I’ve used an unwrap technique for 3D modelling which helps the designer to apply textures effectively onto various surfaces of a model. The value is that I have full control over 3D space and can break the model apart to see the visibile surface in a 2D representation. This allows me to design a graphic that will ‘wrap’ the model appropriately once applied. The unwrap mosaic is slightly different in that it  allows a designer to apply similar textures to 3D ‘models’ inside film much like you might apply photoshop textures onto parts of a single image. Pretty amazing how they do this.

Microsoft’s research site on this can be found here. For a glimpse at how this will work, see below.

Tags: innovation, software by brent
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What can you do with hundreds - maybe thousands - of photos? Here are some fantastic advances in digital imaging that I’ve seen recently: the worldwide telescope project, deep zoom for Silverlight (see the Hard Rock memorabilia site), and the following photo tourism project…

Tags: experiential design, innovation, interactive media by brent
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Per my previous post on twitter’s instability, perhaps some new blood (and money), mentioned over at twitter’s blog, will get the site up and running. I’m not sure I ‘get’ twitter (yet) but certainly want to -or at least find out if its worth ‘getting.’  With Jeff Bezon (Bezos Expeditions, Amazon) and Bijan Sabet (Spark Capital) on board - perhaps there will be enough uptime for me to effectively kick the tires…

Tags: business and finance, innovation, social technology by brent
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Communications Magazine (an output of the ACM) had a smart viewpoint piece entitled “Give Me Information, Not Technology.” Reading through it, I think its a great reminder that technical bells and whistles don’t always equal value in the minds of customers, but rather it is what the technology can provide in terms of greater efficiency for information access, application, or aggregation.  The article discussed  business needs specifically, but it made me think a bit about my own experience as a heavy user of various technical tools. Echoing the feedback from CIO’s in the paper (stating that the real value of IT - regardless of the technology - was how well it supported the information management needs of the business), I find myself drawn to the same types of technologies - things that help me stay organized and on top of my own interests and activities. Granted, I don’t spend a lot of time looking for new things to test but when I come across one that I like, I generally stick with it. That said, here are a few technologies that have helped me organize my own information recently:

1. del.icio.us - Why I like it? taggaing in real-time with a plug-in from IE7 and code that I can drop into  my blog. My intent to capture articles then blog about them has not materialized as I had hoped, but I’ve got the information where I want it.
2. feeddemon (from newsgator) - Why I like it? Robust aggregator of blog feeds with web-desktop synchronization, and - again - blog plug-in. The desktop client also includes a browser which offers seamless access to the full posts from the viewer. Nice touch.
3. Lijit - Why I like it? Offers aggregation of all of my own content with the ability to cross-reference those sources for anyone searching my blog.
4. Feedburner - Why I like it? An easy, and free, way to track my own blog stats. Much better than Google Analytics, which I tried for awhile (guess that’s why Google bought Feedburner…)
5. Xobni (’inbox’ spelled backwards) Why I like it? Still getting used to it, but a great way to categorize, sort, and profile my emails. I had just cleared out about 1100 unread notes last week - hoping Xobni will help keep things organized moving forward.

Check them out. If you have a tool to recommend, let me know - would be interested to kick the tires.

- BP

Tags: innovation by brent
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I’m a bit very, very behind on this, but following up on my original post exploring the health benefits of the Wii system, it looks like Nintendo was working on this all along. Now your Wii is your personal coach. As Covert Bailey might say “any activity is better than no activity” - so combining video game play with exercise seems like a great way to get the kids off the couch (and some 30 somethings for that matter). More info from the source - moveyourwii.com. If anyone has actually tried this thing, drop me a note. At first glance it appears a bit cumbersome - but what fitness equipment doesn’t, right?

Tags: innovation, interactive media by brent
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