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Kia Motors latest concept car to be shown at 2010 Paris Motor Show in September is this, the POP Electric Concept. Obviously it’s an electric urban commuter and it is three metres long and has a three-seat layout. That is all we know about it! It’s Kia’s tradition not to release any details until the last minute.

The full-electric POP will be the first car Kia enter into the ultra light market, that is if it goes into production. The zero car has unconventional LED head and tail lights, that kia says ‘brings design chic and dramatic styling to the city car segment’.

Of course concept cars that look too radical have no chance of being produced, but their innovative features will be used in future production models, and for that reason they matter.

Albert France-Lanord Architects have designed stunning offices for the Swedish ISP, Bahnhof.  The Date Centre/Office location is around 30m underground and was a former anti-atomic shelter. White Mountain is easily one of the most amazing offices in the world, with a distinctly “Bondesque” feel. This is hardly surprising considering that according to Albert France-Lanord, “references came straight from science fiction films, mostly ‘Silent Running’ and a bunch of Bond films with Ken Adams set design.”

As far as power supplies go, Bahnhof kept to the Cold War theme and installed diesel engines that where originally designed for submarines and, just for fun, also installed the warning system of sound-horns from an original German submarine.

You can check out this amazing office in more detail:

eOffice today launched the Business Boost Campaign for start-ups and entrepreneurs, offices space, hot desking, coWorking, virtual office and meeting room space in Soho, London up to 50% off until dec 2010:

http://bit.ly/9Nw9xL

Designer Mathieu Lehanneur has given the concept of a locavore, the collaborative effort to build more locally based and self-reliant food economies, a beautiful new twist. His River Plant Aquarium takes inspiration from the natural ecosystem found within a river by using hydroponics and a refrigerated aquarium as a hatchery for freshwater fish.

All the while vegetables grow on top in glass pods.  These vegetables use the water from the fish tank for sustenance, thus filtering and purifying the water for the fish below.

Thus “Local River aims to replace the decorative ‘TV aquarium’ by an equally decorative but also functional ‘refrigerator-aquarium’. In this scenario, fish and greens cohabit for a short time in a home storage unit before being eaten by their keepers, the end-players in an exchange cycle within a controlled ecosystem.”

For those who don’t have the space to grow their own food outside, this may be an effective solution to cut the amount of miles food has to travel before it hits our plates. If you like this, check out Lehanneur’s Living Air Filter!

Source: “Freelancing and Co-Working: Best of Both Worlds”

The core reason to be a freelancer is that one does not have to commit to full working hours that will destroy the joy of working and possibly putting personal life at stake. As a freelancer you can decide your own working hours and show up to work in your pajamas. You don’t have to endure the colleague who yells into the phone or to be paranoid that your boss will catch you reading gossip blogs.

However freelancing can be a lonely existence. You might find yourself not leaving the house for days and stalking everyone in your chat list just to feel humane. This is when co-working comes into play.

What’s Co-working exactly?
Co-working is essentially the best of both worlds. This concept consists of you renting a work space for a period of time at an office where other people do the same. You and other co-workers are not employed by the same company, working on different projects yet you work side by side with the others creating an ideal working environment. You still get to punch in and out as you please and you are not under the watchful eye of your boss but in the very same time, you get a change of environment and engage in watercooler talk. You may spare your friends in your chat list now.

Why co-working?
It’s a way to break up the isolation of working on your own. Here are three incentives that make co-working a whirl:

1. Inspiration
You don’t want to end up like Jack in “The Shining” – Jack Nicholson’s novelist character holed himself up in a remote haunted hotel to focus on writing, and he eventually went haywire, churning out “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” over and over.

Co-working allows you to get out of the house and soak in the world from perspective other than your four walls. You might discover different phenomenon just by stepping away from your familiar surroundings. And those co-workers of yours can make excellent guinea pigs to try out your ideas before turning them in to clients.

2. Networking
Co-workers come from all different fields. That person at the desk next to you could be a potential new client or to provide a lead. Always bring your business cards and chat up the co-workers who filtered in and out. Freelancers can benefits by having each other’s back.

3. Fewer distractions
Some people – no matter how good they are at their job – just weren’t cut out for working from home full time. Whether it’s a leaf blower outside, a demanding puppy or Oprah on the television, distractions can destroy your aim at meeting a deadline. Remember your 9-to-5 days? You tackled your tasks so you could get out of the office and head home. Therefore by going to a co-working space, it can provide the atmosphere you need to buckle down.

Co-working is not the same from space to space. In fact, co-working doesn’t solely take place in office spaces – sometimes people co-work at cafes providing a refreshing environment to work.

Want a Co-working space yes?
An excellent resource for learning more about this topic is the Coworking wiki. From there you can shop for co-working spaces in your area, read and contribute to a blog as well as learn how to start your own co-working space.

Some important questions you might want to consider before kicking off a co-working space:

1. Agreement on rules and regulations between co-workers
It is utmost important to have all the co-workers discuss and finalize what and where is the comfortable meeting point or a co-working space will not work out.

For example:

Can I make phone calls or is talking discourage?

Is the noise level too much or too little for my comfort?

Setup and facility.

Is the co working space open for 24 hours, or does it have fix operating hours?

2. Can I get a tax write-off for renting a co-working space?
It is possible as long as it is done right and fulfill all the criteria for a write-off tax requirement. Better if the one consult an accountant.

A co-working space were to take place at different location every time without a fix location, then it is impossible to have a tax write-off. Phone bills may be possible however it must be prove that phone were use for business. For a freelancer it might be a challenge.
A a co-working space were to take place on a fix location, in a building then it is considered as an office. Write-off is definitely possible for things like phone bills, office rental and numbers of computers expenditure.

3. Cost of participating in a co-working space
Needless to say this is the downside of fixed co-working space. Face it, you are not in your house and that cost money therefore freelancer must take the cost into account and decide which type of co-working space offered is affordable.

Conclusion
Co-working is a concept specifically constructed for freelancers and it is now an urban practice given more and more people prefer freelancer’s way of life. It sets a freedom for a labourer when and where to work but with limitation. This benefits employers because humans tends to deliver better quality of work when they are happy.

(via Hongkiat)

One of the most fundamental starting points for any new business is to work out funding options. And for many, the bank is the most obvious place to go. In this video, which provides advice for small businesses and start-ups, Peter Ibbetson chairman of small business banking at RBS and NatWest, talks about how to get financing.

Ibbetson discusses “when you should approach your bank to talk about the business you’re starting, whether you should apply for a loan or an overdraft, how to make cash flow forecasts, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) and what other support you can get from your bank manager.”

Coloft is a funky co-working space in Santa Monica CA, which emphasises the importance of working together and networking. It especially aims to cater for the needs of new businesses and entrepreneurs. The co-working space offers everything from private desks you can call your very own, to co-working tables catering from between 2-6 people.

The work space provides a refreshing take on office space, one which is akin to the eOffice ethos! The office space is all the more exciting since it was established by two young entrepreneurs, and has by all accounts been a resounding success.

US airline carrier JetBlue has created the “Story Booth” in order to collect content for a forthcoming web and tv campaign. The New York based Mesh Architecture was tasked with the creation of the physical booth, and Local Projects created the interactive experience inside the booth. In order to attract visitors to the exhibit during its 10-city tour, the exterior had to be dynamic and eye catching. Color Kinetics’ LED lighting technology was therefore used on the exterior of the booth. Once inside there was a recording system running off of two Macs and a high-definition Sony video camera.

The way it works is simple—walk in, tell your story and leave. The Story Booth started its 10 city tour in Rockefeller Center in NYC. From there it went to Orlando, Santa Monica, Oakland, Burlington, DC, Ft. Lauderdale, San Jose, Boston and Rochester