Exploring the overlap of virtual and physical
Mobile, coupled with the web and social media becomes a powerful tool. From the Occupy movement to the Arab Spring, mobile has been playing an unparalleled role in expressing opinions, organizing individuals and distributing information. Enough power to the people to disturb, topple and change. Consider these statistics and trends around mobile technology: As of…
I was recently invited to speak at DUXcamp hosted by NPR and then again at Microsoft Research around the subject of Mobile and Storytelling. I created a rather stream of consciousness presentation, bringing together various thoughts about storytelling in the mobile space. Still very rough around the edges but a central theme is beginning to…
A recent meeting with a friend who is interested in technology in education, a NYTimes article More schools embracing iPad as a learning tool and recent flood of attention on the growing tablet PC market got me thinking about the potential of tablet PC’s (Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab etc) as a disruptive innovation for…
At some point in the near future, the term mobile "phone" will be too limiting to describe what we’ll be carrying around in our pockets. Take the iPhone (or any smartphone) as an example. Currently there are 8GB and 16GB versions available, but at the rate memory is increasing and coming down in price, soon…
I’ve been struggling to define exactly what “convergence” means in today’s wired world. I think I’ve found the best definition yet. Convergence is sometimes viewed as the consolidation of multiple technologies towards a singular uber-device. I prefer to define convergence as the tendency of technologies, as they grow in complexity and scope, to overlap (and…
Mobile phones and most personal electronics devices have been made for durability. My Samsung phone is finished in stainless steel, plastic and glass. It is black and shiny. My iPod Nano is aluminum. My wallet is made of leather. When I first bought by wallet, it was stiff, and uncomfortable. But at some point in…
We all remember ooh’ed and aah’ed at Google Earth when it was first available in 2005. For the first time history, services such as Google Earth offer us a readily available, zoomable, navigable visualization of our physical world, the detail of which are ever increasing with new technologies being developed as showcased by Microsoft’s Virtual…
It’s only a matter of time before someone comes up with a twister game for the iPhone.
It’s a little embarrassing, but I get a lot of my insights from watching TED presentations. Blame it on the combination of my 2 hour commute, iPod Nano and TED providing video podcasts. In a fascinating presentation by neurologist Vilayanur Ramachandran, he talks about how the brain works with sensory input. What stuck with me…
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about touch-based user interfaces for mobile phone for a project I’ve been involved in. Louis Kahn, one of the most influential architects of our time, and subject of an amazing documentary film, once said: “What do you want Brick?” He was alluding to the fact that each material has…