The Incandescent Dims

In this Modern Age we have grown accustomed to the increasingly rapid pace of technological advancement. Computers are obsolete before you get them out of the store. Media formats morph and adapt and fragment. Some objects evolve and other products die. The technology graveyard is littered with Cassette tapes, Laserdisc Players, 8-Tracks, Betamax VCRs, and most recently HD DVDs.

But certain objects have been stable for so long that seeing them suddenly get sucked into this vortex of change is disconcerting. Take the age-old light bulb for example: it has been around since the late 1800s. It’s iconic bulbous pear shape has been used to represent everything from light and electricity to ideas and insight. It is sad to watch it’s inevitable eradication as the compact fluorescent moves in like an heroic invading army, sporting it’s energy efficient soft-serve swirl-shaped tubes.

In homage to the dimming of the incandescent, here are some Ideas On Light Bulbs to stick in your socket:

1. A Greener System Preferences
   Recently, I upgraded my MacBook Pro to OS X 10.5.7. I went to change my Screen Saver settings when I noticed that the Energy Saver icon was no longer the old incandescent light bulb (see below) …
   
   … but rather a new compact fluorescent light(see below again). I’m actually surprised Apple didn’t do this sooner.
2. Wikipedia Plays Favourites
   Wikipedia tries not to play favourites, but the incandescent bulb has a much bigger picture in its article as opposed to the CFL. The former was invented in the early 1800s, with 22 different inventors lined up to take credit before Edison got involved. Obviously he was a much better marketer than the rest. The modern CFL was invented in 1976 by a GE engineer with the amazing name of Ed Hammer (who just happens to do his own podcasts). The company patented the invention and shelved it, thinking CFLs would be too expensive to manufacture.
3. Light Bulb Jokes for Dimwits
   Not too many inventions have spawned an entire industry of bad jokes. “How many ‘blanks’ does it take to screw in a light bulb?” is almost as prevalent as “A ‘blank’ and a ‘blank’ walk into a bar…” My personal favourite:

   How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? One— but it has to want to change.

   The CFL doesn’t have a great humourous legacy yet. The only joke I could find was political in nature, and directed at conservative radio talk-show hosts, which is a pretty easy target.

4. The EUREKA Moment is Obscured
   The familiar icon of the light bulb going off above someone’s head will eventually seem as quaint and distant a memory as the phonograph. It first appeared in Felix the Cat cartoons in the 1920s, and has continued to this day. TV Tropes has a long list of Idea Bulbs including parodies and alterations. Here is a 1935 Betty Boop variation where Grampy, at the 4:00 mark, puts on a thinking cap and the bulb is lit when he comes up with a brilliant plan to make music.
   
5. A Soft Serving of Bulb Art
   The strange newness of the CFL has inspired artists to create work that mocks the new form or honours the old.
   
   Mixco’s Whippy

   
   Felix Stark’s Bulb 2.0

6. In Plain English

Lee LeFever compares the old light bulbs with the gradual extinction of the Video Cassette Recorder (VCR).


7. Bulb?
   Some words, like ‘record album’ lose their original meaning. Eventually people will ask where the word ‘bulb’ came from. They won’t remember the pear-shaped glass with the springy glowing element inside. All their lights will be made from twisted fluorescent tubes. Light ‘tube’ or light ‘coil’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it
8. Clip-On Lampshade Is Off
   If you have a company that still makes things out of metal wire, you might want to read the writing on the factory wall. Pipe cleaners have become preschool-art fodder, metal hangers have given way to plastic, paper clip use is in decline (you don’t even need one to remove the SIM card from your iPhone because Apple ships it’s own ‘iPhone Tool’)… and now the poor bulb-clip is doomed. It used to be you could just clip a modified lampshade to any old bulb in the house, but not so with the new CFLs. Oh, sure, some desperate designers have tried to create bulbous plastic covers for the compact fluorescents, but they squish and pop like the cheap plastic they are. I wouldn’t trust a fancy hanging bulb-clip to one of those. Would you?
9. Photographic Foreshadowing
   It appears as though photographers have been prophesying the death of the incandescent for years already.
   
   flickr photo by km6xo
   
   photo by Harold ‘Doc’ Edgerton
   

10. Ideas On
    And as light bulbs and other technologies evolve, so do ideas. I love to experiment with 10 Ideas in 10 Minutes, but it’s time for something new. Ideas On is my new project x, something I’ll be working on during the coming months. I designed this fancy red logo for it, as I like to focus on a concrete design while I’m working out the details. I’ll give you a hint: it’s about those old EUREKA moments realized in a modern context. As soon as I figure out what that means I’ll let you know.

This entry was written by jted, posted on July 4, 2009 at 9:17 pm, filed under 10 in 10, Ideas On, Observations, Thoughts and tagged Apple, Betty Boop, bullet, CFL, clip, eureka, Felix the Cat, fluorescent, Grampy, hammer, In Plain English, incandescent, jokes, lamp, lampshade, Light, lightbulb, OS X, soft serve, strobe, Thomas Edison. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

All Is Full Of Vodka: Sexy Robots Sell Spirits

In what has to be the sexiest auto-erotic android make-out scene in music video history, director Chris Cunningham transforms Björk into a milky, plastic-fantastic fetishized robot for her single, All is Full of Love. The video is as stunning, disturbing, and original as it was when it debuted in 1998.

Cunningham’s design inspired the look of the 2004 Will Smith vehicle I, Robot, albeit in a far less sexy, androgynous way. And now, over a decade later, Svedka is using Björk’s android look-a-like to sell vodka.

With the help of oddcast, they have designed a [sex]bot-builder that you can customize to fit your fantasy: fishnet stockings (including a real fishbowl torso), french maid uniforms, biker hats, red heels, and even decals (aka tattoos). The male version has biker vests, football shoulders, rocket packs, and a tux. You are encouraged to upload a face to personalized your creation. I chose to upload Björk’s face to see just how close the resemblance is to her video. You can see it better if you right click on the embedded flash version below and zoom in a few times (see image below).

While it is kind of fun (you can put your robot in UGGs), it feels like they only went half-way. The builder is clunky, there is no sound, and the robots don’t do much after they’re built (you can rotate them and poke them for a few canned movements). This would be way more fun with additional options to customize, and a follow through on the promise “Are You Bot or Not?” I was expecting to vote on other robot creations, and to throw my Björk-bot into the mix. But perhaps the most shocking of all of these things: no lead generation. I can explore, create, link, and save without once entering my email address. I don’t know if this is a stupid oversight, or a brilliant ploy for spamless credibility.

This campaign has made me aware of Svedka vodka. But even more importantly: it has reminded me that my childhood vision of robot maids is still a distant promise.

This entry was written by jted, posted on June 15, 2009 at 10:04 pm, filed under Marketing, Observations, Technology and tagged Android, Björk, Chris Cunningham, fetish, flash, maid, Music video, Robot, Svedka, vodka, widget. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

Augmented Reality Goes Postal

I never intended to turn this into an Augmented Reality blog, but there are so many creative ways people are starting to use this burgeoning technology. Many of them are experiments in artistic expression or marketing buzz, but some of them actually serve a practical purpose. In this case, printing out the United States Postal Service eagle icon and placing it in front of your webcam, allows you to see realistic, 3D virtual packages in actual-size. You can try it out for yourself in the Priority Mail Virtual Box Simulator.

Customers can choose from 4 different sizes (ranging from small to large) and then adjust the opacity of the box that appears using the Box Transparency slider. In the above picture I have chosen the Small Flat-Rate Box, which is supposed to be 8 and 5/8 inches long. It’s appears a little bit smaller than ‘actual size’, which you can tell because it isn’t as wide as the 8 and 1/2 inch paper I’m holding. It should actually be slightly wider than the paper.

What makes this truly useful, however, is the Persistent Box View which you can activate at the bottom left. Most augmented reality displays disappear when the target icon is covered. With the persistent view, the box will stay floating in mid-air when the eagle icon is removed, allowing a customer to hold up another item in its place. In this case I’m holding up a portable DVD player to see if it will fit into the Medium 1 box, and it appears as though it will quite comfortably.

Finally, with flashbacks of the movie se7en in my mind, I check to see if my head fits into the Large box. Sure enough, it does.

I don’t know if this is any more convenient than pulling out a tape measure, but it certainly looks cooler. And remember that these are still fledgeling ideas and applications. In a short time, when your mobile device is the augmented lens to view reality through, Priority Mail will have an app that will scan your images with a camera, tell you which box you’re going to need, how much it will cost, and where the nearest outlet is. Heck, it might even beam it directly to your destination.

This entry was written by jted, posted on June 9, 2009 at 11:57 pm, filed under Marketing, Observations, Technology and tagged augmented reality, United States Postal Service. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

Engaged. Kids Love Augmented Reality.

R2-D2 and Chewbacca play Dejarik while C-3PO looks on, in Star Wars IV: A New Hope

One the strongest cinematic memories from my childhood is from Star Wars (surprise surprise). C-3Po R2-D2 and Chewbacca are playing a type of holographic chess on the Millennium Falcon, passing the time as they speed through space. The game pieces move and interact with each other and— even cooler— they fight! I wanted one of these Dejarik sets, and dreamed of a time when holographic games and toys became a reality.

Judging by the last few months on the internet, that time is well on its way. Augmented Reality is set to bring those holographic moments to anyone with a computer and a webcam, or even a mobile phone. Last night I gave my kids a printout of the newest Star Trek poster and told them to hold it up to the computer screen (at Experience the Enterprise). I watched their surprised faces when, on screen, they were suddenly holding a diminutive replica of a three-dimensional spaceship. Both of them loved the experience, and immediately started testing it’s boundaries: how much could they bend the paper, how far away could they stand, how close could they bring the paper into the camera. It was amazing to watch them instinctively push the limits of the technology. My son kept looking at the computer and then back at the paper he was holding, trying to figure out why it was invisible in real life.

Sebastian, Age 4, Experiences Augmented Reality for the First Time

They would have played with the USS-Enterprise for hours if I had let them, just like a brand new toy. This particular AR could fire torpedoes and phasers, and simulate flying at warp speed. How many other toys have that ability? It’s still a bit clunky and you really tire of holding a piece of paper up to a screen for a long time, but for a technology that is just begining to come out of its shell, it’s a wonderous experience.

I’m looking forward to the LucaArts AR gameboard that let’s me play Dejarik on my coffee table. Are you listening George?

Update: Here are a few more bonus pictures:

This entry was written by jted, posted on June 4, 2009 at 10:08 am, filed under Marketing, Mythography, Observations and tagged ar, augmented reality, chess, future, games, holograms, science fiction, spaceship, Star Trek, Star Wars. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About TXT*

*but were afraid to ask.

A co-worker disappears into the bathroom, yet their Facebook wall magically updates. A friend tells you she can’t make it to your party because she’s not feeling well, yet her Twitter post raves about the new sushi restaurant downtown. It’s getting harder and harder to tell lies, even little white lies, when you are ‘lifecasting’. It’s also getting a lot harder to hide. People are TXTing from their mobile phones from just about every mobile location. They are telling everyone exactly what they are doing. But are they really?

Employing the 10 Ideas in 10 Minutes technique, I came up with ten things to consider (or conversely block from your mind) when you receive a text message (or IM, or Tweet).

1. Is this person driving a car? “Don’t Text and Drive!” will be the slogan for the next generation.
2. Is this person crossing the street? If so, they’re about to get hit by the texter from #1.
3. Is this person operating heavy machinery? I saw a road worker texting with one dirty, gloved hand through a clear plastic bag (to keep his phone clean). With his other hand he was distractedly pushing a giant, wet, screaming radial saw into hard concrete. We’ll see how long he has two hands.
4. Is this person standing at a urinal, or sitting on a toilet seat? It’s not like the bathroom germs can be transported via satellite, but it’s still a bit too intimate and disturbing. I suppose it’s still more polite than talking on the phone, which I’ve witnessed in a few men’s bathrooms.
5. Is this person drunk? Look for an increase in miss-spellings, as well as odd confessions , extra X’s and O’s, and <3’s.
6. Is this person high? Look for sentences that aren’t completed, words replaced by numbers, and strange shortened versions of common words.
7. Is this person getting lucky? If they are sexting you, that’s okay. But if they are conversing with you digitally while having sex with someone else, well that’s just wrong.
8. Is this person eating? Don’t text with your mouth full.
9. Is this person in a completely different emotional state than they are projecting? How tragic to be sending out little :-) when there might be tears streaming down his or her face.
10. Is this person standing somewhere nearby, watching you? Does that sound creepy? Because that’s what people used to do before mobile phones: stand near each other, look at each other, and talk out loud.

This entry was written by jted, posted on May 25, 2009 at 11:15 pm, filed under 10 in 10, Never be bored™, Observations, Thoughts and tagged 10in10, bathroom, driving, facebook, mobile, sexting, texting, twitter, txt. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

New Google Circle Logo Revealed at 2009 CES

I came across this video (also embedded at the end of this post) of Google engineer David Phillip Oster at CES, showing how he hacked a Wii Fit so users could literally ’surf’ through Google Earth. As interesting as his creation was, I became distracted by the t-shirt he (and his unnamed co-host) was wearing. It looked like the Google logo – except each letter had been turned into a circle (or two). I did a quick Google image search (where else) for “Google logo circle” but found nothing. So I quickly dove into illustrator and created one so that people like me, searching for this new Google treatment, won’t come up empty handed.

It’s amazing how strong the Google colour combination is associated with the brand. We’re also used to them messing with their ‘masthead’ logo on Google.com every time there is a minor holiday or special event, so seeing Google take a slightly different form isn’t uncomfortable. I quite like the abstract simplicity of these 8 circles.

Here is the new Google Circle Logo on grey.

And here is the new Google Circle Logo on white. It reminds me of a broken game of Twister. If you click on this image you can download an editable PDF to be opened in Adobe Illustrator. If you like it, give it a quick Digg.

Enjoy.

This entry was written by jted, posted on January 9, 2009 at 4:33 pm, filed under Featured, Observations and tagged 2009, CES, circle, Google, logo, new. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.