Gearfuse

Facebook has had the same basic design for at least a few years now. There have been small changes along the way, but for the most part, the last few years for Facebook have remained pretty standard — news feed, images and link sharing. Some might say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but artist Barton Smith is under the impression that the social network needs an entire facelift, let alone an update.

Smith took it upon himself to redesign Facebook’s UI, imagining a site with a slick UI, compared to the current site built around the minimalist news feed.

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Rich Uncle Pennybags is very pleased with this new Monopoly set designed by Andy Mangold. Look at the packaging, the card holders, the lines of hotels and such; it’s quite the work of art. I love the rustic look the box gives off of a traditional board game. You know, the kind before mass-produced plastic, etc.

The final package is just over 10″ x 10″ x 1.5″ and includes smaller containers for all of the various pieces and cards and a laser-cut holder for all of the houses and hotels. Quite impressive, Andy. We just wish this was the version you could purchase on store shelves. Hit the jump for some more exquisite photos of the game.
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Look out Grand Central Station, there’s a new transportation hub in town. The World Trade Center’s transportation hub is, after numerous redesigns, scheduled to be completed in 2012. The designer, Santiago Calatrava, must have some fascination with evangelical churches because this glass and steel structure is turning out to look like something Reverend Robert Schuller designed.

Besides that, it’s a nice change of scenery compared to some of the other hubs in New York City. Hopefully, if it is well kept and doesn’t smell too funky, it could also serve as a great tribute to the towers themselves. It’s time to make New York a prettier place.

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In case you haven’t heard, Apple had a little event over in California today. All new updates to the Macbook, Macbook Pro and Macbook Air.

Highlights:

• New glass trackpads with multi-touch
• All new, specially engineered aluminum case design
• DVI ports become DisplayPort
• Macbook gets glass screen, aluminum case; Macbook Pro gets same upgrade
• Dual graphics in MBP – NVidia 9400M (Macbooks get these) and 9600 GT graphics for “turbo mode”
• New $899 24-inch display out. Features three USB ports and integrated mic, iSight, speakers
• Macbooks now cost $1299, Macbook Pro from $1999
• Macbook Air gets 9400 graphics, bigger hard drive with larger SSD available
• Old white Macbooks available for $999
• New gestures for sick new glass trackpad

That’s pretty much it. I suggest later tonight, you head over to Apple.com and play around with the configurations. These are very nice looking laptops and I’d love to get my hands on that new Macbook Pro.

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Coming this fall is Palm’s Treo Pro. It’s also the first Treo to support tri-band HSDPA (faster net speed) for 3G access on AT&T and additional carriers. The American launch will start out with an unlocked, carrier-independent version at $549 that’ll feature a sleeker design than previous Treos as well as a touchscreen and a button to quickly switch its built-in WiFi on or off. Forget that slow imitation GPS system too. The Treo Pro uses true GPS for navigation, because we all know how much getting lost sucks.

Now the question is: this or the iPhone?

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The NES console was a major turning point in the history of gaming. It probably doesn’t get enough credit for the influence it had on the gaming world and how it was the bridge between Atari and modern-day video gaming. Javier Segovia is a digital industrial designer who just so happens to believe it’s time for the old Nintendo Entertainment System to have a little taste of reinvention.

He calls his design the reNESED, and it is a beautifully re-imagined rendition of the old NES consoles of yore. I’m not saying that the NES had a ugly design, just that it might be time for a reinvention with a brand-spanking new outlook.

The NES console introduced the Super Mario Brothers to the world. Don’t you think it deserves some respect? Bow down!

Seriously, I’m not kidding. Bow.

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