in their parents' basement, you inconsiderate clod!

Re:Glance-able technology

[kent_eh]

Why not just take a look out of the window? :-)

Because this [216.36.143.13] is much cooler!

Re:Glance-able technology

[rossdee]

"Why not just take a look out of the window? :-)"

Looking out the window can only tell you the level of cloudiness, and if its raining or snowing. It doesnt tell you the temperature, humidity, or wind speed (maybe if you have some trees nearby you can get a rough indication of wind speed).

In an area where temperatures can vary considerably, an accurate measure of tempoerature especially in the winter is important before venturing outside.

Re:Glance-able technology

[nkh]

The CCC already did this with an office building [blinkenlights.de] in Berlin... The surface was bigger and you had the SDK to send pictures (animated or not).
And by the way, I this this chandelier idea sucks, it's not hacker's technology, it's art and advertisement combined.

Re:Glance-able technology

[kabocox]

However, in terms of text messaging or Instant Messages, they are less useful because of the inherent one-way nature of the devices. However, my wife sends IMs to my SPOT watch all the time.

You hit the nail on the head. I could just see supervisors of all types loving that feature. Forget how annoying e-mail can be, wait until your boss sends task assignments to your watch. (And expects it to be done by the time you glance at it.)

Re:Glance-able technology

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Those are interesting ideas.

This chandelier us crap, IMO. OK, the basic technology is interesting, but it is a nasty tackification. IF it had slowly morphing GEOMETRIC patterns, it might be interesting, because it might be considered moving art. Splashing text onto a chandelier is just lame.

Re:Glance-able technology

[sharkey]

Do you pull up a web page to see what time it is

No, I hit "~" to bring down the console, then enter "!time" and convert to my timezone.


I can quit playing ET anytime, really, I swear it.

Re:send it, ladies!

[nlindstrom]

Clearly, you are not a GoatSex aficionado, like everyone else on /. The link was moved to http://goat.cx, duh.

This is how the Crystalline Entity gets started

[Anonymous Coward]

Next thing you know, it's making deals with Lore and wiping out entire plants.

Re:This is how the Crystalline Entity gets started

[merdaccia]

That's alright, I forgot to water it anyway.

Default

[cubyrop]

The chandelier ships with the default message "Hey you down there...you have waaay too much money."

Re:Default

[Short Circuit]

Cross it with a web-cam.

And notify female invitees to wear turtle-neck shirts. Or not. But don't blame me.

Re:Default

[PsiPsiStar]

... or it could play the theme from phantom. :)

Whadda ya mean the chandelier just crashed?

I know what I'd send...

[fiannaFailMan]

"Hey! U! Yeah, U! The hot blonde Swedish chick at the IKEA booth. Wanna hook up? Here's my # ......."

Wow

[tobechar]

It would be nice to walk in and have Slashdot headlines rolling above me...

Re:Feel like dancing?

[symbolic]

You're swirling around the ballroom...

You'd HAVE to be in order to read it.

Pickpockets dream

[AtariAmarok]

This is a pickpocket's dream. The chiropractor will make out like a bandit, too, with everyone's neck craned upward to the ceiling all the time.

Step 1: Build a chrystal chandelier that displays.

[kevlar]

Step 1: Build a chrystal chandelier that displays SMS messages.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Profit!

Re:Step 1: Build a chrystal chandelier that displa

[Ralph Wiggam]

Step 1: Build a chrystal chandelier that displays SMS messages.
Step 2: Sell for tons of money.
Step 3: Profit!

Makes perfect sense. The profit margins on luxury items are sweet.

I think the chandelier is really cool. Upscale nightclubs probably spend several hundred thousand on interior design. Since you can buy a $6 beer anywhere, those kind of clubs need something unique to draw customers.

Casinos might use something like this. Instead of allowing people to send messages, they would advertise shows and

Re:Step 1: Build a chrystal chandelier that displa

[Gr33nNight]

Dont you listen?

Step 2 is always "EBAY IT"!

Re:Step 1: Build a chrystal chandelier that displa

[identity0]

1. bld crytl chndlr 2 dspl sms msgs
2. ?
3. prft!

Re:Step 1: Build a crystal chandelier that display

[vanillaspice]

Step two wouldn't make sense except that Swarovski is one of the most elite crystal manufacturers in the world, and some Chairman Kaga type would pay big bucks for it.

Hey..

[Carlos Silva]

If only they could make the same thing with those phones each one of us has at home to do the same thing ?
Maybe we could carry around those phones and even trade messages with each others..
Oh..wait..

From the subway to the ballroom

[AhBeeDoi]

There's nothing like an advertising laden chandelier to make your ballroom feel like a subway station.

Ooooooh, shiney!!

[Thud457]

This is just a fancy version of those display boards they have in Times Square -- or the local Chevron. The only difference is that he built it into $75,000 of sparkly glass.

Re:From the subway to the ballroom

[Neil Blender]

your ballroom

Ah, yes, the ballroom. Getting new marble floors in mine next week. Geeves has been very good at coordinating all the work. Good chap, that Geeves. On the same note, Slashdot keeps rejecting my "Ask Slashdot: Upgrading your Ballroom to IPv6?" story (and all my other ballroom related stories.)

Re:From the subway to the ballroom

[fbform]

Geeves has been very good at coordinating all the work,

Did you perchance mean Jeeves [ask.com], by Wodehouse [eclipse.co.uk]?

Re:From the subway to the ballroom

[Daniel Boisvert]

I have maple floors in mine [superdan.org]. ;)

Fuck 'Lolita'

[BigBadBri]

(pun intended) - I want the 'Bucky Life' one from the Swarovski page.

It's clean, elegant, and only a few steps from a space elevator...

How Arad needs 30-odd processors to display SMS on a rectalinear grid is beyond me, however,

top this!

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh yeah, well I have an XML toothbrush. Neener neener on you Chandelier people.

Re:top this!

[happyfrogcow]

Oh yeah, well I have an XML toothbrush. Neener neener on you Chandelier people.

so if you brush in the morning, but don't close out the day by brushing at night, your day is invalid?

Re:I want one for my bedroom.

[Astrorunner]

I was thinking more along the lines of "If you can read this, you're already disappointed by now"

Not SMS - Log messages!

[wowbagger]

No, this is for elegant *nix hackers to display the status of their servers without clashing with the decor!

Or a way Bill Gates can stay updated on MSFT stock prices and his net worth (and any new lawsuits).

Or deploy them in Las Vegas - "THIS CHANDELIER IS PAID FOR.....GUESS HOW.....THAT'S RIGHT.....WITH YOUR MONEY!"

A better application

[sssmashy]

As tempting as it is to buy a $30,000 text-messaging chandelier, I'm holding out until they invent the text-messaging disco ball.

When that comes out... oh, man. Boogeying will never be the same.

Re:A better application

[Mr. Bad Example]

> I'm holding out until they invent the text-messaging disco ball.

I'm betting that one comes preinstalled with "FREAKAZOIDS REPORT TO THE DANCE FLOOR".

(Christ, I'm old...)

Practical use

[Tablizer]

an anonymous way to say things like, "Hey Bob, your fly is unzipped. And Cindy, you have bad breath. Munch some Certs, will ya? Martha, shave your armpits, and that dress makes your butt look huuuuuge."

Wow!

[llamaguy]

Whoah, a text messageable chandelier. Cool as it may be, what real use other than curiosity would it be? Admittedly, this technology could be very useful in other fields but who really needs a chandelier you can talk to?

Re:Wow!

[The Ultimate Fartkno]

Pointless and impractical as it would be, I'd love to see a big Diamondvision-esque display screen where all the pixels are Swarovski crystals like on that chandelier. I'm imagining it as some big, beautiful extravagance for a James Bond-esque villain to use as the centerpiece of his subter-volcanoian lair. Then Cate Archer comes in. She's been swimming and her hair is wet. Our eyes meet, and she walks towards me. I offer her champagne.

"Only if you drop the Walther PPK you have hidden in the small of your

Re:Wow!

[zx75]

Well, its not so much the fact that you can talk to someone using it, but think about the interesting light sequences you could create using a keypad? Have those slowly cycling using the chandelier lights would make for interesting and customizable patterns.

Now, with Advertising!

[Animats]

Coming soon to those large, ugly chandeliers found in hotel function rooms.

Come on people.

[Minwee]

A story about a chandelier which displays text messages has been up for almost twenty minutes, and not a single "All your base..." joke has gone up?

Is this still Slashdot?

Re:Come on people.

[nkh]

Using the pick-pocket comment, you could have:

1. Steal money.
2. Send SMS: "All your wallets are belong to us."

Re:Come on people.

[The Queen]

I know this is hard for you, but trends here move faster than they did in the good ol' days... the current phrase of choice is "insensitive clod" though I must admit I was absent that day.

In other words, All your phrase are belong to us. :-)

just fscking peachy

[swschrad]

wonderful, now we get a light fixture that can be 0wned or wormed, and we'll be in the dark as well as spammed at the table. abort, retry, relamp?

Unfortunate name

[Altima(BoB)]

Oh great, it's called "Lolita."

Good luck finding any info on a chandelier after Googling THAT word...

Re:Unfortunate name

[marika]

They probably called it Lotita because it's financed with porn pop-up ads.

How long untill.....

[silentrob]

How long untill the chandelier reads "f1rst p0st!1!1-w00t!!11!11" ?

Re:How long untill.....

[missing_hed]

or the inevitable all your base are belong to us

good thing the phone number wasnt posted...

[t_allardyce]

1st chndlier post!!!

in soviet rssa,chndlier enbls U!

imgn a Bwlf clustr of thse!

dos it rn linux?

1)mke txt chndlier 2)?? 3)Profit!

hey natalie:P wna get nkd&petrfied?i got hot grits!;)

y00 d00ds we /.ed da chndlier!

Re:good thing the phone number wasnt posted...

[Tablizer]

y00 d00ds we /.ed da chndlier!

More likely:

....503 SERVICE UNAVAILABLE....

Re:good thing the phone number wasnt posted...

[dr_dank]

Imagine what'll happen when Fark gets a hold of it...

1ts a trap!

id hit it

i fnd this dfcult 2 msturbte 2

Re:good thing the phone number wasnt posted...

[Carnildo]

All Your Base Are Belong To Us

Re:good thing the phone number wasnt posted...

[t_allardyce]

alURbaseRbelng2us. Who-ever invented sms has caused a generation of teenagers to hack sentences down to as few characters as they can.

Re:good thing the phone number wasnt posted...

[Carnildo]

alURbaseRbelng2us. Who-ever invented sms has caused a generation of teenagers to hack sentences down to as few characters as they can.

You've got too many characters in that, then. Try
LURbseRblng2us.

Recent Headlines

[FreemanPatrickHenry]

This just in...

After having seent the phrase on a mysterious, technophillic chandelier, teenagers in Milan have begun adopting "A/S/L????" into their vocabluary. No clues yet as to what this cryptic code might mean. News at 11.

Reading between the lines

[sssmashy]

You gotta admit, nothing says "I have more money than brains" than a text-messaging chandelier that costs more than a new car.

Your wealthy dinner guests will be awed for about ten minutes, while your less-wealthy friends snicker at you behind their napkins.

Offtopic.

[karnal]

Some people do have more money than brains. I have a friend of a freind who works for BMW Financial services.

In the end, learned that a pretty popular basketball (NBA) star is currently paying $2700 a MONTH on a brand new 760.

And it's only a lease.

Christ, I clear a little more than that each month, and some people can afford that for a CAR payment???

Re:Reading between the lines

[nanojath]

I think you misconstrue the basic principle of being truly disgustingly rich. Any average dozen garden-variety millionaires can buy what the like without much considering the consequences, always insist on the best, and force all their friends to constantly muse over what to get the (wo)man who has everything. But there comes a point where the only direction to go is from unecessary consumption to downright ridiculous consumption. The fact that it's useless and stupid is the point - it highlights wealth

Re:Reading between the lines

[nEoN nOoDlE]

while your less-wealthy friends snicker at you behind their napkins.

While they snicker back and attach a bumper sticker to their porsche that says "My other car is a THIRTY FUCKING DOLLAR Chandelier! Not your lame Taurus!"

hmm

[MasTRE]

Aren't we getting fancy!

Hope it's unlisted

[Gyorg_Lavode]

Thats a great idea until the number gets out and you have some kid in kentucky SMS'ing "go fcsk yourself" to the chandelier some 4 star general is standing under in Belgium.

slashdot effect....

[eclectus]

Great. Now we can slashdot furniture, too....

So stupid to buy text-based chandeliers...

[Anonymous Coward]

...with hardware-accelerated T&L 3D chandeliers coming out next year.

33 processors

[Araneas]

just to drive a bunch of LEDs. That seems a might inefficient to me.

Re:33 processors

[enosys]

It's like they never heard of the obvious solution of using shift registers, D flip flops or other IO expansion devices to allow one processor to control *lots* of stuff. Those are cheaper and they don't need to be programmed. They are all ridiculously easy to get and use, and I can't believe that people designing this chandelier were retarded enough to not know all this.

I guess they probably thought they could impress people by saying it has lots of processors.

Coming soon to a McMansion near you!

[Latte Lovin' Lurker]

Yet another useless status symbol to hang in your McMansion's pretentioius 2-story foyer.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Now I can

[orion41us]

enjoy my SPAM during dinner!

Seriously though...

[gwoodrow]

Life is tough enough dealing face to face with folks - do we really want our fixtures to be talking smack, too?

There is a market for this, though - despite the protests of you naysayers. My only question is - how the hell did monkeys get ahold of enough money to buy one of these?

Can I get one for the office?

[EvilStein]

What a great way to display Nagios status messages!

C'mon, boss.. please? Since you said no to the plasma display, you owe me!

Wow, a more convenient way for them to spam me...

[ChodeMaster]

Can you imagine the result if one of the growing number of text messaging spammers got ahold of the number for your chandelier?

You would be sitting at dinner with the lights beeping every 20 seconds and messages showing up saying
Natural herb increases size by 50-100%
Drunk high school girls waiting for you at badpornsite.com

I'm thinking I'll take a pass on the text messaging enabled chandelier.

Boring...

[farzadb82]

It should display messages in binary!

If only someone had something interesting to say..

[Kazoo the Clown]

Hey--, here's an interesting thought-- why is it do you suppose, that they haven't started sticking advertising in bathrooms-- or maybe they have and I just haven't encountered any as of yet.

What makes them so sacred that the ad agencies fear to tread? Seems like they have a captive audience for a few minutes that ISN'T being bombarded with pitches (kinda nice, actually), but I don't reall see what's holding them back...

Then again, maybe they're afraid that stuff'll get peed or dumped on (and they're pro

Re:If only someone had something interesting to sa

[Snad]

why is it do you suppose, that they haven't started sticking advertising in bathrooms

Coming soon to a bathroom near you [urinal.net]?

Of course there's been advertising in bathrooms ever since there was a bathroom if you count the "Call 0900-HOTSEX for a really good time!" type.

Re:If only someone had something interesting to sa

[Gwenna]

why is it do you suppose, that they haven't started sticking advertising in bathrooms

They do stick advertising in the bathrooms, at least here around San Francisco. There is often a large poster on the inside of the bathroom stall door with multiple ads. I can't say I remember what they're ads for, but I do know they're there.

Re:If only someone had something interesting to sa

[Erik K. Veland]

They have advertising in Bathrooms. What, do you live in the third world or what?

eh. underwhelming...

[Spatula Sam]

This seems like a slightly more transient version of having a grafitti wall at a party. While it might have some gimmicky appeal for the first party it shows up at, I can't really see the long term appeal. I mean, are you going to want and sit there and look at someone's posting to the light fixture, or look at the hot girl/guy accross the room. Besides, it's not like IM is an amazing fountain of creativity. It would be mostly people sending the same kind of drivel over and over again and feeling witty.

What next?!

[mbottrell]

I can see it now...
My leather reclinerwill accept incoming SMS messages in a vibrate mode!
/me goes back to hacking chair... ;)

A message seen on the chandelier...

[ChronoWiz]

"Help! Help! I seem to have turned into a chandelier!"