the unimaginatively named: lewis’ blog

The Mouse (1972-2008)

So, all of the major players (incl MS) are now looking toward making touch devices that interact more like physical objects than computers; i.e. the traditional pen + paper, blackboard or fridge scenario.

Why is this happening? I think the quick answer is that hardware and software have come to the point where touch/pen/voice interactions are possible at the speed that consumers expect. But perhaps a more subjective answer would be that consumers have growing expectations of simplicity and speed when it comes to computers, and perhaps the market has started to show this, and maybe this is why we see hardware and software companies now clammering to react.  

Everyone is moaning about Digg not having a Picture section, so I thought I’d weigh-in on the feature request posts. Why Digg should do a debates section?

Ok, a little bit of futurology for you…Every now and then I will put a few company’s products together and come up with some predictions about the near future, in terms of what products, services and technology will be needed or might emerge.

Today’s Equation:

SharpCast + Microsoft HomeServer + Orb Networks =

Imagine everything you have on your computer is backed up, automatically. You set it up once, and your files are backed up to your home server in your closet, and then onto remote storage supplied by a company selling raw storage in a storage facility. This is something that MS Home server will allow you to do when it ships this year.  

Ok, a little bit of futurology for you..
Every now and then I will put a few company’s products together and come up with some predictions about the near future, in terms of what products, services and technology will be needed or might emerge.

Today’s Equation:

Microsoft VirtualEarth + Photosynth + Vexel Inc + Seadragon =

Errrr……equals Microsoft?! The first two are Microsoft, the last two were acquired by them.

Seadragon were acquired by MS for their technology which allows for incremental streaming of images. So when you are zoomed out of an image, you have only streamed the low res parts, and as you zoom in, more and more detail of the section you can see is streamed to you.

thoughts on voice recognition for computers

Why Voice? Voice doesn’t make sense in so many areas, particularly in the office cube or even the home office. Key to a company’s success in this area will be understanding where this is best used, but more importantly, where people are most comfortable with using it.