tech e blog

Though not as fancy as Google's offices, Microsoft's Zune headquarters also looks to be a stylish place to work. In other Zune-related news, the player finally gets a clock. Click here for first picture in gallery.

Ever wonder where Zunes are designed? Well, right now it's all done in a fairly non-descript and temporary office building on Microsoft's sprawling campus in Redmond.

Aside from Google Zurich, workplaces like Pixar, Red Bull, Pallotta Teamworks, Threadless, and Ilse Media seem interesting as well. Click here to view their offices in that order.

in an ideal world all company directors would invest in their workforce to the point where the office didn’t resemble a huge ice cube filled with back-breaking plastic chairs, mdf tables and computers less powerful than my old commodore plus-4.

For those who've always wanted a portable, inflatable bed for the office, look no furthur than the Sleeping Cube. No word yet on pricing or availability. Click here for first picture in gallery.

While it's rolled up when not in use, the Nappak takes up very little room, but inflate this unit up and expect it to take up a big chunk of your office, or your entire cubicle. The large nature of this and the fact it includes wheels when rolled up is definitely peculiar

Cube World from ThinkGeek is a "complex community of digital people who live in boxes -- each have their own behavior set --", which allows them to interact when connected. Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

The boxes they live in have magnetic contacts on four sides so that they might connect with other Cube World folks. When connected Cube World folks interact with one another in amazing ways. It's that simple. And complex. And therein lies the fundamental pleasure with Cube World

Our friends over at Akihabara News recently got their hands on the HeliQ and the HeliBug mini R/C helicopters, and put together an interesting video demonstration. Continue reading to watch. Click here for first picture in gallery.

Those mini RC copters are the real deal right now in Japan because they're very affordable and fun. Of course none are "real" radio controlled helicopters, they're more for fun and not sport and it shouldn't take you more than a few minutes to use it properly

Bloxes are basically "cardboard modular building blocks that can be assembled into furniture like desks, chairs, cubicles, and dividers for the office." Click here for first picture in gallery.

..their interlocking design makes them strong enough to handle just about anything. The concept is interesting, but I would imagine that it might take a significant amount of time to construct anything on a large scale

The Space Warp Desktop from ThinkGeek "features either chromed ball bearings or glowing orbs perpetually rotating on a clear track." Video after the break. Click here for one more picture.

Flip a switch on the back to choose which type of balls you prefer, while the ones you don't want are automatically sorted and stored in the base. The glowing balls are powered by a built in UV light in the base which charges them up, causing them to glow as they roll down the track only to be charged up again at the end of the run

So you've seen the showroom photos, now check out a few shots of the beautiful Han Solo desk in the wild -- courtesy of Tom Spina Designs. Click here for first picture in gallery.

We checked in with Tom Spina Designs, the company that created this one-off custom-order desk, and found out that 1) it's incredibly solid-it's constructed out of steel-and 2) those lights on the side create mood lighting when admiring your human prize

This stylish "Hanging Printer" is ultraportable and can be attached to any desk. Nearly all of its internal components are located beneath the top portion. It features two USB ports, LCD display, and a multi-format memory card reader. Click here for first picture in gallery.

The paper feed and print head are the only parts sitting on the desk. The casing has an embedded LCD to indicate status. It makes for a simple clean modern aesthetic that's actually quite a solve for today's cluttered desktops

The "Cord Trap" is a nifty device that snaps into your desk's power cord hole and keeps cables nice and neat. Click here for one more picture.

You know those big holes you find in some desks? They’re supposed to help keep all cables in one place but things still end up kinda messy.