Backpacker’s Diary

During the next two months all our loyal readers subscribed to our news releases will have the chance to see each of the world’s most impressive computer design concepts that have passed the Industrial Designers Society of America’s judges’ rigorous checking process.

The 31 finalists you will read about have met the basic requirements imposed by Microsoft in collaboration with IDSA and these include the innovation grade, user interface, the emotional appeal enhanced by the general product’s appearance, technical abilities, the user experience with the Windows software, market viability and manufacturability taking into consideration the thermal cooling, noise reduction and the environmental responsibility.

On March 15 the public voting will end, while the winner of the $2,500 prize will be announced in May.
Those of you that aren’t yet subscribed to our RSS feeds are invited to apply via “Get email delivery” in the side bar and then wait to receive the articles in full format at your e-mail address.


Backpacker's Diary




Imagine you are a person that loves travelling and to discover new things in the nature.
While walking through a large forest into the mountains you are amazed by the beauty of the flora and fauna diversity and you can’t help yourself to take some nice detailed pictures to show them to your friends after coming back home.

But why to wait until you are back, and not share these while you are still in the middle of the nature?
The Backpacker’s Diary concept is the right tool for this, and more than that it allows you to do many other things with the help of next-generation technologies, making your trip the most perfect and full of discoveries.



It is called the Backpacker’s Diary because it has the form of a traveling diary measuring 10x12x2 inches and is carried in your backpack, together with the other stuff required for your comfort, like the sleeping bag.
But it is not an ordinary book because each page has different functions based on different technologies.
For example, one of the pages is the media recorder, then comes the EL illumination, other page is a keyboard and the next one is an LCD display.



The EL illumination, also called Electroluminescence, is an optical and electrical phenomenon where a material emits light in response o an electric current passed through it, or to a strong electric field.
It is used in lighting applications or information displays, but in our forest, it would light the small area where we are sleeping during the night.

This diary concept is created using flexible materials in a large number to add easy of use and durability in the outside conditions.
It needs to be powered by something and as in the nature you don’t have plugs, and besides that, you love the environment and want to keep it green, the solar charging is the best solution adopted by its designers, and it is done via the flexible solar panel during walking.



If you have such a computer with you during the trip, you can get in touch with the other Backpackers’ holders and share all the information you have wirelessly, including route, weather, location coordinates provided by the built-in GPS system, as well as pictures, videos or sounds of the nature recorded with the digital bookmark worn in your chest pocket and transferred into the diary.

As for the hardware part, the main components like battery, processor and other electronics are kept into the backpack which is made of high-intensity plastic.



Well, this is it! Check back later or "Get email delivery" (from the side bar) to read about the next PC design concept that will be even more spectacular, but don’t forget to leave us a line with your impression about the Backpacker’s Diary.