Not to be Outdone, Playstation Kicks In

After yesterday's Microsoft "Project Natal" demo video came out, Sony launched their own new toy, the Playstation Motion Controller. Unlike the Microsoft 'no tool needed' model, the Playstation controller is more Wii like, with buttons. See the demo from E3 below.



We see the massive impact the Nintendo Wii has had on the other two major video game producers, and while the Wii was innovative and a massive shift in direction, the processor power was nothing compared to the Xbox 360 and Playstation3. With these new controllers on the way, new methods of interacting, many feel it's the end of the Wii's reign on the market, but the real test will be in game selection. If the game make effective use of the new technology, it'll work. If not, it's just another toy.

My guess if the former, and we'll see a whole new slate of combat games involving real time action. Get up off the couch, it's go time!

Get Rid of the Furniture - We Need More ROOM

Consider this is developmental, not an actual product, yet.

Calling it "Project Natal" (yet dubbed by most as Microsoft Mini-Wii), Microsoft has launched the following video that shows the future of broken furniture.



Project indeed, but if they have what they say they have, this will be interesting for sure, especially if it will still run Xbox games. No controller poses some interesting options, with facial and voice recognition.

Knowing how the Wii has lead to many broken lamps, TVs, and slaps/punches/swings of fellow players, this will result in a lot of fun and a lot of injuries. Let the games begin.

Google Wave looks to Change Online Communication

Google Wave made its debut today at the Google I/O developers conference, and took the conference by storm.

The buzz created has been compared to the iPhone, and conference participants can't stop talking about the demo displayed today of this revolutionary product.

Google is aiming to change the way online communication happens, by combining email, chat, media sharing, links, wiki type of format, and instant messenging (IM), all threaded in one format. Replacing not one but MANY various programs, the excitement about this development is palpable.

From Webmonkey's preview:

A user starts a “wave,” a new thread in the system. At first, it looks just like an e-mail. A wave usually starts as text, but photos can be dragged in, and videos or maps can be embedded. The user invites friends by dragging and dropping names from a list of contacts in a sidebar. New users can start leaving comments in line, setting a break point in the original text and adding a comment directly below the paragraph, photo or whatever piece of the wave they want to comment on. There’s even a built in spell-checker that’s context-sensitive.

As the new user is leaving a comment, everyone involved in the wave can see the comments being typed in, in real time, letter by letter. Edits can be made concurrently, so two or more users can see one anothers’ changes flowing in, even as they’re leaving their comments, making edits or uploading images.

And it really is instantaneous: Google is measuring Wave’s latency in the low milliseconds.

In the past few years, the use of email has depleted in favour of more short-burst communication via SMS (text messages), Facebook, Twitter, etc, but Google's Wave may bring those back to email, as it could contain all the messages into one location. Instead of communicating with someone via 5 different programs, all of these methods of communication could be contained within Wave.

Read more from Webmonkey here. Over the next few days much more is sure to be revealed, as conference attendees have special BETA access.

Amazon Kindle DX Revealed

As expected, Amazon revealed the Kindle DX, a larger, slimmer version of it's HIT e-reader the Kindle.

The new Kindle is squarely aimed at newspapers, a struggling industry that appears destined to move online. While the old Kindle came in with an impressive 6' display with amazing readability.

The DX comes in at an impressive 9.7" display with auto rotation, so it can easily resemble your comfortable newspaper or magazine. The larger display is aimed at better layouts and most importantly, advertising.

Many large newspapers are offering discounted online subscription prices aimed at recapturing declining markets, and it seems inevitable that escalating printing and delivery costs will move the vast majority of newspapers online. There are significant rumours of a Amazon deal pending with The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post. Serious contacts here.

Where things get even more interesting is the textbook market. It's expected (rumoured from reputable sources) that several large Universities and Colleges in the North-East US will offer textbooks via Kindle DX this fall, as an option for students. Faced with the choice of a back-breaking stack of texts at inflated costs, or an expensive Kindle DX with 4 years of use, the choice will be an interesting one, though it's anticipated this will be the first foray into electronic textbooks. It may be only a matter of time until textbooks for all ages are digital.

Read Fortune's article here.
Cnet's article here.
Wired article here.

Norway Leads the Way

The Norwegian Education system has furthered a project promoting digital literacy among the students, properly funding it unlike the North American systems.

When a Norwegian student turns 16, the Education Ministry provides them a laptop, to keep, to help them with their education. Now, they are further the implementation of these tools by allowing students to write final exams using these personal computers.

This opens up many doors for students, by allowing them to use devices they are familiar with in a locked format to write supervised exams. The University of Manitoba has also approved student-owned devices for writing final exams. Products like ExamSoft and LockedBrowser allow student-owned devices to remain secure during an exam setting.

As students begin to bring their own computers to school with them, following them from class to call, the education system needs to welcome them, allowing open Wi-Fi access, network access, and internet access, supporting their systems and encouraging students to use the tools to help their education. Norway seems to get it. When does Canada come along?

The BBC story about Norway's exam pilot is here.

Hans Rosling Presents Stats You Can't Ignore

This presentation by Professor Hans Rosling is fascinating in two ways.


The statistics Rosling presents are remarkable, fascinating, and should change the way we think about Third World Countries. It certainly opened my eyes.

The second point of interest was the *way* the statistics were presented. Think about this presentation as a PowerPoint slide show. The stats are the same, but I believe the impact isn't. By *morphing* the graphs, the statistics have a much more significant impact on the audience's attention and focus, and likely retention/impact as well.

Watch the presentation twice if you wish, focusing on each aspect on each run. It shows yet again that the information is only as good as the presenter. Excellent presentations make for excellent information.

If you have any information on the software used, or TED, please contact me.

Chequebook PC's Next to Market

Lenovo has teased the new "Pocket Yoga" PC, the second of the new market 'Chequebook PC' sector. These PCs are so named because they are about the size of an business envelope and are small enough to fit in the inside jacket pocket.

Elegant in design but pricey, these designs from Sony and Lenovo have opened up another market in the mini-PC market. The Sony product details are out, and exceptionally expensive. The Lenovo is only at the 'teaser' point yet, with very little details out.

See more on the Sony Vaio P here.

See more on the Lenovo Pocket Yoga here.

ASUS Kitchen PC a Step in the Right Direction

Now that our family is one of many using an online calendar, it's inevitable that a kitchen PC becomes what the family needs in the wired world. Online recipes, video tutorials, online shopping, and likely first of all, the calendar will all be accessed through this portal.

ASUS, after breaking ground with the EEPC netbook, is starting down the path with the first designated kitchen all-in-one PC.

Unfortunately, this isn't there yet, but it's certainly a step in the right direction for the wired family. Too pricey, no battery, but the touchscreen is the key.

Watch this to become a growing sector in computer sales, as netbooks have already shown.

WIRED has a review here.

"Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy"

Although this isn't the sort of things I typically post about, I do deal with teenagers and young adults on a daily basis, so this struck a cord with me.

Louis CK's appearance on the Conan O'Brien show. Enjoy.

Google Integration Improvements

Google continues to integrate their products in ways that make the sites, and a Google account, indispensable.

Google Labs has opened up more integration between Gmail and Google Docs, making Gmail more of a hub for all your online items.

Wired has some good tips on better integration of the tools if you are using them. Read it all here.