Trillions: The future of computing
This is a short film (a fast paced preview of a larger effort) by MAYA Design created to put some perspective on the invisible but fast approaching challenges and opportunities in the pervasive computing age.
An interesting way of putting things into perspective, including looking back at early uses of computing. And very nice animations to boot!
It reminds me about a reading I did a few days back for my technological entrepreneurship class about legacy costs for a company and how it can come back to bite the company. I think if we’re building for trillions in the future, using legacy infrastructure carried over from the past (or even the present), the legacy stuff is going to come back and bite us hard. The film is basically saying that we have to build for the trillions from the ground up. That requires a complete rethink of the way we build our networks and devices now, which is very challenging to do as we’re so invested in the current way of doing things.
It’s also interesting how the film is also saying that everything that we need for building for trillions is already present in nature. The complexity of God’s creation is just so staggering that I wonder if we can ever come close to building something like that, and have it work as efficiently as nature does.
Your Love Is Strong
So why do I worry?
Why do I freak out?
God knows what I need
You know what I need-Jon Foreman
A really powerful song that I was introduced to over the weekend. There is so much contained in the words of the song that I was tempted to just paste all the lyrics here. Take a look at the words in the song as you listen to it. It really moved me when I first heard the song. And it was fitting that I heard it in the car as we were driving out to the Eastern Townships to admire God’s creation.
This is one of my favorite shots of the whole trip. It came right at the end as we made our way home. We crossed a river just as the sun was setting and we decided to turn back to stop along the side of the river and admire the sunset.
The Light Shines in the Darkness
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
- John 1:4-5
Peak Productivity
This is so true! Especially now that I don’t live by myself.
English as it is broken
So I was in Taiwan for a week over summer, and I couldn’t help but notice examples of ‘Engrish’ (aka ‘Chinglish’) in many places. As it was also my first week having a camera phone, I decided to document every occasion of ‘Engrish’ that I spotted.
Apparently, they decided to clamp down hard on offenders who violate the rule. So yes, you better know what THE RULE is.
They had better be pretty sorry that their equipment was out of control. Luckily its just a screen and not some robot with a mind of its own.
This might be a little hard to decipher during an emergency.
After reading their explanation, I think I’m pretty unpuzzled.
Pretty self explanatory, this one.
Surprisingly, when I got back to Singapore, I spotted a few excellent examples as well. Usually, these are pretty hard to come by in Singapore.
I think someone had just learned past tense in their ESL class.
This might also make a really cool tag line for a sex-ed program.
Pee in the shower! Save the Atlantic rainforest!
A Brazilian environmental group SOS Mata Atlantica has launched a campaign to encourage the country’s residents to pee in the shower to save water. They say that by peeing in the shower, each household will flush the toilet at least 1 less time each day, saving a whopping 1,157 gallons of water each year per household! Urine is sterile, so technically, peeing in the shower is harmless (unless someone has a disease that can be transmitted through their pee, such as hepatitis).
The group has even come up with a rather cute video to promote their campaign. The clip features cartoon drawings of people from all walks of life (even an alien!) peeing in the shower and is narrated by children’s voices. The ad ends with the campaign’s tagline: “Pee in the shower! Save the Atlantic rainforest!”
Alongside the video, they also have a fun-looking website for the campaign. Although I can’t understand a word of Portuguese, the website does seem very well-designed.
So remember, the next time you want to save the rainforest, start by peeing in the shower.
Launch of STS-127
Another amazing space shuttle launch yesterday. This time of Space Shuttle Endeavor on mission STS-127 “completing Kibo and fulfilling Japan’s hope for an out of this world space laboratory. This came after 5 previous launch attempts were scrubbed due to either technical difficulties or weather.
When Endeavour docks with the International Space Station (ISS), it will set a record for the most humans in space at the same time in the same vehicle, the first time thirteen people will have been at the station at the same time.
This mission also carries Canadian astronaut Julie Payette, a graduate of McGill University. Her launch into space also marks the first time two Canadian astronauts are in space at the same time, the other being Robert Thirsk, who is in the middle of a 6 month stay on the ISS.
Project Natal
So Microsoft previewed their upcoming motion sensing system codenamed Project Natal at the E3 expo yesterday. Its supposed to work with the Xbox 360 and it allows for full body motion control by tracking 3D movement. It also recognizes voices, and is meant to fully immerses the players into the game. The promotional video by Microsoft makes the whole system look pretty awesome.
I think its an interesting concept and its sort of an extension from the Wii, minus the controller. However, I have my doubts about how well this thing is going to work in the real world. The technology being used (motion tracking, voice recognition) have all proven to be pretty iffy in real world use. The last thing you want is the system not detecting your move on a crucial point in the game. Also, the racing game in the video looks a bit awkward to play as you’re just holding your hands up in the air like you’re gripping a steering wheel. I would imagine that people’s hands would get tired pretty quickly.
Its good to see Microsoft innovating though, with the announcement of “Project Natal” hot on the heels of the launch of their new search engine “Bing“, which has some pretty positive reviews so far. I think they have been resting on their laurels for way too long, always having to play catch up to others like Google and Apple. Its a good thing if Microsoft can provide some form of competition against Google and Apple as this will force all the companies to keep innovating and pushing the boundaries of technology.
Speaking of Microsoft, I remember coming across, a while ago, another two very cool and potentially ground-breaking pieces of technology that they have been working on, called Seadragon and Photosynth. My jaw literally dropped as I watched the demo. Very cool stuff.
A Happy Journey Starts Like That!
This is such a typically Singaporean thing. Cringe-worthy rap videos commissioned by the government for certain campaigns, in this case the courtesy campaign.
I remember during the SARS period, they were playing the SAR-vivor (a bad pun on the word survivor) rap video on TV non-stop. It was actually quite catchy! Haha! Now when I watch the video on YouTube, it actually brings a smile to my face. Maybe I’ve been away from Singapore too long already.
(For my non-Singaporean friends, the guy rapping in the videos is Phua Chu Kang, a popular character from a Singapore sitcom.)
Flickr / HansVision
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