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Maybe we should try Twitter? or painting our thoughts on the outside of our building?

Papervision3D - what comes next? Well, this could be it…

I have my doubts as to whether the next video is for real. If it is, then we’re looking at the future of the 3D web.

For years the big problem with Flash-based websites is that they could not be properly indexed by search engines. Flash websites have been favored by marketers and advertisers for a long time, because of the ability to create rich, interactive Web experiences. However for most other businesses, particularly those with a lot of information on their website (let’s face it, that’s everyone except marketers and advertisers), Flash has been nearly an automatic ‘no’ for website development. That may be about to change.

Adobe announced today that it is teaming up with major search engines - notably Google and Yahoo - to “dramatically improve search results of dynamic Web content and rich Internet applications (RIAs).” In a press statement, Adobe said that it is “providing optimized Adobe Flash Player technology to Google and Yahoo! to enhance search engine indexing of the Flash file format (SWF) and uncover information that is currently undiscoverable by search engines.”

Adobe claims that it will provide more relevant search results and rankings for RIA content. In a separate blog post, Google announced that it has launched a “Flash indexing algorithm”, which will result in better search results.

Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com

An article on todays bbc news site promises an interesting future for real time gaming:

“It’s clear that the next trend in gaming is going to be bringing real objects into the virtual world; playing not against other gamers but people doing the real thing,” said Andy Lurling, founder of iOpener Media.

Several years ago when a few of FUSE were studying at Nottingham University we had the opportunity to work on a joint project which attempted to marry a basic GPS system with handheld PDA’s, creating a realtime mapping application which could be used for interactive tour guides through to digitally enhanced hide & seek games. We weren’t quite good enough at pulling computers apart, or should i say putting them back together correctly, to work on the latter, though we did develop a flash based interface which functioned as a digital guide for an architectural walking tour.

Satellite navigation systems have improved dramatically over the past few years, partially due to the US opening up part of its military satellite network (not for civilian goodwill you understand, but cold hard coorporate cash), and also due to the advancement of consumer products willing to use the technology - in car sat-nav systems for instance, and handheld GPS systems, one of which saved our bacon while up a cold cloudy mountain in Scotland recently - good work Rob!

But the above progress, dating back from the 1980’s and Reagan’s Star Wars effort, could look relatively snail paced compared to what is in store for the future, thanks to the development of Galileo - a brand new, and crucially civilian run, European Satellite Network:

The system is technically years ahead of the aging US satellites, allowing for faster and much more accurate data to be passed to the ground. No longer will the GPS reading be within a foot or a meter of its actual position - it will be as good as spot-on. And the loss of signal, often feared by those halfway up a munroe, will be a thing of the past.

What is unique here though is that the system is not run by the military. The existing satellite systems reserve their high-end functionality for military use, only dealing low bandwidths and services for commercial / consumer use. Galileo is commercially funded and run, offering a near full service to the commercial sector, if not the general public.

The possibilities for commercial use are endless, sparking a worldwide calls for ideas competition which has generated programs for “intelligent” fishing through to financial control systems in the timber industry. Add these to obvious enhancements to transport systems and a picture of a huge new european industry begins to appear.

Back to the fun bit though, as we here aren’t so interested in fishing..

Games games games!

From live Grand Prix racing through to exercise bikes partaking in the Tour de France, and rowing machines in the boat race, again the possibilities are endless. The new GPS receivers are chips, rather than units so can be placed virtually anywhere, and as they get smaller the technology gets better.

And if this new GPS technology is married with the Nintendo Wii and its future incarnations?

Sat afternoon has a new Grandstand, and its Real-Time-Tastic! A set against Federer? A round with Tiger? A home run in the big league?

Imagine playing Pro-Evo in realtime, ill drag the mighty Posh out of league 1 obscurity with one boot, whilst winning the World Cup for England with the other, all out of my satellite infested front room…

… ok so i got carried away, technology cant solve everything