January 29, 2009
Classy's Technology Watchlist
- Is mobile finally replacing the desktop? The signs are there. Recession+saturation has driven the market to stagnation, so price is about to be driven down, and mobile development has been vastly simplified by free tools for "full stack" OSes on the iPhone and Android. One might even argue that it's the other way around: The desktop has replaced (the dedicated) mobile (stacks).
- Android - Sure the iPhone has all the momentum, but Android is a nice hackable phone according to reports - and the built in compass really helps translate cloud data to the real world around you.
- Where's the conversation at? It seems the digital conversation tools flip flop between explosions in expression and explosions in aggregation.Each explosion in expression moves the conversation off the old aggregators. Each explosion in aggregation refinds the value of the expression. Right now we're in an expression explosion, so it's interesting how the next brilliant aggregators are going to look.
- Machine learning - Oldie but goodie. We're being washed in data and it's not close to being tapped for all potential value. Simpler/better tools to analyse the hoards of data are a must. Lookups aren't enough, we need washing and feature detection.
- Public cloud databases and the semantic web? Google's and Yahoo's cloud offerings are certainly worthwhile and underexploited (by others). I need to check in on Freebase and see how they are doing. I expect to be underwhelmed.
- Images The things that are beginning to be pulled out of images - 3D models of stuff, faces, location fingerprints etc. Obsoletes tons of hardware that hasn't even been invented yet. GPS phones + machine tags + feature extraction = magic.
- What about the ubicomp? The comp is already ubi. it's just not evenly distributed. Srsly, once again it turns out that the economic aspects beat the technology aspects. GPS smartphones of the iPhone/Android/Palm Pre variety are the ubi-devices we're going to get, because they are platformable. Custom stuff just won't get built in the right volumes. See also.
- OpenSim OpenSim revitalizes blow out phenomenon Second Life. OpenSim is both 1) much more power efficient (as far as I know) and 2) unencumbered by virtual money land-lease fees which should inspire intense V-world geometric innovation. Some uses here.
- Processing has reached 1.0 and is able to render out to many interesting formats. I am imagining Processing generative geometry in an OpenSim world and salivating at the idea.
- What about fabbing? Good question. I need to make something I want to fab real soon now. I think this is the basic problem of fabbing - price is still in the "nonfrivolous use" bracket and the creative tools for 3D suck - when you compare them to the tools for 2d, music and words, at least.
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