Creatively Distracted
Creatively Distracted
These days technology makes the world go ’round these days, or so it seems.
Google Search’s designers are treating what was once just an ugly list of links like a software application. On the same day that Larry Page became Google’s CEO for the second time, he ordered a redesign of all its products.…
Is it me or does the Microsoft Tag service seem like another one of their efforts to make a proprietary version of something that already works? What is the added value of Microsoft Tag over QR codes? Am I the…
After watching the drama unfold this week around Apple’s iPad, as shiny and sleek as it is, I’m still holding out to see what comes of the rumored Courier tablet from Microsoft (video above with diggnation commentary). I definitely dig…
So lately there’s been a lot of hype about Google’s upcoming product, Wave. I won’t deny that the features in the demo seem very productive/handy/slick, but its the name I can’t get over. Surely I can’t be the only person…
What an amazing mechanism to interact with information. I really like the math, language and storytelling concepts. More on the project on the Siftables web site.
The concepts for the building tools in the virtual world featured in this film short are quite ingenious.
World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.
[via]
Spotted on A Daily Dose of Architecture as I was surfing through my Google Reader subscriptions, Mr. Glasses is a series by Mitch Magee that tells the story of the tortured ideals of a modernist architect. Dry. Funny. I couldn’t…
There is a theme(me) emerging among the services that allow you to easily aggregate online services you use together. Swurl, Tumblr, StumbleUpon, they all evoke images of wild flailing and unbalance. How appropriate that they are reflections of our online…
Designer Mac Funamizu has come up with an elegant conceptual solution for searching the environment that surrounds us. Beyond searching by text as we have become accustomed to with services like Google, the device searches by scanning an object from…
Issuu is a web-based service that allows you to upload a PDF document and share it online. Issuu takes the PDF and converts it to a “magazine” style display in Flash format. You, or anyone else, can link to the…
The Singularity Summit was held last week and for those of us who were not able to attend there are podcasts available on the summit’s website. There is also a transcript of a particularly interesting talk presented by Jamais Cascio…
Finally, the SpaceNavigator works in Second Life with the SL Viewer Joystick Flycam function. Huh? What does this mean? Well, it’s possible to use the SpaceNavigator for more smooth camera control than using a mouse while filming machinima. Note that…
TeacherShare is a proof-of-concept site where educators can share links and learning resources, similar to how social bookmarking services like del.icio.us function. While the learning repository concept isn’t new, this implementation as a collection of shared links has some interesting…
Yesterday I met up with Rich Weil, Director of Community Relations for the World of Kaneva, for a guided tour. He was wonderful and showed me around while he talked a little about what is happening in Kaneva now, as well as what is ahead.
Touring Kaneva
What - Kaneva is an online virtual world (currently in live beta) where participants can create a free account and download client software to log into the world. It is not a game, it is a virtual, social world - like Second Life, Active Worlds or There.com. When you create an account a space on Kaneva's community web site is also created for you that operates similarly to MySpace.
Where - My initial foray into Kaneva was unaccompanied and I missed a lot of what was happening - having no idea where to go. Upon logging in I found myself at the mall, the default location for everyone's first visit to the world. In the mall you can buy clothes, shoes, and a few other things to further customize your avatar. Things that you purchase are stored in your inventory until you are ready to use them. Although there are plenty of people who are happy to chat with you in the mall there are other places to visit too - this was the piece I was missing.
Rich showed me how to search for hangouts and people and use the Travel button to get to places I find (like teleporting in SL). Now Kaneva was beginning to feel much larger...
If you’re like me and have been holding your breath for the Epos Pens to see the light of day, you can exhale now. While it seems they are still not available for purchase there are some reviews of the…
There is an article in the NewScientistTech about a new process that has been developed to create chain mail on a microscopic scale that may one day be used to link wearable electronic devices or sensors together. [via]
I have an OpenID and use it wherever possible – though it isn’t always that much. In fact, I’m surprised that the boom of Web2.0 applications has not seen wider adoption of identity management mechanisms. Today CommonCraft posted some concise…
New! With more productivity packed in every byte. The new laptop is making the once painful tasks of building/texturing much easier. I’ll post more about the specs later, but right now am just amazed at all the things I wasn’t…
A company named Zyren has an interesting "clock" that they are marketing as the sleep system Night Cove that controls the ambient light in your environment. As a huge fan of sleep I can only imagine the endless hours of well managed, scientifically crafted sleep it could provide - just the thing for the wonky winter nights in Alaska. Despite my torrid love affair with sleep I remember the days when I was a morning person and I miss them. [via]
Jeff Han and the Multi-Touch display get a lot of coverage and for good reason. The technology is a revolutionary way to interface with computers and strikes a particular chord with visually-oriented folks. The latest video is of a larger…
There are probably a whole lot of Web2.0 collections out there but go2web20.net is certainly the most Web2.0 of them that I have come across. There’s a whole lot of time-killin’ potential if you’re planning on visiting.
While we are all sitting around waiting for the release of the Optimus keyboard (man, how long do we have to wait anyway?), a Korean company has launched an programmable LED keyboard of its own. Sadly, the keys are not individual LED screens, but it still looks really cool.
Cemetery 2.0 is a concept that links burial plots to online repositories of information about the deceased. Information is connected to the physical resting place so that visitors may access the surviving artifacts of that person. This project is a…
From the design labs at Electrolux comes the KaionWAVE washing system, a groundbreaking concept for laundry of the future. Functioning as both a washer and a dryer, the KaionWAVE washing system is ideal for houses where space is limited. No…
Ralph Koster has written one of the more well thought out articles about the emergence of CopyBot and some of the implications for Second Life. The conversation following this article is also very thought provoking and worth a scan to…
Synthravels wants to be your virtual travel agency the next time you plan a vacation.
On his blog, Tim Berners-Lee has posted clarification to a recent interview with The Guardian so that his thoughts would be accurately represented.
This month's issue of Dwell has an interview with Andrew Dent, material scientist and VP of Material ConneXion.
Soon devices integrated with the SplashPower receiver will be revolutionizing the way we power our devices. SplashPower aims to simplify recharging power by eliminating the need for cables. [via Core77]
What is this? On 26 July 2006 Blackboard announced that they had been awarded the patent for eLearning technology (no. 6,988,138). Upon reading this patent it occurs to me that they have pretty much patented the concept of the LMS.…