Some tools that might be helpful for you when using ideas
You could go and search for thinking tools or ways of expanding ideas and there you might find some research, some notes, some blogs or whatever on different innovation methods or ways of looking at things - great idea! That is probably how you found this.
Here is a list of some of my thinking tools you could try in order to expand or use my ideas in new ways, just take the idea and...
1. think about it in a totally new industry
2. think about it in space
3. think about it underwater and in other environmental conditions
4. think about it in different vehicles
5. think about it 200 years or 1000 years or 5 years in the future
6. think about it 20, 50 or 100 years ago
7. think about it if there was no money or other form of currency
8. think about it if all the barriers were removed
9. think about new barriers that could be created to stop this idea
10. think about how the idea 'feels' with the different senses
11. how would this idea be presented in a magazine or newspaper article
12. what new laws would this idea generate
13. how would this idea perform in zero gravity
14. how would this idea change if you used completely different materials
15. how would the idea change in different geographical locations
16. how would the idea look if it was made with software
17. how would the idea be evaluated on a personality test
18. would you make friends with this idea on a social networking site
19. what if this idea had children
20. is the idea the same in the dark
So take any idea and just work through the list - you should come up with at least a dozen more.
Thank you for reading.
3 April 2011
OPINION: iPad2 or not?
Well I have the original iPad so that is my perspective. The iPad in general is fantastic, very useful, almost un-put-down-able. I had the chance to check out the iPad 2 last week and here is what I think.
The new iPad is fantastically light, fast and attractive but.....
If you have the original: wait for the iPad 3 unless you need the camera
If you don't have an iPad: what are you waiting for? Go and get one.
Will ipad2 change the world? It doesn't need to - the original already has. Therefore the world changing score that I give iPad 2 is 3/10 (it would have been 2 but it is such a good looking machine).
What do you think? Post a comment if you like.
Thanks for reading.
The new iPad is fantastically light, fast and attractive but.....
If you have the original: wait for the iPad 3 unless you need the camera
If you don't have an iPad: what are you waiting for? Go and get one.
Will ipad2 change the world? It doesn't need to - the original already has. Therefore the world changing score that I give iPad 2 is 3/10 (it would have been 2 but it is such a good looking machine).
What do you think? Post a comment if you like.
Thanks for reading.
IDEAS INSIDE: Augmented Reality
This is not a tech blog but who can resist Virtual or Augmented Reality?
I have seen some interesting things lately, lets take a look.
I would have bought one of the AR flyers last week but it wouldn't fit in my baggage - you see, in the last 3 weeks I have been to New Delhi, Bangalore, Washington DC, Norfolk VA, Ottawa, Stockholm and Copenhagen. This is a heavy schedule even for me but my bags are full! Got it!
These are some VR goggles from a company called Vizux, I first started looking at their equipment in late 2008. You can find them at www.vizux.com. Nothing really all that special about these except that the price is coming down significantly and the technology is improving. They also make versions for the military that project a style of 'head up' display through one eyepiece.
Then the really exciting part - the AR or Augmented Reality. This is where you impose visualization of information over a real image of the world. In the case of these glasses, the AR version shows you what is in front of you (using a camera or just by being see through) and then projects information on top of it. Here is an augmented reality business card so you can see what I mean.
Here are some examples of people experimenting with the AR. A business card demonstration, a cityscape and a HUD for a vehicle.
Some other interesting things of note. Recently a company called AR Drone Flyers released a UAV (unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that can be controlled from your iPhone or iPad. The drone includes cameras that feed back to your device (AR) - there are a couple of AR games available to purchase on the Apple app store that make use of AR to create a real world/sim world gaming experience.
So what can be done with this? Here are some ideas:
Parent idea:
-Use Augmented Reality
Adjacent Ideas:
-Useful for activities where moving your eyes is unsafe or less safe (like driving)
-Attractive for just about anything
Child Ideas:
1. HUD display for motorbike riders (goggle version)
2. HUD display for all other vehicles
3. Put the now very common GPS display in the AR goggles
4. AR windows for the bridge of a ship
5. Obvious benefits for security services that have a track based information system
6. Ditto for military (who already uses what is called a BMS or Battle Management System or soldier system)
7. Gaming - use existing toys and bring them alive with AR (toy soldiers will never be the same)
8. Tours - historical tours will never be the same, you would be able to make them come alive
9. What about an underwater version that helps you identify the type of fish you are seeing
10. Speaking of animal identification - what about for birds, flowers, trees, people
11. What about feeding the 'reality' back to a central location and then.....
Lets say you are at a sports game and some people around the ground are feeding back the reality - could you then watch the game in 3 dimensions? Could you switch your viewpoint to theirs?
12. Could the AR flyer be used as a cheap security drone? Could the fed be used with AR technology to monitor exclusion areas over an event site (like a concert or tourist attraction)
13. Could we see the rise of virtual offices? That is - your office space is simply white, your customers don a pair of AR goggles and you put up your products or displays for them (in a nice, neat tailored way) - that way your office is a reception and white wall with some seats! I suggest also adding some water and a coffee machine - people will spend some serious time in your office!
14. What about AR gaming on a large scale? Could a city, a forest, a farm become a new AR gaming site where people, events and 'things' pop out of the ground, out of the air or whatever? There might be some safety issues doing this around cars etc but could you imagine the worlds scariest ghost tour with a pair of AR goggle on!
15. What about firefighting? Could you immerse a team of firefighters in a situation and then fully simulate (except for the heat and other effects) the spread of a fire.
Prediction:
The next stage of AR technologies will enhance the display of AR images
After that is perfected we will start to see interactive technologies being developed such as data gloves, joysticks, and other devices that allow you a range of ways to interact with the augmented reality presented to you.
Within 5 to 10 years many common services will include an option for AR or be presented only in AR.
What does this mean for the new economy?
Entry criteria to this virtual or augmented world will be the display technology:
1. AR goggles
2. Or a smartphone or tablet with a camera
If you are a software developer, an entertainer or in the security business this is coming your way fast. For the rest of us this will be a stepping stone towards the way we will work in 5 to 10 years - we need to be familiar with it so we can use the applications that will be common in our homes and workplaces soon.
Those who do not have the entry requirements will not be able to:
1. Access the new entertainment options (except on a rental on per usage basis)
2. Keep abreast of the new technologies stemming from the uptake of AR usage
Do I rush out and buy some AR goggles? No not yet....just be aware of what it is. If your kids ask you for an AR flyer I would consider it a fun thing but also a useful investment as a learning tool.
So, is this one of the five ideas that will change the world? Maybe, but not today. I give it 5/10 for world changing.
Tell me what you think - post a comment.
Thanks for reading.
I have seen some interesting things lately, lets take a look.
I would have bought one of the AR flyers last week but it wouldn't fit in my baggage - you see, in the last 3 weeks I have been to New Delhi, Bangalore, Washington DC, Norfolk VA, Ottawa, Stockholm and Copenhagen. This is a heavy schedule even for me but my bags are full! Got it!
Then the really exciting part - the AR or Augmented Reality. This is where you impose visualization of information over a real image of the world. In the case of these glasses, the AR version shows you what is in front of you (using a camera or just by being see through) and then projects information on top of it. Here is an augmented reality business card so you can see what I mean.
Here are some examples of people experimenting with the AR. A business card demonstration, a cityscape and a HUD for a vehicle.
Some other interesting things of note. Recently a company called AR Drone Flyers released a UAV (unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that can be controlled from your iPhone or iPad. The drone includes cameras that feed back to your device (AR) - there are a couple of AR games available to purchase on the Apple app store that make use of AR to create a real world/sim world gaming experience.
So what can be done with this? Here are some ideas:
Parent idea:
-Use Augmented Reality
Adjacent Ideas:
-Useful for activities where moving your eyes is unsafe or less safe (like driving)
-Attractive for just about anything
Child Ideas:
1. HUD display for motorbike riders (goggle version)
2. HUD display for all other vehicles
3. Put the now very common GPS display in the AR goggles
4. AR windows for the bridge of a ship
5. Obvious benefits for security services that have a track based information system
6. Ditto for military (who already uses what is called a BMS or Battle Management System or soldier system)
7. Gaming - use existing toys and bring them alive with AR (toy soldiers will never be the same)
8. Tours - historical tours will never be the same, you would be able to make them come alive
9. What about an underwater version that helps you identify the type of fish you are seeing
10. Speaking of animal identification - what about for birds, flowers, trees, people
11. What about feeding the 'reality' back to a central location and then.....
Lets say you are at a sports game and some people around the ground are feeding back the reality - could you then watch the game in 3 dimensions? Could you switch your viewpoint to theirs?
12. Could the AR flyer be used as a cheap security drone? Could the fed be used with AR technology to monitor exclusion areas over an event site (like a concert or tourist attraction)
13. Could we see the rise of virtual offices? That is - your office space is simply white, your customers don a pair of AR goggles and you put up your products or displays for them (in a nice, neat tailored way) - that way your office is a reception and white wall with some seats! I suggest also adding some water and a coffee machine - people will spend some serious time in your office!
14. What about AR gaming on a large scale? Could a city, a forest, a farm become a new AR gaming site where people, events and 'things' pop out of the ground, out of the air or whatever? There might be some safety issues doing this around cars etc but could you imagine the worlds scariest ghost tour with a pair of AR goggle on!
15. What about firefighting? Could you immerse a team of firefighters in a situation and then fully simulate (except for the heat and other effects) the spread of a fire.
Prediction:
The next stage of AR technologies will enhance the display of AR images
After that is perfected we will start to see interactive technologies being developed such as data gloves, joysticks, and other devices that allow you a range of ways to interact with the augmented reality presented to you.
Within 5 to 10 years many common services will include an option for AR or be presented only in AR.
What does this mean for the new economy?
Entry criteria to this virtual or augmented world will be the display technology:
1. AR goggles
2. Or a smartphone or tablet with a camera
If you are a software developer, an entertainer or in the security business this is coming your way fast. For the rest of us this will be a stepping stone towards the way we will work in 5 to 10 years - we need to be familiar with it so we can use the applications that will be common in our homes and workplaces soon.
Those who do not have the entry requirements will not be able to:
1. Access the new entertainment options (except on a rental on per usage basis)
2. Keep abreast of the new technologies stemming from the uptake of AR usage
Do I rush out and buy some AR goggles? No not yet....just be aware of what it is. If your kids ask you for an AR flyer I would consider it a fun thing but also a useful investment as a learning tool.
So, is this one of the five ideas that will change the world? Maybe, but not today. I give it 5/10 for world changing.
Tell me what you think - post a comment.
Thanks for reading.
Buy at Amazon.com
Kindle and Paperback
COMMENTARY: 5 years ago vs today
How long will it take before there are no more video stores, music stores or book stores? In my estimation - not very long.
We can already see the large book store chains starting to shut down. In Australia this is happening to Angus and Robertson. I wonder how long the others will last.
Much of what I blog about will include items of technology, some will be products (iphone, ipad etc), some will be processes (blogs, automated factories, email, tweeting) and some will be emerging ideas (new materials, new business models etc). I thought it might be good to look back 5 years and see what types of things I was using in my home or at work and then contrast that with today.
5 Years ago at home:
A mobile phone (but only just)
No credit card
An old desktop computer
A television that my grandparents bought me (I still have it!)
An old VCR
A stereo with a cassette deck and CD player
A dial up internet account (but broadband ordered)
No Facebook, Linked in or Twitter account
A digital camera at 2.8 Mega pixels
2 large bookcases for our books, another one on order for the books that don't fit
maybe some more 'stuff'
At work I had:
a laptop
Had just bought a GPS for the car for work
Had started using a web-service for managing the contacts in my business
A fax machine
A fax to email service (to receive faxes electronically)
A USB thumb drive with 2 Megabytes of data available (wow!)
A website
Write notes and other work items in microsft word and print them out for filing or sending
Lets have a look at today (at home):
We use a Home Theatre PC (HTPC) that I had built by our local computer shop
The HTPC has 1.5 Terabytes of storage locally and another 1 Terabyte in an external drive
We use 3 iPads for almost everything
An iphone with unlimited data and 2 spare mobile phone handsets
We have synchronized calendars across iPads, iPhone and desktop computers
All of our music is electronic
We don't buy books anymore, all our books are electronic (and read on the iPads)
2 credit cards for loyalty programs (frequent flyer points)
1 company credit card for travel expenses
A flat screen television that connects to the broadband TV receiver and HTPC
A 1 Terabyte hard-drive that contains all of our files and photos as a backup
A 12 mega-pixel camera and 2 spare 'old' cameras with 2 or 3 mega-pixels
A broadband account with unlimited data at about 100 times the speed of the dial up
Fully wireless in the house
A Facebook and linked in account
At work today:
Some 'cloud' applications
Secure wireless internet in any meeting room
No desktop phones, only mobiles
Book meetings only through Microsoft outlook or similar
No more word documents, only mind-mapper and powerpoint really
Very little printing
Almost always use 'wikis' or 'share point' sites to share information
An SMS is as good as an email
So what happened?
Nothing that special happened, things just moved on. In one sense it became necessary to work in a new way because that is what was needed to connect with other people. In the home sense we just opted for ways of doing things that seemed more convenient, less costly or more available.
An example:
5 years ago, if we liked a song we needed to:
Get in the car
Go to a music shop
Find the song
Buy the whole album unless it was a single
Go home
Play it
Today:
Go to itunes or some other music service like spotify
Click it
Download it
Play it
I'm sure there are many examples that show the difference just as well. We can do the same thing for books and movies.
How long will it take before there are no more video stores, music stores or book stores? In my estimation - not very long.
Thanks for reading.
We can already see the large book store chains starting to shut down. In Australia this is happening to Angus and Robertson. I wonder how long the others will last.
Much of what I blog about will include items of technology, some will be products (iphone, ipad etc), some will be processes (blogs, automated factories, email, tweeting) and some will be emerging ideas (new materials, new business models etc). I thought it might be good to look back 5 years and see what types of things I was using in my home or at work and then contrast that with today.
5 Years ago at home:
A mobile phone (but only just)
No credit card
An old desktop computer
A television that my grandparents bought me (I still have it!)
An old VCR
A stereo with a cassette deck and CD player
A dial up internet account (but broadband ordered)
No Facebook, Linked in or Twitter account
A digital camera at 2.8 Mega pixels
2 large bookcases for our books, another one on order for the books that don't fit
maybe some more 'stuff'
At work I had:
a laptop
Had just bought a GPS for the car for work
Had started using a web-service for managing the contacts in my business
A fax machine
A fax to email service (to receive faxes electronically)
A USB thumb drive with 2 Megabytes of data available (wow!)
A website
Write notes and other work items in microsft word and print them out for filing or sending
Lets have a look at today (at home):
We use a Home Theatre PC (HTPC) that I had built by our local computer shop
The HTPC has 1.5 Terabytes of storage locally and another 1 Terabyte in an external drive
We use 3 iPads for almost everything
An iphone with unlimited data and 2 spare mobile phone handsets
We have synchronized calendars across iPads, iPhone and desktop computers
All of our music is electronic
We don't buy books anymore, all our books are electronic (and read on the iPads)
2 credit cards for loyalty programs (frequent flyer points)
1 company credit card for travel expenses
A flat screen television that connects to the broadband TV receiver and HTPC
A 1 Terabyte hard-drive that contains all of our files and photos as a backup
A 12 mega-pixel camera and 2 spare 'old' cameras with 2 or 3 mega-pixels
A broadband account with unlimited data at about 100 times the speed of the dial up
Fully wireless in the house
A Facebook and linked in account
At work today:
Some 'cloud' applications
Secure wireless internet in any meeting room
No desktop phones, only mobiles
Book meetings only through Microsoft outlook or similar
No more word documents, only mind-mapper and powerpoint really
Very little printing
Almost always use 'wikis' or 'share point' sites to share information
An SMS is as good as an email
So what happened?
Nothing that special happened, things just moved on. In one sense it became necessary to work in a new way because that is what was needed to connect with other people. In the home sense we just opted for ways of doing things that seemed more convenient, less costly or more available.
An example:
5 years ago, if we liked a song we needed to:
Get in the car
Go to a music shop
Find the song
Buy the whole album unless it was a single
Go home
Play it
Today:
Go to itunes or some other music service like spotify
Click it
Download it
Play it
I'm sure there are many examples that show the difference just as well. We can do the same thing for books and movies.
How long will it take before there are no more video stores, music stores or book stores? In my estimation - not very long.
Thanks for reading.
We have to start somewhere...
Ideas can change the world but how do you start? Well, I plan to start by posting a few of my ideas here on the blog and we can see what happens. Before we do that I would like to mention a few things:
1. My Dad started blogging before I did - Backyard garden blog by my Dad
2. My wife had a second life Avatar and a blog before I did
3. I am proud of both of them!
The overall situation is: I have always wanted to share my ideas with people but there has always been the fear that someone would 'steal' the ideas. It is fairly easy to get over this when you decide that nobody can 'own' an idea (intellectual property lawyers are groaning as they read this - whatever), what people can 'own' is their attitude, their determination and their drive to DO something.
So, I was actually worried that someone else would DO something with my ideas and I would miss out. Let us be totally honest - there was no way I was putting my ideas for a new product, new service, new power generation technology, new military technology or new anything out there so that someone else who didn't have that idea could benefit. I changed my mind.
So what changed? I got married to my fantastic wife, we had 2 great kids and then I started to look around and see that I have all the wealth I need - not in money terms but in everything that matters to me. Now it bothers me that the world might miss out on my ideas.
So - my main aim is to get my ideas OUT THERE - because I am far too busy with my other ideas to DO something about the rest of them.
On the new economy. This is not something weird or mysterious, simply that in the Western world now (and growing in developing countries) almost every one of us has a digital device or 3, we are always connected, we can twitter, Facebook, and email (apparently only oldies like me use email). Very soon or right now depending on where you live, you can download movies, music, books and other media right to your device. You can even use your device to make payments for things. Now, depending on how closely you keep up with these things you might say one of two things:
1. Wow, that is pretty far out
2. That is so yesterday - yeah, we are already doing that
So, what characterizes the new economy is both the fact that it is new and secondly the fact that 2 groups of people operate in it - those who know about it and those who do not and get left behind by it. I hope to help you not to be left behind by it!
Summary
I hope that some of my ideas can change the world a little bit, I hope that if someone takes an idea for business that they can use it well. I also hope that this blog can be a resource for anyone who is also thinking - 'where are we going with the new economy?'.
Lets go in search of the five ideas that could change the world....
Thank you for reading.
1. My Dad started blogging before I did - Backyard garden blog by my Dad
2. My wife had a second life Avatar and a blog before I did
3. I am proud of both of them!
The overall situation is: I have always wanted to share my ideas with people but there has always been the fear that someone would 'steal' the ideas. It is fairly easy to get over this when you decide that nobody can 'own' an idea (intellectual property lawyers are groaning as they read this - whatever), what people can 'own' is their attitude, their determination and their drive to DO something.
So, I was actually worried that someone else would DO something with my ideas and I would miss out. Let us be totally honest - there was no way I was putting my ideas for a new product, new service, new power generation technology, new military technology or new anything out there so that someone else who didn't have that idea could benefit. I changed my mind.
So what changed? I got married to my fantastic wife, we had 2 great kids and then I started to look around and see that I have all the wealth I need - not in money terms but in everything that matters to me. Now it bothers me that the world might miss out on my ideas.
So - my main aim is to get my ideas OUT THERE - because I am far too busy with my other ideas to DO something about the rest of them.
On the new economy. This is not something weird or mysterious, simply that in the Western world now (and growing in developing countries) almost every one of us has a digital device or 3, we are always connected, we can twitter, Facebook, and email (apparently only oldies like me use email). Very soon or right now depending on where you live, you can download movies, music, books and other media right to your device. You can even use your device to make payments for things. Now, depending on how closely you keep up with these things you might say one of two things:
1. Wow, that is pretty far out
2. That is so yesterday - yeah, we are already doing that
So, what characterizes the new economy is both the fact that it is new and secondly the fact that 2 groups of people operate in it - those who know about it and those who do not and get left behind by it. I hope to help you not to be left behind by it!
Summary
I hope that some of my ideas can change the world a little bit, I hope that if someone takes an idea for business that they can use it well. I also hope that this blog can be a resource for anyone who is also thinking - 'where are we going with the new economy?'.
Lets go in search of the five ideas that could change the world....
Thank you for reading.
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