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New Exhibit at U.S. Patent Office Museum Pays Tribute to Steve Jobs

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November 28, 2011
  • An exhibit paying tribute to Steve Jobs recently opened in the atrium of the U.S. Patent Office Museum in Alexandria, Virginia.
  • The exhibit is open to the public, free of charge, and will run through January 15.
  • It includes a row of 30 giant iPhone panels, designed by non-profit group Invent Now, which display information about more than 300 patents credited to Jobs as co-inventor.
  • “This exhibit commemorates the far-reaching impact of Steve Jobs’ entrepreneurship and innovation on our daily lives,” said the Under Secretary of Commerce for IP, David Kappos. “His patents and trademarks provide a striking example of the importance intellectual property plays in the global marketplace.”
  • Additional photos are available at GeekWire.

Former Apple Inventor Offers New Slant on the Future of Interaction Design

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November 18, 2011
  • Are touchscreens the ultimate expression for us to manipulate computing devices? (See the Microsoft video included in the post.)
  • In “A Brief Rant on the Future of Interactive Design,” former Apple human-interface inventor Bret Victor opts not to address human needs or technology, but what he sees as the “neglected third factor, human capabilities. What people can do. Because if a tool isn’t designed to be used by a person, it can’t be a very good tool, right?”
  • Victor sees our hands as the central component of our interactive future. If one looks at the range of expression and control for our hands, one realizes how much more is possible.
  • Victor describes touchscreens, for example, as “pictures under glass” which ignore the fact that our “hands feel things” and “manipulate things.” “Pictures Under Glass sacrifice all the tactile richness of working with our hands, offering instead a hokey visual facade,” he writes.
  • “Pictures Under Glass is an interaction paradigm of permanent numbness,” he adds. “It’s a Novocaine drip to the wrist. It denies our hands what they do best. And yet, it’s the star player in every Vision Of The Future.”
  • Victor doesn’t have a solution or a prediction for our interactive future, but suggests we start thinking differently in order to achieve it. “Pictures Under Glass is old news. Let’s start using our hands.”

Secret Google Lab Where the Future is Imagined and Robots Run Free

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November 15, 2011
  • A top-secret lab called Google X is tackling a list of 100 “shoot-for-the-stars” ideas, including an elevator to outer space, a refrigerator connected to the Internet that orders groceries as they run out, and robots that serve a variety of tasks.
  • A Google worker familiar with the project likened it to how the CIA is mysteriously run. “In interviews, a dozen people discussed the list; some work at the lab or elsewhere at Google, and some have been briefed on the project,” reports The New York Times. “But none would speak for attribution because Google is so secretive about the effort that many employees do not even know the lab exists.”
  • Most of the ideas are only conceptual at this point, but others may eventually see the light of day. One idea that may reach the public involves driverless cars. It would not only provide a new business for Google, but promote the company’s navigation or information technology for cars as well as location-based ads.
  • Additional ideas in development include ways of connecting objects to the Internet, such as a garden planter that could be watered remotely, a coffee pot set to brew from another location, or a light bulb that could communicate wirelessly with Android devices.

CEA Chief Describes New Era of Sharing Enabled by the Web

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November 14, 2011
  • Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, provides a compelling commentary on America’s ownership culture and the trends that are steering it toward a new shared ownership strategy.
  • “First, America’s declining wealth requires we cut costs where possible,” Shapiro writes in Forbes. The recent credit crunch has impacted purchasing and many young people are more likely to share housing with family or friends than in previous years.
  • “Second, our declining wealth means we need to find creative ways to get the same item or service for less,” he adds, citing examples such as vehicle sharing through ZipCar, emerging bicycle sharing programs, and educational videos shared online.
  • “Third, the Internet allows those with similar needs to connect quickly, easily and efficiently. More, mobile devices, such as smart phones, tablets and the plethora of apps, allow us to share information with each other and with retailers — increasing efficiency and putting together buyers and sellers.”
  • Shapiro explains that the Internet is a powerful tool that helps facilitate sharing and provide access at a lower cost. “After all, sharing is a far more efficient method of resource distribution than owning, and perhaps we will all have ‘more’ in the end.”

CodeNow Aims to Promote Innovation and Train the Next Pioneers

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November 1, 2011
  • CodeNow is a non-profit initiative for early technology education, launched in February 2011 by social entrepreneur Ryan Seashore.
  • According to the organization: “CodeNow works with underrepresented youth to develop the next pioneers in technology by teaching foundational skills in computer science and programming to narrow the digital divide. Creating a fluency in this language spurs innovation and opens doors for our youth, while creating a pipeline of talent for American companies.”
  • “Coding is the language of the future. If we want our youth to be competitive globally we need to teach them be tinkerers and look under the hood of technology,” explains Seashore. “Though we are a non-profit we function more like a start-up. We take a ‘lean’ approach to our work and are in constant beta. It’s been an amazing experience.”
  • The organization earned some government recognition when director of the Office of Public Engagement Jon Carson recently discussed CodeNow on the White House blog: “Ryan got me thinking about ways that we could engage non-profits around the country and the ways we could share their incredible stories. I am happy to announce a new weekly blog series highlighting non-profits dedicated to improving their communities. It felt appropriate to have CodeNow inaugurate the series.”

Digital Light Field Camera set to Launch: Focus After You Take a Picture

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October 20, 2011
  • Digital camera start-up Lytro has unveiled “a consumer digital camera that it claims will be the biggest technological jump since we started talking megapixels over 20 years ago,” reports All Things D.
  • The San Francisco-based company has made waves in the industry with its light field photography concept: “a light field camera captures light all throughout the scene in front of the lens, as opposed to the cameras consumers are used to, which bring a particular thing into focus first.”
  • The result is an image that can be refocused after it is captured, as opposed to standard digital photos, which are focused before being taken.
  • Lytro claims the camera “is faster from power-up to capture, and has exceptional performance in low light, even without a flash.”
  • The camera will ship in early 2012 in 8GB ($399) and 16GB versions.

Google Development Experimentation Often Leads to Cancelled Projects

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October 18, 2011
  • According to The Next Web, 90 of the 251 products (36 percent) that Google released in the past 12 years have been cancelled.
  • “Experimentation is a part of Google’s culture,” indicates TNW. “Launching in beta habitually creates a fearlessness that continues to serve them well. Even though Google knows that tons of their products won’t make the cut, their success is partially due to throwing a fist full of darts, and seeing what sticks.”
  • In a related TechCrunch post, the company plans to focus on Google+, and as a result will be killing off Google Buzz in a few weeks as well as iGoogle’s social features come January 15, 2012. Google Labs was shut down on Friday.
  • Additional services are also reportedly getting the axe by January 15: Code Search (for open source code on the Web), Jaiku (for users to send updates to friends), and the University Research Program for Google Search (available to select academic researchers).

First App-Album: Bjork Releases New Collection of Interactive Music

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October 17, 2011
  • Innovative Icelandic musician Bjork is combining technology and music with her release of the first ever “app-album.”
  • The collection features games, visualizations and songs that allow fans to interact with the music in a unique way.
  • “The main ‘Biophilia’ app is available for free,” reports CNN Tech. “Each sub-application, which contains a song and some sort of interactive game, costs 99 cents, or $9.99 for the whole album. A non-app version of the album also is available.”
  • “Apps and iPads are just tools — they have to be human and they have to have soul,” comments the singer.
  • Article includes podcast and transcript of CNN Radio interview with Bjork.

TV Viewers Like their Tablets and Phones: Stay Tuned for More Innovation

By
October 14, 2011
  • A new study from Nielsen shows that approximately 40 percent of tablet and smartphone owners use their devices on a daily basis while simultaneously viewing television. The figures jump to 70 percent for users who do the same several times a week.
  • Most of these viewers are primarily checking email, followed by surfing information and accessing social networks, suggesting strong potential for second-screen applications.
  • The study suggests users are accessing social networks more than websites with information related to the TV program. “Unfortunately, the study doesn’t break down if people are 1) participating or just listening to social conversations and 2) if the conversations are related to the TV program at hand,” reports Lost Remote. “But it’s probably safe to say that more viewers are more inclined to talk about (or listen to) conversations about a TV show than proactively look up expanded content about it.”
  • Successful second-screen apps should bring together “social conversations, expanded content and interactive (even synchronized) advertising,” suggests the article. “Compelling second-screen experiences, in theory, will move the needle more in the ‘related’ direction, making TV viewers more engaged overall.”

Pegasus Global to Build Entire City in New Mexico for Technology Testing

By
September 27, 2011
  • Tech development firm, Pegasus Global Holdings, recently announced its plans to build a “fake” city in New Mexico for the sole purpose of testing green and next-gen technologies.
  • “The Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation” — which will have all the infrastructure of a fully operational city (including water, power and standard roads) — is expected to take up 20 square miles of desert and cost $200 million to build.
  • According to Pegasus Global, the city will offer a one-of-a-kind “opportunity to replicate the real-world challenges of upgrading existing city infrastructure to that of a 21st Century smart city, operating within a green economy.” The company will encourage companies and organizations to “test the benefits and costs of their proposed next-generation innovations and technologies, hardware and software.”
  • “While the specific technologies that will be developed using The Center remain to be seen, Pegasus Global has a few ideas in mind, including the ability to test the true cost of solar implementation, smart grid technology, next-gen wireless networks, Intelligent Transportation System technologies and driverless cars,” reports Digital Trends.

Report: Is Innovation being Stifled by Frivolous Lawsuits of Patent Trolls?

By
September 21, 2011
  • Looking at a database of over 1,600 patent troll lawsuits compiled by Patent Freedom, a team of Boston University researchers estimate that these suits have cost companies some $500 billion since 1990. These costs include not only legal fees and payouts to plaintiffs, but indirect costs such as employee distraction, legal uncertainty, and the need to redesign or drop key products.
  • The authors of the study also estimate that the original inventors received less than 10 percent of the “defendant’s lost wealth.”
  • Additionally, they found that software patents accounted for approximately 62 percent of the lawsuits (while a mere two percent of suits were related to drug or chemical patents, and only six percent involved mechanical patents).
  • The article concludes that the patent system is becoming a disincentive to innovation. “These results are important because the patent system is supposed to reward companies who invest in innovation,” suggests Ars Technica. “Yet thanks to the growing blizzard of frivolous patent lawsuits against technology companies, the patent system is actually becoming a net disincentive to innovation, especially software. We hope Congress and the Supreme Court are paying attention.”

Fostering Innovation: Vint Cerf Calls for Education and Recognition

By
April 13, 2011

Computer scientist, technology pioneer and chief Internet evangelist at Google, Vint Cerf addresses the current state of innovation in the U.S. and what he sees as the necessary steps in moving forward.

Cerf suggests our educational programs are deteriorating and that our culture places more emphasis on entertainment and sports figures than it does on scientists and engineers. To foster innovation, he sees a need to revitalize our K-12 educational system, create national recognition for scientific achievement, and devise an effective plan for attracting the best talent from abroad.

In his essay published in The Wall Street Journal this week, the Internet pioneer cites Japan, Spain, Norway and Sweden as examples of nations that “shine a much brighter national spotlight on international science and technology breakthroughs.”

In addition to a new national spotlight, Cerf promotes a hands-on educational approach that focuses on search and discovery rather than memorization of facts. He calls for increased interaction with groups such as the FIRST robotics program and Google’s Global Science Fair. According to Cerf: “By elevating interest in math and science, we will foster the innovation and ingenuity that will move this nation forward into a better future.”

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