Is Russell Davies’ blackboard casemod for his Macbook Pro inspired or a mistake? The idea’s certainly interesting from a design point of view – mixing some of the latest hi-tech with the very rudimentary.

After my adventure with my phone I’ve got all excited about customising high tech things in low tech ways. And for ages I’ve been trying to make my Mac more useful for taking notes / to dos. The problem is, that whenever you remember something to do you have to switch it on, power it up, find the application, and then the moment’s gone. And I can never find my notebook when I want it. So last night I attacked my mac with some blackboard paint, and this morning it’s suddenly way more useful.

Yet it hasn’t taken long for him to get criticised in the comments, with one person saying it’s “the worst idea i have ever seen”. Interesting as it is, I worry slightly about the practicality (the chalk dust coming off, for example). What do you think? And do you have any other examples of hi- and low-tech mixed together?