Photographs by Todd Tankersley When Søren Kjær got his MacBook Pro, he was appalled by how badly the laptop clashed with his desk. So, of course, he designed a new piece of furniture, using the computer as an aesthetic beacon. The Mac's influence on Kj r's Milk desk goes way beyond color and clean lines. Like OS X, the desk is easy to customize: Touch a button and its work surface lifts or lowers. You could even say the desk has widgets, though he calls them rooms — four openings in which you can stow gadgets and office supplies or add accessories as Kjær develops them. The first one off the sketch pad: a fish tank.
Milk: $4,000, www.milk.dk
What Obsession Looks Like "It's just nasty," says Ducati North America CEO Michael Lock, describing the fastest roadworthy bike his company has ever made. The 377-pound, 175-mph 1098 S Tricolore has the highest-ever torque-to-weight ratio of any two-cylinder street bike. That's because the 160-hp bike is as stripped down as it can legally be. "No component was left alone," Lock says. That ain't marketing flimflam. Engineers trimmed 10.2 pounds off the engine by using a new aluminum casting process, lightened the exhaust by more than 4 pounds with a dash of titanium, sent the frame to fat camp for a 6.6-pound drop, and forged the wheels instead of casting them to cut 3 pounds. They even shaved 0.011 pounds off the gearshift lever. Nasty? Try sweet.
1098 S Tricolore: $24,995, www.ducati.com
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