Influx Insights Tag Feed: technology

video games are now serious play

Influx Insights — 2008-10-07T03:21:11Z

For years video games and their makers have been dismissed by many as irrelevant, child's play.

The industry has carved out an impressive place in the entertainment space, but never seems to get the love or respect it feels it deserves.

With computing power advancing at a rapid rate and consoles being at the forefront of this, we are now starting to see games and the gaming industry being taken seriously.

One of the first examples was Folding@Home on the PS3, which allows console owners to band together to help medical science.

The latest manifestation is the amazing collaboration between Citroen and Polyphony Digital, the makers of the hit driving simulation game, Gran Turismo.

The Citroen GT unveiled at last week's Paris Auto Show was created in Polyphony's computers and then rendered into a live concept at Citroen.

The car therefore has been designed to perfection for both the real and virtual/digital worlds.

Posted by Ed Cotton

beyond static powerpoint- the future of agency presentations

Influx Insights — 2008-08-14T13:07:50Z

Technology is about to take another leap forward and the static Powerpoint presentations of old are about to be replaced by something entirely new and a lot more dynamic. Welcome to the world of The Minority Report, where we will be able to interact directly with a presentation materials and manipulate them in real time using our hands. It will interesting to see which agencies make the technological leap forward and start using this for client and pitch presentations.

Posted by Ed Cotton

nike-entering a new era?

Influx Insights — 2008-05-15T16:43:27Z

Nike is a brand that was built on the back of raw emotion of sports, but is it about to change?

Are product performance and technological innovation going to be the drivers from now on?

Take a look at the amazing exhibition the brand is putting on in Beijing that celebrates the 100 most important innovations in the company's history.

In the past, the company has been reluctant to let technology dominate the story, but in this show, it's the star.

Perhaps, the brand feels it needs to demonstrate the substance that lies at the heart of the company and put fear into anyone, especially the smaller Chinese upstarts, that Nike's success isn't something that can be easily copied.

Posted by Ed Cotton

jan chipchase- the life of a digital nomad

Influx Insights — 2008-04-11T21:53:23Z

Nice piece from The Economist that follows the life of Nokia's Jan Chipchase (see our previous post)

It's a film that uses photos and a phone recording.

Jan offers his observations on technology in his work life and life in general.

Posted by Ed Cotton

design and the elastic mind

Influx Insights — 2008-03-15T15:39:28Z

Core 77 has a great podcast on the new MOMA exhibition "Design and the Elastic Mind".

It features a few interviews from the opening night and a longer sit down discussion with famed curator Paola Antonelli.

The interview is Paola is especially good, as she talks about the idea behind the exhibit, the process of curating and highlights some of MOMA's future plans for bringing a Boeing 747 into the collection.

My big take-away from the broadcast is the emergence of two interesting forces that are now shaping contemporary design thinking.

1. The shift from the decorative to the serious- designers are no longer content creating beautiful objects- they want to have an impact. Design and the Elastic Mind is all about the intersection between science/technology and design.

2. The idea of "beta" is now present in the design world- work in progress is good and objects no longer need to be finished to be presented.

Posted by Ed Cotton

what happens to your old cellphone?

Influx Insights — 2008-02-09T19:21:07Z

Posted by Ed Cotton

how to make user-generated technology

Influx Insights — 2008-01-08T03:19:09Z

We are now pretty much done with the whole idea of consumers making ads, at least in the mass sense of the big competitions and contests.

No doubt they are still going to happen and consumers are going to still go off on their own and create gems like the Apple iTouch spot and manage to get discovered.

What about taking user-generation and consumer involvement further?

2008 might see the start of the emergence of more direct user involvement and engagement in the creation, customization and use of products.

This week, all eyes will be focused on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where the big brands will be competing to see who has the biggest plasma.

In general, the world of consumer electronics has been pretty much one-way traffic; brands create flashy, appealing toys that redefine the experience, we go weak at the knees, buy the product, plug it in and use it for 12 months until the next thing appears.

We do nothing, but worship and use the device, but we can’t really do anything else with it.

At this year’s CES, an interesting little start-up called Bug Labs will be showcasing its wares.

Bug’s goal is to turn the industry on its head and offer up “Lego-like” components that people can configure and program to suit their needs.

Here’s how they describe their mission.

Bug Labs is a new kind of technology company, enabling a new generation of engineers to tap their creativity and build any type of device they want, without having to solder, learn solid-state electronics, or go to China. Bug Labs envisions a future where CE stands for Community Electronics, the term "mashups" applies equally to hardware as it does to Web services, and entrepreneurs can appeal to numerous markets by inventing "The Long Tail" of devices.

Bug gets extra points for getting The Long Tail into their mission statement.

The format is to provide a programmable mini Linux computer and modules that attach to it such as screens, GPS etc. The user can then configure the device anyway they want to.

While it’s clear not every Joe Six-Pack has the time, interest or inclination to program and develop their own PDA, some do.

For the big consumer electronics brands out there, there are a couple of things to take away from this.

1. What can you do to provide a more personalized and customizable experience for your users? Think User-Perfected, rather than User-Generated

2. Shouldn’t things generally be more modular- wouldn’t we get less wastage that way?

Posted by Ed Cotton

in consumer technology, gold is the new black

Influx Insights — 2007-10-08T14:35:16Z

A couple of golden products have been introduced in recent weeks, is it a case of "bling" moving into the world of consumer technology?

1. The Gold Mac

Not something available in the Apple store, but a custom job using diamonds and 24k gold made by Computer Choppers

2. Lacie Golden Disc

A hard drive designed by Ora-Ito for disc company Lacie

3. iPhone in Gold (Thanks Adrian)

Available at Goldstriker, who have the ability to turn any phone into a golden object and lots of other things besides.

Posted by Ed Cotton

big idea: work:life balance

Influx Insights — 2007-09-07T22:35:25Z

We've all tried to do this in creative briefs for technology products, the idea of greater "me time."

It's been done to death and it started with some lame "Beaches" spot for AT&T back in the late 80s.

However, there's never been as much attention on the work:life balance issue as there is today and there's never been so much inertia on behalf of employees and employers to face up to the realities of it.

Creatives usually rip these "me time" briefs up and start afresh, but here are couple of spots that attack what's basically the same brief and do something that's really interesting.

It shows the power of film as a medium where creatives can use their imagination to bring new thoughts ideas to people. It's the subtle and clever twist on reality that makes them so appealing.

Solution: Dramatize the problem as a trap, so people wake up to face the reality.

Here's another way to do it.

Solution: Imagine if leaving work early was celebrated

Please note that both examples are from the UK.

Posted by Ed Cotton

virgin america - a real contender

Influx Insights — 2007-06-29T18:47:03Z

Last time we covered Virgin America here on Influx we were unsure if the company would be approved to do business here in the US. The forces to be presented a slew of roadblocks, and understandably so, Virgin will introduce something new that poses a big threat to the low-priced airline business. Yesterday they were given the official go ahead from DOE and will begin coast to coast flights this summer. They will enter the US market with a fresh, new image that will directly challenge Jet Blue and leave Southwest somewhere in-between rundown and a real hassle.The Virgin America brand brings a sexy new experience to the airline industry. At a time when carriers are taking away pillows and meals and charging their customers for these "luxury" items, Virgin will be stepping in with pimped out planes. They will provide customers with a new experience that will be the envy of every flier stuck with an A, B or C boarding pass. Southwest is scared and they're bracing for the impact by implementing a conservative strategy they hope will reduce their risk. If Virgin America can deliver the basics and then step it up a notch with their entertainment systems, comfortable seats and mood lighting they'll be offering something that makes other airlines look like the poor mans way to fly.

Jet Blue entered the market in 1999 and has been providing a better national flying experience at great prices. They offered certain perks like a TV at every seat, $25 change fees, less flights requiring connections and great customer service. In fact Jet Blue built its brand image around being customer friendly in an industry comprised of difficult to deal with people. This past winter, however, we saw Jet Blue stumble as they struggled to maintain the image it had built after the much reported on ice storm incident. This raised some eyebrows at the investment to build brands when they are so easily shaken. Some argue that Jet Blue's brand image may not recover; either way it is a timely advantage for Virgin.

Virgin is surely using its sexy brand image as an advantage and is upping the ante by making onboard cutting edge technology available to all of its passengers. They will provide movies on demand, modifiable music playlists, in-seat messaging and QWERTY touch-screen consoles w/ games. Their communications systems will also be state of the art - offering a LAN & WIFI system allowing passengers to have in cabin chats, request food and beverages and create on board chat rooms. Assuming pricing is comparable, these amenities will be a huge draw that will leave other airlines wishing they hadn't slept around.

Posted by ken fisher

touch is the future of computing

Influx Insights — 2007-05-30T05:08:36Z

We are fast moving into a world where "touch" becomes the "way" we control our devices and our computers. Much like Tom Cruise in the movie, The Minority Report, we will use our hands and fingers to manipulate data, just like this video shows.

Apple's iPhone is going to be the first mass manifestation of the technology.

However, there soon will be a time when every flat surface becomes an intelligent, networked touch screen. A space that's will know what exactly what's being placed upon it and one that allows interaction.

Of course, Microsoft is behind this..

The Redmond based giant has been talking to Starwood and T-Mobile about bringing this technology to retail stores and hotels.

Not to be forogtten from the story is the incredible advertising opportunity this technology could offer. Imagine placing a glass of wine down on the touch screen at a bar, it would know what wine you were drinking and could offer you relevant food items to compliment it or another glass of wine at a slightly lower price. Yep, the jobs that humans are supposed to do, but computers might just do more efficiently.

Going back to the Minority Report, the video below shows how this technology is going to radically impact the way we work.

can gateway make a comeback?

Influx Insights — 2007-05-16T13:54:21Z

Gateway is gingerly coming back, stating that it's going to place more emphasis on its consumer business, recognizing laptops are style statements for consumers and promising to work with the world’s best design houses to create new product.

However, Gateway’s stock currently stands at $1.75.

Once the darling of Wall St and for the business press Gateway was once a brand that could seemingly do no wrong

"A Brand is a promise, and you have to keep your promises. There's no difference between what we sell and who we are." At Gateway 2000, Jim Taylor practices what he and his partner Watts Wacker preach

Fast Company – December 2006

This Fast Company piece covered a couple of interesting topics in the conversation with Watts Wacker and Jim Taylor.

1. They saw a social networking future, way ahead of time

Q: You've come to Gateway to help position the company for the next round of competition. What will it take to win in the future?

The future of the personal computer is as a tool to connect what Watts and I call "communities of strangers." These are people linked together based on common ideas and values -- shared identity -- rather than social proximity. This is an absolutely revolutionary change. By using the computer to find people who share your views, you can live in whatever kind of world you want. Reality is no longer a defined constant. It is a choice.

2. Speed isn’t all you need to compete.

Q: What else will it take for computer companies to prosper in the future?

“Winning companies will help people maintain their personal rates of change. The speed at which computer technology changes -- the speed at which Gateway operates is unreal. We change parts to the line every three hours. We change product configurations every three days. We change prices every day. If memory chip prices drop, our prices drop. If we get unexpected production efficiency, our prices drop.

That's why I love the direct channel. We talk to 100,000 people a day -- people calling to order a computer, shopping around, looking for tech support. Our Web site gets 1.1 million hits per day. The time it takes for an idea to enter this organization, get processed, and then go to customers for feedback is down to minutes. We've designed the company around speed and feedback.”

Gateway’s revenues collapsed dramatically from $9.6 billion in 2006 to $4.6 billion in 2002. With a booming PC market in the late 90s, there was enough business for everyone, but when it contracted, pricing pressures meant Gateway wasn’t in a position to compete with Dell. Going head to head with Dell, trying to compete with Dell’s ad spending and breaking away from its own direct model to build retail stores was disastrous.

Today company revenues stand at $3.9 billion, brand awareness is 96%, it has the famous “cow” boxes, they are the no 3 US computer brand and have a 13% share of US laptop sales. It’s a long road back, but it’s not an impossibility.

For all nostalgic ad industry folks out there, the same Fast Company’s December 1996 issue also contained a piece on St Luke’s, entitled The Ad Agency to End All Ad Agencies. Seems like December 1996's Fast Company wasn't the "lucky" issue.