Google Gone From White to Black to Go Green!
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Sunday, 29 July 07 - 09:20 AM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Ideas & Innovations |
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The color green has always been related to the environment. We go for cleaner fuel. We go for recyclable, use recycled products and the list goes on.
So what can a software company do? Surely by going paperless with the use of email helps a lot but what else can they do?
That is when Google once again proof to me that they can go further. Introducing Blackle. Blackle is Google on Green. Blackle is Google's way to say 'we care'. If your monitor is a CRT, then your the prime target for Blackle.
An abstract from Blackle...
Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Roberson et al, 2002
I wonder how the calculate the watt saved? Hmmm...by page hits?
Resolution
Thou shall go Green by going Black with Blackle.
X-Gen Toys: FEEL The Force!
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Thursday, 03 May 07 - 10:02 PM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Ideas & Innovations |
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CNN.com posted an article talking about the next generation of video games.
The prototype is a mask of one of the most famous fictional villain of all time - Darth Vader. Engineers at NeuroSky Inc. has embedded a sensor into the all-too-familiar mask which reads the brain's electrical signal of the wearer and transmit a wireless signal to the receiver in the lightsaber upon which it will glow up when the user is concentrating his thoughts. What a way to show how strong the Force is.
When the player maintains his/her focus through channeling thoughts on a certain fixed mental image or perhaps just thinking deeply onto a certain thing...say keeping the lightsaber light up, it will glow (and I also assume it will make the swishing sound that a lightsaber should make) brightly. If he/she loses the concentration, then it dims. Though Force Choke of the Sith is still a far fetched sci-fi fantasy, I must say we are a giant step closer to harnessing the power of the Force
This is just a glimpse of what the future of entertainment will be one day. Gone were the days of keyboard, mouse and joysticks. Dawning ahead in the near future are video games with props.
Imagine This
You put on your marine suit which acts as the game console itself. You don your ATH (All Terrain Helmet) which acts as your control gears/surround speaker/visual screen and most importantly the mind sensor. You step into a 8x8 feet treadmill-like devices complete with 360 degree motion with four posts erected at both ends of the intersecting angles.
The ATH powers on. Your heartbeat (health bar) glows within in the visual part of your ATH. Your suit localized itself to fit the environment of the game-world. Your visual flared up and you find yourself in the middle of silent hangar of a once busy space station. Lights flickers and a layer of fog managed to squeeze into the hangar from a crack on the slightly ajar sensor door. A streak of faint light managed to peek through as well. Tiny particular of dusts float mindlessly amidst the atomic gaps of the light ray. (that's T&L of your graphics card at its best).
You hear screams from behind you. The scream echoes as it hit the steel walls of the hangar. Someone is in deep sh*t some hundred feet away from you. (ATH surround sound does its job really well).
You run towards the source of the sound but your steps are heavy. The gravity modulation unit has been set too high. You are at 2x the gravitational pull as that on Earth! (That's your marine suit's environment enhancer at work).
Your first objective is to find the control room to reset the gravity modulation unit to normal. You have no map. You better commit the corridors to mind.
Half-way down the hall, you saw a ghostly figure of a lady dashed through the darkness followed by a high shriek. Your suddenly feel dizzy and your visual became murky. You focus your thought on something solid in your mind to ward off the dizziness. The dizziness faded. Your visual returned. (that's the type of mind sensor stuff in the ATM which you have been interacting with between the game-world entity and you). Something in the shriek and ghostly image of the lady senses your intuition that tells you that this is more than just an alien breach.
If that's getting you all excited, try imagining the following games whereby the mind sensor chip is at work:
- Casting Magic (now with actual failure rate...D&D fans will love this)
- Concentrating on your record-breaking leap over a chasm ala Tomb Raider style
- Battle cries to boost your parties attack speed
I am drained just to think of the possibilities that it would bring to the gaming world. I am convinced the applications can range from helping the disabled, education, documentaries and even bringing erm...questionable fantasies to life! (hey...thinking out loud here at the same time trying to be minority friendly !)
Conclusion
Pros: Welcome to the real meaning of entertainment/edutainment.
Cons: Sensorship board...good luck!
... More items are available in my News Archive
