The following is a transcript of a BBC London Interview with Tim Marlow and Tom Standage on "Culture Shock" discussing the Killit Power Button with its creator Kurt MacLaurin, product designer at Proteus.
Kurt describing Killit Power Button: My idea is called the "Killit" button. It is derived from a design competition geared towards designing "Green Gadgets". It is a wireless, easy-off button for a desktop computer. This two-part device (the device itself and a wireless USB stick) will turn off the computer at the end of the day with the touch of a button saving all open software and peripherals to their appropriate locations. This device is designed to encourage those who are too rushed and too busy meeting family, friends, colleagues, etc. In the morning, it will turn your computer on at the appropriate time.
Interviewer: How foolproof do you think it is? One reason people may leave their computers on is fear of wiping out data. Are you confident that this device wouldn't do that?
Kurt: Yes. And if it came to be that it wasn't foolproof, I don't think it should be designed or manufactured. People do not need or want something that is semi-functional. Having another piece of junk on your desk that doesn't save energy or safely store data would defeat the purpose of designing this "green gadget". The goal is to have something very simple and effective, and if it can't be both of those then it should not be made. I've talked to a few software engineers who think it would work, but nothing is ironed out yet. This is conceptual.
Interviewer: Tell me how you got the idea. Were you in a rush one evening leaving your office thinking "gosh I wish there was a button I could push to kill everything on my computer but not wipe it out"?
Kurt: Close, actually. A group of people in our office get together each month to discuss ways of making our life at work "greener", and in one of those discussions I was surprised to find that many 'environmentally conscious' people left their computers on all night. People commented that multiple software applications and slow shutdown time (as well as start up time in the morning) deterred them from shutting down. I saw this as an opportunity where people were willing and wanting to make a change and to make a difference in energy consumption, they just didn't want to be inconvenienced in the process. The Killit Button bridges that gap of desire to make a difference and inconvenience, allowing people to easily, safely and stylishly conserve energy.
Interviewer: Does this unit have a counterpart? For example, it will turn your computer off at night, but what about in the morning?
Kurt: It seems a lot of people are just as frustrated turning on and starting their computers as they are with shutting them down. The Killit Power Button, once set, will turn on every weekday morning at the same time. This way you come to work in the morning with your computer up and running the way it was last night.
Most importantly, this product wants to engage people who might not think in a "green" manner. For instance, people who are fanatics about saving energy will probably allow themselves to be inconvenienced in order to shut their computer down at night. Other people, for whatever reason, don't want that inconvenience and opt not to shut down. This product, geared at making it easier for both groups of people, specifically targets the latter of the two, giving them a beautiful, functional tool that will overcome the inconvenience. They might not want to stick around for five minutes while their computer shuts down, but they would like to have a beautiful object on their desk that speaks to technology, convenience, environmentalism, etc.
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