While I was away last week in L.A., I continued my pursuit of less-than-crucial knowledge in the airport magazine shop. You see, it is a thing with me. I love to read and what the hell else are you supposed to do in an airport ? The moment I stop reading (and listening to the trusty iPod), my eyes tend to glaze over.
I figured things that catch my eye for one reason or another, would be what I would write about. It just so happens there was alot of eye catching from last week's Time, Wired, Business 2.0, BusinessWeek and U.S. News & World Report. This is a long post but hey, you clicked here.
Killer 7
When I read about this game it immediately conjured up a kind of Bizarro world Tarentino film. Then I watched the trailer (lotsa blood, sex, magic) and found myself digging it even more. Looks like a cross of cel-shading animation in some parts and full blown anime in others. From what I gather (and the web-site ain't the best even though it is from Capcom) the main character has seven different personalities that battle it out with a terrorist group known as Heaven Smile. To top it off it carries the 'M for Mature' banner. Those games are fun.
k7.
Nokia's new cell phone thingy.
This was in an article about some of the cool new phones on the market. I like cool cell phones. I have a Moto V80 and kind of crush on it. This Nokia 7280 does indeed make phone calls, but there are zero number/letter buttons to press. All controlled by an iPod-esque Navi-spinner. Hmphh. I guess.
Panels slide around to utilize the camera. I think this thing is one of those prototype products that was a personal crusade of a Nokia executive. I will finish up this blurb with a passage from the web site:
When twilight falls, prowl the night with the mysterious Nokia 7280 phone. Shrouded in the mystery is a passion that will only reveal itself as you slide it open.
Is it warm in here ?
Kubrick inspired Nokia Obelisk.
Philips Simplicity Advisory Board.I think this one caught my eye because I used to work for them. I can't tell you how huge this company is. Lots of people and ideas. Based in the Netherlands, Philips has it's fingers in everything from shavers to light bulbs to medical equipment to display technologies ad nauseum. Europe knows Philips. Here in the states ?
Not so much. Well..., maybe that uber-annoying faux-Beatles
'It's getting better' jingle that was gingerly crammed into Philips commericals might ring a bell.
Ahhh but I digress. Enter the Philips Simplicity Advisory Board. A thinktank of diverse visionaries. Seemingly world reknown folks in their respective fields.
Each member of our Simplicity Advisory Board comes from a different cultural and professional background. This diversity enriches our understanding of what simplicity means for people in all aspects of their lives and in different cultures. But while the Board members bring a mix of experience and cultures, they all share our passion for simplicity.
In my personal experience - ain't nothing simple.
Moments after the SAB downs the blue pill.
Move over Human Transporter.
The Segway Concept Centaur looks pretty cool. No plans for manufacturing this bad boy yet though.
I think I saw Tony Little hawk this.
The Posse Foundation
Check out this awesome article here. Most excellent.
Backup. But what makes the Posse program unique is what happens after its students have been accepted to college. Each institution is required to accept 10 students who will attend the school together as a posse, a slang term for a group of friends. The idea is to provide these students, many of them first-generation collegegoers who have never ventured far from home, with constant support. The posses receive training before matriculation, including team-building exercises, lectures on time management, and academic tutoring. They continue meeting throughout college, helping one another deal with everything from roommate conflicts to challenging coursework. The setup seems to work: Ninety percent of Posse scholars graduate within six years, far above both the national average of 54 percent and the even lower graduation rates for minority students.
Word 'em up.
Xbox 360 article in Time.
The hoopla over the next-gen consoles is every-fucking-where. There is nothing new to add but I did read the article in Time mag last week about the new console and the strategy behind it. Very informative and well written by Lev Grossman. Unfortunately, you have to buy the issue or pay Time.com $2.50.
Best paragraph in the article ?
The New Ecosystem. Let's not miss what's happening here. Microsoft, a company known primarily for making highly profitable business software, has put a box in your living room. It entered your house under the humble pretense of being a game machine, a toy for the kids, but it just ate your CD player and your DVD player, and it's looking hungrily at your telephone. It's all up in your media cabinet. It's talking to your iPod, your digital camera, your TV, your stereo, your PC, your credit card and the internet. It has created a miniature electronic ecosystem inside your home, with itself at the center.
That is the absolute best description of the X360 strategy that I have read.
Genetic Savings & Clone.
Whoohooo ! There is a sale going on. Cat cloning price reduction in full effizzect at GS&C.
$32,000 gets Fluffy a 10th life.
"PodShanking: physical pod on pod penetration"
Saw this on Jargon Watch in Wired mag. It basically describes the ability to have two iPods connected to each other to transfer songs. No computer or iTMS needed. SWEET !
Danke-shank.
The 10th Ring of Hell : Casinos.
Gambling has rode me hard and put me away wet. I didn't really like to gamble until very recently. Last week in L.A. I was chatting it up with my friend Chris about gambling. He goes more than I do. He was schooling me on the best tactics to take on the 1-armed bandits. There are definitely ways to assist oneself in bettering the shitty odds. I would rather lose money over the course of the night instead of just inside of 45 minutes.
So of course the cover story to USN&WR is all about the secrets of casinos. Great article with some cool mentions of technology filtering down into the casinos. I mean cool in the sense that it is technically cool. It, however, is not so cool to have casinos employ that technology to make me feel uncomfortable or to make my gambling experience seem overtly unfair.
but where's my complementary drinks ?
Gizmondo.
Gizmondo sets the standard for mobile gaming. With 400Mhz of processor power, a state of the art graphics chip from Nvidia and a huge, high resolution TFT screen, Gizmondo totally outclasses all other mobile gaming devices
In industry-speak we call the above horsehit.
bueno fucking suerte.
...and there you have it folks. Nuggets gleaned while wandering America's airports.
