(dot) Good Idea

So, that is the end of (dot)goodidea for 2009. Should any of these ideas make it to market, and I don't see why they will not, then there will be (dot)goodidea for 2010 in, err, 2010. If by any remote chance that the ideas do not take off then I will probably not bother. I hope you found the ideas useful. :-)

In the run up to Christmas it is cold and people are falling ill all the time. Many people fill themselves full of various pills until they rattle like a bottle so they do not fall ill. If this is like you then you want the pharmaceutical advent calender (dot)goodidea.

It is an advent calender, but not just any advent calender. Every day you open up a door and instead of funding a little picture, or a hole where your chocolate use to be before someone nicked it, you will find a pill. There will be a verity of pills over the advent to cover most illnesses, and there is a special big door on Christmas eve with a big pill to see you thought Christmas day.

So what do you think of this climactic well-being good idea. It is just so full of win that you just have to sign up to it. Are you in?

In the beginning there was snail mail, then we had Email and the info super hyper web. Things were okay, could could have been a lot better. I gave this a lot of thought a long time ago and decided I could go better, and created Fmail. It was like Email, but better. Before I even managed to get a line of specification down Google went one better and created Gmail. I am not giving up though as I have come up with the idea of Hmail (dot)goodidea.

Now there are a few ways that Hmail is better than E, F and G mail, and it does this by looking backwards to snail mail. First of all it tackles the spam problem by taking a trick from the snail mail world. All Hmails are contained in virtual envelopes and if the if it looks like a junk email (or a bill) the user just clicks the direct to shredder button. To make the system more authentic random Hmails are occasionally delivered to a neighbouring Hmail account, Hmail will occasionally not be delivered at all, or a day late. Don't forget it will all be delivered once a day just after you have left the house. At first all this might seem a bad thing, but it gets rid of that stressful constant stream of communication and reduces stress.

So are you in for this Email killing win?

In many countries around the world there are more than one languages spoken. This causes a problem for road signs as they have to have space form more than one language. With current metal prices this can get expensive so I have come up with an idea to put more than one message in the same space. That's right, it's called magic multi language signs (dot)goodidea.

The concept is easy. Say in Wales they have English and Welsh, so all the English text can be written in red, and all the Welsh can be overprinted in green. Now if you just look at the sign it is a mess, but when driving English speaking people can wear green glasses and that would block out the Welsh. This will make the English clear to read. Welsh speakers can wear red glasses making the welsh as clear to read as it gets, and people speaking neither language can block out both by wearing black glasses.

It's a sign saving winner. Are you in?

With all the flooding and snow we have had recently the sales in boots must have soared through the roof. The good old Wellington boot is a good practical design, but it does have an Achilles heal as well as an actual heal, that being if the water is higher than the boot your feet gets wet. The solution to this problem is Welly Boats (dot)goodidea.

The boot is very much like the traditional boot but with the addition of a boat on the bottom. When the water level is high you simply start to float. Yes, you to can walk on water.

There will be several designs available from the basic, to the pointed bow for runners, and one with arm bands for toddlers learning to walk.

It's a total waterproof win. Are you in?

Previously I stumbled on the idea of using the humble cache machine for other profit making uses other than giving you cache. The big problem with this idea was the cost of upgrading the machines, but I have been working on the idea and have come up with a product that will require no more than a little software upgrade costing next to nothing.

The idea of postcard in the wall (dot)goodidea is simple, we use the security camera in the cash machine to take a picture of the user. They can then enter a delivery address and a message using the touch pad like a mobile phone. We already have the payment details from the card. This information is sent to the postcard fulfilment centre (PFC) where a postcard with the picture and message is printed and posted.

It is a winner and grannies world wide will love it. What do you think? Are you in?

It's freezing at the moment and the bed is cold cold cold. You need to get in and huddle you hot water bottles. After a little shivering you warm up, but your feet are still cold. What we need is a device to take some of the spare heat from the top of the bed down to your feet at the bottom. Ladies and gentleman I give you bed fan (dot)goodidea.

The solutions is simple. You have a duvet with a a pip and a little pump to take some of the warm air to the other end, and another pipe to bring the displaced air to the top. We don't want any of the really really cold air from outside sneaking in after all do we.

The pump will only need a little power and need not run all the time. Perhaps a solar panel that charges in the day would work, or a couple of lemons like on those weird clocks from that gadget shop in town. Either way would be good.

So this is it, and it just can't fail. Are you in?

You know how it is. You go to the supermarket and stock up with beer, but not at Asda because they won't sell me any. Apparently I look to young and want ID. My driving licence is no good because I am old enough to have one without a photo. I can get a special ID that they tell me I need to ask my school for. I wonder if they were just not listening when mentioned I left school over 16 years ago and know all the words to Start Treaking to prove it, or if they were just being stupid at that point. The good news is that Sainsburys will sell me beer, but knot a knife oddly. Anyway, when you get back from shopping in Tesco or Morrisons you put a lot of effort in stocking the fridge.

Next you go and do something else useful like making certain that the digibox is in exact horizontally aligned with the TV, and when you come back you find the beer has all been removed from the fridge and some green things have been put in it's place. This needs to be avoided and this is where the Beer fridge (dot)goodidea comes in to it's own.

It is a long thin fridge that will fit in the corner of any room. You simply place a can of beer on the platform and it is taken up to the top and lowered in to the fridge. There is a detector that will reject anything that is not beer using a combination or scales, a green detector, and magic.

When you need a beer simply place a glass on the platform and one is automatically dispensed for you.

It's a bar tending winner. Are you in?

The human brain is amazing. It can remember in micro detail events from over two decades ago, but not where you put you keys twenty second ago, obviously. This ability to remember things without out your control can be a problem however. All I need to do is mention The Birdy Song and it will reverberate uncontrollably round you head for hours to come.

I have an idea how to solve this and I am calling it Out of my head (dot)goodidea. It is a hardware device that helps with brain training. It has a microphone that listens for you humming or whistling an addictive song. When such a song is identified a short but sharp electric shock is delivered to your back side. Over time I would hope that your brain would learn from this and stop repeating the tune, that or electrocute you.

So I think we have a winning solution here that will benefit society and help remove the virus that is addictive tunes from our lives. Are you in?

Recently we have had a plethora of URL shorteners being launched. They take a long boring URL like http://www.agm.me.uk/goodidea/2009/12/fun-url-dotgoodidea.php and make it short like http://tinyurl.com/yepas9r, or http://bit.ly/5OspP9. Thisl is all well and good, and allows us to share long an boring URLs on Twitter, but all we have done is make them short and boring, not fun. This is why the world need Fun URL (dot)goodidea.

This is how is works. You enter the URL of the page you want to have fun with and click "Make Fun". You will then be given a new URL that is designed to bring a smile to peoples faces such as http://FunURL.goodidea/monster/happy/smile or http://FunURL.goodidea/big/big/hug. With luck we can bring a little smile to Internet users around the world.

Yes the URL is now a bit long, but we can always user a third party URL shortener for that. No, wait, that won't work will it.

Anyway, are you in on this winning smile making idea?

I remember a time when you went in to a tea shop and ordered a cup of tea, but those days are now long gone. Nowadays you have to go in to a posh coffee shop and ask for an earl breakfast, or a green grey chamomile, or something like that. Well I have some more bad news, the decision making process has moved to the sandwich market as well. Not only do you have to decide that if you want ham, chicken, ore cheese sarnie, but now you also need to choose from a selection of breads (none of which qualify and "normal" apparently) and proximately 2,371,234 different additional toppings. I went in for a sandwich last week and did not get out of the shop until yesterday because of this complicated decision making process.

There is a solution though, and that solution it Sandwich decision maker (dot)goodidea. Simply enter in your likes and dislikes, as well as any dietary requirements. The system will give you a short list of sandwich options and you can the one on the top. If you want to go crazy you could order the second on the list, but let's not be so radical as to go for the third. If you especially like or dislike the sandwich you can tell the system this and it will help it's decision process in future to give you an even more appropriate and appetising selection.

So, it's a sandwich full of win. Are you hungry to be in?

I was flicking through a hardware supply catalogue as you do looking for power tools to drool over, but all I could find was fire alarms and break glass to exit boxes. It gets worse though, as I then discovered I had run out of chocolate! A fer moments pondering gave me the ultimate solution to the problem, that being Emergency Chocolate (dot)goodidea.

It's just so simple. You stock up on chocolate as normal, but should unforeseen problems occur and you run out, you simply go to the emergency dispenser attached to the wall, break the glass, and remove the chocolate.

There is also a potential spin off from this product in the form of a service. If you need emergency chocolate then you will probably require lots, so when breaking the glass an alarm is raised, and a chocolate deliver is automatically triggered.

I can see this being so essential in the future that there will be European legislation requiring emergency chocolate dispensers to be installed in all properties. Are you in for this win?

I live in a party city that is a magnet for stag and hen nights. Naturally as part of these celebrations it is customary to handcuff the groom to be to a lamp post or something.

This is all fine and good, but what a waste of firemens' time freeing such people. In order to over come this problem I give you stag night stocks (dot)goodidea.

The idea is simple. The stag is placed in the stocks that are located in key places around the city. They are then closed, coins placed in the meter, and the stocks will lock. The friends can then go on and get drunk further and ultimately forget where they left there friend. After the paid for time has lapsed the stocks unlock and the stag can make there way to hospital suffering from acute alcohol poisoning as per normal.

It has a number of revenue streams. Local councils will help fund the project to save on the fire service bills, and there is the revenue from the payment. Considering the price of stag night handcuffs this can be a significant income, and the friends will still have saved money.

I can also see scope for accepting credit card payments, and having a loyalty card for frequent use. There is also the option of family sized stocks that can be used at a discount in the day. This is so you can go shopping without having to worry about hubby or the kids wondering off.

So what do you think. I think it is a financial winner. Are you in?

The winter has set in and the temperatures have dropped. When going out you need to wear at least two pares of thermal socks just to stop your feet freezing, but that only just about keeps you feet from becoming ice. This is why we all need self heating socks (dot)goodidea.

The technology is really simple. The socks have piezo strips that when you walk they bend and generate power. Sadly this will not generate enough power to heat the socks, but it will generate enough power after a few minutes to light an LED. This is what we will do. As you walk along the system charges. When there is enough power the controls on the generator you are pulling behind you are illuminated. This allowing you to find the start button. Then the power generated is fed back to the heating elements in the socks.

Naturally we are looking at ways of reducing the size of the generator.

Winter warmer win. Are you in?

Every day we here or see the weather forecast, and once in a blue moon they get it right. Some say that they are just randomly guessing the weather, and some say they would be more accurate just guessing.

Considering the amount of money we spend on this it would be more economical to just guess, and this is where Weather guess (dot)goodidea comes in. It will tell you the weather forecast by guessing, and we hope will be just as accurate as the current forecasts.

The system will not be completely random. Apparently the weather is more likely to be like it was the day before than the forecast, so we will forecast the current weather. By doing this we can cut costs and forecast at a fraction of the costs of other services.

I forecast lots of win here so are you in?

You know when you are a bit peckish and all you want is a snack, well this is the good idea for you. We have breakfast bars made of bits of healthy stuff, but this is a wimps snack that a true man would not want to be seen eating, so why not create Meat Bars (dot)goodidea.

The bars will be meet that has been cooked, mostly, and contains very little blood to seep out. I appreciate that this may seem a little light weight mambe pamby health and safety, but this will be masked by artificial blood that will squirt out with every bite.

As the bar will not be refrigerated, as even if you had a fridge available it should be filled with beer, there is the danger the bars may go off. We aim to rectify this by irradiating then to a point where they are glowing green. This will also reduce the lighting costs in the factory.

Finally to build up the manually image the bars will be wrapped in solid steel and will only be available to anyone over 18, or over 40 if you show in Asda.

So are you in on this manly snack that is win all the way?

When you were a child you dreamed of many things, possibly including
owning Ferrari. Sadly you grow up and never quite manage to own your Ferrari, having had to compromise with a Micra with a go faster stripe.

It must hurt every day and I feel your pain, and this is why I have created Ferrari conversion (dot)goodidea.

The pack contains a pot of red paint with brushes, stick on spoiler, and a bag of badges for the front, back and sides of the car. You even get a complementary Ferrari key ring to show off to your friends, assuming you have some friends.

It is a winner, but we need to move fast for the Christmas market. Are you in?

It’s a problem that everybody has. The worlds worst soap opera starts with the most annoying of theme tunes and you need to change channel with some urgency, but you just can’t find the TV remote. It’s not your fault, it is just a law of physics that the controller must hide it’s self when you are not looking.

The solution is simple. Juts make the controller really large so you can not loose it. The Mega Controller (dot)goodidea is the ultimate solution measuring 2ft x 4ft and is day glow yellow. The pro version is fitted with strobe lights and flashing beacons to aid identification.

So we now have a controller that you can’t loose, but it is not overly mobile, so we decided to fit motorised coasters to the bottom and have a joystick mounted on top to allow it to be moved easily. I see a tilt and pan functions being added to future versions.

We have not wasted the space inside our large for factor either. No, we used it to solve another problem. You know haw annoying it is when the batteries go flat. Well the Mega Controller is fitted with a petrol engine to power it. I accept it is a little inconvenient having exhaust pipes trailing across the floor and out the window, but we are working on ways to reduce this impact.

So, what an idea this is. Are you in? It’s full of win?

You know how it is. There is something you don't want to do, or just feel is wrong for someone else to do, and you need an excuse to stop it. You search your head for a good reason but can not think of anything. In the end you need to do what everyone does nowadays, and come up with a "Health and Safety" reason why this can not happen! Now Health and safety excuses (dot)goodidea enters the stage.

This is a wonderful web resource a user enters the thing they do not want to happen and the web site searched it's in-depth of potentially plausible health and safety excuses. For a small premium a risk analysis document can be printed out as concrete proof that this is clearly illegal, immoral, and will make you fat.

There is also a publishing deal here with a range of books of excuses. Are you in? It's a market leading winner.

Today we are using crowd sourcing to do everything. Be it reviewing restaurants, processing documents, or even creating and moderating reference, we are conning the general public to doing the work for us. There are plenty of things that we could be crowd sourcing but are not yet though, and this is where Sim Air Traffic Control (dot)goodidea comes in.

Do you remember the computer game Sim City where you acted as a city counsel running the city? You decided that to build where, and what taxes to charge, and if you got it right you ended up with a great city to run.

Now extend this idea to air traffic control when the users command and control aircraft. Why do this? Well the people who are good at it can advance the level two, where instead of simulating the air traffic they control real aeroplanes. This reduces the need for expensive air traffic controllers.

I know what you are thinking, and no we would not let the user know they were controlling real planes. This is so they will not prioritise planes with there friends on. Initially the game will be PC based, but I would hope to have an iPhone version out within weeks.

There is also scope to take this idea further by expanding the platform to rail transit or nuclear power stations. What could possibly go wrong here? It's a win win win. Are you in?

Technology is on the whole a great thing and has helped our society in many ways, but it has also removed several pleasures that we enjoyed but just a few years ago. For example email may be quick and functional, but do you feel the same excitement about receiving an email as we did a letter? Where has the magic gone?

Well, we can bring back the magic with Hand Written (dot)goodidea. After subscribing you can send your email in the usual way with your favourite email client, but instead of the email winging it's way to the recipient it is diverted to an expert team of calligraphy experts. This team will lovingly copy out the letter, by hand, on to paper. They then pop it in an envelope, stick a stamp on it, and pop it in the post box.

Now I know what you are thinking, but by fulfilling the copy process abroad the costs can be reduced to a minimum. This will not noticeably affect service at all. You can not hear an accent in a letter after all, and adding a couple of weeks shipping time will barely be noticeable on top of a normal delivery time in my experience.

I just can't understand why people are not doing this already, but as no one is it gives us the chance to corner the market. It just can not fail. Are you in? It's just so much a winner.

Today I was wondering how most people spell a particular word. I did not want to know how it should be spelt, I wanted to know if Jo Public could spell it. A questions that should be towards the top of any brand selection list.

I could not just post the question to twitter as my spelling will influence the response, so it would need recording as audio. I then remembered the clever reCaptcha that uses words scanned from books that the OCR reading software can not interpret to check if the user is human by getting them to type in two words. They know what one of the words is to check the person is a person, but not the other one and are using the users responses to figure out what that is.

Why don't we do the same with audio? Users can listen to two words and submit what they hear, just as they submitted what they read two with reCaptcha.

It's a total winner let me tell you. Grated it might be a little difficult to use if you can not spell, but only about 90% of blog writers can't spell so that will be fine. Also I am struggling for a revenue stream, but that does not stop Twitter so lets worry about that later.

The entire world will want to use this. Are you in?

There have been many successful examples of current infrastructure being used to successfully deliver new services in a successful way, successfully. I can not stress the scope for success here. The national grid and railways deliver communications services, Amazon offer cloud hosting services on there infrastructure, and the Gas, Electric, & telephone companies did okay at delivering everyone else's products as well.

One resource we have forgotten about that can deliver another service is the good old humble hole in the wall cash machine. The are all connected, there is a delivery network in place that fills them up, they all accept cards, and there is a computer controlling them all that can be easily reprogrammed.

This is why today's good idea is to alter the cash machine network to deliver both money, and contraception products, and pasties. Some machines can already be used to top up you phone and manage your bank accounts so is it is not a total leap of faith the think that they can deliver these important products. Products that might be required at any time of the day at short notice for a premium.

The revenue stream is that we make the pasty and condom dispenser module for the cash machines that fits just under the cash dispenser bit. These can be sold to the machine owners for a flt fee, or as a use based service.

There is a danger that the machines in toilets may pick up on the idea and start distancing cash and pasties, or the Greggs will start rolling out a pasty machine network, but other than that I can not see how this could fail. Are you in? It's a winner.

It is that time of year and the weather has turned cold and frosty. It is still safe to go out side, but only with the appropriate space suite with extra padding. The sensible among us will stay in doors, but what about those pour souls that need to walk the dogs? This is why we need Indoor Dog Walking (dot)goodidea.

We hear about how all these shops and business are closing down and so there should be plenty of large buildings available for not a large investment. Deck them out with pooper scooper bins and inflatable palm trees.

Obviously the buildings need heating and this is also a genius idea. Instead of paying a fortune for gas or electricity for the heating just install a big boiler, or even better build a bonfire in the middle, then heat the building using junk mail, free papers, Celine Dion and Darius records, Windows Vista boxes, and all the sprouts left over from Christmas.

There is the potability of taking this idea further in the future and bring some closed tube lines back in to action. Instead of having the owner have to walk them just attach them to the front of a train like huskies. The reduced running costs should make the lines financially viable again.

So, I can not see how this one will fail. Anyone in? It's a winner?

You know how everything has to be award winning nowadays? I noticed it on the television last night. A product can not just the a pot of beauty cram, or a television programme, it needs to be an Award Winning cream with octowhatsits, or an Award Winning mega programme.

This is all fine and well for those products that won an award in 1892 for the cleanest toilet in Ipswich, and this should allow any company to honestly claim to be award winning, but what about all these new companies who have not won anything yet? Enter the award winning AwardWinning (dot)goodidea .

You simply enter your company or product details in to the web site, click the "Award" button, the site will search all the awards you can win and enter you for them.

I know what you are thinking, what is the revenue stream. This is the clever bit. If there are no awards you can enter, or you can not win any, then Award Winning will create an award for you to win. It will be a totally above board award and you get a trophy an everything.

As far as I can see it is a perfect idea with no floors what so ever. Anyone want to invest? It's a winner.

If you missed the totally serious idea that kicked this (dot)goodidea project then it is still available on my blog and is called Chocify.