Another NYTimes article of note (registration required): add this one to the list of stories of how Massive is preparing to change videogame advertising forever. Having read about this for some time, can they just get it over with already? I’m looking forward to everyone’s reaction. My first reaction to Ubisoft’s inclusion of an Axe Deodorant ad in the above game (see image) is to question if Axe makes sex toys too. This could get pretty funny.
I just posted my blog entry over on Core. Per my own directive, I’m attempting to segregate topics, but that sometimes proves difficult. When I first read this article on New Scientist, William Gibson’s “The Winter Market” came to mind and reminded me that for all the technological and scientific advancements humanity makes, we still have a lot of social ground to cover and related issues to resolve – and most of those will be documented in psychological journals; issues I now see bleeding into the “virtual” interactions around me. Perhaps the researchers who use simulations to study real world problems could extend their focus to the seemingly “normal” people who populate them. No doubt we could all use a bit of advice.
The New York Times online edition has an interesting read on IBM’s move toward releasing some of its patents into the public domain. The gist of the article is that patents covering inter-operability and commerce may be in for a shake up. Since NYT is a (free) registered site, here’s a small quote (though you might seriously consider registering):
So why has I.B.M. shifted course recently, giving away some of the fruits of its research instead of charging others to use it? The answer is self-interest.
Diverging from conventional wisdom, the company has calculated that sharing technology can sometimes be more profitable than jealously guarding its property rights on patents, copyrights and trade secrets. The moves by I.B.M., the world’s largest supplier of information technology services and computers, are being closely watched throughout the business world.
Given the dramatic change in Big Blue’s standard operating procedure, I’ve got to wonder if the CEO didn’t get a copy of Seth Godin’s Idea Virus for his birthday.
BusinessWeek has an excellent article on IBM’s business makeover which discusses how, as their operation evolves, it’s becoming less grounded in real products (which are more and more just commodities) and turning increasingly to “virtual” services. This provides an excellent example of the flipside of VR: as virtual worlds and simulations become increasingly realistic with graphics and simpler interfaces, real world operations are migrating towards them as well. I think there’s a collision on the horizon – a “rebang”, if you will. Even if IBM fails, the trend is there. Now let’s wait and see if Big Blue can successfully shed that earthbound hardware heritage.
People who know me (and that would in this case include anyone working at a department store where I have credit) know that I’m not much into clothes. Jeans and sweatshirt and some timberlands. That’s me. I don’t even care to wear black, which would of course be the designer thing to do, I suppose. However, I am interested in fashion because obviously there are relations to ID. And if there’s one name I know, it’s Issey Miyake. I mean, what other fashion designer… hell, just read this old article on Wired and see what I mean. Then visit his website. I was looking for a bit of inspiration and stumbled into his “Autumn Winter 2004-2005” Women’s section. Damn. That is a nice bit of web/interactive design.