dinsdag 26 augustus 2008

The ideal information worker desk

Hi

I think most of us will be information workers or at least very much interested in the technology enabling an information worker to work. I was doing a bit of brainstorming yesterday imagining how my ideal desk would look like to make me most productive while it would still pass the wife test (if it does not fit in the interior forget it, or if your lucky you can have it in your own room only)


So mine would be made of a flexible glass like material. the desk would be touch enabled so no use for a keyboard anymore (or a mouse). Just habve the on screen (on desk) keyboard to use. Also it should include an area to scan documents anf the ugly printer (yep, still use it sometimes) should be an integrated part (most likely in one of the 2 stands)

The screen schould be bendable at least on 1 area so I can either use it as 1 table (easy when having a meeting) or it should be pulled up on 1 side to have a convinient screen to read from

For commercial reasons it obvious should remember me (and other people using it when I'm not there) and adjust the height. For personal use this doesn't matter to me.

What does matters to me is wireless USB and VGA (ok it will be a bit higher resolution but ok) or ultrawide band. Still use a laptop and like it if I could just either put it on the desk or put it somewhere underneath without all the cables (probably except for power)

I'll try to make a sketch later but I'm wondering:
  1. What is your ideal desk?
  2. Can you help me in some way to make it happen (build software, have great skills in manufacturing this kind of furniture)

Looking forward to your input and see if we can make this come true

dinsdag 19 augustus 2008

Would you date this girl?

I guess we need a new version of the Turing test. For those of you whom never has heard of the Turing test please read the definition given by Wiki

The Turing test is a proposal for a test of a machine's ability to demonstrate intelligence. Described by Alan Turing in the 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," it proceeds as follows: a human judge engages in a natural language conversation with one human and one machine, each of which try to appear human; if the judge cannot reliably tell which is which, then the machine is said to pass the test. In order to test the machine's intelligence rather than its ability to render words into audio, the conversation is limited to a text-only channel such as a computer keyboard and screen (Turing originally suggested a teletype machine, one of the few text-only communication systems available in 1950).

When reading this definition there should be a text only channel for obvious reasons. If you could see what'son the other side it might be intelligent but it clearly doesn't look and act as a human being (although robots are getting closer but would you fall in love with a robot of the current generation).

Well when looking at this video it is hard to imagine your not looking at a person (ok, video representation of) but a computer generated image





Emily - the woman in the above linked animation - was produced using a new modelling technology that enables the most minute details of a facial expression to be captured and recreated.
She is considered to be one of the first animations to have overleapt a long-standing barrier known as 'uncanny valley' - which refers to the perception that animation looks less realistic as it approaches human likeness.


This means we could replace the text based input by video input/output for the Turing test. I wonder how long it will take before the Turing test can overcomethe next barrier

donderdag 14 augustus 2008

Microsoft's Sphere

After introducing the surface computer in a casino in Vegas and some selected Sheraton Hotels Microsoft introduced a new type of surface computer

At Microsoft's Faculty Summit, researchers showed off a spherical computer prototype with an internal projection and vision system. Microsoft believes surfaces will become computer displays and “Sphere” is cousin to the Microsoft Surface tabletop computer, now being used in retail and hospitality settings.

With Sphere, users can touch the surface to control the computer, to manipulate photos, play games or watch 360-degree videos. The underlying hardware for Sphere is sold commercially by Global Imagination but Microsoft researchers made enhancements and developed special software.

Curved surfaces present unique challenges as computer displays and that makes this spherical novelty of interest to digital signage installers where technological novelty can be part of the attraction.

more info at Microsoft Sphere and Sphere Hardware

Also some great info with a small clip and explanation diagram here

dinsdag 12 augustus 2008

IBC to Deliver the first Transatlantic High Definition Stereoscopic 3D broadcast

Just found a great article in BusinessWire about a transatlantic 3D videoconference. The greatest thing is it will actually happen on september 14th. I admit it is not yet multipoint but at least it's a great start and clearly shows what the near future will bring the corporate world

please click here to go to the article





IT’s AVision™

In a few steps to an integrated IT and AV environment

In general an IT environment is well structured and processes and tools are usually based upon the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) concepts. It would make sense to use the same approach to manage your AV environment to increase availability and save costs. MII can help you in a few steps to an integrated vision on managing your integrated IT and AV infrastructure and helps to define a path to the integrated environment using MII's unique IT’s AVision™ methodology. In a diagram it looks like the 4 steps as outlined below. It provides the vision with a growth path attached to it to avoid a disinvestment of the current environment(s)


No matter of the current stage of maturity of your AV environment the methodology can be applied to help you migrate from level 1 (completely stand alone) to level 4 (fully managed integrated environment) for all items and not just the obvious like projectors. These 4 levels are shown here.
If you like to know more about how MIIcan help you save money while increasing quality without desinvestments please contact MII (http://www.mii.nu/ or info@mii.nu )













































































































maandag 11 augustus 2008

Suggest your topic (while I keep writing on the next topic)

It's great to see a steady rapid growth in people who read my blog about the integration of AV and IT so in order to make it even more worth reading the blog for all of you I would appriciate if you suggest the topics you like to learn more about or to hear our vision on

So please post your reply with suggestions and I get back to them:)
In the meantime I keep writing on the next blogstory about managing the AV infrstructure in a structured way and what we can learn from the IT world here.

I'm also working on a nice gadget like post again:)

Regards,
Ben

vrijdag 8 augustus 2008

Using digital signage in an enterprise environment, should you choose an AV or IT solution?

When looking at digital signage wiki tells us:
Digital signage are electronic displays that are installed in public spaces. Digital signs are typically used to entertain, inform or advertise (together known as "adfotainment"). Major benefits of digital signs over traditional static signs are that the content can be exchanged without effort, animations can be shown, the signs can adapt to the context and audience, and even be interactive. Digital signage advertising is a form of out-of-home advertising in which content and messages are displayed on digital signs, typically with the goal of delivering targeted messages to specific locations at specific times.

Key points here are that we use them to entertain, inform or advertise and that they can easily adapt to context and audience. This makes it a great tool for marketing/sales but also for use in a corporate environment. When looking at implementations in a corporate environment there are some obvious benefits compared to traditional systems like e.g. paper based posters to go for a digital signage solution:
  • Greater speed to communicate and (re)act,
  • Cost saving compared to print and distribute paper based posters,
  • Less waste and impact on environment compared to e.g. paper based posters,
  • Much more possibilities in terms of media to use (text, audio, video)
  • Possibilities for interactivity
  • Image (a wall with 1 big screen looks different than a lot of posters on the same wall)

However there are some challenges as well that organizations will face when implementing a digital signage solution to communicate to their staff (and customers at the location of the office):

  • In general the available systems are proprietary which makes it hard to expand them (in size) or to add new functionality to the implementation, especially when this is not standard functionality of the product as is. This means that whenever selecting the product and the partner you do not only need to look at the current needs and demands but also at the future to avoid a disinvestment
  • How to use the screens and fit them into the corporate managed infrastructure. Are you using the screens only for showing content or are the part of a larger vision where you for example use them for displaying corporate information when idle. Are you considering using existing screens to be part of the system (and do not think about the obvious screens only, what about the room reservation system screens)

    One of the biggest strengths of digital signage is the ability to update content across all screens from a central location — it represents the end of counting on employees to travel from location to location, changing POP materials turning the devices on or off. But surprisingly, most of the people digital signage today surveyed aren’t taking advantage of this — more than half of the respondents who use digital signage have their screens centrally networked. Instead, they are relying on “sneakernet” update methods, such as manually inserting DVDs or flash cards at the screen level.
  • Who is allowed to generate content, is there a workflow required between creation and publication. Will all employees be able to generate content but before publication it needs to be signed of by the editor (to check the content against the guidelines, guard the corporate style and make sure the content is appropriate). Is the content already available on the corporate network or will this be delivered by e.g. a 3rd party
  • What type of content (audio, video (standard definition, high definition and live streams), text and which formats are needed)
  • What type of employees do you have and what is your companies working style. Is everybody always in the office or is everybody working flexible, not just flexible seating but also flexible locations (working from home, hotel, airport, customer location) and how do you like to fit this in the communication plan
  • What about different content for different target audiences (customers vs employees, office bound employees versus home working/traveling employees, different physical office locations)

From this point of view it would be wise when looking for a digital signage system not to focus on the traditional solutions only but also look in the ICT domain and explore the options a SharePoint based digital signage system can do for you (great examples are

netpresenter and advantive) . These systems in general are:
  • Less rigid since it’s a platform on which you can easily create extensions
  • Far more easy to integrate in your existing infrastructure and for a lot of companies it already is integrated to a certain extend before starting off building a digital signage solution on top of the platform.
  • Give more possibilities to reach out to your employees that are working from a location that is not your office. You can for example also publish to a screensaver or tickertape on any employees pc
  • Easy to integrate with your existing intranet and extranet
  • Completely integrated with all office products you probably already use so information publishing can be done directly from the applications used to create the info (while you can still use workflow management for approval before publishing)
  • Cheaper (especially if you already have the licenses for SharePoint)
  • Managing the digital signage environment can be done with the existing management tools you also use for managing the rest of your infrastructure. Also managing a sharepoint based environment is managing something familiar instead of a total new concept

Again this is a great example of IT and AV blending together and creating new opportunities for cost savings while increasing flexibility, agility and availability

dinsdag 5 augustus 2008

What if you combine holograms and Multi Touch

If you combine multi-touch and holographic projection you get some fancy new ways to handle data. Just look at this amazing concept from Obscura

New VisionAire technology from Obscura
Here is the latest. Alright, alright, it is not really "multi-touch", because you really dont touch anything. The system just senses where the presenters hands are and allow him to interact. Multiple people could be doing this too.We call it VisionAire. Get it, "vision" and "air" with a little European flair. Basically, we were looking for a new way to allow a presenter to interface with visual data. This uses our standard multi-touch framework and integrates it with the Musion system we have in house. The result is a truly interactive way to give presentations. See for yourself.





An other cool video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgLmd0AgYW8

About obscura:
Obscura Digital is an industry leading digital design and technology marketing agency based in San Francisco. Our focus is to use technology to help our customers extend their brand and message in new ways.

maandag 4 augustus 2008

IT/AV integration curve

The Evolution of AV Systems according to InfoComm International

The basic fact of technology convergence is the digitization of analog AV products and solutions. It is the least transforming aspect of the technology convergence process, and most manufacturers have adapted rather swiftly.

The deepest changes have come from the dissolution of the walls that compartmentalized technology silos, such as security, audiovisual, low-voltage applications (structured wiring), telephone systems, and IP telephony. These critical applications converge over the IT network for easier implementation and management.


Traditionally self-contained AV rooms are turned into nodes on organization-wide IT infrastructures.

Consequently, the systems they are outfitted with are required to be designed and configured to operate and be managed from the central IT backbone in order to integrate seamlessly with the overall communications infrastructure.


When reading this and turning this convergence into reality you can look at the integration curve as designed by MII (see picture)




















By moving your AV infrastructure from stand alone components into a completely managed integrated environment you can increase availability of the total infrastructure against lower costs. It also give an organization new ways to communicate (content can be shared more easy since everything is integrated into 1 managed environment)


Doing so however requires some knowledge when designing. Not all equipment can be attached to a networked environment (your stand alone projector would not fit in). Also when managing this using your IT management environment some custom made adjustments might be needed. This asks for a strong collaboration between the group managing the IT environment and the group managing the AV environment. However it is worth makingthe investment and create a platform that gives you not just somenew opportunities or cost savings but a fundament for the near future as well

Working in the new era

A lot has been said already about new working styles. Most of them are pretty positive about working styles that are somehow related to “the new world of work” where the information worker is put in a central position. When looking at the transition we are in now with traditional companies; the old focus around a physical building with the employees in it (either an office or a cubicle) as well as the newer styles with a mixture of traditional and virtual to almost completely virtual there are some challenges. Before diving into this and what this means let’s look at the past (still the present for a lot of companies).

In the industrial era, organizations were organized according to clear rules as defined in the classical organizational models (Fayol , Taylor , Mintzberg etc). Tasks were clearly standardized and defined as well as supervision (you just did as you were told by the boss). There was a high level of specialization in labor and top/down clear roles and responsibilities. Organizations were bureaucratic, labor hours were well defined and there was a very strong distinction between work and life in those times.

Over time this has been altered and tweaked into more social models; however, still looking at production work. Nowadays, services are becoming increasingly more important (eg The Netherlands is now a services economy and less that 10% of the labor population is doing a physical job). The growth of the service oriented jobs fit in the information era, where information technology creates possibilities. These are possibilities in services, to quickly respond to the environment but it also gives new possibilities in terms of organizational structures and culture.
These new structures and cultures are pushed by:

  • The younger generation (Generation Y). They are used to doing multiple things at the same time (both private and business, so no strict hours anymore but a hybrid form where life and work occurs side-by-side in the same timeframe since they are online 24 hours a day). They are also much more individualistic than the baby boom generation and their life is partially virtual already. Generation Y is already asking for the use of social media etc in their jobs.
  • Companies are faced with high costs per square meter office space. When they enable employees to work anywhere their office can be used as flexible as possible (currently the occupancy in a traditional office building is between 30% and 50%) and will act more and more as a social environment to meet peers and customers. The restaurant and coffebar will become more important than the individual offices/desks.
  • The government pushing for creative solutions in managing traffic and the environment (global warming).
  • Type of work, since knowledge workers take over from industrial blue collar workers, the power is shifting. Not being a manager gives you power, but having specific knowledge gives you power (and work). This means the balance of power is shifting. Supervision of the work is getting harder since the knowledge worker probably has more knowledge than the manager and the manager is depending on his staff instead of the other way around.
  • The growing possibilities of technology and specially information and communication technology but also audio/visual technology (moving all A/V traffic over IP networks to the remote desktop as well; so it reaches beyond the limits of the office building)
  • Knowledge is global (and so are suppliers and customers) thanks to the internet people and companies are not limited any more to local/regional available knowledge, customers and suppliers. This creates new possibilities in leveraging strengths, managing costs and increasing sales.

The new structures are either the new world of work with the traditional relations between people in an organization, but thanks to the above mentions factors, reworked to a new working concept or even a next step where companies are not the traditional employer-employee relation anymore. Instead, there exists a new form where highly skilled professionals have their own small companies that are working in a networked environment to cover a broad range of services they can deliver (and have some central facility for their administration, maybe a bit of sales etc). This fits in the culture of the Generation Y (individualistic, digital life and work style) and meets the demand of their customers (flexibility, highly skilled professionals).

This means you are independent as a professional and responsible for your own profit and revenue or even direction of development and selection of customers/jobs
In order to facilitate this and still give you the benefits of a traditional organization we need to embrace some new technology that enables people collaborate and communicate in a virtual environment (you created a virtual organization). Here you can think of:

  • 3D worlds with avatars that do look like you (it still is nicer and easier to collaborate with somebody that looks like the person instead of a comic character). Protonmedia already made a great step here with their 3D world for enhancing the collaboration experience. The next step however need to be the avatars that look like you (however they already did a great step in having business like avatars instead of comic characters) and a 3D environment that actually looks like your company (either traditional company or networked company) and something like the use of RFID so your Real Life location and virtual location can be the same
  • Distributed CRM systems (you share a CRM system but still have control over who can see and do what with your data) and finance/timetracker system
  • Tools to stay up to date. Think about narrow casting/Digital Signage based on sharepoint instead of the traditional AV based systems where all participants can publish info to all or specific groups so the network stays up to date while individuals can still personalize their personal screen/view

Also from a facilitation view some stuff will be shared. Think of kind of clubhouse that facilitates meetings instead of offering bare office space so you can use meeting rooms when needed but also think about purchasing power. With more people in the group you get better deals on mobile phone plans etc

vrijdag 1 augustus 2008

Shrink my projector


This is pretty cool technology. Projection devices getting smaller (and when saying smaller I mean smaller,much smaller) enables us not just easy projection when on the road but also new possibilities in creating a specific atmosphere in rooms since you can hide away them easy, they do not producte huge amounts of heat (and hopefully not a big amount of noise as well)

Mint Trading, a subsidiary of Mint Wireless (ASX: MNW) has launched, in Australia, what it claims is the world's smallest commercially available pocket projector.

Technology that enables a cellphone-sized device to project a large image onto a wall has been in the pipeline for some time. Te product offered by Mint, the V10, is manufactured by Aiptek for which Mint Trading was recently appointed the exclusive distributor in Australia and New Zealand.Mint says that the V10 pocket projector will be available in retail outlets nationwide in September for $649. At 125 x 55 x 23mm it is just 1cm longer than an iPhone and is claimed to be able to project an image 130cms across from a distance of 1.8m. Alex Teoh, CEO, Mint Wireless said: "The V10 pocket projector has achieved significant interest amongst some of Australia's largest retailers and we are discussing commercial arrangements with retailers now.:The device can display photos and videos input via a 3-in-1 AV jack or stored on its 1GB internal memory or from an SD, MMC or MS Pro card. Formats supported include AVI, JPEG, ASF and MPEG-4.
Thanks to engadget.com and ITwire.com for bringing this to my attention