Sling Media Launches WM5 Smartphone SlingPlayer App Gallery (MobileBurn)

While the quality of this video is amature in nature, I think this shows the power of the mobile networks that are being deployed.  Also, I think it is a good representation of how all of our entertainment lives are going to eventually converge into an on-demand model.  Slingbox is showing the world how powerful having on-demand access to your entire entertainment library is for a consumer.  Now, with devices like the Motorola Q, the Slingbox mobile application and Verizon’s CDMA 1xEV-DO network, you can get your content anywhere.  Check out the demo below!

As I’m sure my fellow coffee addicts and friends will attest, Starbucks has entered an interesting new area with the support of their first movie, “akeelah and the bee“.  For the last month or so, every Starbucks I’ve been to has been littered with paraphernalia related to the movie.  

This is an interesting move for Starbucks.  The way I understand it, Starbucks is actually taking a percentage of the box office in return for marketing the movie in their retail stores nationwide.  Starbucks has long been working on becoming the ‘third place’ in peoples’ lives, and now they are going to attempt to use that influence to generate profits for themselves at the box office.  

I must say, I’m impressed with Starbuck management on this one.  They are taking it upon themselves to generate returns for a movie that otherwise might have flown under the radar and gone unnoticed.  This is a nice example of how I think advertising partnerships should work – a big guy getting on the bandwagon of a little guy and promoting the little guy to the profit of both.  Wouldn’t it be nice if the rest of the world always worked that way?

Have you ever been working away on your computer and wished there was a better way to interact with it? The mouse and keyboard are great and all but how about something more tactile or something three-dimensional? I often feel this way — I feel restrained, overwhelmed by the limited control over how my machine responds to me. Sometimes I feel like I’m watching a circus through a key hole. Think about it: all the lights, power, and excitement funnelled through these antiquated devices named after a small furry rodent and a musical instrument!  How awkward!

As an example, think about the Chinese keyboard. It hurts my brain to even begin thinking about it. An article on Slate does a good job of conveying the complexity of using one of these keyboards. There’s the Pinyin method, the Wubi method, and in Taiwan there’s the Zhuwin method. But it also mentions that older people who aren’t comfortable with these input methods like using an electronic writing tablet to actually draw the characters. They are then understood by the computer just like the handwriting recognition software that PDAs use these days. Of all these options, this seems like the most natural way of interacting with a computer, but its slow input speed limits widespread adpotion.

So what is a good interface? Well as corny and far-fetched as it sounds, I have always thought that the interface that Tom Cruise uses in Minority Report would be a great way to deal with information overload. I honestly believe the human brain is capable of processing much more information than we think; it is figuring out how to organize and communicate that information that is tricky. This interface allows one to not only interact with the information actively but also be immersed in that information. Defense company Raytheon is actually developing something like this for the U.S. military.

How long will it take for a better user interface to gain widespread adoption? What will that interface be? A user interface connects a user to a machine, and combining the power of the human brain with the raw speed of these little boxes that sit on or beside our desks will unleash power that could previously only be imagined through TV and movies!

Update: Another step toward getting people immersed in user interfaces: a group of scientists involved with the AIST have created a device capable of displaying “real 3D images”. They say, “Most of the 3D displays reported until now draw pseudo-3D images on 2D planes by utilizing the human binocular disparity.” However, this is the first device that displays “dot arrays in space where there is nothing but air.” Check out the pictures in the article; the images are clearly primitive at this point, but think about the early Apple II monitors. Monitors have come a LONG way since that!

Superman has a long and distinguished history. He first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938. In addition to defeating cartoon nemeses, he also played a roll in the 1950’s fall of the infamous Klu Klux Klan through his radio show (for reference read Freakonomics). Superman made his debut on the Silver Screen in 1978’s Superman: The Movie staring Christopher Reeve.

While Superman has been a staple of American culture for the better part of a century, my big question is whether or not we need another installation of this wonderful symbol of all that is supposed to be great about America. My initial sense is that there is no way that any actor could be accepted in this role after Christopher Reeve, especially given what happened at the end of his life.

But thinking about it further, 1978 was an awfully long time ago now. (more…)