Your Manifesto

Not much happening here...

2008-08-01T10:49:00.002+10:00

Apologies if anyone's still reading this. Thanks! I've been really busy setting up the Royals, which is off and running.I'm probably more likely to be posting there in the near future. I won't actually kill this address yet (y'know... just in case).

later!

Best Jukebox in Melbourne?

2007-08-30T11:10:00.000+10:00

There's been plenty of discussion about best parma, best coffee, best xxx in melbourne and other places, but i can't seem to find a meme about the best soundtrack as provided by a bar's jukebox. I would very much like to nominate the Prince Public Bar for it's dedication to whole CDs of The Saints, Velvet Underground, Dizzy Rascal and Beasts of Bourbon. Thank you Prince for taking a large portion of my allowance in return for aural pleasure.

Anamalz

2007-08-10T11:26:00.000+10:00

Now and then you stumble across beautiful things made by nice people. These toys are organic, non-toxic etc (all very worthy) but are actually a joy to touch and play with. Kinda refreshing in this time of squealing Nickelodeon characters.

http://www.anamalz.com/saving/

Baby Clean

2007-07-20T14:29:00.000+10:00

Incredible imagery from German artist Beb Deum (English: Baby Clean. Yes?)

http://blog.myspace.com/bebdeumpictures
and
http://www.beb-deum.com/

Retro-futuristic airbrushin' mentallness!

Big duckie

2007-07-19T09:48:00.000+10:00

Duckies @ Wooster

When I grow up I wanna own a football club

2007-07-17T11:50:00.000+10:00

This is way cool. I've signed up and can't wait!
http://www.myfootballclub.co.uk

IKB

2007-07-17T10:15:00.000+10:00

http://www.international-klein-blue.com/

I dont think so Steve

2007-07-11T09:13:00.000+10:00

I don't think i'll let Apple know that a) my iphone is cracked, b) is called jesuswalks and c) has tasteless early nineties rock on it. They might start tailoring personalised ad messages and i don't think i'd like the cut of their jib (anyone recall My Tivo Thinks I'm Gay?)

Kanye West 'Stronger'

2007-07-10T05:51:00.000+10:00

Gerard recently rightly pointed out that Daft Punk are making a spirited comeback into our cultural consciousness. There's the quirky Daft Hands on Youtubte, the incredible-looking Electroma that recently showed at ACMI and now, of course, Kanye's daft indulgence. If you've recently grabbed the kanye west mixtape (featuring the premiere of the CRS supergroup) from the interweb, you'll have heard 'Stronger'. From what will be one of the biggest albums of the year, this another example of the super producer pwning some of the great electro-riffs of our time.

Go watch: Kanye West, 'Stronger' video.

Video Games Ruled..

2007-06-25T22:31:00.000+10:00

At last someone with taste has done a movie about video games.

(of course it will take a lot more to forget this, this and this. And really this.)

I can't wait for: King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

British India

2007-06-21T09:22:00.000+10:00

These Melburnians are Australia's next big export. Watch.

http://www.myspace.com/britishindia/

My 3D Neighbourhood

2007-06-19T20:54:00.000+10:00

I'd love to walk around the Melbourne South-siiide as my virtual self. Maybe one day I'll organise an army of of 3D modellers to stitch it together. They could be remunerated by a cost-per-click model when one of the suburb's small-to-medium enterprise receives a 3D visitor..

Niche Worlds: http://lab.netx.com.au/blog/?p=52

this could be the now generation's Ferris Bueller

2007-06-14T21:32:00.000+10:00

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YCcagk26siA

(turn up your speakers!)

iPhone and Widgets

2007-06-04T21:14:00.000+10:00

Just thinking out loud out on the work blog about how the iPhone and third party widgets could turn into a big deal:

http://lab.netx.com.au/blog/?p=50

Halo 3 Beta

2007-05-17T09:03:00.000+10:00

Played it last night with Angus and it's hella fun. Bungie are world-makers. The graphics are just a small-step up, it already feels like it's gonna be loaded with playability. Bring on September 25, let's finish this thing:

All the details: Halo 3 Multiplayer Public Beta Guide

Salvador Dali on "What's My Line"

2007-05-16T09:47:00.000+10:00

Watch his face, brilliant!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXT2E9Ccc8A

Add Art

2007-05-15T17:22:00.000+10:00

Eyebeam, a very cool interactive R&D joint in NYC, has developed a prototype of a Firefox plugin called Add Art. It replaces advertising images with art in your browser. It's not available for download yet as they're after more help. I didn't realise Ad Blockers had become so popular ("Adblock Plus, has over 4 million downloads since Jan 2006 (currently around 150,000/week").

I wonder if you could make one that replaces art with ads?

(kidding).

http://www.addart.eyebeam.org/

Applied Geometry

2007-05-10T08:48:00.000+10:00

(click for the larger.)

Via Hi-Res blog

Pro Keds Arcade Shoes

2007-05-01T15:31:00.000+10:00

I'm thinking left foot Galaga, and right foot Centipede:

Go see all of em.

Consumer-generated advertising

2007-04-23T22:02:00.000+10:00

Stating the obvious? Obviously:

http://lab.netx.com.au/blog/?p=38

I had just had a phonecall from my boss..

2007-04-18T22:11:00.001+10:00

I recorded it to share with you all:

http://tinyurl.com/23mots

omg

2007-04-06T17:16:00.000+10:00

Goal Sculptures

2007-04-06T16:57:00.000+10:00

Oddly compelling:

http://www.strangeharvest.com/pitchview.html

Jack's Back!

2007-03-21T13:01:00.001+11:00

One the 90s' best reasons to huddle around a keyboard:

But it's my mac, mum

2007-03-15T20:49:00.000+11:00

Playstation Home

2007-03-08T15:12:00.000+11:00

Wow! On the surface, it looks like Sony may have finally made a good move, after a string of disappointing tacks. They've just announced that the previously leakedPlaystation Home is indeed real - and coming in just a few months! From the screenshots, this looks like a virtual world rendered in the kinda of detail Second Life can only dream about (actually, it's a little more like a HD 3D version of Habbo Hotel). You'll be able to customize your avatar, pimp your own apartment, invite your friends over, earn achievements and get exposed to other Sony properties. Although, knowing Sony, it will probably be quite 'canned and limited, in a way this could the notion of virtual worlds to a more mainstream audience. For me, this is the only reason so far to get a PS3 (but for $1000 I'd prefer pimp my own pad).

UPDATE: Some of these mini, social games in Home could be quite fun:
http://www.joystiq.com/photos/playstation-home/177018/

Commdore: The er.. Commodore of Gaming

2007-03-07T10:24:00.000+11:00

http://www.commodoregaming.com/

Sweet OS

2007-03-02T08:55:00.000+11:00

This is the new OS called Sugar that features on the $100 Laptop. Imagine the challenge (opportunity?) in rethinking the metaphors that Xerox and Apple developed in their operating systems. Desktops, files, folders etc could all end up in the trash can. These kinda things probably aren't going to mean a lot to the target audience of third world children. I can't wait to see more of this.

Read more at Business Week.

(via Logic + Emotion)

UPDATE: If you're feeling a little geeky, you can actually try it out now by running a virtualized environment.

Pulp Fiction put to type

2007-02-26T14:28:00.000+11:00

A scene that defines both Tarantino's and Samuel L. Jackson's careers - done with typography (if you work in a corporate office, please turn the volume up).

http://www.jarrattmoody.com/intonation.html

Mercedes-Benz in Second Life

2007-02-23T05:53:00.000+11:00

We're doing a little work around brands going into Second Life (buzz me for the 'white paper' or read the March 28 edition of B&T) so I hopped over to Mercedes-Benz's new installation last night to check it out. I've been ranting about brands in SL not offering much in the way of 'additional value', but rather demanding that residents interrupt their experience and come to them come to them to be marketed to.

This one's no different. There's a fun looking track - but with no cars to drive! There's stage full of instruments you can't play and a few posters of past models. Then I saw that they had a 'Mixtape' for download and thought, 'Nice! they've carefully designed a soundtrack for exploring'. So i went to grab it, but the 85Mb took nearly an hour! (I'd been downloading 40Mb files in 3 minutes slightly before). So by the time the mixtape came down, I had long since finished looking around Mercedes-Benz Island - there's just not that much to do. So possibly a lesson there: if you have offer complimentary visual and aural experience but one arrives an hour after the other, the consumer experience is ripe with discontinuity.

There is a veiled CLK ready to be revealed in March, but I'm not sure that will convince me to come back. Seems like another opportunity lost for a brand to do something really interesting on this platform.

Empty track from above - maybe I should have brought my Scion...

Home Media Dream: Xbox 360 and Mac Kiss and Make Up

2007-02-19T09:39:00.000+11:00

My inner geek came out on the weekend and I finally cracked what had been annoying me for ages: how to share video content between my Mac-based home network and the Xbox 360. I was quasi-excited when Apple announced the Apple TV until, like every other Australian, I soon realised that there was no movie or TV content I could download from iTunes Australia. OK - can't wait to buy that brick and connect it to the TV and.. look at my photos.

I've hoped for a while that the Xbox 360 would eventually be our WiFi-ed video receiver because i don't really want to stack up any more boxes next to the TV. But of course the Xbox video marketplace shows no sign of launching here either. Sigh. Can you say 'backwater'?

And of course, although the Xbox is a Media Centre extender, i) We only have Macs and ii) Most of the videos we have are Quicktime or DivX. But there had to be a way - and thankfully, it's finally happened.

Connect 360 is a great piece of software that allows Macs to share iLife stuff photos, iTunes Library etc with a 360. Just recently they've added video - yes! But only Windows Media (WMV, WMA) - no! So still no DivX piping through the house.

But a little searching and I found a very neat little app called VisualHub which can convert nearly anything to anything.

So.. I'm there. The videos come down the pipe, land in a shared folder (accessible to all devices in the house), are converted by a script into WMV and are instantly available to be streamed when we turn on the Xbox 360. Nirvana!

QR udpate

2007-02-19T09:32:00.000+11:00

So QR Codes have been around for a while but have really only hit mainstream in Japan. There doesn't seem to be much doubt that this, or similar technology, will eventually break into the Western World but it will be interesting to see what makes it happen. MIT's Advertising Lab: Future of Advertising and Advertising Technology points to some interested uses of QRs:

http://adverlab.blogspot.com/2007/02/uses-for-qr-codes.html

(Maybe Britney could get that code on her head, and when scanned it would say "ill- shaped head warning: Don't shave here again")

Move #&$!

2007-02-14T17:43:00.000+11:00

I've never actually modified my car but I may be about to:

http://www.horntones.com/products.html

No blue content on Blu-ray

2007-01-12T10:56:00.000+11:00

ok.. this is really quite astonishing:

"Heise has interviewed Joone the founder of Digital Playgrounds at the AVN 2007 show in Las Vegas. Joone says actually said last year he is committed to Blu-ray. Now they announced four HD DVD titles in the United States. In the interview Joone says he was forced to use HD DVD, because no Blu-ray disc manufacturer would make his discs, because Sony was against it and they would loose their license."

(from http://www.sgknox.com/2007/01/11/no-porn-on-blu-ray/)

If it's actually true, and Sony have decreed that no porn can be released on their new high definition media format, it's game over for Blu-ray - congratulations HD-DVD. You don't have to support the XXX industry to know what kind of weight it has in the pre-recorded content market.

I really don't understand how a manufacturer of a media format can hope to rule over what content ever appears on it. It's one surefire way to make publishers decide to go HD-DVD. And the manufactures of that format don't even have to come out in support of XXX content - they just have to stay quiet.

Just when you thought that the Walkman was the company's defining moment, it turns out that Betamax might have been more indicative of future decision making..

Boomboxes making a comeback..?

2007-01-12T10:46:00.000+11:00

Anyone wanna buy my iPod? ...cause i'm going nouveau ghetteau! Check out this retro-fabulous beastie: 5 band equalizer, USB/SD/MP3 support, DVD drive with display, analog tuner..coolio.

Coming soon from: http://lasonic.com

Classic Band Performances in Films

2007-01-10T11:51:00.000+11:00

Here's a great post from Dan Hill about band performances in films. I can't believe they left out 'Motley Crue' in 'The Adventures of Ford Fairlane' but some interesting clips nonetheless..

http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2007/01/music_for_films.html

"Stop games being regarded with hostility in the family.."

2007-01-09T09:10:00.000+11:00

Here are some really interesting transcripts (not two words I normally put together..) from discussions by the creators of the Wii gaming system. Having recently played Gus' Wii, I can testify that it really does feel different to the other systems. Not just the wacky controllers, although they contribute, but the overall more light and friendly ambiance.

These pieces particularly rang true:

This may sound paradoxical, but if we had followed the existing Roadmaps we would have aimed to make it “faster and flashier.” In other words, we would have tried to improve the speed at which it displays stunning graphics. But we could not help but ask ourselves, “How big an impact would that direction really have on our customers?” During development, we came to realise the sheer inefficiency of this path when we compared the hardships and costs of development against any new experiences that might be had by our customers." - Genyo Takeda.

"I've said this countless times already, but when developing Wii, I thought constantly about what we could do to stop games being regarded with hostility in the family. So I came up with a suggestion, perhaps a rather outlandish one! (laughs) What I thought was that if a parent said that their child was only allowed to play games for one hour a day, how about making it so the console actually turns itself off after an hour? I realize the head of a games company shouldn't think things like that!" - Satoru Iwata.

"If only one team is developing something, they'll only ever pay attention to the same old issues, sometimes discussing them all day amongst themselves to find a solution. But this time, thanks to the System Function team, I was able to go and talk with Kawamoto-san or have a look at Kuroume-san's designs. Both physically and mentally, I found this to be a less stressing, more laid-back way to do things.' - Tomoake Kuroume.

I'm sure that's plenty for you but just in case here's the rest:
http://wii.nintendo.com/iwataasks.jsp

My Next Mac is not a Mac

2007-01-05T10:23:00.000+11:00

This could be kinda cool (or butt ugly) - Otherworld Computing have announced they're making a Mac-based tablet called the Modbook and will be demoing it next week.

The ModBook is a Mac tablet computer solution with these features:

• Write and draw directly on screen
• True pen & handwriting recognition
• Built in iSight Camera
• Integrated CD/DVD combo drive
• The only Mac solution with an optional built-in Global Positioning System
• Aircraft grade magnesium alloy for all terrain use

A little more here:

http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2007/01/20070104171938.shtml

Milo

2007-01-02T10:01:00.000+11:00

I was doing family movie stuff during the break and caught this still of Milo. Sometimes kids get that knowing look - some kind of ethereal wisdom. Kinda inspiring and frightening at once.

Anshe Chung vs.. um....

2006-12-21T12:08:00.000+11:00

When C-Net decided to interview Second Life tycoon Anshe Chung in-world they probably didn't guess this would happen:

Ah-hoy!

2006-12-18T13:42:00.000+11:00

Best Mash-ups of 2006

2006-12-13T14:15:00.000+11:00

Just in case you need some padding out of your Xmas playlist, check out Culture Bully's 'best of..':

http://www.culturebully.com/archives/2200

Venice Project gets closer..

2006-12-13T13:42:00.000+11:00

The Internet TV project from the founders of Kazaa and Skype (difficult third album) is in public beta and showing off some new screenshots. Although much of the functionality has been kept under wraps, you can begin to see that the app will head towards a more social/shared viewing experience than simply watching a clip online.

Some of these things are exactly what I've always hoped for out of live sports - the ability to chat, taunt.. even wager with a buddylist of remote chums. No doubt the networks will be keeping an eye on Venice so maybe they'll look to learn from it, rather than work their (already lathered-up) legal teams into a frenzy.

Go see Venice Project shots.

Site of the week

2006-12-11T11:49:00.000+11:00

Read on.

Update: Ok, so it's not me. But I call this a victory for Dave Kings everywhere!

Artvertising: Million pixel building

2006-12-08T09:51:00.000+11:00

"With the Artvertising project, the Milliondollar homepage is translated to the physical world. Upon the success of Milliondolar homepage, an online concept created by 20 year old minipreneur Alex Tew, we’ve seen millions of copies online. Last June the design department of the Amsterdam based artschool Sandberg Institute announced something different: they sell their building facade with the same pixel based concept."

Very cool idea - but is it er... pretty? More at:

http://www.nextnature.net/research/?p=755#more-755

Australia's Ron Mueck in Brooklyn

2006-12-08T08:16:00.000+11:00

Disturbing but incredibly intriguing images from the setup of Ron Mueck's exhibition in Brooklyn. These installations look so frighteningly real that they really make me wanna touch them - but not for long. The guy has worked for Jim Henson in the past but I'm not seeing much Fozie the Bear here.

Must see pics and NY Times writeup at http://supertouchblog.com/?p=1221

WiFi Bunny

2006-12-01T12:10:00.000+11:00

I saw these at NextFest and I want one but I'm not sure why:

NABAZTAG WI-FI BUNNY

Adland: Population Me

2006-11-22T16:36:00.000+11:00

So my first day in "advertising" (i still say it in inverted commas too) was a hoot. Flew up to Sydney, got shown around the bakery-turned agency building, munched Thai ,traded industry yarns (people go to awards nights, drink plentifully, fall down) with the other executives, strategised a little and flew back.

There's a new language to learn, although I'm hoping my brain works out that it can replace my last four years of Sensis speak, rather than add to it. Now I'm back in my off-Greville pad and settling in amongst 5 other would be Lion-hunters and enjoying a return to a stocked fridge, Illy coffee machine and foosball table - perks that don't scale to 1500 people in a corp office. And I'm just in time for the Christmas party :)

Now back to learning about the workings of the industry.

Don't Worry, I Got My Fro Back

2006-11-03T10:41:00.000+11:00

Just got this email deep outta Second Life:

"Your object '(male) Messy Black Fro' has been returned to your inventory lost and found folder by Lys Ware from parcel 'NEWare' at NEWare 171.222, 74.8325"

I think that really shows what a great communal feeling exists in SL. I bet if I lost my Messy Black Fro in real life, someone would keep it for themselves. Lys Ware, my stylist applaudes your altruism.

Samsung Continues Charge

2006-11-02T09:00:00.000+11:00

In Australia, Nokia is by far the most popular and recalled mobile handset brand. But over the last couple of years, Motorola have invested a lot of money in getting consumers to demand their handsets from Telstra/Optus/Voda shops. But the sleeper is definately Samsung. Their sleek 3G handsets and ultra-slim 2.5G models are really getting people talking.

And now, fresh from Akihabara News (ohh.. to walk through 'Electric Town' again..), comes the SGH-X830. This Nano-esque MP3 machine squeals its way right into the 'pop culture-handset' vortex. If anyone has a Korean friend who can send me one, I will offer Ken Done tea-towels and cling-on Koalas in return.

More pics at Akihabara News

Ever feel like you're wasting your time?

2006-11-02T08:12:00.000+11:00

This photo made my heart say to my brain "What are you doing all day??? Why aren't you making things like this?". Or at least helping find the parts, painting the wheels, mopping the floor for a smoother ride.. anything.

"Children in hospital should be allowed to play as much as they can. To personalize the impersonal environment on the children's ward, Jetske Verdonk designed Zieken+huis, a drip-cum-tricycle, and a curtain around the bed, to which children can attach their get-well cards (photo Eric Anthierens.)"

(from We Make Money Not Art)

Bush signs torture bill: Really, really bad day for World

2006-10-18T14:10:00.000+10:00

The C.I.A. is now allowed to torture anyone who is considered an "enemy combatant". Such a well-run, efficient orginization should have these kind of powers. And such a smart, all-knowing, world-wise guy like Bush should be the one to determine who's the 'enemy'. Sure he can't talk, or spell and calls all non-Americans 'evil', but I'm sure it will all work out just fine:

Go read full story at SFgate.com

Postmodern Marketing

2006-10-17T11:07:00.000+10:00

"Marketers know about consumers, consumers know about marketers, marketers know consumers know about marketers, and consumers know marketers know consumers know about marketers."

Stephen Brown, University of Ulster

(via Ideasvault.)

The Hype Machine

2006-10-11T09:40:00.000+10:00

You know, when something keeps popping up and begging for attention, it's probably not a coincedence - I'm feeling like there's a groundswell happening all around The Hype Machine (which is a site that tracks songs and discussion posted on the best music blogs).

Have a play. It's another example of a music discovery engine (see Last, Pandora ..) but a little edgier and possibly a little less legal (although the jury hasn't been asked yet). At the time of posting this, the 'Popular' link gave me Beck, The Killers, Lily Allen, Arctic Monkeys etc streaming out the The Hype Machine Player.

In a way, it's exactly where I eventually would like Your Manifesto to go (except my plan is to track the wider zeitgeist and allow people to determine, edit and share their own manifestos).

Data Visualizations: 3G Mobile Screensavers?

2006-10-10T13:37:00.000+10:00

Here are some sweet visuals out of ucla.edu of US Flight Patterns (data by FAA):

http://users.design.ucla.edu/%7Eakoblin/work/faa/index.html

In looking at these animations, and the other beautiful work that Information Aesthetics promotes, I can't help but think how interesting this type of thing would be on connected mobiles. With an always-on mobile connection, these visualizations would make great mobile screensavers (in fact I think i'd prefer to 'snack' on these than gags/sporting highlights/movie trailers etc).

In Australia we're one step closer this always-on thing in your pocket with the recent launch of Telstra's NextG 3G, but we're not quite there yet. Still, a rendering of the data based on the last time you were connected to the network would still be pretty interesting.

I would love to look down at my phone in meetings (while others are thumbing their crack-Bs) and see music downloads, traffic, TV ratings, opinions, Gnoos topics - whatever, all with hypnotizing motion graphics and up-to-the minute trends.

Mmm my own Mobile Zeitgeist Engine.

Mobile Publishing: N80 + WiFi + Lifeblog

2006-10-10T09:59:00.000+10:00

I think my recent trip to the US was the first time I really had a simple, mobile download/upload capability. With Telstra roaming setup on my 3G sim, I could obviously jack-in (pretending to be Blade Runner) to Cingular or T-Mobile depending on where i connected. And T-Mobile/Telstra allowed me to get into airport-supplied WiFi on my Powerbook with a simple, one-time SMS activation.

But the real piece of workflow that I enjoyed, was the connectivity between my Nokia N80, the Lifeblog app, Flickr and NYC's free WiFi. There are plenty of free WiFi spots in NYC and these were conviently bundled into a pocketsize guide for Wired's NextFest. Nokia also added a bunch of spots to celebrate the launch of their concept store (where I got to paw a Vertu!).

The N80's decent camera and WiFi connectivity really set me up nicely to record and upload my musings. When there's no authentication, the WiFi on the N80 works nicely. And Lifeblog lets you easily upload SMSs you've sent/received, emails, notes you've taken, photos, videos etc into blog posts on Blogger. I also recently discovered that Flickr has a tool where you can set the Lifeblog photo post to go directly to Flickr and your blog (set here: http://www.flickr.com/tools/lifeblog/.

All of these capabilities have been around in various forms for a while, but it just feels like it's finally getting simple (how it was always described, but never was).

Honda Goes Tron

2006-10-09T10:30:00.000+10:00

I want a battle-Civic:

http://motionographer.com/media/tron_H264.mov

Blackberry Pearl at Nextfest

2006-10-02T06:51:00.000+10:00

I had a good poke around Nextfest and saw exactly how the future's going to look - and yes, thankfullly, it does involve
robots waiting on our every need. But I was also pretty interested in running my grubby little fingers over the new Blackberry Pearl - RIM's efforts at being meaningful to the consumer market (meaning: the consumers that aren't also business people during the day and therefore already have a paid-for Blackberry). Anyhow, the Pearl has a great form factor, very nimble interface (a little rollerball guides you across some plush icons) and is well-specced up (except maybe the camera could have topped 2 or 3 Megapixels, but whatever).

What perplexed me though, was the reaction I got when I asked one of the demonstrators if it had Wi-Fi. He looked at me like was a moron and said 'what?'. I said "Wi-Fi, y'know connect to a wireless LAN or to the internet at a hotspot" (this time, in my most cosmopolitan, non-Australian accent. He responded: Oh yes it does all that but it uses Bluetooth to transfer the files" (?!). I know that might sound a little like tech-snobbery but I do think if you're demonstrating the phone at a Wired exhibition..

Times Square Squeals at Me

2006-10-01T10:30:00.000+10:00

Times Square Squeals at Me
Originally uploaded by De King.

Sat 30/09/2006 19:27 30092006236

Advertising and Gaming

2006-09-28T08:01:00.000+10:00

Today I got to a very interesting presentation and panel discussion on In-Game Advertising, which was on as a part of Advertising Week here in NY. There was a lot of talk about the 'high levels of engagement' of advertising in this medium, but not much about the risk of seriously annoying the highly engaged gamers. Mitch Davis, GM, Massive for Microsoft, said they had various types of ads (2D, 3D, products, videos etc) dynamically being served into more than 45 titles currently, aiming to get to 100+ in 2007.

There were some innovative case studies of when in-game branding had worked, and given that the industry is already under fire from some parts of Congress here, there was some discussion about the need to tread carefully. For example, the gaming companies are not accepting liquor, smoking or firearms-related advertising at this time (of course, the US Army is one of the biggest gaming advertisers as it reaches a captive audience of smoking/drinking kids who are practising shooting people).

I spoke to Mitch afterwards about the Australian market and we had a good chat about how levels of connectivity are driving advertising revenue in each of the world's Xbox-launched regions (58% of Xbox 360 owners are online users, which is ten times that of the previous Xbox). I also asked him about how the PS3 was being perceived in the industry and he said he suspected that Sony moving back the European/Aus launch date by six months, had probably cost a company like EA about $US150m (from strength to strength, Sony).

The Microsoft Digital Advertising solution launched this week, gives Xbox Live quite a lot of prominence (alongside MSN, Windows Live, Office, Mobile, TV). Some of the reaction here is that this is simply a rebranding of what they already offer via MSN, and that until the newer channels take off, it will not have a big impact on the industry. That said, collecting niche audiences (eg, Males 18-34), identifying them (Windows Live ID, Xbox Gamertags) and highly relevant inventory (via AdCenter) is pretty compelling.

In a recent study the BBC found that 100% of males 11-14 are gamers. I think that makes it mainstream.

Come Out and Play: Payphone Warriors

2006-09-25T10:32:00.000+10:00

I had intended hooking up with Kevin from area/code but when I spoke to him he said "J2ME apps are crashing in the background!" so we're gonna catch up during the week. Come Out and Play is a street games festival that has been running this weekend in NYC. I headed down to Washington Square to see if I could spot any of the action and I managed to film a Payphone Warrior (being filmed by someone):

See the warrior stalk his... um phone

Looks like so much fun. I'd love to see this kinda stuff in and out of the laneways of Melbourne, maybe even across some buildings
Parkour-style. There's a great writeup be someone who participated, here at Cnet.

If anyone can think of a company with assetts in geo-spatial information, mobile networks, local content and who might like to sponsor this kinda game in Australia and reach out to under-monetized segments, let me know.

Dazed in NYC

2006-09-24T07:01:00.000+10:00

So I sprint at LAX to make it to my connecting flight from San Jose and make it by three minutes - unfortunately my checked bag was about seven minutes behind me. So I arrive in NYC with only this Powerbook and some Altoids.

Flying from West to East you kinda skip a night so it was 7am when i got here, but I'd only had two hours sleep after taking a 4 hour flight, leaving LA at 10.30pm. So weird. I arrived at my hotel right, smack in the middle of Times Square and got a couple more hours of sleep. Then i stumbled down to the concierge to ask where the best coffee she knew of was. She looked at me like I was a crazed maniac, asking me "Don't you like Starbucks?" (there are TWO Starbucks in the hotel itself). I said "well kinda, but at home, like, the Italians make great coffee. Something smaller or.." (I did't really know how to convey E Cucina). She said "Ah! You'll like Juan Valdez, it's Columbian". So I took the lift downstairs and stumbled out into mayhem.

Times Square is such a bizarre place to walk out of your hotel into - the Half Tix line is bustling all around the building, the advertising is screaming at you and there's this wacky mashup of buskers fighting for aural supremacy.

But this guy, Juan Valdez, sounded pretty cool. I was picturing a skinny little bar with Juan the barrister, messy newspapers, cigar iconography, chatty old men and dark, rich coffee. Nope. It was an exact replica of Starbucks, except with a Columbian guy in the logo. Still, I can't expect every country/city to place the same reverence on the bean as Melbourne. And i did get to watch a fiesty, Cuban protest outside of Gap while I drank my "coffee". The NYPD don't look at tough as the LAPD we saw, although they could do some damage if they swung those well-fed guts at you.

I walked around (probably in circles) for a couple of hours.

Hope my suitcase gets here soon. I might go eat now - can't remember what time or date i last did.

NB: Please forgive shocking grammar in this post.

Social Hollywood

2006-09-21T16:26:00.000+10:00

What a sweet way for the our gang to collect our thoughts about the conference and kiss good-bye to half our membership. Astoningishly good food and the local haunt of Charlize Theron, Nicole Richie and Cam Rojo

Highlights include:

- The Anti-Social: The new Cosmopolitan with lemon infused vodka, Cointreau and a splash of white cranberry and lime juice.

- The lights in the bathroom (and the danger I faced by pulling out a camera in the bathroom in a place like this).

- Our cheesman: we had a front desk guy, a captain, another guy who did the serving but my favourite personal staff member was our cheeseman (bless him!). He explained to us that our cheese was arranged in order of severity. I think instructions around the cheese system, especially in a foreign city, are very considerate. I would have assumed it was complete chaos!

Local Matters Matters

2006-09-20T15:36:00.000+10:00

Just had dinner with the Local Matters and Mobile People guys and had a great conversation with one of the leading thinkers in local search (IMHO), Perry Evans. I'd be surprised if there's a company better positioned (in both strategy and products) between the traditional YellowPages companies and the search engines. Put simply - Perry deeply understands the quandry of a) local, structured search providers and their massive pay-for-placement revenue streams, and b) the appeal of consumer ratings-based algorithms for sifting through what's the most popular business (in a more 2.0 way). Oh, and they not only understand the issue, but actually have some great fantastic ideas on how to resolve it (rather than 'we're just going to have to wait and see how it all pans out' which I seem to be hearing a lot from the ..er.. experts).

And they're going to IPO soon. Now I'm no accredited finanical adviser, but given the heritage, well resourced client-base facing expensive problems, and the current industry focus on local search... well..

Day Three: Did you know?

2006-09-20T12:08:00.000+10:00

That demand for light weight paper in the US is up 7.2% in the last four months?

Day Two: The Highlight was the meat

2006-09-19T19:39:00.000+10:00

So being Monday, today the work began. There were some interesting perspectives in a pre-conference briefing from some analysts (comparing the directories business to the plight of the US newspaper industry - not pretty), Nokia N-Series guy talking up their next-generation "talking search and navigation app", and of course the various yellowpages companies across the world whining about the lower margins attached to the migration from print to online.

After that, had a great (GREAT!) steak at French 75, and a very peculiar beer. Then Steve and I headed to El Cid to check out some comedy, which conveniently finished 7 minutes before we got there. Still, very cool venue.

PPS. Sensis ppl: had a great chat with the Yellow Pages Canada guys. Very interesting relationships they have with the search engines. More on return.

PS. Got my phone back - thank you Cabbie Manuel, you are a credit to your profession.

1.42 am.

2006-09-19T18:49:00.000+10:00

.. waiting for our cab driver to return from Sunset Boulevard with my phone.. which, his backseat..um.. took from my pocket.

Santa Monica

2006-09-19T07:20:00.000+10:00

Day One of our US sojourn saw take in the sights, sounds and Coronas of Santa Monica. There are possibly only a few piers in the world that could keep my (dwindling) attention for 8 hours, but Monica did it with ease. Here's some stuff from my phone:

1. Clip of a guy playing some Santana riffs (i think): guitarguy.mp4

2. This is a blurry shot of what was a quite powerful visual statement. One cross for every American soldier killed in Iraq (of course if there was one cross for every Iraqi civilian who had died, there would be no room for the Los Angelese to tan themselves, but that's another story..)

(NB: I shall try and improve my moblogging as I learn the difference between what Nokia says the N80 can do, and what it actually is good for. They really need an anti-shake-stablizing-thing in these phones. The best moblogging bits are always late at night. Sobriety is an alternative yet unispiring option).

All I want for Christmas is an Inflatable Iceberg

2006-09-17T07:36:00.000+10:00

And a new house with a very, very large pool. And 7.080,00 EUR.

Buy one, invite me around !

Brown is the new black/white

2006-09-15T09:52:00.000+10:00

It's almost like MS is drawing on its heritage of cardigan-wearing coders by releasing their would be iPod-killer in brown (reminds me of that freaky pic of the company's founders). Anyway, they do seem to be onto something with the whole 'community thing'. Listening to other people's music on the train could be even more interesting than 'toothing'. The interface for the Zune Marketplace looks quite nice too, although I'm really, really close to being sick of reflections.

More from Engadget

Google Earth 'Featured Content'

2006-09-14T09:00:00.000+10:00

Google Earth is fun - just grab the globe with the little finger-thing and fling it around. If I was God, I think i would spend a lot of time doing that with the planets, just to see what flies off. But I digress (without starting) - Google has added featued content to the app which is not unlike their user-generated stuff, but sourced from National Geographic, Turnhere.com etc. Google Earth's a little bit more fun to explore every time I fire it up.

From John Battelle: http://battellemedia.com/archives/002873.php

Be one with the sausage

2006-09-13T11:01:00.000+10:00

There is a dedicated subset of my audience (yes, I read your perverted emails) who spend a lot of their waking time thinking about sausages. This is for you all:

Go see: http://www.quietstorm.co.uk/pork_sausage/

Hail Banksy

2006-09-04T09:06:00.000+10:00

"Hundreds of Paris Hilton albums have been tampered with in the latest stunt by 'guerrilla artist' Banksy. Banksy has replaced Hilton's CD with his own remixes and given them titles such as Why am I Famous?, What Have I Done? and What Am I For?"

Pay homage

YouTube Australia

2006-09-01T15:17:00.000+10:00

YouTube's local version launches in an unexpected form: Pay-per-view. So it's like it's on the interweb except it's bigger (pixelated?) and costly ;)

$5 YouTube package in Melbourne.

Cure@PS3 project

2006-08-25T11:09:00.000+10:00

Thanks to the Cure@PS3 Project, leaving your PS3 running their software will help find cures to some particularly nasty diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Huntington's Disease, and certain forms of cancer. This could be a great way for researchers or health professionals to get a tax-deductible PS3 (i know - that is a very selfish angle on an otherwise altruistic project..)

Check out the information and a video of the software busily running simulations to further the study of protein folding:

http://folding.stanford.edu/FAQ-PS3.html

Outkast: PJ & the Rooster

2006-08-24T14:47:00.000+10:00

Get ready for Outkast's upcoming movie/soundtrack Idlewild by wrapping yo funk-starved ears around PJ & the Rooster:

Go listen

All the Kings Men

2006-07-10T16:39:00.000+10:00

Stumbled across my cousin Simon on the weekend at the Ready Made Market at Fed Square. He had a stall full of laptop bags that he designs under the moniker 'All the Kings Men'. The bags have aeroplane seat belts as straps. Very industrial and distinctive. If your new Macbook (and your ideas it stores) deserves something better than a good Crumpling, check em out:

www.allthekingsmen.com.au/

FoBo

2006-07-07T12:04:00.000+10:00

Short for 'Faux Bogan'. It's those people who you can hear putting on a broad, Australian accent so that we think they're really down to earth and relaxed. I won't be manipulated by you damn Fobos!

Ballymer Bots

2006-06-21T13:55:00.000+10:00

Anyone else nervous about robots controlled by Microsoft software? I mean, it's one thing for Windows to be powerering my car, 'blue screen' it and the car hits a pole. That's just one death. But armies of vrius-addled robots running amok?

Fear it

Triumph vs. The Geeks

2006-06-09T11:10:00.000+10:00

I haven't seen a puppet so effectively humiliate a large number of people since John Howard agreed to follow the US into Iraq:

Go watch

What Girls Sing When They Get to Choose...

2006-05-30T16:30:00.000+10:00

What's the plural of 'minx'?

http://www.ironcircus.com/Scala_-_I_Touch_Myself.mp3

Link Outed!

2006-05-30T09:16:00.000+10:00

Gaming blog Kotaku reports on how one of Nintendo's mainstay characters, Link, has been voted "Hottest Video Game Character" by Out magazine. This quote made me look at Link in new and unfamiliar ways:

"When darkness enshrouds the land, Nintendo's sexy farm-boy-turned-wolf sets out to save the day in this upcoming game. His weapons: a sword, a bow, arrows and kick-ass grooming skills."

The Squeezebox: Your Home Music Chum

2006-05-08T12:26:00.000+10:00

If you've got WiFi and you store heaps of music in iTunes, you need a Squeezebox. Last week we plugged one into the stereo downstairs. it easily networked itself and within minutes we were streaming music from our Mac upstairs into our (previously unconnected) kitchen.

I'm in awe. What a difference this thing makes. We now have simple access to all kinds of music with a minimal amount of hardware or clutter added to our living space. And it's that simplicity of access that makes me think there is finally a better solution than sticking a CD in the player.

Essentially the Squeezbox does two things: i) Streams music from any PC/Mac in the house and ii) Connects to both free and paid online music services.

I've used AI-based music services before (Last.fm, Launch etc) but there's something special about Squeezebox + Pandora. The less tangible qualities, such as - excellent sound quality, great wireless reception (which has been problematic in our house in the past) and integration into the various network services - make a huge difference. But more than allowing connection, the Squeezebox's remote let's you make playlists, rate songs, save favourites and pretty much control any of the off- or online aspects of the service.

It all 'just works'. Now this is a phrase that is bandied around by various service providers and manufacturers, but to be honest, this is the best example of it i've ever come across. The way the Squeezebox, the Squeezenetwork and Pandora integrate, is a thing of simplified beauty. Being in Australia without Tivo I can only presume that it's this that inspires that box's legendary product evangelism.

Some highlights:

Pandora's music discovery engine is really Radio 2.0. It provides some influence over the programming without the need for complete control. Just make a station out of any artist or song you can think of, and sit back and let it happen. Then give any track the 'thumbs up or down' to refine your station. So very cool.

I have my favourite RSS feeds (The Age, some sports scores and a couple of tech/gamey feeds) viewable in the kitchen via a couple of clicks of the remote.

The box is controllable over the Squeezenetwork via any connected web browser. Not exactly sure what I'll use this for but I like the idea of programming remotely (maybe i could run five or six dance parties, via some deployed Squeezeboxes).

Various plugins allow me to view TV listings or weather, change the screensaver and viewing options etc. In fact, the open source development community will hopefully continue to work to improve our home music environment for us.

Natural sounds: if having a babbling brook streaming 24 hours/day is your kinda relaxation technique, you're going to enjoy the Squeezebox.

I also have to say that if you use the Digital VMU metre screensaver, and there's any speaking in the track, it kinda looks like your device has two lively eyes that move as the voice speaks. I suspect that sensation of looking over to the corner at my Squeezebox, is as close as I'm ever going to get to looking a pet robot dog in the eyes.

Oh and now I have a Sonos-like graphical interface to control our Slimserver, thanks to Ben Klaas' Nokia 770 skin.

Handy Web 2.0 List

2006-05-07T23:16:00.000+10:00

At The Museum of Modern Betas

Best title bar ever.

2006-05-02T15:18:00.000+10:00

Sure, this is a camera lense that sees through clothes... but even more interesting is the browser title bar, optimised for 9000 pixel wide monitors..

Go see: a title bar with a tale to tell

Rock the Bells: The Documentary

2006-05-02T10:08:00.000+10:00

When a promoter promises to get all the members of Wu-Tang in one place for a gig, anything could happen. This doco looks to offer a rare empathetic view of hip-hop from the promoter's perspective. In "Rock the Bells" you've got one disparate collective of talented (and famously egotistical) hip-hoppers that include the RZA, ODB etc any or all of whom could choose not to turn up anytime, for any reason.. and a 18,000-strong crowd that is 'literally like a nuclear bomb'...

Go watch: Rock the Bells: The Documentary trailer

DIY Animal Costumes

2006-05-01T09:54:00.000+10:00

Freak your closest friends out with this range of animal costumes made from stockings, tennis-balls, sleeping bags and other things you find around the house.

Don't feed the animals

The King Red

2006-04-27T10:44:00.000+10:00

This custom bathrobe gives me the same tingles George Costanza gets when he thinks about velvet. I'm now focussed on looking for a workplace whose 'Acceptable Dress Policy' allows me to wear the 'King Red' each day. All offers considered.

See the King Red and others at: http://www.funkybadjas.nl/collectie/

Malcolm McLaren interviewed in Halo

2006-04-06T13:06:00.000+10:00

This is my favourite episode of This Spartan Life to date. His take on youth and the web hits home - and to hear him talk about it amidst the gunfire of the Halo 2 environment really adds resonance.

It makes me wonder what MySpace would be like if invented by Malcom? ("...a world that can have more integrity than supposedly the physical world.. this is a world where you can absolutely continue to have magnificent failures - a world where, in truth, you can become an artist again".

Go Waych: This Spartan Life: Episode 2, Module 5

Air Space

2006-03-31T14:24:00.000+11:00

Why spend $200 on more Air Max 95s, when you can spend $300 on one that looks like a space shuttle?

My birthday's coming up - click to get me one.

You know you live with an 11 year old when...

2006-03-28T12:00:00.000+11:00

... this greets you in the morning (good one, Liam!)

Coolin wit it

2006-02-09T09:57:00.000+11:00

It may not be the most complementary thing to say of any artist's music, but I find the Properly Chilled stuff great to work to - powerpoint ambience or something.

Go listen www.properlychilled.com

Invasion of Iraq as text adventure

2006-01-19T15:17:00.000+11:00

Via Boing Boing comes this work of beauty:

http://www.defectiveyeti.com/archives/001561.html

Quality assured

2006-01-02T19:41:00.000+11:00

he he.. hoovering done right. (From: Andy Polaine.)

Jelly Donut Takes Six MCs

2005-12-12T12:26:00.000+11:00

It's not every day you witness a freestyling pastry take down opponent MCs. Watch for plenty of creamy puns:

Go see: http://illbilly.com/Videos/Jelly_D/Jelly_D.mov

Q-Unit

2005-12-06T11:06:00.000+11:00

The latest mash-up doing the rounds is actually pretty average, in my very humble opinion (not patch on Eric). The image of Fitty vs. Freddy is, however, outstanding.

See and hear for yourself: Q-Unit downloads

Exploitation Flick promos

2005-11-30T13:30:00.000+11:00

This collector picked up these hilarious '45s at a stall near St. Mark's Place, NYC. So far, my fave has to be 'Mandingo'!, although i think the readers comments nailed it: these are "creepy little monsters".

Go see and hear: Now a Word From Our Scumbag Sponsor
(links to .MP3s down the bottom)

Amanda Vanstone: The Graphic Novel

2005-11-24T12:01:00.000+11:00

I'm salivating at the thought of this - Amanda Vanstone rushes John Howard with an HB pencil and sticks him in the eyeball! her words! Even though it's a hypothetical, the fact that she thought it, then went to the trouble of telling John Howard about it, gives me hope that one day it will happen.

Senator Vanstone told her audience of about 100 Rotarians:

"Has it ever occurred to you that you just smash your wine glass and jump at someone, grab the top of their head and put it in their carotid artery and ask anything? And believe me, you will have their attention. I think of this every time I see more money for the security agencies."

The Immigration Minister also told of a grisly conversation with Mr Howard during a discussion on increased spending on national security. Senator Vanstone said: "I asked him if I was able to get on a plane with an HB pencil, which you are able to, and I further asked him if I went down and came and grabbed him by the front of the head and stabbed the HB pencil into your eyeball and wiggled it around down to your brain area, do you think you'd be focusing? He's thinking, she's gone mad again..."

"If the day has come when a minister can't say what every other Australian says and that is that plastic knives drive us crazy, I think we're in desperate straits," the minister told commercial radio on Monday.

De La Soul Nike Dunks

2005-11-14T10:07:00.000+11:00

De La's "Three Feet High and Rising" was one of the few albums I bought on LP then later on CD 'cause the original was wrecked from over play. These Dunk mashups have made me kick off my Christmas list.

See full pic

Fuck

2005-11-11T13:24:00.000+11:00

I laughed, then I laughed even more than I initially laughed. This guy makes stickers to put over signs. Check out the examples by hitting 'This way' and 'that way' on the bottom left of the site.

F.off: http://www.fuckthiswebsite.com/