Bill Gates and Steve Jobs made the Historic Joint Appearance at the Fifth Annual "D: All Things Digital" Conference. In their rare joint appearance at All Things Digital 5, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates discuss their contributions to the technology industry, the qualities they most respect in one another, and former Apple CEO Gil Amelio’s seamanship. The two men also discussed the history and future of the digital revolution in an unrehearsed, unscripted, onstage conversation with D co-producers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher.
We never thought we would see the day where Apple and Microsoft so easily and so comfortably share the same stage with that much of respect to each other, but that happened today. Watch out the show.
Visit Personal Blog of Rajesh Shakya at http://www.rajeshshakya.com for accessing more videos of this series.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Microsoft Surface Computer
Microsoft plans to unveil a computing device called Microsoft Surface, featuring a 30-inch screen embedded in an acrylic tabletop.
At first glance, Surface is reminiscent of an old-fashioned arcade game table around which patrons played Pac-Man. But there is no joystick here, and no mouse or keyboard either. The device is controlled by touching the tabletop display.
Microsoft says this touch screen will allow people to “interact with digital content the same way they have interacted with everyday items such as photos, paintbrushes and music their entire life: with hands, with gestures and by putting real-world objects on the surface.”
For example, when a digital camera with Wi-Fi capabilities is placed on the display, the table recognizes the camera and, at a touch of the screen, downloads its photos and video clips. The digital pictures can be sorted and sized by “handling” them as if they were physical prints.
The device uses cameras under the display to detect touches, and unlike traditional touch screens it can handle multiple touches at the same time, said Jeff Gattis, the director of product management for Surface.
Similarly, Surface can read bar codes and identification tags embedded in objects like hotel chain membership cards.
Microsoft hopes this technology will someday be common in homes, but its first uses will be commercial. By the end of this year, Surface will appear in hotels, restaurants, retail stores and public entertainment sites, where it will serve as an information kiosk and handle things like basic customer service. Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, was scheduled to unveil the product today at The Wall Street Journal’s “D: All Things Digital” conference in Carlsbad, Calif.
“With Surface, we are creating more intuitive ways for people to interact with technology,” Mr. Ballmer said in a statement. “We see this as a multibillion-dollar category, and we envision a time when surface computing technologies will be pervasive, from tabletops and counters to the hallway mirror.”
Microsoft also named several partners that will be among the first companies to use Surface, including Harrah’s Entertainment, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and T-Mobile USA. The device’s cost was not disclosed.
Even without the involvement of other gadgets, though, Microsoft offers some tasty demo modules to show the possibilities.
Restaurant. You pull up on-screen, virtual menus on all four edges of the table at once -- because four of you are eating out together -- and order your meal by tapping what you want. While you wait for the food, you can each play your own video game, or open up four different Web browsers. And then, after dinner, you can call up your bill, split it four ways, and pay, all electronically.
Virtual Concierge. You walk into a hotel. You see a virtual model of, say, New York City; look up a restaurant; see what it looks like; and drag the restaurant's address and phone number into your phone, where it shows up as a text message.
Paint Canvas. Finger-painting for the new millennium. That's gotta be worth $10,000 right there.
Video Puzzle. In this game demo, clear glass tiles (real ones) are placed onto a video that's playing on the surface. Now you can scatter and scramble them on the glass, even turning them upside-down; the challenge is to reassemble the video by moving and flipping the tiles, as though it's a new-age jigsaw puzzle.
T-Mobile Stores. In this phone-store demonstration, you can take a phone model off the shelf -- or several -- and put them onto the tabletop to get the details, like features, calling plans, and so on. You can build a side-by-side comparison, sample some ringtones, or assign a ringtone to someone in your contacts list just by sliding it onto the appropriate name. (Again, this demo doesn't work with any current phones.)
There's a lot of imagination going on here, for sure, but even more hype. I'm especially discouraged by the Web headlines that breathlessly gush about a revolution in computing -- including, alas, Popular Mechanics.com. "Forget the keyboard and mouse," says the headline. "The next generation of computer interfaces will be hands-on."
Visit personal site of Rajesh Shakya at http://www.rajeshshakya.com
At first glance, Surface is reminiscent of an old-fashioned arcade game table around which patrons played Pac-Man. But there is no joystick here, and no mouse or keyboard either. The device is controlled by touching the tabletop display.
Microsoft says this touch screen will allow people to “interact with digital content the same way they have interacted with everyday items such as photos, paintbrushes and music their entire life: with hands, with gestures and by putting real-world objects on the surface.”
For example, when a digital camera with Wi-Fi capabilities is placed on the display, the table recognizes the camera and, at a touch of the screen, downloads its photos and video clips. The digital pictures can be sorted and sized by “handling” them as if they were physical prints.
The device uses cameras under the display to detect touches, and unlike traditional touch screens it can handle multiple touches at the same time, said Jeff Gattis, the director of product management for Surface.
Similarly, Surface can read bar codes and identification tags embedded in objects like hotel chain membership cards.
Microsoft hopes this technology will someday be common in homes, but its first uses will be commercial. By the end of this year, Surface will appear in hotels, restaurants, retail stores and public entertainment sites, where it will serve as an information kiosk and handle things like basic customer service. Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, was scheduled to unveil the product today at The Wall Street Journal’s “D: All Things Digital” conference in Carlsbad, Calif.
“With Surface, we are creating more intuitive ways for people to interact with technology,” Mr. Ballmer said in a statement. “We see this as a multibillion-dollar category, and we envision a time when surface computing technologies will be pervasive, from tabletops and counters to the hallway mirror.”
Microsoft also named several partners that will be among the first companies to use Surface, including Harrah’s Entertainment, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and T-Mobile USA. The device’s cost was not disclosed.
Even without the involvement of other gadgets, though, Microsoft offers some tasty demo modules to show the possibilities.
Restaurant. You pull up on-screen, virtual menus on all four edges of the table at once -- because four of you are eating out together -- and order your meal by tapping what you want. While you wait for the food, you can each play your own video game, or open up four different Web browsers. And then, after dinner, you can call up your bill, split it four ways, and pay, all electronically.
Virtual Concierge. You walk into a hotel. You see a virtual model of, say, New York City; look up a restaurant; see what it looks like; and drag the restaurant's address and phone number into your phone, where it shows up as a text message.
Paint Canvas. Finger-painting for the new millennium. That's gotta be worth $10,000 right there.
Video Puzzle. In this game demo, clear glass tiles (real ones) are placed onto a video that's playing on the surface. Now you can scatter and scramble them on the glass, even turning them upside-down; the challenge is to reassemble the video by moving and flipping the tiles, as though it's a new-age jigsaw puzzle.
T-Mobile Stores. In this phone-store demonstration, you can take a phone model off the shelf -- or several -- and put them onto the tabletop to get the details, like features, calling plans, and so on. You can build a side-by-side comparison, sample some ringtones, or assign a ringtone to someone in your contacts list just by sliding it onto the appropriate name. (Again, this demo doesn't work with any current phones.)
There's a lot of imagination going on here, for sure, but even more hype. I'm especially discouraged by the Web headlines that breathlessly gush about a revolution in computing -- including, alas, Popular Mechanics.com. "Forget the keyboard and mouse," says the headline. "The next generation of computer interfaces will be hands-on."
Visit personal site of Rajesh Shakya at http://www.rajeshshakya.com
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Winning!
Winning means different to all!
The world is changing and the business dynamics are changing almost everyday, so the new challenges are emerging at every step you take. Facing all the challenges that comes in front of you is the winning!
In politics, keeping the aspirations of the people is the winning.
For teachers, keeping students in the classroom with patience for the whole class time is the winning.
For the street children, selling 25 copies of local 2 page news paper at the price of Rs. 3 in a day may be the winning.
From whatever the front, anyone who survives out of challenges is the Winner.
The world is changing and the business dynamics are changing almost everyday, so the new challenges are emerging at every step you take. Facing all the challenges that comes in front of you is the winning!
In politics, keeping the aspirations of the people is the winning.
For teachers, keeping students in the classroom with patience for the whole class time is the winning.
For the street children, selling 25 copies of local 2 page news paper at the price of Rs. 3 in a day may be the winning.
From whatever the front, anyone who survives out of challenges is the Winner.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Transparency
Transparency is good. But actually having nothing to hide is even better.
If some one hides something from others, he is never transparent.
Visit www.rajeshshakya.com for more thoughts from Rajesh Shakya.
If some one hides something from others, he is never transparent.
Visit www.rajeshshakya.com for more thoughts from Rajesh Shakya.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Extra mile for Success!
The Himalayan Times - a national daily in Nepal sent me an interesting questions today for their next "Sunday Perspective" for April 9, 2007 issue and asked me to respond by the end of the day.
The question was about the time pressure, if the time pressure stimulates creative thinking and better output from employees? Or pressure just acts as the stifling factor? I never had thought about this before. It made me think immediately and analyze my experience.
Visit www.rajeshshakya.com for more thoughts from Rajesh Shakya.
The question was about the time pressure, if the time pressure stimulates creative thinking and better output from employees? Or pressure just acts as the stifling factor? I never had thought about this before. It made me think immediately and analyze my experience.
I believe, success begins on the extra mile. Time pressure is that extra mile. It stimulates the thrust to bring out all your hidden and open capabilities at the same time. You stand out and really prove yourself if you are forced by time or target. I have seen most of the visible achievement are made at the time of pressure. Moment of success after the pressured work is the most memorable and you feel utmost pleasure. But the super-extra pressure causes the distraction to job and sloppy output. So I believe a sufficient pressure works just like a stimulant for creative thinking and visible accomplishment.
Moderate pressure never works. Pressure should be "just sufficient" to stimulate enthusiasm for creativity and pleasure.
Visit www.rajeshshakya.com for more thoughts from Rajesh Shakya.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Vision
The roof terrace outside the top floor of my office in Kathmandu affords views to the distant hills outside the valley. But my personal vision ranges even further. I strive to see the entire globe from my roof top.
Visit www.rajeshshakya.com for more thoughts from Rajesh Shakya.
Visit www.rajeshshakya.com for more thoughts from Rajesh Shakya.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
