Anyone who has ever been caught in a sudden harsh downpour knows that it sucks to not have an umbrella. You probably also know that newspapers can help to at least keep most of it off your head.

This green concept is from designer Shiu Yuk Yuen and uses disgarded newspapers as your umbrella canopy. Just unscrew the top piece, secure the paper and screw the lid back on. The user could use almost any material they want, limited only by their inventiveness. It’s a very clever idea. There is one big flaw in the design however. If I can’t find a newspaper or some other thing to screw in place, I’m drenched.

I don’t mean slider in the traditional sense. What I mean is that someone slid right off their rocker, or off the sober wagon or…something. No, this isn’t the top part to that scale that your doctor has in his office. It’s a radio with an interesting slide function, as in you slide the damn radio around to tune in the channel you want, instead of using a dial.

It may be a nice decoration, but I wouldn’t want to use it. At least this thing is cute. Hell, maybe I should invent a real long rail and slide my laptop up and down the thing to tune in websites. That would be swell and I wasn’t using all this living space anyway.

We’ve seen our share of concept cars, but Jorge Cross’s amphibious vehicle design for the year 2030 blows us away because it’s like a walk down memory lane thanks to it’s obvious retro sci-fi roots. It’s as beautiful as it is strange.

The three-wheeler actually has a large ball in front that rotates 90° to reveal a propeller or tire. Tire by land or propeller by water. The sleek chassis design was a study on the theories of hydrodynamics and how they work with a vehicle’s shape. Jorge Cross is a student at the University of Monterrey in Nuevo León, Mexico. Great job. We have to get these on the road soon. Not that many of us could afford one.

Gélule is a concept as strange as it’s name, by Pascal Bardel. It’s kind of a hard concept to swallow. Pun intended. It’s a radio clock shaped like a capsule with a backlit LCD display and an omni-directional speaker. They could use cloth of several colors to go with the color of the LCD display.

The volume can be adjusted by rotating the speaker. When you think about it, it’s really the perfect design for a clock radio, because it’s probably better to have this pill put you to sleep and wake you up. Video below.

With our lives being so hectic, it’s hard to de-stress. Which is probably why we turn to the computer to help us. After all, that’s where many of us spend large amounts of time. The Sweety concept will help. Or so they claim. Personally, I don’t see how.

This thing looks like Kenny from South Park. After he died and attained ghostly form. Now on a flowery surf board. He’s come back not to haunt, but to calm you via graphic patterns on the screen under his hood. Apparently Sweety can also play interactive games with you as you manipulate its soft body by squeezing. That aint right at all.

Here’s another look into a possible future where hair dye and colored wigs and gadgets go hand and hand. Yesterday we told you about the 2010 Wii. Well, here’s another item from T3. This one sports a dame with pink hair and big…dreams, if you’re interested in clicking through to see.

It’s an XBox 360 and a Zunephone in one compact package that leaves us drooling. But you know how it goes. Unfortunately, there is no real Zune phone. It’s going to have to remain in fantasy land, where brightly haired babes play with them.

Objects in motion are great for making energy and since boobs bounce around a fair bit while women are exercising, what better way to charge gadgets. It would probably be made of elastic so that it gets even more motion. That’s great for onlookers and energy.

Then you would want it layered in such a way that you could insert nanowire fabric to generate electricity from motion. A small piston could even be used to get more juice. Sure, there are a bunch of obstacles to overcome, but I think it’s a worthy endeavor as we strive for more energy.

Jamie Tomkins 2020 hybrid bicycle is a concept vehicle that came out of a GE Plastics Automotive competition. The design addresses China’s pollutions problems, since it would be constructed from cheap metals and plastics, plus the design should capture the hearts of Chinese motorists. You know, since it looks like a toy and all. It seems like a natural evolution. As a kid, you have your Big Wheel, then when you grow up you graduate to this two wheel version.

We probably all wish that remotes were simpler in design and function. The sPult will make your dreams come true. It was designed by Yurii Smitana Perfilov, and inspired by the iPod’s scroll wheel, which makes it a breeze to channel surf. Apple should have thought of it first.

Simple and elegant. It takes away all the complications and just gives you the bare essentials, which is all most of us need. It also has a favorites selector, volume up/down button, mute button and power button. That’s it. Nice.

T3 Magazine commissioned some future designs for their “future tech” feature. Here’s a Wii concept for 2010, which is right around the corner. Apparently blue hair is all the rage in the future. And I’m guessing that her bra has bluetooth to control some game by pure boob boucing and nipple position.

It should be noted that in 2010 brainwaves are used to control characters with some head gear, which also sports in-ear headphones. It’s nice to see the Wiimote all thin and streamlined, with just one button too. I’m looking forward to blue haired girl gamers gripping my Wiimote in 2010. Thank you Nintendo. Thank you future.

If you figure PCs should look like a bizarre abstract UFO, or maybe resemble a Sit and Spin type toy with a CD tray sticking out, you are not alone. Designer Won-Seok Lee apparently agrees.

The B-membrane computer concept does away with monitors entirely, instead opting for a built-in projector that will beam the display onto any surface. The membrane keyboard shows up whenever it’s needed as well as a built-in optical drive. It will probably be some time before we see something like this become a reality. It’s just not that easy to make a PC of the future look like the inside of a washing machine.

If you don’t want to pick up a Segway for $5,000, you might want to check this out. It’s a manually-powered unicycle that will get you around town. To onlookers you will appear to be skiing on the sidewalk while sweating like a fat kid in gym class.

You might want to consider the workout tubby, what with rising gas prices. I’m sure your boss will let you park it inside too, to prevent theft. Won’t that be swell? Laughed at on the way to work and laughed at during. Oh, and on the way home. Sadly, it is but a concept, so you’ll have to find another way around for now.

At last, a concept that lets you line up someone’s nipples and give them new life. The idea is that you would have this handy if someone collapses and needs CPR. It’s not intended for any kinky nipple fetish you may have.

Just slap it on the chest, line up nipples and follow the instructions. It flashes to show you the proper timing, and clicks to let you know if you’re using the right pressure. It just might help save a life or two.

The price of gas being what it is, and considering what it will reach, suddenly all kinds of personal transport concepts are looking more promising. Take the Electric Bike Train for instance. In a world of skyrocketing gas prices, it’s the perfect electric bike for an entire large family.

It’s designed by Jiang Qian, and while I can’t find anything about just how many bikes can be linked up, I would guess quite a few. The front wheel connects to the two rear tires of the next unit. See, even when gas is unaffordable, you can still listen to your kids bitch and whine and ask “Are we there yet?”.

This concept phone by Takumi Yoshida, looks wavier than a water bed bearing a Sumo wrestler. That’s because it’s made for the blind and the nearly blind, with lighted sides that help convey different alert messages and curvy tactile keys that make it distinguishable for the visually impaired.

It would also be good for those users who want to feel as if they have squeezed their phone into a different shape, causing it to bulge. Great idea for the sight-impaired as there aren’t many phones they can use easily.