imagine you just comfortably settled into your large seat, pulled on your eye shades and listening to the soft ohm as the aircraft cruise on, suddenly,

” ringg….ringg…ringgg.. hello hello, can you hear me sweetie pie? i miss you so much honey bunny, the minute i step into the departure gate, my heart felt like it was tearing apart and i miss how you…”

hm, yes, too much information overheard. and yes, this is not your pure imagination. Technology has taken away the only time you need to off your phone compulsorily. There goes your only time where you can officially avoid work and the naggy one at home.

now you are truly accessible everywhere you go.

what about air safety one might ask. AeroMobile found the missing element for phone calls on aircraft by creating a mini base station that picks the cell phone signals and sends them to a satellite in space and this avoid the danger of the signals interfering with the radio frequency of the aircraft.

Emirates authorized the first cell phone call on a commercial flight on 20th March this year and it is going to change the soundscape of a flight.

before anyone scream for joy or cry with sorrow, the hefty price of USD3.50 per minute might become a deterring factor for anyone who wants to break the silence in the air.

enough said, i did not pay $2000 to be stuck in a place where people are providing me freely with their private information or to hear people whisper sweet nothings to their cell phone in the middle of my sleep.

well come to think of it, marketers should be interested in getting those private information.

For further reading: AeroMobile

After attending Gregory’s lecture, I remembered reading about a wife divorcing her husband over his game addiction. Yes, computer games, not casino games.

In recent computer games development, MMORPG, Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, have been gaining popularity within the gaming community.

As the themes in MMORPG are fantasy like, they allow people to leave the real world and enter a world filled with with dragons and sorcery. Each player takes on a character, and develop their character using a progression chart of experiential points which makes their character stronger and get better equipped with more powerful clothing and weapon. Advancement in the games are done mainly through combat and completing quest. More importantly, these games are never ending, their dungeons are ever new, their player levels are always increasing.

What is appealing and interesting about these MMORPGs are that it facilitate social interaction between players. Guilds and small raiding groups are formed to further facilitate the community bonding and also support the characters during their quests. These virtual relationships bonds the gaming community together and gamers treat each other like how they would treat their friends in real life even though they do not know or even see before the person hiding behind the character.

It is amazing that the hours spent on these games have been atrociously absurd. Gamers have morph in addicts after playing a week of game and this addiction is even worst than heroine because it is so subtle, it hooks you on gently, but whenever you want to off the computer, your mind will automatically reason with you: just a few more bars to completion of that level, let me just complete it and this goes on for hours and without knowing it, it is another day.

What is worst from this game addiction is that the real social life of these gamers suffers because of their long hours online, they are so lost in this virtual world that they cannot differentiate between what is real and virtual in their life. Many have lost their love ones, their jobs, health, real friends and many more, but they are still not quitting, or should i say, don’t see the need of quitting since all they have left is their virtual group of support.

Governments are starting to realize the detrimental effects these games have on the addicts and many countries have set up web addiction facilities, game detox center, boot camps to break addiction. Surfing online, there are many forums, guidebooks, etc to help quit the games.

On the other hand, because of these games, it allows those who are introverted by nature or lowly esteemed individuals take on a role they inner desire. However, i am not sure whether this virtual world is clouding their mind and because they are accomplishing their inner desires online, these people are remaining in this virtual world for majority of their life.

Personally, I have a friend who is very quiet, laid back and a lowly ranking clerk irl, however, in the gaming world, he is known as a fierce warrior who is clothed in expensive gears and a leader of 40 other guild members. He turned from one who does not have many friends to one who everyone wants to team up with just by the flick of a button. Naturally, he became one of those who eat, sleep and game. Looks wise, friendship wise, he suffers, but he is still not giving his games up.

These addicts set me to think, is it really worth it to give up your real life relationship for a virtual one? Will these virtual ones last you a life time and be there for you when you are old?

PS to gamers’ friends: Never tell your gamer friends they are addicted, they will never believe so until they step into the non gamers shoes.

For further reading: askapadwe.com, news.filefront, news.filefront2, wowdetox, squidoo, CNN, Inquirer , MMORPG

(c) 1UP.com

I used to say that PS3 is like the Ferrari of videogame consoles. It is more expensive than a normal car, is not totally exploited in terms of performance yet, but it looks and is really a “WOOOW” product. Now comes the time where the PS3 found (for me) ITS GAME !

I am not talking about the so awaited Grand Turismo 5 or GTA but a very surprising game called GRID from Codemaster. The Ferrari in PS3 has really arrived.

Why is it so good?
1) It looks modern and PRO You know when you look at those programs and games that look a bit outdated…well GRID is exactly at the opposite: It is awesome. Music is cool, menus concept have already been used in the past but design is great, races are fun and looks really, really realistic. Driving the car on a video projector with a 7.1 sound systems makes you really feel you are totally immersed in the car. My previous reference point was PGR4 on XBox360 but this GRID blows it away. It is the first time ever you see such realistic scenery in a driving game with a speedy impression. Sceneries, shadows, lighting effects, crashes, replays, details of the cars, you’ve got it all…

2) Game concept From the traditional ‘I drive car, win money, buy cars, enter contest and climb the ladder contest’, Grid gets it right. Races are very interesting and challenging enough, drivers and cars in front of you do mistakes and look human, race types are very various. Try to play the 24hr races divided in 24 mn series (real-time) of Le Mans with the simulation of day and night, believe me you will see the stress coming up … (how do those guys really do it?)

3) Innovations Replay mode ‘a la Matrix’ allows you for every race to make some mistakes and rewind before the crash. AND believe me you need it because the car crashes and crashes realistically. Not only it is fun to use (you have a number of replay that varies with the difficulty level) but it is beautiful to watch when you can wind and rewind, pause to look in details you car crashing and see all it spare parts flying in the screen

4) eBay ‘buy me’ mode This is cool too. I like the idea that you can buy cars from eBay. It is of course a great promotional tool with eBay and very well exploited. You have a simple window in the game where you can purchase cars and an option to access eBay cars as well where drivers from worldwide are posting their cars they want to sell. It gives you much more flexibility and depth in the game and it is perfectly integrated in the game itself. You do not have to disconnect or launch a separate window. Neat and nicely done.

I am not addicted to PGR and GT anymore. Grid gets it right on every damn aspects! This is a very good lesson of perseverance and innovation. Modern, fun, playable, cool, realistic, beautiful. Well done guys.

1UP review : click here

(c) Apple

July 10th is gonna be an important date in the history of Apple. The new all-in-one iPod has been released… NO, do not run into your favorite retailer, there is no new iPod, this is just the new software update. However, it is so important that it deserves to be assimilated with a new product. This software release is valid for all iPod Touch and of course the new iPhone 3G.

First of all, it includes Mobile Me: Imagine you can synchronize ‘ala’ windows mobile all your calendar, emails, pictures but only for your regular email account, not the professional one. Mobile me offers that option.

Then comes the Application Store. The principle is not new; people can download applications from their PDAs, Windows mobile for more than 10 years now. BUT, one more time, Apple makes the difference in the ease of usage:
1) You do not have to browse through dozens of websites to find your applications. They are all available on the Application Store in iTunes
2) You do not have to browse to find the correct version that matches your phone/operating system (OS). There is only one… :=)
3) Ease of installation. Just click on the application and iTunes will do the rest.
4) Easy payment. Like any iTunes product, just confirm your order and you will receive the invoice later.
5) Access from the iPod or iPhone directly. This is a breakthrough. Like the Music, you can directly browse from your favorite gadget to install any application…

I have tried to install a couple of them and did not suffer from any hiccups. It was pretty smooth and worth it for most of them…

Then, there are the GAMES… Same here, it is not new to have games on a phone or PDA. However, I have to say the ones I tried are really amazing… I will not sell my PSP or Nintendo DS but I will FINALLY play with my iPod… Take a look at Super Monkey ball and shout…WOOOOOWWWW, niiiiiiiceeee. Well done guys. Games are great, innovative by taking benefits of the touch screen panel and the graphical engine. They have some depth and are really not costly, compared to some other games you buy for your mobile phones. The accelerometer is a bit difficult to control at start but when you finally get it, it is really fun.

Some applications take benefit of the power of the Apple OS and the mobility aspects. You can from your iPod for example check your Facebook status and get all your IMs on the same window… Cool. Nothing new, but at least, it is finally usable on a mobile platform.

What is the drawback? ;
1) It is not a free upgrade.
However, with the number of available options, it is worth it.

2) You need to have a valid iTunes account
I am not sure if it will be very popular in Asia for the consumers who still cannot access iTMS. I have not tried to upgrade it with a local account and admit I was using my French account…

3) iPod versus iPhone
With the iPhone at $199 and the iPod Touch at $299 for 8GB and $499 for the 32GB, it is difficult not too fall for the iPhone (if you can find one…).

I still prefer my traditional Phone with my QWERTY keyboard to check my emails, but definitively, my iPod touch gets all my attention… and it is more than just a music player. I realize actually I used it more to play videos, surf the web, play games than really listen to music: get a nano for that.. :=)

Remember that scene in Minority Report where advertisements were tailored accordingly to the person who walked past? Now, it is ”sort of” coming to pass.

A French based company, Quividi recently launched a new technology in the US that transform the oldest form of advertisement into one that is at the frontier edge.

Tiny cameras are installed into the billboard to capture the features of its passerby and these data will be transmitted into Quividi’s central database which analyzed the facial features and measure the gaze of the viewers to change the advertisements on the billboard to suit them.

This technology is not at all new in the market.

Singapore Mcdonald’s partnered Quividi to analyze the behavior of its patrons. Swedish furniture giant, Ikea, also did something similar.

This product comes at great joy for advertisers who can not only gather information on their viewers but also personalize their advertisements for their target audience which helps advertisers effectively manage their budget. However, consumers are greatly disturbed at the lost of their privacy while walking along the streets.

Well, for me, i am just wondering what if there are a variety of people viewing the billboard at one go, what advertisement would the billboard show?

for further reading:

New York Times , Quividi, Crunchgear.

The association of Nintendo DS with the Mario brother and Sonic the hedgehog has been so deeply imprinted in my mind that the thought of it appearing in a classroom setting leads me to detention classes.

However in a junior high school in Tokyo, not only do the teachers encourage the appearance of the Nintendo DS, the students are rewarded with colorful stickers when they are done with their game.

Well, definitely not for finishing super mario but, a game of spelling bee.

Nintendo turned academic in recent years by partnering with games producers to churn out games such as the spelling bee, kanji writing and even a pocket dictionary for their DS game console.

These games caught the attention of traditional Japanese educationist who decided to combine learning with fun in order to improve the standard of English in Japan.

This revolutionary education reform took a further step in incorporating technology into education.

Out goes the days of heavy laptops for school students and in comes the light handheld game consoles.

It is very interesting to associate the machine which plays Mario games with school work. I can foresee a huge success in gaining the attention of children to do their spelling homework or Chinese writing.

However, I believe their interest for one particular technology will not be sustain for long, but if educationists continue to catch up with the technologies behind the entertainment that children are having and integrate it into the educational process, it will do the trick in getting them to study.

How lucky are the children of this age. They just found another reason to convince their parents in getting them a Nintendo DS.

Spelling in the morning, Super Marioing at night.

Can I be a student again, P L E A S E?

For further reading: p2pnet

Consumer electronics manufacturers are running after new features to try to convince you to buy their new products. Mobile phone vendors are, for example, increasing add on features like the GPS, cameras, music functions and more. They are changing mobile phones into all-in-one tools while some people find it increasingly challenging to use as a simple phone… :=)

Digital camera vendors feel the threats of embedded camera in phones are innovating into new features. Some months or even last year, the war was on the pixel size. Like PC manufacturers who are constantly increasing their CPU speeds, camera vendors increase their pixels from 4 mega pixels to 5, 6, 8, 12MP in small cameras. This is totally useless unless you want to print on A3 and unless you have the proper lens which can capture the right level of light, but that is the game.

The new trend is about face detection, smile detection, blink detection.

From a consumer point of view, it means cameras are getting more sophisticated and can automatically adjust their focus on faces, wait for everybody to smile or avoid having someone blinking in the picture. The question is: Do we need these? I would say no at this point of time because it is really not difficult to take a second shot, delete the first one if you took a bad one. In the older days, those features would have been extremely useful because you cannot review your pictures before printing. Nowadays, with the zap in zap out feature, this is not as critical.

However, I guess that should be called evolution. Like we have more programs in cameras, new technologies help consumers to take better pictures.

This helps as well manufacturers to have new marketing angles to promote their products.

It is important in that case to have the right claim, the right explanation cross the marketing chain. Consumers deserve the right to understand clearly the values and benefits of those new features and decide for themselves if they really need them.