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I discovered a rather interesting and quite awesome video about a gentleman who figured out how to use the Wiiremote to create a multitouch interface without the need to actually touch the screen.

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For anyone who’s interested, I got 5 more invites for Skitch. So drop me a line if you are desirous!

Interestingly enough, both of my final motion projects for this term include an extensive amount of 3D work. While this wouldn’t be such an issue as I find modeling and creating things in 3D rather fun, the camera has been quite troublesome for me recently. For example, one of the necessary controls in Cinema 4D is control of the focal point for the camera. I would use the auto-keyframe option to make the process of creating a timeline faster, but what I didn’t realize is that the auto-keyframe only stores data for what you have moved; unlike after effects which stores all the data for an object. I suppose this is ultimately done to save space, but in the case of multiple keyframes that use the same focal length, C4D will transition the focal length from the previous change to the next, regardless if there are keyframes in the middle.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that I ended up wasting a whole bunch of render time, but learning a good lesson about moving the camera in C4D. Exciting…

I am quite impressed…

Multitouch displays have been popping up more and more recently, from the homemade one developed by students at UBC to the showcase of one at TED and now this one that offers not only multitouch, but wireless interactive technology. It amazes me how far computing is going and makes me wonder if the stuff we see in movies will be viable and prevelent within my lifetime. Of course, with all the great new technology, one must be slightly worried about hacking issues. Course, at $5,000 to $10,000 a pop, I don’t think we’ll be seeing these tables with widespread influence quite yet. Now, all eyes are on the iPhone!

Oh, and a side note, look at the giant multitouch world map that Han has in the video. Totally amazing.

Coming out in mate May and early June, Paprika looks to be an awesome film. It is about the nature of dreams and reality; a theme that director Satoshi Kon played heavily with in his film Perfect Blue. I’m highly looking forward to it! However, I’m not just interested in it for the sake of the film. The soundtrack, as revealed in the trailer (viewable at the Paprika link above), sounds quite interesting.

Designed by Susumu Hirasawa, it is a fascinating amalgamation between vocals, analog instruments, digital manipulation, and digital instruments. In looking at his site, I discovered that he has made the main theme for Paprika available for download (it is “The girl in Byakkoya - White Tiger Field”). For your listening pleasure, I have also included it below:

The girl in Byakkoya - White Tiger Field:

I hope you enjoyed it! I really like this song and have been listening to it a wee bit too much, but sound is captivating and quite good. The first time I heard it I was a little like, “huh?” but it grows on you very quickly.

(did I mention I’d love to get a hand on that poster?)

So I’ve spend quite a bit of time typing out how I think that the Microsoft Zune has issues. At least with the marketing that focuses on “social” activities. The primary issue with it is that there are too many DRM restrictions and the fact that when they’re listening to music, people don’t want to be disturbed. The end result is that I feel the Zune is being totally misrepresented.

However, there is something that appears to be a strong step in a really good direction. That is the new DAVE (Digital Audio Video Experience) device from Seagate. The primary point of the device is to allow immediate syncing and innerconnectivity between various items. To reach this end, it comes preloaded with wireless, bluetooth and a USB hub. Thus you can have one device that streams music or videos to your cellphone or use it to store items or share between two computers over wifi. The possibilities are tremendous.

Apparently the device can also send data from one device to another; a direct transfer so-to-speak. However, I am not entirely sure about this. The representative says that there is a security system built in so that unauthorized people can’t access your data, but how would that allow people to send from device to device? The product demo/announcement will be on Thursday, so we’ll have to see then.

It gets 10 hrs battery life with constant usage and has no screen (which is why I wonder about the setting of permissions for others to access data).

Ultimately, I feel like this is the way we want to go. More than the Zune which has a music focus, this kind of device has a video/person focus. This allows the device to be tremendously more useful. It seems like it would be a horrible annoyance to have a Zune and be listening to music when someone wants to send you something. I mean, they’re interrupting your music. But imagine this DAVE at a tradeshow. You can have a digital business card that you carry around with you on the device and when you meet someone cool, you can transfer that data to them. Heck, since it will sync up with wifi, you can even just put it on their computer or cell phone (with bluetooth) should they not have one of these devices. The possibilities are endless, not to mention that the device is tiny. You could stick it easily in a pocket or in a briefcase. Depending on the access system (say, through a cellphone), you would never have to actually take it out!

The future is pushing to interconnectiveness, much to the unhappiness of the big industries (aka due to DRM). People will find a way around it because they can. For example, There was a note today that someone has already claimed to have finished hacking the DRM of Vista and it was released today. These things don’t take much work to accomplish, no matter how much time is spent developing them. In any case, the futher into the future we go, the more important personal security will be. I believe at some point, the option of embedding electronics (like a computer, a neural interface or a storage device) under the skin or in the body will become available and widely acceptable. So what will this mean for personal security? Could someone hack into your brain? Only time will tell to see what technology is developed, but it is something that needs dire consideration.

The original report on the DAVE as well as a video interview with a guy from Seagate
Press Release Announcing the DAVE