I’m probably more psyched for Objectified than any other film in the last few years. Gary Hustwit, director of Helvetica, speaks to industrial designers ranging from Jonathan Ive to Karim Rashid to Naoto Fukasawa, all designers I admire in my fantasies of moving beyond the digital design realm.
The trailer was just released today:
With friends, I tend to tone down the geek talk. Mostly because by talking about things not tech related away from the day job it reminds me that I’m a real person with interests outside of the web.
One thing I will talk freely (and perhaps geek-ily) about though is the convergence of TV and the web. It makes more sense as days go by that TV and the Internet are two channels that need to be combined. Sports tempt you to check fantasy teams while watching the game. Re-broadcasts of The Daily Show are watched online at Hulu. And YouTube of course has spawned a whole new generation of amateur screenwriters, producers and actors while giving an alternate channel to mainstream media.
So where has that lead us? TV with the Internet, check. TV over the Internet, check. Internet over the TV…not so much. AppleTV tries to address that gap but it’s still not as ubiquitous as the iPod and not as integrated a solution as I’m thinking of. For example LG is creating TVs with Netflix built-in. That’s a great start but still not there.
The future of TV over the web as I see it is all about the broadcasters (mainstream and amateur alike) pushing interactive content out through the tube. Think of clicking on Chris Paul during a game and bringing up his season stats as the New Orleans Hornets play live. Or pausing the Daily Show and pulling up every clip of Jon Stewart making fun of George W Bush. It’s years away (and I know Microsoft is trying already) but that is the future of web+TV convergence I’m speaking of.
Other partnerships maybe in bloom that make this possible, Google? Sony? Apple? No one knows. But it is becoming more clear that, much like the future of networked computing was mobile, the future of home entertainment and information is web-based television.
UPDATE: Jon Gruber predicts AppleTV is getting an overhaul at Macworld tomorrow.
UPDATE 2: CNET has a great summary of Yahoo! and Intel’s partnership and their foray into Web-enabled TV, including a dock-like interface that overlays your TV broadcast and links to widgets like Flickr, Weather and more.
I just returned from a quick getaway to Ottawa with the lady (via Porter Air, which despite some delays returning, I highly recommend).
Great news upon my return too including the Raptors handedly defeating the (healthy) Houston Rockets, ImageSpark getting warmed-up for it’s launch and my Theory shades arriving; a sweet Christmas gift courtesy of Liz. And it’s sunny enough to give them a test run today.
Combine that all with some great times with the family and rest and it’s been a great holiday.
I also noticed a refresh on Anotherfaceinthecrowd which will keep you entertained while I get my stuff together.
Cheers and Happy 2009 all!
A Merry Christmas to you and yours this holiday season!
The folks at Nike would probably like to remind you to stay off the roads during bad weather conditions, especially if you’re wearing the new Zoom Nike Kobe iD editions, because you will blind the shit out everyone and cause a traffic pile-up.
Don’t forget, the best present you might get today is the Celtics vs the Lakers at 5pm ET on ABC.
I’ve been substituting NPR’s Fresh Air Podcast (links to iTunes Store) for music during my morning walk in to work. I have to say, it’s probably the most entertaining and insightful thing I’ve experienced since I first saw Jeopardy as a kid.
The topic’s range from politics to comedy to music and more. Recent interviews include Charlie Kaufman and Clint Eastwood, Tina Fey and Seth Meyers. Shopping for groceries last night, I listened to a segment detailing the success of Motown during the 60s following the Tina Fey interview. A few things I know now is that during 1966 a lot of their music was influenced by Bob Dylan and Motown was actively looking for artists that could bring Dylan’s vocal style to their label.
Probably the most interesting thing I learned though is that, in their search for that Dylan-esque sound, Motown happened upon a little Canadian band here in Toronto with some interesting band-members. From Wikipedia:
In 1964, James left the U.S. Naval Reserve after having begun to miss weekend training because it interfered with his music career.[1] Fleeing north to Toronto, Ontario in the summer of 1964, James, now using the stage name Big Jimmy, continued his musical career. His first band, formed with future Steppenwolf member Nick St. Nicholas was initially called the Sailor Boys but soon changed their name to the Mynah Birds. Bassist Bruce Palmer took over for St. Nicholas in early 1965, and the group soon released their first single, “Mynah Bird Hop” / “Mynah Bird Song” for Columbia Records of Canada.
James and Palmer soon formed a new Mynah Birds lineup with guitarists Tom Morgan and Xavier Taylor, and drummer Rick Mason. In early 1966, the Mynah Birds auditioned for the Motown label in Detroit. Morgan was unhappy with the label’s attitude towards the musicians and left, with Neil Young taking his place. With Young on board, the Mynah Birds returned to Motown to record an album, but their manager pocketed the advance money the label had given the band. The band fired their manager, who in turn told the label that James was AWOL. Motown told him to give himself up to the FBI, and the Mynah Birds’ album was shelved.
You read that right. At one point in time, Rick James and Neil Young were bandmates.
Bet you’re interested in Fresh Air now.
BlogTO comes through with a top 10 of the Best Bibimbap in the city . The Korean dish is a personal favorite and something I didn’t even discover in Toronto, but in Las Vegas of all places, at a 24-hr Korean resto on the strip, across from Circus Circus. (All class, I know).
Newsweek talks about how the right app at the right price is making some serious coin for iPhone developers. We’re talking six to seven figures in less than a year. The real story is how Apple, using their learnings and successes from the iPod and iTunes eco-system, have built an incredibly ubiquitous and low-barrier distribution platform for anyone from my friend’s buddy Matt to Microsoft.
For me, it’s one more weapon when arguing about what the the best mobile phone is at dinner parties.
I twisted my ankle something wicked last Sunday playing ball at Hoop Dome (which by the way has some serious runs on the weekend if it’s worth the drive to you). Hence I’ve been hobbling around, using elevators and trying in general to just focus on work and not on blogging, reading or other tasks that I’ve learned have become a luxury in contrast to just being mobile.
The ankle, which actually is getting better but isn’t projected to be 100% until early next year, was the victim of my mindless irresponsibility in forgoing my high-stop kicks (which I left at the office) for a pair of low-top Nike trainers. I mean, everyone knows that low-top shoes lead to a higher risk of ankle sprains on the hardwood, right? Well, apparently the answer is: not necessarily.
Check out ESPN’s review of the new Nike Kobe Zoom IV’s which are, you guessed it, low-tops. I bet Laker nation is scratching their heads (and holding their breath) about Kobe’s decision to risk it in low-tops for comfort and, really, style. Kobe is the best in his profession and the guys at Nike aren’t unintelligent to say the least so I’m sure it’ll work out for all involved, however.
As for myself, I’m gonna stick to the high-tops…as soon as I can play again that is.
Well, I know. But you may not.
The point guard position on any NBA team is the quarterback. The floor general. At the point, you’re calling plays, creating them by design and inventing them when all else fails. It is my favorite position in basketball. Any big with soft hands and fancy feet can drop a ball in a basket from 0-5ft out (Dwight Howard, I’m looking at you). After all, the center/power forward is groomed based on size, strength and agility. But point guards aren’t so lucky.
Take the (relatively) minute Rajon Rondo. A guard from the University of Kentucky, the 6′1″, 171 lbs Rondo is only 2+ years into his NBA campaign and already has a championship ring with the Boston Celtics. His success has been attributed to having the likes of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and NBA Finals MVP, Paul Pierce as teammates, but there’s more to it. Rondo is much more than his stats (and they are good stats); He is the engine that drives almost every play the Celtics run. Watching Boston’s offense you’ll see everything starts with Rondo. He is a constant disruptor, throwing off defenses and setting up 1 of 3 excellent offensive players to get an easy shot almost every time down the floor (and taking it when he’s free). Oh and he’s a pretty crafty ball-handler.
Here, as Henry Abbot can only do, is the case for Rajon Rondo. A thorn in the side of my Raptors, and any other NBA team unlucky enough to see the (currently 20-2) Celtics as an opponent on their score sheet, but one heck of a little general.
Geoff Teehan walks through the latest preview of Image Spark in this video.
I’m growing pretty excited about the site as we continue to test and and make fixes to the alpha version.
Post a comment if you’d like an invite to the upcoming private beta release.
