Ian's Ideas & Rants page

Have you ever gone to do a job and thought 'if only there was a ?, it would make this job a lot easier', or while performing some task on a computer and the software will not do what you want. Or maybe it is something that annoys you and you think 'I wish .....' or 'How stupid .....'. We all have things we want to rant about, this will be my small soapbox! My Mr Angry page. However, there is no point in just complaining, so I will try and offer some solutions as well.

This page includes a collection of ideas that I think would be very useful in day to day life, plus where two existing concepts could be joined to make some very useful products, small ideas and musings along the lines of 'I wonder why?', 'I wonder why not?', good ideas and designs I have seen and bad designs.

Many of the ideas listed here I would like to work on myself but time does not allow.

This is my ever growing list! Which uses this key.

- My Idea
- Why do / Why don't ?
- Joining 2 existing ideas
- Good design / idea I have seen
- Rant!
- Bad design
- Link

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A
- Audio volume limit (12/5/2002), update (2/6/2003)
B
- BBC Watchdog
- Bill Myers online - a great site for product developers and information publishers, with project ideas, tutorials, discussion forum and invaluable down to earth advice from a real expert.
- Electronic books (13/8/2002)
- Braking distance chevrons (26/7/2002)
C
- Digital Camera Security (10/6/2003)
- Creativity Pool
- Consumer Issues
D
- Why does no one make/sell a double or larger duvet which has a heavier section between the two people? This would help stop drafts when one person turns over. (1/11/2003)
E
F
G
H
I
- IdeaExplore
- INCOMPETENT COMPANIES. They get your name wrong, your address wrong, your details wrong, your order wrong, say they will do things and they do not! Maybe I should charge for my time when I have to waste it calling to put things right!
- Innovation, Mind Maps, TRIZ
J
K
- M&S Kitchen Knives (4/2/2003)
L
- Life Hacker
M
- An easy way to remember month lengths (5/6/2003)
N
- NOISE! UNNECESSARY NOISE! (2002), update (8/8/2005)
O
P
- Mobile phone and ? (1/11/2003)
- Why don't mobile phones start ringing at a volume level just above the ambient noise environment they are in and then optionally ramp up the volume? Currently users set a fixed volume level which might not be enough in noisy places but annoyingly loud in quiet places! Some phones already offer an increasing/ramping volume option but it starts at a set/fixed level. (26/11/2003)
- Last night I got woken up three times at about 1a.m. by someone ringing my mobile phone with the wrong number - Grrr! Why don't mobiles (and landline phones) have a setting where only numbers in your contacts list can call between certain times set by the owner? (All other numbers/callers - including withheld numbers - get directed to voicemail - and quietly announced). (28/9/2006). Now implemented thanks to Android, Favourites in Contacts, and Do Not Disturb!
- TELESALES PHONE CALLS! Especially when I have just sat down to dinner! (TPS - Telephone Preference Service - seems to help). I now make a point of noting the company name and never using them.
- PUNCTURES: Why don't road sweepers have powerful magnets near the wheels which could pick up screws and nails from the road gutter preventing punctures? (1/11/2003). (8/8/2006) update - why don't builders vans have rear bumpers which are magnetic - hence stopping the nails and screws being dropped in the first place! (Yes I know this is not the only source of the offending items!). The other option is tyres which cannot be punctured - like these from Michelin.
Q
R
- Reading electronic documents (1/3/2002), update (10/2/2003), update (25/7/2003)
S
- UNSOLICITED SPAM - I dont think I need explain this one. I use the same principle with SPAM as I do with Telesales - I make a note of the company name and never use them.
T
U
- UNPUNCTUALITY! be it trains, services or people. If you arrange a time to meet or call - BE PROMPT - if you cannot keep to the arranged time let me know. One off slip ups are inevitable, but repeated unpunctuality...GRRR.
- UNRELIABILITY. unreliable products, services, software, people - to name just a few.
- Out dated URLs (17/10/2002), update (10/6/2003)
V
W
- Twist 'n Fix Wall Plugs (19/3/2003)
- Why don't washing machines and dishwashers use ultrasonics to help clean? This would probably mean less water and detergents would be required. (20/10/2003). I noticed a few references to such devices on Google dating back to the 1950s, but not much information is available.
- Why Not? - How to use everyday ingenuity to solve problems big and small.
X
Y
Z