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January 14, 2004
A Terabyte for $1200
Wow! LaCie has introduced an external, Fireware/USB2.0 drive the size of a 5.25 inch disk that holds a terabyte and costs $1200.
06:03 PM | Recommend This | Print This
Toysight
ToySight in Action (no, that's not me)
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Toysight is a collection of games that you play by standing in front of your iSight camera and using your hands to control virtual sliders, buttons, and menus on the screen. The free demo only has one game enabled, but it was fun just to see the technology in action. Kind of feels like Tom Cruise in Minority Report. Close the door before you start playing or you'll get some funny looks from people since it appears that you're doing a funny dance in front of your computer to what is undeniably computer game music.
In the demo game you use two hand controlled sliders to guide a sky diver toward a target on an island. Other games include one where you wave your arms to throw pies at monkeys before they can hit you with bananas. In another you move your hands to lob fireballs at pirates. This article on the Apple Web site, gives a good description of the games that are included and includes a Quicktime trailer. There's also some bonus features:
Select the Toy Box and apply a variety of filters to the video, such as a ghost mode that gives you a spooky appearance, glow effects that make your hands shimmer and give off stars as they move, and a wormhole that creates distortion. When everyoneâs arms get tired, have the Party option display the filters randomly while playing the dance music that accompanies the games. Or if you and your pals would rather make your own music, select the Laser Harp and touch the beams to play a series of ethereal notes. Reach high to make them louder. Turn it into a game to see who can play the best concerto.From Apple - Games - ToySight
Referenced Wed Jan 14 2004 14:37:21 GMT-0700
At first the interface takes some getting used to and you have to play a bit to get the feel of it. You also lose control of things like sliders because you get no feedback when you're no longer "in contact." I found that I had to check every so often because I'd keep dropping the slider and couldn't figure out why the game wasn't behaving. Even so, my nine year old son was able to get the hang of the controls in about 15 seconds and was soon operating it without any trouble. The game is easier to see if the camera is pointed at a clean surface, but background clutter didn't seem to affect game operation. The software does a scan of the background first and subtracts it out of the images for control purposes.
ToySight brings you into the game because you have to move around to make things work. This concept could be expanded to create games that result in real exercise. You can envision multiplayer games that have you competing with others around the Net in a virtual world. Imagine a ToySight enabled Halo where real world conditioning played a role in how well you could play. Instrument an old treadmill and for less that a few hundred bucks, you've got a pretty realistic VR game set-up.
02:42 PM | Recommend This | Print This
Web Services Wish List
Bob Sutor over at c|net has a Web services wish list:
- Widespread adherence to the Web Services Interoperability Organization's Basic Profile for Web services
- More customers using Web services specifically to improve their operational efficiency
- Expanded use of Web services for better information, better order taking and faster delivery
- To hear about a merger or acquisition that took place largely because the parties concerned felt that Web services would help them rapidly integrate the businesses
I agree that adhering to the basic profile is an important step to more widespread interoperability, but that's also one of the benefits of using a Web services intermediary. The last three look more like sentinels to me; milestones that can be used to determine the success and penetration of Web services into the enterprise. I'm looking for a few things, not necessarily earth shattering, but important to me, at least:
- I'd like to see more and better understanding of what it really means to talk about Web services as a network-based operating system. What basic service out to be provided as building blocks to larger service-oriented architectures? I don't think we've thought about this enough and I'd like to see more discussion of it.
- I'd like more applications to use Web services, in even little ways. For example, I use NetNewsWire as an RSS aggregator. Wouldn't it be nice if it had a little Web server inside that supported POSTs for adding subscriptions and GETs for retrieving my OMPL-formatted subscription list? Why not a plug-in architecture that works with the Web server so that I can author my own Web-based extensions?
What are you wishing for in Web services?
10:01 AM | Recommend This | Print This
Bluetooth as Magic
Chad Dickerson has a great story in InfoWorld about using his laptop and Bluetooth connected phone to rescue a damsel in distress.
Everything was in place for my finest CTO moment ever. In my most authoritative and reassuring voice, I said, "Don't worry, ma'am, we'll get to that e-mail."From InfoWorld: Bluetooth to the rescue: January 09, 2004: By Chad Dickerson
Referenced Wed Jan 14 2004 08:22:09 GMT-0700
The article concludes with a passenger next to the woman being totally amazed that she was online onboard:
The military guy turned around to everyone around him and announced, "Hey everybody, this woman over here is on the Internet and I don't see NO WIRES!" He waved his hands around an imaginary computer, like a magician performing levitation. His gestures were met by nods of amazement all around. At that moment, it seemed as if everyone in the plane was leaning in to see the magic.From InfoWorld: Bluetooth to the rescue: January 09, 2004: By Chad Dickerson
Referenced Wed Jan 14 2004 08:24:42 GMT-0700
This is the same reaction I get when people find out I'm connected to the Internet using the phone in my pocket. At some point, it will be no longer noteworthy, but I'll still find it amazingly cool.