Microsoft is putting its SketchInsight interactive whiteboard system on display at the company’s TechFest event this week. Designed as a system for storytelling, SketchInsight is a prototype project straight out of Microsoft’s research labs. SketchInsight simply lets you tell a story using interactive sketches on a whiteboard. In Microsoft’s demonstration the company shows how you could use this to present a story by drawing sketches that turn into animations.
The system can mine data from a database and suggest options for charts, diagrams, and other visualizations. It’s really about presenting data in a meaningful way. Microsoft has clearly analysed traditional meeting scenarios with spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations and has…
These are a pair of Batman symbol wall bookshelves crafted by Etsy Seller Fahmi Sani of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was selling them in his shop a week ago for around $ 285, but he got such a response that he’s pulled them from his store while he fulfills his current orders. And you know what that means! “It’s time to jump on Etsy and start sell our own really shitty version ASAP.” You know it! You get started on the Etsy shop, I’ll be in the garage chopping all my fingers off with a jigsaw.
Hit the jump for a closeup.
In a surprise move, Windows head Steven Sinofsky has abruptly left Microsoft right after the launch of Windows 8 and the Surface RT. Sinofsky was in charge of bringing the products to market and did so successfully, so his immediate departure came as a shock to some. Not so within Microsoft, where sources tell us the executive was not well-liked and wasn’t well-positioned to lead the collaborative efforts necessary for the company’s future success. He will be replaced, in part, by Julie Larson-Green, who will take up “all future Windows product development.”
Samsung’s got one problem, but delicately designing a wondrous $ 9,999, 75-inch smart TV ain’t one.
Psst… and don’t forget that magic 30 million number.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung
Samsung video shows us the design story behind its 75-inch ES9000 smart TV originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 01:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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“The art of narration and dramatic presentation, together with a keen sense of the oral epic style, became a characteristic quality of the Russian people.” —Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folktale
At the end of a week filled with product launches and press conferences, it’s hard not to compare those marketing events. Without even talking about the products, some were much more compelling than others. And it all comes down to the story that you tell, as a company. Failing at that task will greatly endanger your product.
Over the past few days, I had the chance to watch and write about iPad mini‘s keynote, attend Samsung’s Galaxy Note II launch event in New York, and go to Microsoft’s Windows 8 conference (and its secret Surface conference).
It’s no mistake that all of those things are happening at the same time. Even though Google had to reschedule its Nexus event, it’s only due to a hurricane. The company would have gladly unveiled its new devices shortly after its competitors.
They want to dominate the news, retaliate and change the subject as quickly as possible. That’s why Surface reviews were all published at 8PM on the day of Apple’s keynote. It’s a coverage war.
Yet, timing and money are only a small part of the equation. What many companies fail to realize is that you have to tell a compelling story in order to stay relevant, convince potential customers and drive sales growth.
Even though technology as we know it is very young, the art of narration has existed for centuries. Building on the work of Russian linguist Vladimir Propp and French philosopher Gilles Deleuze is essential. Propp demonstrated in its book Morphology of the Folktale that Russian fairy tales all had a common structure. He rigorously explained the complex pattern and analyzed all the little details that make those stories work so well.
Just like technology is ruled by science, storytelling is ruled by theorems and implications.
Are you telling a story?As we’ve recently learned, Wayne Goodrich played a key role at Apple. He was the person working behind the scene before an Apple keynote, writing the text. Even more important, he created a narration around the product launches. It was his job.
Years after those keynotes, I can still remember Scott Forstall asking questions to Siri, Steve Jobs awkwardly browsing the web on a couch with the iPad, and of course the now famous iPhone unveiling. “An iPod. A phone. And an internet communicator.”
If you present things properly, if you go further than the specs, they will stick in your mind. You just get it.
On Tuesday, Apple unveiled the iPad mini. The anticipation was incredible and we knew nearly everything before the event. In those cases, narration is key. When you ask me about the keynote, all I can think of is that the iPad mini is small and light. In other words, specs.
The emphasis of the conference was on the fact that you can hold it with one hand. This is not a story, this is a use case. I still don’t know why it’s better to be able to hold it with one hand. Now I’ll just have to wait and see one to understand whether it is a better form factor.
Samsung and Windows 8 eventsAt Samsung’s press conference, the company talked a bit about the brand in the U.S. and how it has gained a lot of recognition over the past year. The Twitter and Facebook numbers were really impressive.
As there was nothing new at that conference, I spent the rest of the conference thinking about the little things that could have triggered Samsung’s incredibly successful year with its smartphones. Of course, products play an important part, but there are many Android smartphones out there. So there must be something else.
And it hit me when seeing the video ad and reading “The Next Big Thing Is Already Here”. The aggressive ads against Apple didn’t start before the launch of the iPhone 5. It started a year before that, with the Galaxy S II commercial.
Samsung has stubbornly sticked with the same narrating strategy over the past year. When talking with friends who aren’t working in this industry, it’s easy to realize that it has definitely worked. Every few days, I get the question “what does the iPhone do better than Samsung phones?”
As you can read in the comments everyday, people are passionate about their phones. By talking to these very vocal people, Samsung has found a way to spread its message very effectively. It’s all about the story.
At Microsoft’s event, it was something completely different. The audience was composed of two very distinct groups of people: media people and OEM partners. The company went through all the new features of the Windows 8 modern UI and all the new tablet/laptop hybrids from its partners. It was both boring and uninspired.
I’m very excited about the new operating system, the Surface and, more generally, the paradigm shift occurring with Windows 8. I think it’s an important tech launch this year — maybe even the most important one. But the excitement wasn’t there. I wanted them to tell me a story, and they failed.
Is the story compelling?Telling a story is one thing, but it has to be a good one as well. Otherwise, at best it doesn’t resonate with the potential customers, at worst it becomes awkward.
An example would be the Windows Phone 7 ads: “it’s time for our phone to save us from our phones.” Yes, the little scenette showing people forgetting about their environment because they are focused on their phones are funny.
But if I’m concentrated on my phone, it’s because I like it. I don’t want to have a phone to ignore it. It would mean that I have nothing to do with it.
What do the users have to say about your product?If you get the story right, the salespeople, the early adopters and the early majority will propagate the right message around your product. Otherwise, the salespeople will just say meaningless ineffective things about the product.
Are your clients interested by your story? Could they become the main character? Thanks to the story, the clients can become product advocates. And who hasn’t talked recently with a friend who couldn’t help saying all the wonderful things that happen when you own a Galaxy S III.
Caring about propagating the story is as important as the story itself. When I received my Kindle Paperwhite, there was letter from Jeff Bezos. I remembered that it was on my first Kindle too and expected the same kind of letter. But Amazon wrote a different letter, a version for existing Kindle owners. Here’s how it starts:
Dear Romain,
Thank you for upgrading to Kindle Paperwhite. As a previous Kindle owner, we think you’ll love Kindle Paperwhite. You are holding our best Kindle yet.
The attention to the little details makes me want to tell the story as well, even if it is one of the simplest ones with the Kindle — it’s not a device, it’s a way to read. I’m still waiting for the company who will crack the code of storytelling — just like Vladimir Propp did for fairy tales — and get it right every time, with every product launch.
(Image credits: Mario Lapid, Wikimedia Commons)
“The art of narration and dramatic presentation, together with a keen sense of the oral epic style, became a characteristic quality of the Russian people.” —Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folktale
At the end of a week filled with product launches and press conferences, it’s hard not to compare those marketing events. Without even talking about the products, some were much more compelling than others. And it all comes down to the story that you tell, as a company. Failing at that task will greatly endanger your product.
Over the past few days, I had the chance to watch and write about iPad mini‘s keynote, attend Samsung’s Galaxy Note II launch event in New York, and go to Microsoft’s Windows 8 conference (and its secret Surface conference).
It’s no mistake that all of those things are happening at the same time. Even though Google had to reschedule its Nexus event, it’s only due to a hurricane. The company would have gladly unveiled its new devices shortly after its competitors.
They want to dominate the news, retaliate and change the subject as quickly as possible. That’s why Surface reviews were all published at 8PM on the day of Apple’s keynote. It’s a coverage war.
Yet, timing and money are only a small part of the equation. What many companies fail to realize is that you have to tell a compelling story in order to stay relevant, convince potential customers and drive sales growth.
Even though technology as we know it is very young, the art of narration has existed for centuries. Building on the work of Russian linguist Vladimir Propp and French philosopher Gilles Deleuze is essential. Propp demonstrated in its book Morphology of the Folktale that Russian fairy tales all had a common structure. He rigorously explained the complex pattern and analyzed all the little details that make those stories work so well.
Just like technology is ruled by science, storytelling is ruled by theorems and implications.
Are you telling a story?As we’ve recently learned, Wayne Goodrich played a key role at Apple. He was the person working behind the scene before an Apple keynote, writing the text. Even more important, he created a narration around the product launches. It was his job.
Years after those keynotes, I can still remember Scott Forstall asking questions to Siri, Steve Jobs awkwardly browsing the web on a couch with the iPad, and of course the now famous iPhone unveiling. “An iPod. A phone. And an internet communicator.”
If you present things properly, if you go further than the specs, they will stick in your mind. You just get it.
On Tuesday, Apple unveiled the iPad mini. The anticipation was incredible and we knew nearly everything before the event. In those cases, narration is key. When you ask me about the keynote, all I can think of is that the iPad mini is small and light. In other words, specs.
The emphasis of the conference was on the fact that you can hold it with one hand. This is not a story, this is a use case. I still don’t know why it’s better to be able to hold it with one hand. Now I’ll just have to wait and see one to understand whether it is a better form factor.
Samsung and Windows 8 eventsAt Samsung’s press conference, the company talked a bit about the brand in the U.S. and how it has gained a lot of recognition over the past year. The Twitter and Facebook numbers were really impressive.
As there was nothing new at that conference, I spent the rest of the conference thinking about the little things that could have triggered Samsung’s incredibly successful year with its smartphones. Of course, products play an important part, but there are many Android smartphones out there. So there must be something else.
And it hit me when seeing the video ad and reading “The Next Big Thing Is Already Here”. The aggressive ads against Apple didn’t start before the launch of the iPhone 5. It started a year before that, with the Galaxy S II commercial.
Samsung has stubbornly sticked with the same narrating strategy over the past year. When talking with friends who aren’t working in this industry, it’s easy to realize that it has definitely worked. Every few days, I get the question “what does the iPhone do better than Samsung phones?”
As you can read in the comments everyday, people are passionate about their phones. By talking to these very vocal people, Samsung has found a way to spread its message very effectively. It’s all about the story.
At Microsoft’s event, it was something completely different. The audience was composed of two very distinct groups of people: media people and OEM partners. The company went through all the new features of the Windows 8 modern UI and all the new tablet/laptop hybrids from its partners. It was both boring and uninspired.
I’m very excited about the new operating system, the Surface and, more generally, the paradigm shift occurring with Windows 8. I think it’s an important tech launch this year — maybe even the most important one. But the excitement wasn’t there. I wanted them to tell me a story, and they failed.
Is the story compelling?Telling a story is one thing, but it has to be a good one as well. Otherwise, at best it doesn’t resonate with the potential customers, at worst it becomes awkward.
An example would be the Windows Phone 7 ads: “it’s time for our phone to save us from our phones.” Yes, the little scenette showing people forgetting about their environment because they are focused on their phones are funny.
But if I’m concentrated on my phone, it’s because I like it. I don’t want to have a phone to ignore it. It would mean that I have nothing to do with it.
What do the users have to say about your product?If you get the story right, the salespeople, the early adopters and the early majority will propagate the right message around your product. Otherwise, the salespeople will just say meaningless ineffective things about the product.
Are your clients interested by your story? Could they become the main character? Thanks to the story, the clients can become product advocates. And who hasn’t talked recently with a friend who couldn’t help saying all the wonderful things that happen when you own a Galaxy S III.
Caring about propagating the story is as important as the story itself. When I received my Kindle Paperwhite, there was letter from Jeff Bezos. I remembered that it was on my first Kindle too and expected the same kind of letter. But Amazon wrote a different letter, a version for existing Kindle owners. Here’s how it starts:
Dear Romain,
Thank you for upgrading to Kindle Paperwhite. As a previous Kindle owner, we think you’ll love Kindle Paperwhite. You are holding our best Kindle yet.
The attention to the little details makes me want to tell the story as well, even if it is one of the simplest ones with the Kindle — it’s not a device, it’s a way to read. I’m still waiting for the company who will crack the code of storytelling — just like Vladimir Propp did for fairy tales — and get it right every time, with every product launch.
(Image credits: Mario Lapid, Wikimedia Commons)
LG’s been stepping up its mobile game recently, with the Optimus G being the firm’s clearest display of podium-position ambitions yet. And just like its regional neighbors, it’s getting in on the “explaining-ideas-behind-concepts” video action. In this clip we see senior research engineer, Sebastian Hochan Song, explain the inspiration and process behind the new phone’s QSlide multitasking function. Again, like its fellow Korean nationals, nature and the real world play a heavy part in the idea process. Head past the break if you want to see LG’s thoughts about pushing Android multitasking forward, and keep an eagle eye out for one of our very own editors’ quick cameo appearance.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG
LG tells the story behind QSlide multitasking, won’t be mad if you tweet at the same time (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This is demonstration of playing Doukutsu Monogatari (also known as Cave Story) on iOS platform. Project page: github.com I am doing the porting of NXEngine to iOS. NXEngine is the open-source clone/rewrite of Cave Story. PS: I beg pardon for the poor audio quality and noice in the record.
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Editor’s note: After a rejection by Kickstarter, the co-founders of Lockitron, Cameron Robertson and Paul Gerhardt, decided to follow in the footsteps of App.net and take pre-orders for their innovative deadbolt add-on directly. This gamble paid off. Big time. The initial goal of $ 150,000 pre-orders was hit within 24 hours. Now, just five days after launching, the company has $ 1,500,000 in pre-orders. This is their story told by Cameron.
I’m still having a hard time believing that only a few short days ago, my co-founder Paul and I refreshed our homepage, anxiously waiting to see if anyone would subscribe to our vision for Lockitron and help us climb towards our lofty $ 150,000 goal. With reservations now exceeding 1,000% of our original target and most of the time left in our campaign, we are immensely thankful to our 10,000+ backers who have made this possible.
Just four months ago we squeezed in with over a hundred other hardware startup devotees to listen to the creators of some of the most popular and impressive Kickstarter projects impart their wisdom. The folks behind Pebble, Skallops and the Brydge answered dozens of questions about their success on Kickstarter; how much effort should you put into the video, did press matter, why did some projects take off and others flop. At one point, our moderator asked the group for a show of hands. “How many of you plan to release your own Kickstarter?” Nearly every hand in the room went up.
Kickstarter meant that for the first time hardware companies could take their ideas straight to the masses, bypassing the gatekeepers of venture capital, and de-risking their business in one fell swoop.
It wasn’t that long ago in Silicon Valley that the very mention of the word “hardware” in the context of fundraising was enough to glaze over the collective eyes of venture capital.
While we are just beginning to witness a renaissance of software wrapped in plastic, the traditionally high costs of making hardware, coupled with the perception of the low margins characteristic of the bygone PC-era, weigh heavily on risk-reward calculation for new investments.
So it was not surprising that Kickstarter gave hardware startups hope.
From its inception, however, Kickstarter was never designed as a store. Kickstarter’s benchmark for success is matching and exceeding the funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, not becoming the Apple store for yet-to-be realized products.
Last month, mounting backer frustration over project delays seemed to boil over when a series of articles ran detailing what some had been wondering; how many of these projects failed to deliver to their backers?
The question of who exactly assumed underwriting the risks for projects loomed large despite Kickstarter’s reaffirmation that creators were indeed responsible for delivering what they promised.
Consequently, new guidelines and rules were developed to meet these challenges and to protect backers using their site.
We applied to Kickstarter on a Wednesday, “Kickstarter Is Not a Store” landed on Thursday and by Friday we were rejected. We reached out to a co-founder of Kickstarter through our network. A brief e-mail exchange ensued, culminating with a firm “No” – stating that Lockitron fell into the “home improvement” category of prohibited projects. Kickstarter was simply not the right place for it, he said.
By the following Monday we knew what we had to do. We would launch Lockitron on our own, in an attempt to emulate the success that Dalton Caldwell had with App.net.
In running our own ad-hoc crowdfunding campaign, we knew that we needed to solve the same challenges inherent in Kickstarter’s model for running a hardware campaign.
Our solution was to create a customer-focused system. We decided to collect payment information using Amazon Payments, batch Lockitron shipments for customer transparency regarding delivery dates and only charge customers when their unit is ready to ship. This drives us to make the best product possible rather than overpromise what we can deliver on.
This approach also lets us know how many units to make and qualifies our backers as willing to put money down for the product when delivery time comes due, all while removing risk for them.
Since we only earn our keep once a customer’s Lockitron is ready, we are incentivized to use faster, low-volume/custom-quality production methods that may cost more initially, but will ultimately help us to compress our timelines.
Finally, this past Tuesday (October 2nd), just over a week after Kickstarter declined Lockitron, we took the plunge, fixated on our computer screens after a sleepless night filled with last minute video and website tweaks.
What followed over the next 24-hours was nothing short of stunning – thousands of people saw our vision and voted with their wallets to reserve a Lockitron, blowing past our initial goal in a matter of hours.
It’s debatable whether or not we will see another Pebble or Ouya on Kickstarter. But something I can’t emphasize enough is how much the success of our crowdfunding experiment is predicated on the groundwork that Kickstarter put in place. We are indebted to Kickstarter for validating the incredible potential of crowdfunding in bringing products to market.
Our crowdfunding method isn’t perfect. It requires that you have some resources to be able to kick off production of your product and I believe that there is room for a new model of crowdfunding.
Hardware startups need a platform that would add value for customers and producers by acting as an escrow for funds while validating and assisting fledgling hardware companies with their production plans. Consequently, we are planning to open source a skeletal version of our crowdfunding app to help start this discussion.
The power to ultimately go ahead and purchase a Lockitron rests with our backers. The onus is on us to justify and substantiate any delays along the way. Just as popular hardware Kickstarter projects have proven, it will be our willingness to involve excited Lockitron backers in our progress and turn them into happy customers that will drive our success.
This is a massive domino maze depicting the fall of the dinosaurs as told by domino-lover Flippycat (of Starry Night, Nintendo, laser and wall-themed domino maze fame). It took almost 39 hours of setup over two weeks to complete the scenes and less than a minute and a half to knock them all down. One thing is for certain though: no matter how it’s told, the story of the dinosaurs dying is always sad. I just cried. HARD. So hard I’m blowing snot bubbles. No, no I’m not. I am blowing bubbles in my chocolate milk though. “What are you, six?” In good looks? I’m probably closer to a four.
Hit the jump for the video. All the action is in the first 1:30, the rest is time-lapse of him setting up all the scenes.
