August 18, 2009 by sean.

This brings back some late 80’s memories…

Posted in games and simulations, scifi, fun | No Comments »

July 20, 2009 by sean.

Website of Media Destruction has an excellent article on how new media is changing the role of government with reference to William Gibson’s 2003 op-ed for the NYT:

Orwell’s projections come from the era of information broadcasting, and are not applicable to our own. Had Orwell been able to equip Big Brother with all the tools of artificial intelligence, he would still have been writing from an older paradigm, and the result could never have described our situation today, nor suggested where we might be heading.

That our own biggish brothers, in the name of national security, draw from ever wider and increasingly transparent fields of data may disturb us, but this is something that corporations, nongovernmental organizations and individuals do as well, with greater and greater frequency. The collection and management of information, at every level, is exponentially empowered by the global nature of the system itself, a system unfettered by national boundaries or, increasingly, government control.

It is becoming unprecedentedly difficult for anyone, anyone at all, to keep a secret.

In the age of the leak and the blog, of evidence extraction and link discovery, truths will either out or be outed, later if not sooner. This is something I would bring to the attention of every diplomat, politician and corporate leader: the future, eventually, will find you out. The future, wielding unimaginable tools of transparency, will have its way with you. In the end, you will be seen to have done that which you did. (Emphasis mine)

Posted in psychology, social media, scifi, mobile computing | No Comments »

May 3, 2009 by sean.

Scifi legend William Gibson has “been on Twitter for a little while now. Under the nom-de-twit GreatDismal (no space). I had not much of an idea what Twitter was, when I first went there, so signed in under a flag of convenience. Still have no idea what it is, or where it’s going, but will hang on to GreatDismal for simplicity’s sake.” [via williamgibsonbooks].

Posted in scifi, pervasive computing | No Comments »

November 12, 2008 by sean.

The future-predicting technology that drives the premise of the sci-fi blockbuster Minority Report is silly at best. And when the film hit theaters in 2002, the gadgets seemed pretty unrealistic, too. But eerily enough the slew of dreamed-up gizmos showed off throughout John Anderton’s daring escape are hardening into reality. [via wired]:

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November 8, 2008 by sean.

When the recently deceased Michael Crichton wrote about cloning dead animals in 1991’s Jurassic Park it was still science fiction [via MailOnline]:

Scientists have created clones of a mouse that had been dead and frozen for 16 years.

It is the first time they have been able to clone a frozen animal.

The Japanese researchers say their work will benefit mankind - and could be used to bring back extinct animals such as the woolly mammoth or sabre tooth tiger.

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March 4, 2005 by sean.

William Gibson asks, “If I give you my email, will you keep it a secret?” /KFX Studios/

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December 5, 2004 by sean.

“We’re living in a science fiction world. The headlines of our newspapers trumpet cloning experiments, the teleportation of atoms, computers controlled by brainwaves, robots that walk and play musical instruments, private planes that carry passengers to the edge of space, space probes that rendezvous with asteroids, and implantable devices that restore hearing to the deaf. When miracles like these are the baseline, how can fantasy measure up? More simply put: Why on earth should we read science fiction? Here are some of the reasons…”/BusinessWeek/

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December 5, 2004 by sean.

The future is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed. - William Gibson

Anyone who makes a distinction between games and education clearly does not know the first thing about either one. - Marshall McLuhan

The future of game-based learning has arrived; it’s in the Army.

Tell-Test / AFTRB = Another Fucking Three Ring Binder!

We have just now, ten minutes ago, made a partnership with Apple. We want to work with them. The Edge wants to work with their scientists. We want to play withh their design team. We want to be in their commercial … And next year, you will be able to go to a U2 show and download the commercial onto your iPod… We want to do this because we like their company. It’s art, technology and commerce colliding. - Bono, lead singer of U2

We need to commit to R&D, the practice of designing educational experiences and products, with the same intensity that we give to sales and marketing.

A WOW Project is the quintessential expression of personality and character. It is not for the faint-of-heart. - Tom Peters

Posted in scifi, work | No Comments »