Cool Marketing Thoughts

This has been around for about a year or so, but I never got to blog about it. Then today I accidentally stumbled upon a video from the project and I just wanted to add this to my archive, for keepers. I have a thing for virtual toys and projects. This particular one is from Anand Agarawala & Ravin Balakrishnan for the DGP (Dynamic Graphics Project) at the university of Toronto, Canada. The University of Toronto’s Dynamic Graphics Project (dgp) is an interdisciplinary research laboratory within the Department of Computer Science. The lab’s mission is advanced research and graduate instruction in human-computer interaction and computer graphics. DGP is home base to Computer Science faculty and students in these two areas.

I don’t think I can live with this sort of desktop, because I’m too attached to seeing a file name under an icon and to ‘folders’ where I can stash stuff in to. This BumpTop desktop, however, is quite a refreshing idea and I love where this is going. It would be great to have it as an optional feature in my current OS, but not really as a permanent environment to work in. That’s my two cents. Looks super smooth though.

Links:
BumpTop site | DGP site

Okay, this is for the student readers who are short of educational small change and need to get educational drinks from an educational vending machine. I love social engineering :) It brings out the rebel in all of us. These skills are for educational purposes only, for instance if you want to help your friends learn how to be educational as well.

Video link

Thanks, Arnaud

For those who missed it, the Praga Khan concert that was streamed from the Atomium (Brussels) at of the launch of Windows Vista in Second Life can be seen again in Second Life as of tonight. Bert from One Agency talked to the guys over at Rambla and they’re hosting the stream, which is super swell. If you’re up for a concert, come on over. It’s free. If you can’t find it, IM Coolz0r Courier, and I’ll teleport you there. :)

Strawberry Estate:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Innocence/159/98/23

Looks like our French neighbors have adapted Ricky Gervais’ concept and they started making ‘Le Bureau’ last year. The setting is Villepinte, a business park in the northeast suburbs of Paris. The series stars François Berléand as Gilles Triquet, France’s version of David Brent. Another notable actor, Jérémie Elkaïm, also stars in the series playing the French version of Tim Canterbury. Filming with the French cast was completed in early February; the series began airing on May 25. A second season is already in the works and the writer-director duo of Nicholas and Bruno say at least one show will focus on a French perennial: strikes.

Rest of the episodes I found: Read the rest of this entry »

If it’s true that companies should embrace the consumer generated things people do and publish while using their product, the way Coca-Cola and Mentos embraced the geyser effect, then I think these guys are entitled to a life-long stock of free Post-it notes. It’s not the best stopmotion ever, but it’s fun to see what you can do with a pack of simple sticky notes and a large window.

Four parts of goodiness with Ricky Gervais and Opie & Anthony. Totally. The movies are short, and basically Opie & Anthony just interview Ricky Gervais, but it’s good laugh :) - Take a 15 minute break to learn a little more about David Brent, the enfant terrible of middle management and the man behind him.

Video Link

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Here’s a funny little quiz that tests your average knowledge of computer and video games. If you think you’re up to the challenge, go ahead and try this one. If you’re a geek or a fragcat and you’re looking for a quiz about gaming to test your friends’ knowledge… this piece of work by Daan Van den Eeden is a very good starter. Let’s see how far you get.

Take the quiz! (thanks Dave)

The Hug Shirt is a Bluetooth accessory for Java enabled mobile phones. Hug shirts don’t have any assigned phone number, all the data goes from the sensors Bluetooth to your mobile phone and your mobile phone delivers the hug data to your friend’s phone and it is seamlessly transmitted Bluetooth to his or her shirt!
Sending hugs is as easy as sending an SMS and you will be able to send hugs while you are on the move, in the same way and to the same places you are able to make phone calls (Rome to Tokyo, New York to Paris).

The system is very simple: a Hug Shirt (Bluetooth with sensors and actuators), a Bluetooth java enabled mobile phone with the Hug Me java software running (it understands what the sensors are communicating), and on the other side another phone and another shirt. If you do not have a Hug Shirt but know that your friend has one you can still send them a hug creating it with the HugMe software and it will be delivered to your friend’s Hug Shirt!

The Hug Shirt is not meant to replace human contact, but to make you happy if you are away for business or other reasons and you miss your friends and loved ones! It also has some very interesting applications in the medical field with the elderly and children. And is fun to use and very soft!

Seen on CuteCircuit | via Lichtgeraakt