Ideas on the Future of Media, Computing, and the Internet

During the last few days we've been discussing all the world and his brother with Philipp-- falling back a couple of times on issues like the future of media, computing, and the internet.
The major points we spotted are:

1. Static computing doesn't have a future, as it only harms spinal columns. Therefore, devices have to be portable and dynamic with smart ways of controlling and feedback. The new Nintendo Wii seems to tackle the controller question. Something like portable retinal projection instead of static screens would take care of the visual feedback shortcoming.
2. Vinyl--8-track/CD/MC/MD--MP3: the trend in music storage media is obvious: constant quality on storage media that are getting smaller and smaller. So what's smaller than a digitalized MP3 on--say--an SD memory card? - Only no personal memory needs at all, i.e. a central storage space via constant high-speed internet access with handy platforms to share music. The same holds true, of course, for audiovisual media...
   
3. What's the future of print media like journals, newspapers, and books? How is the internet changing them? One possibility would be personalized newspapers to print at home, or, even better, to download on your ePaper. I am eagerly awaiting the introduction of digital paper that is lightweighted, doesn't need batteries, cares about your eyes, and would optimally even be flexible and robust. This invention would not only save the lives of billions of trees, but would also decrease the chaos on my desk... So I was happy to read about the $100 million grant for Plastic Logic, the company that seems to be on the right track. You can check out the promising videos on youtube: Video 1, Video 2. --In your face $80 inkjet cartridge...
   

Let's hope that either the Consumer Electronics Show CES or the Macworld next week will bring us closer to the future. After all we're already in 2007!

See You in the Future

I am not an expert, but looking at recent internet developments as well as my own personal needs, I do seem to detect an obvious direction.

The everlasting growth of the internet, my own urge to check mails as often as possible with at best the most handy and mobile devices, as well as the popularity of social web2.0 applications and platforms such as facebook.com (or its new German counterpart studivz.net), del.icio.us, lijit (former outfoxed), and what-have-ya, lead me to conclude that a second (virtual) reality slash cyberspace, as it has been described for example in Neal Stephenson's great book "Snow Crash", is just a matter of time.

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Addendum: You can even see the first glimpses - Second Life. I haven't tried it yet, but if one of you has, tell me/us about it... From what I can see from Second Life it's still a long way to go...

Bruce Sterling and Mercedes Bunz at Elektrischer Reporter

For some months now I have been watching the geeky "Elektrischer Reporter" online (sorry--80% in German). It features a weekly interview on the future of the internet and the technologization of society, topics I feel (urged to be) interested in and I've been posting about in the past.
Yesterday, I watched the interview with scifi author Bruce Sterling who, after some rather boring first minutes, said some very relevant things on topics that were--to questionable extent--also discussed at the G8 summit.
Today, however, I watched the interview with mind-boggling Mercedes Bunz who, in addition to having a great name, has a lot of very smart things to tell.
I recommend everybody (who understands German) to watch her 10 minute interview.

We are the Web 2.0 -- The Machine is Us

Most of you already know that Time Magazine chose You as the person of the year. As might have become apparent in previous posts, I am amateurishly interested in questions like:
Where is the internet going? How will computing be integrated into daily life? How does machinization change our way of thinking?
"Keine Zukunft ohne Herkunft" (lit. "no future without provenance")--
On the very technophile zedomax blog I discovered this well-produced video on the development of the web by Michael Wesch, an assistant professor in Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State. Enjoy (even though the music sucks)!



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Addendum: I have to add the comment that was just posted on youtube by a user named theeastvillage: "...Although there is no doubt that sharing information changes attitudes, you must remember that Web 2.0 is not run by you or for you.
Web 2.0 is system of people who have tuned their money making minds to the needs of the masses...."

well-formed-data.net -- Sharing is Caring

It's late but I have to tell you about this:
Mo has officially launched his blog well-formed-data.net.
On this platform he will share "thoughts, discoveries and experiments" as well as "information or reviews of things [he] discover[s]. Sharing is caring!"
He is working on the future of the internet, or better, on the--oh so important--aspect of information visualization, and, believe you me, he's got some gorgeous ideas up his sleeve.
I already told you about some older work of his, but also this new gadget on the visualization of web-feed information is not only extremely smart but also beautiful.
That's why well-formed-data.net will be in my steady link list on the right-- g'night.

Apparatschik - Pandora and Google Suggest

I just moved to a new and bigger city, so I was kinda busy. Nevertheless, I found two amazing and useful websites that really seem to work:

Google Suggest - a beta version of an extended google search, which suggests possible queries together with estimated result number while you are typing. Amazing and extremely useful.

Pandora.com - an electronic internet DJ that creates customized radio stations. You provide your favorite song or artist and the artificial intelligence (based on something called the music genome project) calculates streams of music which you like. Seems to work pretty well.

That's the future. Now you just have to teach it how to compose music and it'll create customized bands based on the 'genome' of your favorite music.