Within the first few hours of arriving at CES, I encountered three different manufacturers who made unsolicited offers to build a device for me or my company. Or any company I could recommend.
What kind of device? Apparently, it doesn’t matter. “You tell us the specifications,” said the representative of one Chinese ODM, “And we will build exactly what you want in the quantity that you specify. No upfront investment, no inventory risk.” Does that sound like a deal that’s too good to be true? It probably is.
But that won’t stop some big media companies from taking the bait. Brace yourselves for a flood of bespoke gizmos sporting major media brands. Innovation or desperation? Soon you’ll see content companies hawking branded hardware, aided and abetted by device manufacturers who face certain death by commodization.
The best illustration of this fad is the proliferation of e-book readers, widely noted in the blogosphere. The components for these devices are almost all identical, so the ODMs are eager to find partners who can help them differentiate.
When the cost of manufacturing is so low, you might expect to see some radical experimentation with form factor. That can lead to good things. Check this out: http://bit.ly/7joa3n Buried in the middle of this video from New York Times is a glimpse of the coolest device that I saw at CES: Lenovo’s new dual screen netbook. When you don’t need the keypad, you can pop the screen out for a small portable tablet. Finally.
The coolest thing at CES
January 10th, 2010 · General Observations
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CES and Vegas 2010: supersized vulgarity
January 9th, 2010 · Conferences
Carnival culture was on parade this week at CES. We’ve entered the Baroque phase of consumer electronics, wherein utterly unncessary techology is pumped up, supersized and repackaged with gimmicks in a desperate bid to garner consumer interest.
It’s quite appropriate for CES to take place in Las Vegas, the Mecca of vulgarity , vanity and vice. Both the city and the event seem to illustrate the concept of growth for growth’s sake taken to the utmost extreme. For decades, Vegas suburbs have been sprawling ever further into a desert in the name of progress, squandering water and energy on grandiose displays of simulated luxury. More lights! More fountains! More colossal crappy sculptures! Wider hallways! Peppier Muzak! [Read more →]
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Top Tens, 2010 Predictions and Other Provocative Lists
January 3rd, 2010 · General Observations
This week everybody seems to have a Top Ten list to herald the dawn of a new decade. Never one to miss a chance to jump on a rolling bandwagon, I decided to chime in with my own list of the lists that caught my attention.
Did I miss one? Got a suggestion? I’d love to hear it. Post it in the comments, please!
1. NYT: Bono’s Ten for the Next Ten
Ten items for the next decade that captivate the Irish rocker’s imagination. Characteristically capricious and wide ranging. Bono zooms from the micro to the macro in this assortment of predictions.. See yesterday’s NYT.
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The next frontier: “What is life?”
December 30th, 2009 · General Observations
The next decade will bring amazing technology and, with it, some unprecedented moral questions about what it means to be “human” and “alive”.
Read Martine Rothblatt’s provocative piece about the concept of life in the context of new technology.
“Will Uploaded Minds in Machines be Alive?”
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Be afraid. Very afraid. Smart swarms are here.
December 23rd, 2009 · General Observations
For all you singularity-watchers and Diamond Age fans out there, check out these swarming nano-bots. http://gajitz.com/tiny-swarming-robots-coming-soon-to-eat-your-data/
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YouTube filmmaker Fede Alvarez lands studio deal for $30M
December 20th, 2009 · General Observations
Digital technology puts the tools for great storytelling into the hands of people everywhere. BBC reports that first time director Alvarez will helm a sci fi flick for Sam Rami. What got Hollywood’s attention was Fede’s terrific short film “Panic Attack”, shot for a total of $300 and posted to YouTube a month ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dadPWhEhVk
Thanks to Ken Rutkowski for the link.
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Where does your disposable plastic junk go?
December 20th, 2009 · General Observations
Check out these shocking photos of albatrosses from the Midway atoll by Chris Jordan. Click on MIDWAY at www.chrisjordan.com.
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Four trends to watch in 2010
December 20th, 2009 · General Observations
“Never make forecasts, especially about the future.” Wise advice from Samuel Goldwyn. Which I am now about to ignore at my peril. Here’s my take on what to expect in 2010.
1. The Dawn of Ambient Awareness & Networked Consciousness
What happens when real-time status updates and news feeds are combined with GPS location data and context-aware computing? You may experience a new kind of awareness that leverages the perceptions and commentary of other people. You might call it collective intelligence. And it will make you smarter. [Read more →]
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Revelations! More signs that the Singularity is coming soon
December 17th, 2009 · General Observations
Okay, Kurzweil fans. More grist for your mill. http://bit.ly/6OgJjI
Accelerating change leads to radical transformations in just a few years.
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Motorola Droid vs Apple iPhone: yet another view
December 16th, 2009 · General Observations
- The Motorola Droid features a slide-out keyboard
With the Droid, Motorola and Google have introduced a credible alternative to the iPhone and Apple’s vision of mobility.
Until now, the reaction among handset manufacturers to Apple’s innovation has been pretty disappointing. For more than a year, the best that the wireless phone makers could muster was mere imitation. One measure of the sheer terror [Read more →]
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