Anyone for an Apple iWatch?
By admin | February 9, 2013
Well it’s official, err… un officially and definitely in no comment, no admission land. Those clever little bunnies down at Cupertino may have been brewing some competition for those nifty cyber glasses that the ‘do no evil’ GoogleDroids are developing. Not to be out done by those pesky augmented reality nerds at google, the stylishly Apple skinned, shaved head and neat jeans brigade are in the mysterious process of inventing another never imagined already existing product… it’s called the iWatch!
Be afraid Googles, be very afraid!
No, they didn’t just raise Dick Tracy’s R&D team from the dead. This is going to be a true wonder and awe product for anyone who already owns an iPhone or iPad or iPod or anything else with an i in front of it. I mean, who needs super cool cyber glasses when you can have a really, really little iphone on your wrist?
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Topics: Alerts, Creative, Media, Media Arts, Sciences, Social Issues | 1 Comment »
Where did all the money go?
By admin | September 1, 2012
Where did all the money go? Where did all the bullshit come from?
Sounds like the sort of question our leaders should be asking on our behalf. But instead, it’s being left to a computer video game!
Aniglobe has launched a funding campaign to make a game about our current economic problems. And I have to say it looks great! a lot of fun and one of those sort of ideas you think “hey, what a good idea!”
Their aim is to open up the games industry to more social comment and direct social relevance, a hard task, given that most computer games are designed to be pretty mindless! But, looking at their campaign at indiegogo.com I think they have pulled it off, or will pull it off when the game is released.
Even reading the gameplay made me laugh! it’s really worth a read, I guess it would be even funnier if it weren’t so close to being true!
Simply put, its about a character called Eddy Everyman who’s home town has been drained of all its colour and all that’s left are For Sale signs and bullshit on the streets (literally!) Eddy’s job is to earn money by clearing the streets of bullshit, by manually pushing it, or using his Anti Bullshit Ray! When he has enough money and some other items, like government forms, long, medium and shorts ones (made me laugh) He can enter 1% land behind the Great Walled Garden and begin trading on the Wall Street Casino.
You get the picture, its very funny and quite on the mark. His money is converted into spurious IUO Dollars and he has to deal with evil bankster bots trying to rob him of his money. To end the game he must earn at least 1 Billion IOU$’s, clear the bullshit canons and collapse the Shaky Investment Pyramids (made me laugh again)
It’s worth going to the campaign site and reading the gameplay and seeing the video. I hope it really kicks off! It seems like a good way to create a talking point about what are actually quite serious issues we are facing in the world.
take a look at their campaign at indiegogo.com/moneyGo
Topics: Alerts, Creative, Media, Media Arts, Political, Social Issues, Virtual Worlds | 3 Comments »
Apple, part of the problem, not part of the solution
By admin | August 27, 2012
Apple has become part of the problems on this planet rather than part of the solution. This is the path they have chosen while waving the banner of ‘cool and cred’. On every level their actions have said, we don’t give a damn about anything but ourselves. The recent abuse of patents in the Apple V Samsung case has all but sealed Apple’s demise as a credible and honest competitor to its once hated enemy, Microsoft, and its given more social credibility to Android than Google deserves.
We now have a world where a company can seek to own the shape of a rectangle, the icons on a screen and a silly bit of code that makes lists bounce. It is very close to insanity and yet again the USA shows how hypocritical and corrupted its use and abuse of laws have become all for the sake of its own greed.
The USA have allowed this patent trolling by mega corps because quite simply, they make mega money from it, it has nothing to do with protecting anyone’s rights; the credibility of their legal system is in severe recession.
Topics: Alerts, Creative, Media, Sciences, Social Issues | 1 Comment »
Do you know anyone who suffers from back pain? Back Pain Explained…
By admin | July 5, 2012
It may seem like a silly question but most people are unaware of the real reasons for the pain from this condition. Back pain is one of the most common human medical complaints which require time off work. It costs industry many millions of dollars each year and has spawned a massive therapy market, some that work and many that are spurious to say the least.
Many people are also uncomfortable about simply using drugs to relieve their back pain. There are so many different types of treatment but very little real explanation of what causes back pain and how we can treat it effectively. Knowledge is power; so in this article we look into some of the reasons for the pain and common myths to help you find the right approach.
Topics: Alerts, Health, Sciences, Social Issues | 10 Comments »
Kim Dotcom warrants judged illegal. US left embarrassed by shameful bullyboy tactics.
By admin | June 28, 2012
The search warrants used to seize the Megaupload data have been found to be illegal and therefore without legal standing, a high court Judge in New Zealand ruled today.
Justice Helen Winkelmann said, the warrants failed to properly describe the offences to which they were related and it was unlawful for copies of Dotcom’s computer data to be taken offshore.
With the judgement, the entire case against Kim Dotcom has now become a highly embarrassing farce by the FBI. They have been legally negligent and bullying in their inept attempts to try to impose shaky US corporate copyright laws against a foreign national in a foreign country. The Judge made the point that without a valid warrant the Police were trespassing and exceeded what they were lawfully authorised to do.
Topics: Alerts, Creative, Media, Media Arts, Political, Social Issues, Virtual Worlds | 1 Comment »
Why are our Leaders and Politicians so Lost?
By admin | June 21, 2012
It may be the question every generation has asked through the history of democracy, but in this day and age there seems to be a greater void between the people on the street and their leaders than ever before. So much so, that most people just shrug their shoulders and resign themselves to their fate. Is it their fault or ours. How long do we use the us and them excuse for our loss of freedom and personal power?
It’s as though we expect our leaders to go against our interests, we expect them to tell us what to do as if we assume they must know best. In the current times, we see the EU floundering between austerity and growth. Why are none of our leaders talking about economic sustainability. Why are none of them trying to fix the mechanisms that caused all this insane debt? Why do they not prosecute the offending banksters who have caused poverty to whole nations through their greed, negligence and corruption? Too big to Fail? When do people come before profit and corporate interests?
Topics: Alerts, Health, Political | 1 Comment »
Has digital media enhanced creativity? Are we better Artists?
By admin | June 18, 2012
In a recent book called ‘Imagine’ author Jonah Lehrer attempts to explore the science of creativity. The book raises some interesting notions on the way we see creativity and what drives the creative spark to become exceptional. But trying to see it through scientific eyes, as if you could capture the exceptional as an algorithm or institute it as part of a uni curriculum, leaves me pondering the effect of digital media tech on the art world and on creativity as a whole.
I can’t help thinking that when you try to see or describe creativity in some sort of scientific idiom you lose the very essence of the creative spark. In a world of photoshop wizzing and home music studios, one has to ask; have the arts gained and evolved accordingly, or are there just more people with basic skills aided by technology producing mediocre art? Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Creative, Media, Media Arts, Social Issues, Virtual Worlds | 1 Comment »
Copyright Mania reaches even the most noble places
By admin | June 15, 2012
I was distressed to read a comment on a mashable post about a new game developed for charity to highlight the experience of being poor in the poorest of countries- Live58 . The post was from another non profit charitable group called PlaySpent.org who had used a similar gameplay for their own game. Now the point of both of these rather simple flash games is to highlight the difficulties of living below the poverty line. A very noble and worthy effort by both of these groups. Even simple game formats like these take a lot of work by all involved.
However, the very first comment on the article was laced with some imagined bitterness that the Live58 group had somehow stolen the idea from the PlaySpent.org game. I am appalled that very petty copyright issues over an extremely simple game idea is used so publicly to put down the efforts of one group over an other. It does both groups no good and spoils the effectiveness of the campaign to capture peoples attention in a positive way. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Creative, Media, Media Arts, Political, Social Issues | No Comments »
Online Advertising fails to deliver; but there is a stunning new approach
By admin | May 19, 2012
How can large companies benefit in real sales from their online advertising?
The problem with online advertising is we are still using advertising methods from the last century. News print and TV ads are suffering too. Google ads are becoming less effective, Facebook ads fail to deliver acceptable sales. Groupon is on a slippery slope.
The new media world requires a totally different approach; one that rewards the user rather than just the publisher for reading or visiting the ad. Groupon tried this but the rewards are too small and complicated.
Without disclosing names and actual methods, I was consulted professionally by a well known and very large news media organisation some years ago. I told them I have a method that will guarantee the user will read the ads with a hook that will give them a tangible and real benefit to their real needs. A genuine way to keep an audience. The costs for implementing it were high, but still less that their existing advertising budgets and it would actually make a profit once established rather than an ongoing expense, and they would have advertisers clambering to get on board. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Alerts, Creative, Media, Media Arts, Political, Social Issues | No Comments »
The Steve Jobs Apple will never taste quite the same
By admin | October 10, 2011
Let’s face it, Apple will never be the same company without Steve Jobs. So many people are saying that it won’t affect Apple sales and that the company is greater than the man, but that’s just not true is it? Steve Jobs was Apple, without him they nearly went under. All the charisma is gone, Apple is just another gizmo maker now and a hugely over priced one at that. It now has huge competition in the smartphone market, growing competition in the slate market and the Mac is all but dead as a major pc platform.
Topics: Creative, Media, Media Arts, Sciences | No Comments »