A vision of the future, by Microsoft

April 4th, 2009  |  Darrell Corriveau

Microsoft Sustainability is an ultra-slick infomercial that provides a glimpse of where information technology, and presumably Microsoft, is heading. Their vision of the future is a world where virtually every surface, from desks to coffee cups, can be manipulated to connect, collaborate, and create. The concepts look like friendlier versions of things you’ve seen before in movies like Minority Report and Iron Man. It’s all pretty seductive – the people in the video are imbued with a sense of freedom and relaxation as they go about their information-gathering business. But is this really what will happen? Aren’t we already maxed out on how much information we can reasonably take in and diseminate? Anybody with a smart phone and multiple social media accounts already knows that these technologies offer many things, but the promise of achieving zen calm probably isn’t among them.

What’s smart about GE’s Augmented Reality?

March 18th, 2009  |  Darrell Corriveau

GE, maker of everything from light bulbs to jet engines, is also developing technology and products for smart grids – the next generation of the electricity system. To help explain the smart grid concept, they’ve produced a nifty website that includes a component they are calling Smart Grid Augmented Reality. To make it work, the user prints a simple black and white image on a sheet of plain paper and then holds it up to their computer’s webcam. 

Then, in a truly ‘how did they do that?’ moment, an image of wind turbines and houses on a grassy landscape seems to unfold in a three-dimensional manner from the paper image on the computer screen. The image can then be moved and turned by manipulating the paper in the users hands. And that’s not all. By blowing into the computer microphone, the user can actually increase the speed of the wind turbines. It’s a neat bit of tech trickery from a massive company known for its innovation, but really, the presentation is not of much use. You will learn very little, if anything, about the concept of smart grids by giving it a try. But maybe that’s just fine. Despite the absence of social media links of any kind, the site has still managed to go viral to some degree – and if it’s not deepening the understanding of smart grid technology, it certainly is creating brand awareness for GE. The technology could also serve as a springboard for other more meaningful applications in the future.

Come Up To My Room at the Gladstone showcases alternative design

February 11th, 2009  |  Darrell Corriveau

Held at the Gladstone Hotel from February 5 to 8, Come Up to My Room is an exhibition showcasing compelling alternative design from Canada and around the world. Many of the rooms, usually reserved for paying customers, are converted to design and art installations.

Standouts included a room designed and constructed by Studio Junction Inc. that featured a drop ceiling and a room-length, floor-to-ceiling bench all constructed with narrow slats of wood in varying hues. Strategically placed backlighting gave the room a warm glow that evoked a calming Nordic sauna.

The Inside Out House was a project by Laura McKibbon and Jasna Sokolovic. A bathroom transformed into a postmodern fairytale with trees, grass and moss overflowing the sink, toilet and bathtub, amongst which sat a variety of red ceramic birds. Glittering plastic stars dangling from the ceiling added to the surreal effect.

Perhaps my favorite (pictured above) was a simple concept by duo Matt Carr – who is Director of Design at Umbra – and Joyce Lo that used common rope lights from Home Depot to spell “cant get enough” on the walls. Attached to strings dangling from the ceiling were a series of small metal-rimmed ‘peepholes’ that when spied through, rendered the points of light as small glowing hearts – cleverly completing the phrase.

U.S. media content is getting stuck at the border

February 6th, 2009  |  Darrell Corriveau

This is a time of unprecedented access to all forms of digital media, so maybe it seems ungrateful to complain about the times when that access is denied. But that’s what I am going to do. The Web offers an embarrassment of riches to help keep us connected, informed and entertained. And the best part is that this content is readily available to everybody with an Internet connection. Except, increasingly, us poor Canadians.

I’ve always noticed some licensing restrictions limiting content originating in the U.S., but lately it seems that roadblocks have been thrown up everywhere I go.

I first went to Hulu, because it’s perfectly reasonable to me that I should be able watch the Turkeys Away episode of WKRP in Cincinnati at 10:00 pm on a Tuesday night in 2009. But guess what? Not a single bit of Hulu’s content is available in Canada (or anywhere else outside the U.S. for that matter). They assure me however that they are working on the issue. They say that making content available worldwide ‘requires clearing the rights for each show or film in each specific geography and will take time’. Probably A LOT of time is my guess.

Next up is Pandora. Pandora, like Last.fm, is an automated music recommendation and Internet radio service where users enter a song or artist that they enjoy, and the service responds by playing selections that are musically similar. Sounds great – sign me up! Alas, I can’t even get past the deeply, deeply apologetic letter on the homepage. They will notify me via email when the service is activated in my area. I’m not hopeful. Last.fm seems to work well for now, but even they have been in and out of deals with Warner Music and Sony BMG, so you never know how long this will continue.

The intellectual property hurdles that need to be cleared are vast, and this is why Apple’s greatest technological achievement was not the iPod or the iPhone, but the intricate licensing deals they were able to secure with media companies enabling worldwide distribution. Let’s hope others can follow suit soon. After all “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!”