Category Archives: computers

CES – the dark side?

Posted on by
Reply

Adam is clearly not enjoying himself as much as I am here at CES.

Aside from the digital picture frames… What you talkin’ bout Willis?!

I’m pretty unsympathetic to the silly life challenges faced by those of us who can afford a trip to CES. There are technology guys here from Kenya which is now falling into chaos after questionable elections, and Rwandan’s President who watched (and stopped as opposition forces leader) the butchery of almost an entire culture. What are they to make about concerns that CES isn’t hip or cool enough for snotty suburban tech elitists? Sure, have some wrath – but use it to tool up those without technologies rather than bash those who have too much of it.

CES Coverage – Scoble Rules!

Posted on by
Reply

I was wondering how the amazing Scoble was going to cover the CES hurricane of news and products and should have known it would be with a hurricane of Scoble video podcasts.    I wish I had more time to hang at the Bloghaus but there is more going on here than you can possibly even figure out.

Here’s Robert’s CNBC coverage.   

I give Scoble huge credit for having “walked the walk” about blogging for many years and helping others get involved and understand the power of the medium.    He’s also been showing companies how powerful corporate style blogging can be and it’s nice to finally see (some) of them “get it” and use blogging to elevate the quality interaction and the amount of connection to their customers and potential customers.

Here’s more from the MSNBC folks on the CES Floor

Hey!   I’m still looking for Donny Deutsch  Donny where are you?  Wait – he’s NOT on the road to CES after all.  He’s in New York! talking about CES.   Tech from New York?   Where is that exactly – isn’t that where they make Saturday Night lives and Rudy Giulianis?

CES 2008 – What?! I missed Ryan Seacrest?

Posted on by
Reply

Shortly I’m off to the Wagoner – CEO of General Motors Keynote.  He’ll be talking about vehicle innovations including work on “autonomous” cars that drive themselves.   Hmm – hope they have perfected that if they bring one into the ballroom! 

Sorry to have missed the Comcast but here is SFgate’s summary of Comcast’s ideas for a *fast* future.

Gaming drives a lot of innovation

Posted on by
Reply

Here at CES it seems to me two very powerful themes are technology as a *social and lifestyle experience* and technology as a *mobile experience*.     At the MMORPG gaming session it was noted that games in many ways were the first online social experience  and continue to be a powerful and dominant social force in the online world.   Dr. Lars Buttler of Trion (formerly with Electronic Arts) was very optimistic about the future of gaming, and along with others felt that current distinctions between console and PC would break down but the social nature of gaming would increase, including ways to move between multiple games.  Buttler also suggested that the European market has been underestimated in gaming.

Other key items discussed were the secondary markets, where real money is exchanged for game items, and micropayments which many on the panel felt would become a much larger part of the gaming experience.   MMORPGs like MapleStory rely on micropayments rather than subscription fees, and this appears to be a key strategic item for MMORPG makers.

Yesterday I spent time with some of the gaming innovators.   The most impressive things I saw:

Motion-enhanced driving cars created by D-Box.   These simulated the driving experience in an arcade fashion with a high powered HP gaming PC plus an elaborate car simulator and 1-3 monitors.    Very cool, but at something like $14,000 depending on configurations it’ll be out of range for many.   D-box won an innovation award for this.

A similar “virtual transport” product that also won the innovation award is the flight simulator, Dreamflyer, which at about $2800 seemed conspicuously cheaper than D-Box, which I think is partly due to D-Box’s real motion in the carriage vs Dreamflyers virtual motion on screen, though I’m not clear on the details of either product yet.   

Alienware debuted a prototype gaming / immersion monitor that won’t be available until middle of the year, but it was a simply awesome looking monitor which stretched *around* the viewers head in an arc of (i’m guessing) about 60 degrees and about 60 inches wide by 16 inches tall.   It’s like having 3 high resolution  screens stiched together in an arc.   Very impressive, and looked like a killer environment for hardcore gamers though the immersion glasses some are showing off here are more likely to get widespread use due to much lower cost.   More on the glasses later as I think that is a really provocative technology that is finally going to see some widespread adoption.

Yahoo’s Yang and Filo at CES

Posted on by
1

Yahoo’s Yang and Filo at CES
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

One of the things I left out of my earlier David Filo interview post were the details of Jerry Yang’s talk, which I’d have to say was lackluster given the amount of attention the markets are paying to Yahoo leadership right now, and given the slick pizzaz of yesterday’s Gates keynote. (C’mon Jerry – no Guitar Hero action?). Yahoo spent a lot of time talking about and “introducing” Yahoo Go” Version 3, a product I’m not familiar with but Yahoo treated as if it was a household word. It looked a lot like the MS mobile phone innovations and offered excellent info+browser+mapping+data integration for phones. Also announced was an expansion of mobile and widget platforms to make them more “open” and therefore more appealing to developers, though I’m not clear how significant this will be. Yahoo, like Microsoft yesterday, noted that they are looking at *billions* of mobile users and that although PCs are still important to them it’s clear that mobile is the bright and shining star where innovation will be happening.

Disclaimer:  I’ve got some Yahoo Stock, but none of it was helped by this post.

CES 2008: bloghaus bus has landed and their feed is up

Posted on by
Reply

More:  Bloghaus is now open and John Furrier looks like he’ll do a great job blogging CES.  Of course it would be nice would be to get some clues about what Furrier and Scoble are up to with the new non-Podtech startup thing they’ll announce after CES, but I don’t blame them for keeping it a secret during the CES news maelstrom which started … today.

One of the contrasts I’m already noting between this conference and the pure internet conferences is that here it seems many people are only “just starting” to understand the importance and significance of online social media where at the internet conferences this is a given, and in fact many Silicon Valley businesses fail because they don’t realize how most regular folks could care less about many aspects of the social media revolution – they’ll wait for mass adoption rather than become early adopters.

In the gaming session discussing Massively Multiplayer Online games the most interesting observations were about the nexus of socializing and games, though how this would play out did not seem clear to any of the panelists.   I’ll try to write more on that session later, but key points were the potential growth of simple free games like Maplestory & Runescape and how those games were monetizing using “micropayments”, where users buy small game items with real money.    Also interesting was the discussion of the “secondary markets” where game features are bought and sold for real money.   Based on the enthusiasm of the panelists, I think this is a really interesting market to watch.

CES 2008 Las Vegas – North Hall

Posted on by
1


CES 2008 Las Vegas – North HallOriginally uploaded by JoeDuck.Working my way from South to North Hall of the Convention Center for the discussion about MMORPG gaming that’ll be in N253. I’ve been to this convention center several times but never to an event of this size – it’s a swirling hive of activity today – mostly exhibitors setting up the big high tech displays and display rooms, and hundreds of CES staff learning the ropes. They’ve been *very* friendly and courteous so far but the onslaught of people doesn’t happen until tomorrow. Huge Kudos to them if they can keep up the smiles and helpfulness.

I’m not finding many CES blog posts yet – I think the Scoble & Microsoft Express Blogger Bus has not arrived yet from Silcon Valley…

Here’s Dean T

http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/takahashi/2008/01/06/ces-live-lg-announces-mobile-digital-tv/

CES Laptop Bag. Thanks Toshiba, but sad to see you left the show?

Posted on by
Reply

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck.
This great backpack from Toshiba, who was going to be out in force at CES to promote the HD-DVD standard, is a poignant reminder of how fast and furiously things change in the tech industry. Warner’s decision to go Blu-Ray was just yesterday but it’s already created a potential melt-down for HD DVD (Toshiba’s preferred and supported standard). Several HD-DVD folks have reported cancelled conference activities and events – but those are just rumors so far.

Conscious Computers and Friendly vs Unfriendly AI

Posted on by
2

As I’ve noted here in posts about AI many times I think we are within 15 years – probably fewer – of the most profound change in technology and humanity ever to hit the planet.   This will be the advent of conscious computers which we can reasonably expect to surpass us in all thinking and organizational skills within a very short time – probably months or even days of becoming conscious.    

Some AI folks believe that strong AI machinery will require a somewhat lengthy learning period, much like human intellects require, before becoming highly functional but I think the process will be very fast after consciousness happens.  In my opinion it is easy to exaggerate the significance of the intellectual complexity that comes from massive numbers of redundant, mostly simple processes.  Unlike humans, computer intelligences will grow extremly fast as soon as they “choose” that approach.   Initially those choices to expand will be programmed in by the human AI programmer, but it seems logical to assume that as computers design their own replacements they will continue to give the next generation “motivation”.     You don’t even need to assume it’ll happen in this proactive way though.   In a world with various forms of intelligences those that value their own survival will tend to increase in number simply through basic mathematical/evolutionary processes as those that do not value survival as highly simply are more likely to drop off the scene.

So, my cousin asked me today, why would a machine care much if at all about human welfare?    My gut says they will, and I think this is based on watching how humans care so much for their animals and even inanimate objects.    Also I think it’s important to note how crappily we take care of our fellow humans.    We consistently choose fighting and selfishness over harmonious existence. 

So I say give the computers a shot at making the world a better place!  

Fear of Wi-Flying? Bah and Humbug!

Posted on by
Reply

This SILLY article suggests several unlikely scenarios where on board WIFI, a superb innovation coming to several airlines, will be a nuisance.   Loud talking on phones?   Porn surfers?    Well, maybe, but I think this is one of the *billions* of examples where having more broadband access makes a better, not worse, world.    Has he bothered to note how much these things are problems at airports with free WIFI like Las Vegas or Portland, Oregon?     They are NOT problems.

Looking for the gray cloud on the silvery lining of ubiquitous broadband reminds me of the early days of the internet (ahhh – those were the days back in, what….the 1990s?)  when people would explain to me how they didn’t really need email addresses and business websites because this was a passing fad or a “tech thing”.    It didn’t help much to explain that the internet is not about technology, rather it is about people, and that they’d be online very soon.     Now of course everybody is online, but the reporters are explaining to us (again) how all this technology puts us all at great social and personal peril. 

No, it doesn’t.  Get over it, and move on.   You cannot cheer enough for innovation and ubiquitous broadband.   We’ll have it eventually and it’s better to have it sooner not later. 

Hmmm – speaking of Airlines and Airports here’s my Airport Codes website.