Love It Or Leave It: TimeCap Digital Urn

July 26, 2007

Designed by Cherif Morsi, the TimeCap hopes to become a burial ritual for the 21st century. The idea is that instead of putting someone’s ashes in an urn, the small USB device holds photos, sound bytes, videos, and any other type of digital media, so you can memorialize your loved ones with happy memories. You can wear around your neck and plug it in whenever you need a moment of reflection or reconnection with the deceased person. I like the sentiment but can't imagine this really taking off. What do you think, do you like the idea?

Source: Yanko Design

31 Comments

rnewbill 5 years 37 weeks

I think this is what you make it. the name and the design could use some work but I think it is a neat concept. I'm not sure I would use it but somebody out there may want to.

c0rkie 5 years 40 weeks

sleek!

c0rkie 5 years 40 weeks

sleek!

Tiff_here 5 years 42 weeks

they remind me of the movie, Transformers...

Three Eyed Fish 5 years 42 weeks

I like the idea since many of my friends and family would like to think I would keep their photos and videos of cherished times in a special place instead of the hard drive which could be cleaned at any moment or lost in a folder somwhere.

starofsorrow 5 years 43 weeks

It's a pretty neat idea, and you could probably use it for more than just memoralizing the deceased.

RaRaJulia 5 years 43 weeks

wait wait wait. hold on. so this is just a regular usb then?...so. couldn't any other usb stick be used for the same exact purpose?Basically they just designed a really cute usb, and gave it a fancy title then?Ok. Fair.-JR

RaRaJulia 5 years 43 weeks

wait wait wait. hold on. so this is just a regular usb then? ...so. couldn't any other usb stick be used for the same exact purpose? Basically they just designed a really cute usb, and gave it a fancy title then? Ok. Fair. -JR

angeldevilwings 5 years 43 weeks

It's a little depressing for me but it is a great idea, just not something that I'd wear around my neck.

cherif morsi 5 years 43 weeks

Dear DesodaroThanks for the commentYou are missing the point. As I explained before, it is not an attempt to digitize everything.Are you trying to convince me you do not use flashdrives or computers, if you do not like artificial memory that much? Of course not!Of course you will always have the memory of loved ones in your mind and nothing subsitutes for that however it would always be nice to watch a video of this loved person like having a picture of the same person otherwise the multi billion business of photography wouldn't have existed all together if we had to rely on our memory alone. Memory training is something and rewatch a happy event or picture is something else completely different and not competing togetherAnd as stated before, you would never guess it is a USB drive unless you open it, let alone mistaking it for an urn that you "carry around" so it can be considered as a very personal object as you do not guess its function unless you use it!

cherif morsi 5 years 43 weeks

Dear Desodaro Thanks for the comment You are missing the point. As I explained before, it is not an attempt to digitize everything. Are you trying to convince me you do not use flashdrives or computers, if you do not like artificial memory that much? Of course not! Of course you will always have the memory of loved ones in your mind and nothing subsitutes for that however it would always be nice to watch a video of this loved person like having a picture of the same person otherwise the multi billion business of photography wouldn't have existed all together if we had to rely on our memory alone. Memory training is something and rewatch a happy event or picture is something else completely different and not competing together And as stated before, you would never guess it is a USB drive unless you open it, let alone mistaking it for an urn that you "carry around" so it can be considered as a very personal object as you do not guess its function unless you use it!

desodaro 5 years 43 weeks

Isn't that what your memory is for? If you don't exercise your brain its more likely to fail you, thats proven. I really find this odd, then again, I wouldn't carry an urn around to need to remember anyone either.

cherif morsi 5 years 43 weeks

Hi everybody Very exciting to read all of your comments. It is quite nice to note how perception differ enormously in different continents. However, I would like to clarify TimeCap a little bit more. TimeCap was part of a project initiated by Chi Ha Paura to rethink and/or revive Rituals in general. It is highly symbolic in its meaning by virtually transfering ash into digital data. You also have to consider that TimeCap is very tiny as it is less than 2 inches long (5 centimeters) and is meant to look like an unfamiliar gem without letting the looker guess it is a USB flash drive in the first place. It will never replace good old picture nor does it entice for laziness but times have evolved and there are so many videos we take of loved ones so we will always need to store these videos and cannot be stored in a photo album. It does not compete with any of the traditional things at all but tries to bridge the gap between old things and new needs. And, of course it can be used as a normal flashdrive having 1GB of storage capacity and of course will be used also to put whatever the user wants.

cherif morsi 5 years 43 weeks

Hi everybodyVery exciting to read all of your comments. It is quite nice to note how perception differ enormously in different continents.However, I would like to clarify TimeCap a little bit more.TimeCap was part of a project initiated by Chi Ha Paura to rethink and/or revive Rituals in general.It is highly symbolic in its meaning by virtually transfering ash into digital data. You also have to consider that TimeCap is very tiny as it is less than 2 inches long (5 centimeters) and is meant to look like an unfamiliar gem without letting the looker guess it is a USB flash drive in the first place. It will never replace good old picture nor does it entice for laziness but times have evolved and there are so many videos we take of loved ones so we will always need to store these videos and cannot be stored in a photo album. It does not compete with any of the traditional things at all but tries to bridge the gap between old things and new needs. And, of course it can be used as a normal flashdrive having 1GB of storage capacity and of course will be used also to put whatever the user wants.

cherif morsi 5 years 43 weeks

tdamji 5 years 43 weeks

it is a nice idea in theory, but yeah - i wouldn't use it. What about the old fashioned way of having physical pictures etc in an album or something...i think thats much more personal and i'd actually do that rather than being lazy about getting pictures off a flash drive.

Luckybird 5 years 43 weeks

definately nothing I'd wear, probably nothing I'd buy either, but its neat, regardless

elizabethsosewn 5 years 43 weeks

I really like it. I like the design on the outside, but like some of the other people have I bet you could do it with any other flash drive.but i like the gemish design of this one.

Pirate Mermaid 5 years 43 weeks

I actually don't think it's that bad of an idea. I think we're all getting the sense that the aura of the person is lost in such an artifact. However, in the age of mechanical reproduction we live in, this kind of stuff is bound to happen, as it happens every single day now. I do agree however that this can be done with any flash drive, it just looks different. Maybe if it had earthy tones to it, like made of wood or something, it would feel like there's a bigger connection to the person?Has anybody seen the film "Final Cut" with Robin Williams? that's the first thing that came to mind when I read this. But I think I'd use it, with my own flash drive..

Pirate Mermaid 5 years 43 weeks

I actually don't think it's that bad of an idea. I think we're all getting the sense that the aura of the person is lost in such an artifact. However, in the age of mechanical reproduction we live in, this kind of stuff is bound to happen, as it happens every single day now. I do agree however that this can be done with any flash drive, it just looks different. Maybe if it had earthy tones to it, like made of wood or something, it would feel like there's a bigger connection to the person? Has anybody seen the film "Final Cut" with Robin Williams? that's the first thing that came to mind when I read this. But I think I'd use it, with my own flash drive..