Exploratree

Are you looking for some cool future thinking tools?
Check out Exploratree! It was developed by futurelab with
support from Microsoft. There are tons of models and thinking
tools to use and download. Enjoy

Android - open source mobile phone platform

Dan Morrill from Google introduced Android, which is an open source mobile platform that will allow users to build their own applications. There are more than 3 billion phones in the world today. There are 1,000 new mobile phone customers every minute.

With Android, users will be able to define and create the applications that they want to use on their mobile phones - not having to deal with the choices of phone manufacturers or carriers.

Apple opened up the iPhone around the same day in March that Android was discussed.

The key is that more customization is going to be possible. At first the hackers will rule, but
eventually it will not be impossible for us to create the simple apps that we want.

Futuretainment: The Asian Media Revolution

Mike Walsh lives in Hong Kong and watches trends in technology in Asia. His presentation was fascinating. He talked about how the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Indians are using mobile technologies and the potential implications for development and influence on the rest of the globe. For example, in Korea there are two tuners in their mobile phones 1) for digitial TV and 2) for broadband Internet access. Their ability to access data is fast and visual media. Mike is publishing a book called 23 Insights about Media Changing the World. Definitely something to look for and read. Check out more!

A few more things from eTech Conference

So, I've been meaning to share just a few more things from the eTech Conference in San Diego a couple of months ago.

• Steve Cousins from Willow Garage talked about open source platforms for robots and shared some examples. What if we started programs for kids in open source/hacking?
• Kathy Sierra (a really cool passionate user designer) talked about the nature of being an expert. She noted that the difference between world class and average in anything is not about natural talent, but in the ability to put time, focus, concentration, and practice into a particular area. And the notion that our brains are in battle with our minds, which hinders us from succeeding.
• Peter Semmelhack from Buglabs presented their open source hardware that lets you build just about anything with interlocking/legolike parts. THIS IS SOMETHING TO PAY ATTENTION TO!