Posts Tagged ‘microsoft’
[awesomeness] is next-gen tech April 22nd, 2010
I wrote some time ago; that Microsoft’s next big thing will be its evolution as a gaming co. The value its XBox division can add – especially with stuff like Project Natal (below) in the pipeline – will likely supersede the value of its Office and Windows businesses combined in another 5 years.
Project Natal, along with Apple’s own touch and gesture-driven computing, is set to redefine the way we work. The computer, you understand, has so far been conceptualized as evolving avatars of typewriters. You sit at a desk, you work. This hasn’t – hadn’t changed for a very long time. Even laptop computers merely gave the same structure greater mobility.
The iPad is the first real computer (almost-computer? It’s going to replace the Macbook Pro I’m typing this on sooner rather than later) designed with a completely different assumption for how you seat yourself, how you work, how you think. And that’s what’s so interesting about it. There’s more interesting things going to happen over these next few months, with iOS and of course, iPhone 4.
Redefined form and a redefined interface; never-before connectivity and the cloud. Awesomeness is in, the future’s a fascinating place to be.
Tags: apple, awesomeness, future of tech, Gesture, iPad, microsoft, personal computer, Project Natal, tech, Technology, Touch, typewriter
Posted in Technology, random musings | Comments (0)
[awesomeness] is new world tech March 16th, 2010
Came across this piece on the web. Apple vs. Google’s been providing some soap opera fodder for tech journos in the past few months. Some of it’s real, some of it’s not. There was Eric Schmidt being asked to step down from the Apple board, there was Google putting out Nexus One to compete with iPhone, possibly with some patent infringement.
The reason this is really interesting, though is that it is in many ways #2 of Apple versus Microsoft. Only this time it’s different. The World’s moved on from then and the internet will ensure that systems will have to talk to each other, one way or another. I think the big thing this year will actually be the iPad and HTML5. One will define/redefine mobile computing proper like a Smartphone can’t yet do; while in the other lies the foundation of the new internet.
I don’t think Google will win this round simply because as a company it isn’t designed to do some things. The reason Wave hasn’t worked too well, is that it’s way before its time and the tech hasn’t developed to enable true collaboration – you can probably do more, and better on adobe or microsoft’s online products. The reason Buzz didn’t work was that it’s stupid, and tries to create another self-contained ecosystem, even as the industry – vis-a-vis Facebook+Twitter are understanding that you need to be more open. Buzz tries too little. The reason Open Social didn’t work was that it tried to do too much (and Buzz and Wave are probably components of that old model – one more bit of proof that it doesn’t work)
Similarly, the smartphone market will likely play out to script, between Apple and Blackberry, not Apple and any other player, simply because they are two distinctive ideologies which try to manage the experience from end-to-end. NexusOne and the other Android phones are hodgepodges – the old-world-engineering ideology of “oh isn’t it cool we can do this?” without asking the question “does the consumer give a damn?”.
More on this over the next few weeks.
Tags: apple, future of tech, google, microsoft, Rivalry
Posted in Opinion, Technology, reflections | Comments (0)
[awesomeness] is believing November 15th, 2009
Microsoft released Halo 3 a couple of years ago; making it the largest ever opening for any “entertainment” product – topping Spiderman 3′s 3-day opening weekend and Harry Potter 7′s initial (including pre-order) sales, too.
The campaign won the Integrated Grand Prix at Cannes in 2008, and the Jay Chiat Planning awards this year. It’s brilliant.
It does what a good campaign should do – make you buy into the idea – make you BELIEVE. Watch the case study below:
They even had Neill Blomkamp, who would later direct the 2009 movie District 9 produce a set of three short films (below) called Halo 3: Landfall.
But one campaign doesn’t make a great idea, or a great brand. Microsoft’s follow-up to the Halo franchise is a prequel – Halo 3 ODST – the game deals with the days leading up to Halo 3. The Covenant discovers the location of Earth and launches an attack on New Mombasa in Africa.
This time, instead of playing the human supersoldier Master Chief, you play Rookie, one of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) . While there are many gameplay trailers, the one I’m putting up here is the official trailer to the game.
How do you follow-up Halo 3 / BELIEVE? With Halo 3 / Drop into Hell.
And you have here below the making of the trailer. Attention to detail. Brilliant.
Tags: advertising, awesomness, Believe, branding, Halo 3, microsoft, ODST, Prepare to drop
Posted in advertising, reflections | Comments (0)
