Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Inspiration to fill the Void

Last week my family and I visited the Guggenheim in New York. There I saw a show called "Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum", it featured proposals by artists to fill the centre lobby of the museum.
The exhibition was filled with thought provoking and entertaining posters, architectural drawings, and illustrations. The Guggenheim has been an architectural landmark for 50 years and it was easy to see the artists where inspired by their subject. The ideas ranged from practical to outrageous for example one was for an indoor market and another proposed filling the museum with chocolate. While walking through the exhibition I could not help but be reminded of our classes proposal for Harbourfront.
The show is available on line at, http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/on-view-now/contemplating-the-void. Take my suggestion and give it a look. If the work does not inspire it will at least amuse.

Monday, April 12, 2010

The Death of Print - Again.

On the other side lingers the publishing industry, which has seemingly been killed off and resurrected numerous times within the last few decades. With the advent of new technology the face of publishing is changing as well. Analysts have predicted the death of print many times throughout history without their tragic musings coming into fruition. There is no doubt that the publishing industry is changing, but whether for the better of worse is the question. Magazines have been losing revenue steadily but paperback novels have remained constant. Case and point, with the release of Dan Brown’s new thriller, The Lost Symbol, publisher Doubleday managed to sell over a million copies in hardcover and e-book versions in the United States, Britain and Canada within the span of a single day. 

With the highly anticipated release of Apple’s new iPad and Amazon’s number one selling product the Kindle, literature seems to be moving the way of the music industry into the digital realm. Now thousands of novels, books and other literary resources can be kept in a single touch-sensitive piece of technology. According to Wired co-founder Kevin Kelly, publishing trends and figures can be misleading, “174.5 million people paid to subscribe to magazines in 1970; that number has steadily and consistently risen over the years, to 324.8 million as of 2008”. The bottom line is that media is changing and publishing companies will have to adapt and embrace new technology. 

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Realities Augmented







Great presentations last class!

Coincidentally, I have been exploring many of these trends in technology for a report I have been working on. I thought that I would share a few of these starting with Augmented Reality.

No longer just for fun, augmented reality, is being used by large companies to support some of their services and products. One of the most notable is The US Postal Service, using the technology to determine shipping box sizes by overlaying a semi-transparent 3D model of a box over your item being shipped. General Motors is using it for an ‘enhanced vision system’, by creating an Augmented Reality Windshield, to help drivers find their way by pointing to landmarks and buildings. Other uses? T-shirts, baseball cards, music videos, toys [Lego], shopping, buying sunglasses [RayBan] and of course, a multitude of apps.


More and more companies will be using this technology for differentiating their products and services. Expect to begin to see augmented reality used in teaching and education [MIT Press], as well as in the marketing and PR industry. Check out 'Bring your pack to life", a contest on the Dentyne site.


“AR provides a ‘touchstone technology’ that layers geo-data, social networking and location-based advertising in a seamless format for consumers. The ramifications for advertising and the idea of ‘virtual air rights,’ combined with myriad B2B and B2C applications, will provide our clients with a wide range of exciting opportunities in the near future.” John C. Havens, SVP of social media at Porter Novelli



Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Human Chips!











In 2004, the Baja Beach Club in Barcelona implanted chips into patrons so they can pay for drinks!



Source http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3697940.stm

Cherry's Video for the blog presentation

hey here is the link for Cherry's video...(her computer is not working :/)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94dg2D-jAhM

Zipper Dress




Some people with a disability have trouble dressing and undressing themselves. This dress allows for this task to be easier.

Imagine also if the dress had a remote control...

"The Living Dress" - Haus of Gaga