Interesting Reading: 10/29
Filtering Reality
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200911/augmented-reality
The emerging technology, called “Augmented Reality,” enables users to see location-specific data superimposed over their surroundings. Long a staple of science fiction, it’s trickling into the real world through the iPhone and similar ultrasmart mobile phones. With AR applications such as Layar, the smart phone displays what its camera sees, with information about nearby buildings and shops, travel directions, even notes and “tags” left by other users in that location. Although AR now relies on handheld devices, electronics makers like Sony are working on systems that you wear like sunglasses, making augmented vision more immersive.
Here’s where the first familiar online phenomenon shows up: spam. Nearly every communication method we invent eventually conveys unwanted commercial messages. AR systems will be used for spam too, whether via graffiti-like tags, ads that pop up when you look too long at a shop, or even abstract symbols stuck to a wall or worn on a shirt that, when viewed through an AR system, turn into 3-D animations.”
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With Video, a Traveler Fights Backhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/business/29air.html?partner=rss&emc=rss“United Airlines learned its lesson the hard way that David Carroll was not just another customer.After baggage handlers at United broke his guitar last summer and the airline refused to pay for the $1,200 repair, Mr. Carroll, a Canadian singer, created a music video titled “United Breaks Guitars” that has been viewed more than 5.8 million times. United executives met with him and promised to do better.So how was Mr. Carroll’s most recent flight on United?
This Everyman symbol of the aggrieved traveler was treated, well, like just another customer. United lost his bag.”--------Video Games (No Controller Needed)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/arts/television/27video.html?_r=1&ref=technology“...That is not faint praise. The term “multimedia presentation” is dry, but it is perhaps the only way to fully describe the spectacle of several dozen classical musicians, the Temple University Concert Choir, two guitarists and a female flutist dressed as an elf, all playing music from the Japanese video games Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger while three large video screens suspended above the stage displayed scenes from the games in sync with the music......“Video Games Live” highlights the music in games that are primarily about other things, like saving the galaxy from aliens, defeating the undead or rescuing princesses from bad guys. But there are now also popular games that allow an approximation of playing music (Guitar Hero, Rock Band), that are built around singing (SingStar, Lips) and that are about the culture of music (Brütal Legend).”-------Emerging City Innovation
http://www.good.is/post/emerging-city-innovation/“Most of the world’s population now lives in cities. How can we make sure these urban centers are good homes for humanity? Cities from Bogotá and Rio de Janeiro to Seoul are leading the way, using fresh ideas to reduce pollution and waste; provide efficient, clean transportation; and support biodiversity.”--------
Google's Eric Schmidt on What the Web Will Look Like in 5 Years
http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2009/10/27/27readwriteweb-googles-eric-schmidt-on-what-the-web-will-l-68067.html“Google CEO Eric Schmidt envisions a radically changed internet five years from now: dominated by Chinese-language and social media content, delivered over super-fast bandwidth in real time. Figuring out how to rank real-time social content is "the great challenge of the age," Schmidt said in an interview in front of thousands of CIOs and IT Directors at last week's Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Orlando 2009.”http://www.tubechop.com/watch/32815--------
Computer tasks for workers in the developing world
http://springwise.com/non-profit_social_cause/samasource/“Earlier this year we covered txteagle, a service that aims to fight unemployment in the developing world by enabling mobile phone subscribers there to complete quick jobs via SMS. Operating on much the same principle, Samasource is a San Francisco-based nonprofit that connects workers in the developing world with computer-based tasks.Samasource has partnered with 18 locally owned small businesses, nonprofit training centers and rural data centers in Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Ghana and Pakistan. Such service partners are first carefully screened, both for social and economic impact and for their ability to deliver good work. Next, Samasource provides those organizations with free business training, using live sample projects, web-based tools and site visits. Then, Samasource markets the services of its partners to paying clients around the world for tasks such as data entry and digitization, web development, image and site moderation, application testing, video and audio services, project management, research assistance, virtual assistance and tasks via Amazon's Mechanical Turk.”
