Wireless users will go to serious lengths to avoid having to type in a URL on their WAP capable mobile devices as we all would agree, it’s a cumbersome process. With multiple keys per digit, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes while cursing the T9 Gods for spelling the first four letters of epson instead of ESPN.

Enter the Shotcode, a circular barcode originally used for the purposes of location based tracking. ShotCodes are designed to be read with a regular camera (including those found on mobile phones and webcams) without the need to purchase other specialised hardware. After installing the software needed to read shotcodes on your java enabled phone, you can “read” Shotcodes. Check out the following example below:

So a Shotcode essentially automates the process of pushing a URL and its content to your mobile device. Brilliant! Marketers have begun taking advantage of them - appending them to print and web campaigns.

But the coolest/most disturbing (depending on which side of the fence you sit on) application I’ve seen YET for shotcodes has to be this:

If anyone downloads the Shotcode reader for their mobile phone, please let me know if it scans!

Sometimes today’s commercials give us insights into where technology is heading. I would speculate that the appeal of the current HP ad campaign has less to do with the celebrity video testimonials and more to do with the idea that the sense of touch will play a role in how we interface with our computers in the future. Certainly the “art of possibility” is a strong variable in grabbing a viewer’s attention. Below is the Jay Z ad:

Cue Steve Jobs, who inadvertently steals HP’s thunder with the introduction of the iPhone, with the Apple “pinch” feature. Example below:

After drawing what I admittedly believe is a bit of a stretch in correlation between the two products, I couldn’t help but think about the HP/Apple relationship surrounding HP’s resale of the iPod that failed and whether or not we’ll see another round, only this time maybe a software license swap instead…

What happens when the world of hard alcohol and healthy living collide? Well it’s not as terrible as you might think. As the organic health wave in the US continues, why shouldn’t alcoholic beverages find inspiration from vitamins and antioxidants? Zen Green Tea Liqueur, perfectly blended with Kyoto leaves from Japan offers consumers the opportunity to make any Friday night a “spiritual experience.” What will be next–a bottle of the finest salvation?

http://www.suntory.com/zen/index.html

Well, this weekend a friend of mine was making a connection through Minneapolis and spied this juicy little iPod vending machine.

As you can see, it’s Apple branded and sells all manner of iPods as well as gadgets, extras and content for them. As far as I know this is the first time Apple has used propietary branded vending machines - as opposed to having product sold by third party vending machines - but we’d love to hear from you if you’ve seen others.
Apparently there were loads of people gathered round it excitedly taking camera phone photos, as well as a line of folks who were trying to buy things, proving that even on a very small scale, Apple retail offerings always draw a crowd.

NextFest: Wired magazine’s expo featuring 130 examples of how the future might evolve. Overall, technology didn’t appear to be as dramatically advanced as we had hoped–touch screens, virtual games, robots that still acted like robots. But more than the individual exhibits, the direction of innovation foreshadows some rather interesting trends.

Throw the baby out, keep the bathwater. The lack of access to clean water has reached a level of global crisis. Organizations like NASA are responding with clean water filtration systems in Africa and the Middle East. And on a smaller scale the Lifestraw, which costs about the same as a Happy Meal, is an accessible solution to contaminated water for countries in crisis.

All I see is green. Houses, electronics, and cars—everything is moving to higher level of environmental consciousness. New fuel sources—Hydrogen and corn are propelling the green revolution. Good design is no longer aesthetic and functional, it also must be environmentally friendly.

The most real reality—creating virtual worlds for military training or canoeing is child’s play. Instead of cuddly teddy bears, Jackie Chan style fighting games allow you to use your legs, not your thumbs against “real” opponents. Robots with life-like faces impress cynical high-school students. And despite the fact that he’s been dead for 50 years, a very “lively” Albert Einstein’s head seems quite authentic attached to a robotic body.

Thrill seeking is pushing us further than ever before. Reaching outer space in the new Virgin Spacecraft engineered for commercial trips or taking a dip 2,000 feet underwater, allows ordinary people the opportunity to challenge human limits—that is ordinary people with several billion dollars.

So basically, a clean, green, real, crazy world is what we should expect in the years to come.

Dr. Shibata of The Intelligent Systems Research Institute in Japan has developed an amazing baby seal. Well, it’s actually a robot named Paro – the world’s most therapeutic robot as declared by Guinness World Records (2002). Paro is fed with a pacifier attached to an electrical cord and wiggles in seeming delight when pet or cuddled.

Similar to real animal assisted therapy, contact with Paro by patients helps improve their vital signs, decreases stress and helps activate communication between patients and caregivers. Paro has been a particularly effective friend for the elderly, who are often some of the loneliest members of modern society.

In addition, it has been discovered that by giving patients a Paro, caregivers have to spend less time with them. While giving a patient a Paro may be cheaper than spending more time with patient, the substitution of robots for human interaction and care makes me uncomforable.

After visiting this expo I can predict that the future will be about touch screens, virtual worlds, and sustainable design. But as the pace of technology quickens, the pace of humanity seems to be regressing. In contrast to the sleek technology, were the boisterous and uncontrollable throngs of American middle and high-school students. More than the bells and whistles and shiny things on display at Wired’s NextFest, the people themselves left the largest impression on me.

While walking home I kept questioning–how can we move into the future when what we create is more advanced than who we are? As diverse as the exhibits of the future seem, one thing remains common between even the most contrary of innovations, like hug shirts and virtual weaponry: people must operate both of them.

Harnessing the power of Hydrogen and Ethanol for new green vehicles is admirable, but social advancement goes beyond the technology and the toys –it must include cultural advancement. It seems like somewhere along the line what we produce rather than who we are has become the priority. As far as we advance technology, what are we doing to advance humanity?

I must admit that previously technological advancement made me a bit nervous, but what I realized at NextFest is that it’s not how fast or in what direction technology evolves, but human nature that will determine its true evolution. In a culture that lacks respect for the technology itself—students walking by exhibits and carelessly knocking down displays—we need to pause and reexamine ourselves.

This expo gave a glimpse of the future—not only the future of technology, but even more importantly–the future of humanity.