Stop the presses.
Microsoft finally produce a good advert for a great product!

Credit were credit is due I think, Kinect is pretty amazing (it sold twice as fast as the iPod when launched) and since being hacked is being used for some amazing things way out of the gaming sphere.

Check out kinecthacks.net to see how people are pushing the technology.

You can sometimes view prototypes videos like this OmniTouch demo and on the surface think they’re just pretty cool, but when you actually take the time to watch it a number of times it makes you sit up and question what this will eventually lead to?

The level of intereactivity and accuracy they have already achieved within a first generation prototype is pretty incredible. OmniTouch provides capabilities similar to that of a mouse or touchscreen. It is a wearable depth-sensing and projection system that enables interactive multitouch applications on everyday surfaces. It is now conceivable that anything you can do on today’s mobile devices, you could do in the palm of your hand.

The hardware is large at present but over the last decade we have all been witness to the incredible advancements in reducing the physical size of mobile phones and batteries whilst at the same time as they are required to perform more and more demanding tasks.

This is a great insight into what is being developed outside of the mainstream desktop and tablet platforms and it’s conceivable in the future that you could browse the web, read your favourite books, play your favourite games, socialise with friends and use your favourite apps without the need for any bulky hardware. We’d all look a bit weird on the tube though!

I do like the private & public viewing modes.
Will this take off? Time may tell…

Nice behind the scenes video from The Mill NY. Mill Touch shows the creation of their interactive multi-touch, smart glass display showcasing The Mill’s body of work. Located in The Mill’s NY office it’s sure to impress clients.

The above is a trailer for The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by ex-Pixar animator William Joyce. It looks amazing with loads of interaction throughout the app and really rich animation and graphics. Check out Moonbot Studios as well.

I know what I’ll be purchasing and playing with tonight!

I have just been watching this demo of the new Windows 8 OS. Very, very interesting indeed!

This is a momentous departure from what we regard (and are familiar with) as a standard OS and really shows the influence of visual gesture driven multi touch interfaces and mobile platforms.

I can now see why Microsoft put out the press release earlier on in the year saying they were going to run the next generation OS on mobile chip technology.

It will be interesting to compare Windows 8 with Apple Lion when it is released this summer. As we know from the limited press releases they are taking their best thinking from the iPad and bringing it all to the Mac.

As I have stated in previous posts I along with most of the industry are working on research and future thought pieces on the development of mobile platform devices, the future of apps & websites, Transmedia thinking, human behaviour patterns etc. These are very exciting times for all things digital.

Lots of what I have been predicting and talking to various people about is now starting to fall into place. So it’s nice to know I don’t talk bollocks all the time!

Great digital evolution of the humble car brochure. Executed as an app (for iPhone and Android) that recognises traffic signs and transforms them into features of the new Punto Evo.

Take a picture of a regular road sign and the app recognises the sign if it was a QR code, it then associates each sign with a feature of the car directly related to that sign. The app also doubled up as a game where the user could find and win hidden prizes.

If you can get over the really cheesy voiceover it’s a nice idea!

Quite simply a really nice idea well executed.
The idea is still king, we shouldn’t forget this.

Credit for find must go to @bohellberg

Ever wondered how on earth some projects have been created?

If you’re a creative, designer, developer or techy working in one of the many creative disciplines then no doubt you will spend a good deal of your time researching campaigns, sites, virals, social media etc from your peers, competitors and rivals.

In my experience of working in agencies there are normally two responses to viewing other peoples work. The first and most common (if creatives and designers are involved) is unfortunately to go straight for the jugular and start pointing out flaws, describe in detail how badly it’s been executed, wonder if they didn’t have the budget to finish it or explain how you would have done it differently and obviously better.

The other response is to sit in awe, to call colleagues over, send an email and to say under your breath “I wish I’d thought of that” or “how on earth have they done that?”.

North Kingdom frequently fall into the latter category, they appear to have won just about every major award possible and now they’re giving everyone an insight into how much work they put into their projects. They’re obviously working with considerable budgets but there is no denying the amount of work and detail that is executed at every level.

If you have a bit of time to kill then I suggest you give their site a visit and have a good study of the behind the scenes.

Recently I’ve blogged a lot more about mobile devices, software, apps and in particular gesture driven technology and interfaces.

I am a fully signed up fan, champion and user of these devices and spend more time than is healthy researching and future thinking how all of these converging technologies and platforms will change what we currently perceive as digital.

All major hardware and software companies are now developing for mobile devices and the market is expanding at an incredible rate. You obviously have Apple with the iPad and Samsung with the Galaxy but both Blackberry and Microsoft are now taking serious considered steps into the tablet arena, and we know how much market share these brands currently enjoy.

MIcrosoft partnering with Samsung have developed the Surface technology into a very powerful platform. Microsoft also recently signed a deal with ARM and demonstrated it’s Windows OS running on ARM mobile chips.

Apple are taking the best elements of their iPhone and iPad OS and interface and integrating them into their latest Mac OS X Lion operating system. We also know how copied Apple are so expect other brands to follow (cue Microsoft).

There are lots of developments behind the scenes too, the likes of Google with the development and merger of AdWords and Analytics, Apple also introduced the iAd platform and with these developments brands will find more clever and innovative ways of connecting to audiences and consumers.

So what does this mean for the end user?

Well if you couple the above (which is only scratching at the surface of what’s happening) with the advances in browser standards, HTML 5, WOFF, JS, etc then websites will go through a huge change in the next 2-5 years. This will be prompted both by technology advancement and user experience and behaviour patterns.

Make no mistake this is already happening! The debate on Web ‘v’ Internet currently rages.
Get ready, the future of digital is changing right before your eyes.

Post Digital? – Rubbish.

Have I just experienced the future of media and the internet?
Am I getting a bit over excited about something I know has been coming for years?
Is it really as good as I think it is or am I being blinded by how much I like ‘The Dude’?

I’m not sure, but what I do know is the whole reason why I invested in an iPad and why I am getting pretty excited about the next few years in digital is for things like PROJECT magazine.

Ok so before I go too far in proclaiming this is the future of everything I obviously understand that it’s not. However smart mobile handsets and tablet devices are really having an impact on how people like to experience, consume and interact with different types of media and content.

I guess what really gets me excited is not what’s happening right now but that the possibilities for this are infinite and mind blowing. When this becomes more personalised, relevant, tailored, and real time we will really see the persuasive power of digital media.

It is also the blend of static & motion graphics, video, editorial layout and interactive design that really interests me as a designer.

I’ll post more when I have spent a bit more time browsing and hopefully done some comparison tests. If anyone out there knows of any other similar ‘digital magazines’ then please let me know.