And now there is a real name: Revue (code name “KA”). I’ve been waiting to see this! Now, I want one even more. Looking forward to seeing one in person, and looking even more forward to creating some apps for this thing! Note the use of iPhone for remote! The incorporation of Logitech’s whole Harmony remote, where a single device (in this case, an iPhone) could control all the devices in your entertainment system. This is pretty cool as it moves us in the direction of owning the whole digitally conntected living room!

Hot off the presses: Introducing Google TV! I’m really excited about this. Google is creating the software (Google TV) and partnering with Logitech and Sony, who are supplying the hardware. In addition, and what is most exciting to me, is the ability for 3rd party developers to create applications for this new platform. The applications can take two forms: Native (Android) and Web (web technologies including Flash!) Just think of the potential for mashing up all of this rich, powerful content driven by the power of Google services. The inclusion of Flash is a big one and by having Shantanu  (Adobe CEO) up on stage next to Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, to announce this sends a pretty clear message about where Google stands on Flash support.

My friends on the web team at Apple,  helped create one of the first uses of HTML5 video tags on a production site. The HTML5-video-fied videos are for the new iMac and Magic Mouse. Using a non-webkit powered browser, you’ll see the original QuickTime version. This is actually pretty significant when you think about it on the scale of apple.com. Accomplishing this for a site like Apple.com, with all the technical, logistical, and political hoops that must be attended to, is a big accomplishment. Congrats guys!This got me thinking more about HTML5, which, admittedly, I’ve only been watching from afar. I found this summary off some of the new features:1. Web workers. I don’t really get the naming of this, but it’s cool! Basically, the ability to create separate background processes that can run without bogging down the performance of your webpage.2. Video. Embed video without plug-ins as just done by Apple.com….but what about the codec?3. Canvas. Some people don’t see the value of this, particularly if you only reference the example given here. But I can appreciate the potential.4. Application Cache (probably most interesting to me) Store content for applications locally, without needing to beonline and connected to a database on a server somewhere.5. Geolcation. Location information  - via GPS, IP, WiFi, RFID, Bluetooth.

We launched Halo 3 Believe at AKQA and I wanted to give a shout out to the amazing team that worked on this; such a great piece of work. A real, physical Diorama was created in LA by a company called New Deal Studios. The AKQA team flew down there, captured some video (in analog) and brought it back up to SF to integrate in Flash. Crazy J from my very own Creative Development department developed the amazing loading/queuing system to handle the loading and management of all 200MB worth of video frames! Great work guys! JJ (John Jakubowski), Thiago, Hoj Jomehri, Kevin Hsieh, Joel Kaplan, Keith Hostert, Jason “Crazy J” Gatt (lead Flash), Caio, Alex, Matt and Rian and Kirk.http://www.halo3.com/believe

Has anyone seen this “Augmented Reality” stuff? I saw an in-person demo of it last Friday. It is “Real-time interactive-3D-video” that connects up with Print, Web and soon Mobile. It has the ability to track movement, including facial expressions, and can recognize physical objects (people, print) and interact with 3D objects, characters or environments all in real time. In the past it was targeted to outdoor installations and broadcast, (if you watch sports on TV, you’ve likely seen a version of their technology at work: Overlaying 3D objects on top of the action), but it also hooks up with desktop, the web and soon mobile.

This is a link to a crappy and limited video presentation- but you really need to see it presented in person to get it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8Eycccww6k

Company site, more examples:

http://www.t-immersion.com/video_gallery/main.asp?idf=a0#

Because it’s all networked, we can track the user journey, hook it up to a database as well as integrate it with other digital touch points or mash-ups via web services. Maybe a user’s physical interactions can be captured and tracked to a back-end that mirrors, enhances or mashes the experience up with a web service (maps, weather, YouTube?) We could tap into an asset database to consistently keep the experience fresh and updated with current graphics, etc. It supports 3D models that we work in (i.e. Objects output from Maya).