Category Archives: Interesting things on the vine

Apr 28 2016
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A geek moment, A.I., Big Data, Brand, Connected Technology, Conversation, Debates and Discussion points, Digital, Interesting things on the vine, Internet of Things, musings, new technology, Robots, The Future, Uncategorized

I Dredd to think…

I’m writing this from one of my favourite cities in the world.

For me Hong Kong is the epitome of where urban dwellings meet the jungle. Tropics growing into brick, buildings built around ancient roots. It feels like a chapter from I Am Legend, except we’re all still very much alive.

The subject of technology outgrowing humans is rife here, I’m collaborating on a project with a friend and it’s come up time and again as this city and the surrounding majors struggle to adopt innovations in a way that resonate with the humble origins the culture is built upon.

This week has left me reflecting on whether sustainable thinking will lend to mega metropolises, or whether global urbanisation will mean that rural areas will get left behind.

As transport becomes more sustainable, more affordable, ever faster and more connected, will it conflict with the debate around borders being reimposed and trade restricted back to regions again? Take Brexit as an example closer to home; if we leave the EU and customs barriers lead to effective restriction to start with, will we note the stagnation that will quickly follow so that when international exchange comes to a standstill we won’t notice the daily conflict?

On a related note but different angle, technology has allowed that we all become producers. Open SDK’s and API’s, 3D printing and crowdfunding all mean that rather than brands lending to personalisation, self made and personally tailored will be the next movement. Will brands play a role in enabling this or will they move to a protective stance on their IP?

I like to think that all my favourite cities are characterised by diversity and as such we will continue to encourage flexibility across the globe, joining forces to build reliance against what could otherwise be a tough future.

But as technology surges with intelligence at it’s core, the biggest question I am hearing repeatedly from all over is whether global cooperation and unlimited interaction will evolve to one diverse world where we see and share everything, or whether the future take us back to the past?

Will Mega Metropolises mean just Mega blocks and Mega highways? Will we live in a Mega City One? Will it be more Skynet than that? So many film references and a tad Dredd I know, but I believe the next few years will impact this more than we care to acknowledge.

I judge you not.

judge-dredd-on-screen-future-still-up-in-the-air-01

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Jun 09 2010
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Debates and Discussion points, Interesting things on the vine, Mobile, new technology

Blue lego bricks

Ironic that I’m typing this on my iPhone but numbered are the days that I shall do so. I’m getting pretty fed up with the battle between Apple and Adobe. Anyone else out there have a view on this?

Adobe took a big step towards reconciliation recently and announced their ‘Packager for iPhone’ tool. The Packager is a key aspect of Adobe’s CS5 update to its flagship creative suite, due for release to the market just days after Apple’s damning words iterated by the ‘legendary’ Steve Jobs.

At a recent Apple meeting he announced an amendment to their app development terms and conditions effectively banning the use of Flash.

So I’m looking into the HTC Evo 4G, it looks pretty good. Perhaps we can turn all the abandoned iPhones into a work of art, each one can resemble a blue Lego brick, we can call it ‘In the absence of flash’…

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Jun 09 2010
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Interesting stuff, Interesting things on the vine, Mobile, social media, social networking

Foursquare: The Facts

Foursquare was founded by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai.

Foursquare is a location-based social networking website and game.

Foursquare is built primarily for smart phones.

Foursquare has more than 600,000 people checking in at this moment in time.

Foursquare grew more than 10% during one conference (SXSW). That hasn’t been done since Twitter.

Foursquare employ 16 people. The square root of 4 is 16… See what they did there?

If you want to know more, check out their blog.

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Apr 17 2010
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Interesting things on the vine, new technology

speccy 6 eyes

So the long awaited 3D TV is on the horizon with anticipated launch dates any time soon (samsung have a 10 day count down on their site as of today)

So what’s the hype all about? The first reviews are in and according to critics the idea is relatively positive and this is really the biggest thing since high definition. Park the flat picture, there’s an incredible depth to the image that sucks you into the drama making you feel a part of it, if you’ve seen Avatar you’ll have an idea of what the effects will be like (although developers are promising that this will be easier on the eye so you won’t get the headache that comes with it – bonus).

You’re looking at around £2-3k for something along the lines of a 50 inch Panasonic TC – P50VT20 but that comes with just one pair of active shutter glasses so everyone else gets the 2D version (unless you fork out an extra £100-£150 for each extra anticipated guest).

The main drawback at the moment is there’s very little 3D content available. Some TV’s will be accompanied by a smart 3D processor, able to take 2D content and convert it to 3D. This doesn’t deliver the clarity that you experience watching a 3D Blu-ray movie but it will mean you can take a step towards the 3D experience, unfortunately though most current experiences will be run from a demo disc… soooo how long until they’re a living room essential?

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