The Raspberry Pi foundation attempted to launch its $35 Linux computer on Tuesday evening, but the organization’s retail partners couldn’t cope with the massive demand. Two British electronic component distributors that intended to sell the product were unable to do so–their websites went down, succumbing to the stampede of eager enthusiasts who sought to purchase the hotly-anticipated system.

Really happy to see we’re on our way to widely supported and capable platform for cheap, distributed computing power. The implications for prototyping are enormous.

I’d be interested to who’s working on a beefier, higher cost solution for commercial/industrial deployment.

If you able to make a donation to this very worthy charity, I highly encourage doing so.

Interesting discussion over here on Reddit, with people of varied (though unconfirmed) expertise weighing in on the issue.

Impressive project. The most impressive part, I’d say, is the automated delivery of supplies- this is the kind of intervention that will go a long way to reducing HAIs, and quite frankly I never expected to see such a system deployed quite so soon. I went into the video expecting any innovation to be strictly in the digital realm, and was very happy to see the implications of a digitally-enhanced workflow spilling out and affecting the spatial arena.

Other than that, though, the rest of hospital appears quite standard, with analog devices swapped out for digital one wherever possible. In other words, there’s no real investigation of how a digital devices might fundamentally change workflow; instead, the devices simply supercharge the existing model of care. That said, there’s not much more one can expect from a facility this size. Any paradigm shifts would have be proven in smaller facilities before being scaled up.

Also, I really hope they’ve through a infection control strategy for those fancy touchscreens.

Technology should be something that we use to make medical work simpler and safer. It should help give back patients control of the environment and autonomy. The capabilities of this facility are off the charts and the project should be commended for doing something out of the box- but it really highlights the absolute need for proper design in these spaces.

High-tech is not enough; rackmounting equipment is not design. If I was that patient, I would be terrified.

Spatial design in these facilities isn’t something that can “wait” until the unit is functional- it needs to be part of the project from the ground up.

When designing my Futureward project, I often had to assume that some pretty wild stuff will be developed in the next 10-15 years. And pretty often, I’d fell guilty about those making those assumptions, because might drive the project from the realm of responsible design into the realm of science fiction. Chief among those assumptions was the ability to windows that were touch sensitive, embedded with screens and dimmable for privacy.

Displays embedded in glass room doors

So, imagine my surprise when I saw this gem turn up last week:

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from FW, it’s that the rate at which the future is unfolding in front of us will always, always surprise you.

The difference between a medical space and healing space is huge, and I’ll be very happy if the difference has been codified by the guidelines, even if following them isn’t mandatory.