Another Triumph of Design over Substance

I saw this on Boing Boing, and I have to admit my first thought was "that's neat."

But then I thought about it some more, and realized the point of kid's drawings is not simply to shut them up and have them doing something quiet for a while (which this device is perfect for), but to encourage their creativity and to afterwards show off their work. And it's really hard to post the middle of a 500 meter roll of paper on your refrigerator.

It is nice and compact, and if you have a kid who just wants to draw stuff occasionally, and not ever let anyone see what she drew, then it might be useful for you. But, otherwise, you're either going to be frustrated that the good stuff is buried in the "discard" roll or annoyed that you need to keep ripping off the paper poking through the easel.

Final score: Designer 10, Kids 0.