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May 22, 2012
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Modern society is built on progression—but innovation without impact is worthless, says IBM NZ chief technologist Dougal Watt. And the results of the company’s centennial survey (which polled more than 1000 Kiwis to coincide with the its 100th anniversary) paint an interesting picture of which technological breakthroughs we rate the most. For example, while women rated disease prevention and healthcare as the most significant innovation of the century, men picked the internet as the biggest breakthrough. Modern medicine also emerged as the development which most positively impacted our lives, and globalisation edged out new business tools by a whisker for the development which gave commerce its biggest boost.
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IP rights are a key asset for any business, and protecting them is fundamental to business success. The good news is, the Intellectual Property Law & Commercialisation conference in August will explore issues around IP law and digital technology, while explaining how to safeguard your copyright (designers, marketers, publishers, and content creators/managers, we’re looking at you). Lanzatech and Grasslanz, winners of Best Commercialisation of IP at
the NZ International Business Awards 2010, will discuss their IP
strategies while the Ministries of Science + Innovation and Economic
Development will present on initiatives designed to raise NZ’s innovative capability.
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Have you been wanting to put your skills to the test in a bigger pond? Convince Fulbright NZ of your worthiness and you could be headed to the US to carry out research or present your work to an American audience. A host of awards are available to academics, artists and professionals, applications for all of which close on July 1.
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It’s certainly a sentiment to aspire to, but one we’ll never achieve continuing on along our current path, says top scientist Sir Paul Callaghan. We Ideologues are rather inclined to agree with his assertion, “It’s the knowledge economy that drives prosperity”, and that it’s imperative to focus on high-value tech offerings (data show our most successful companies are in extremely specialised niches). While his comments have picked up some media traction recently, it’s worth watching his full StrategyNZ speech.
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For those prone to misplacing their keys, or wasting precious minutes scrabbling around in the cavernous depths of pockets or handbags searching for them, the Lockitron just might be the solution. It allows users to lock or unlock a door from a cellphone, share virtual keys with friends and family (no need to keep a spare under the pot plant) and do it all from anywhere
in the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQCJgx_kofo
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Ever wondered what it would be like to see inside a pinball machine? Mountain Dew is building the world’s first pinball skate park in Henderson, Auckland to mark the launch of its three newest flavours. Riders will be propelled into a 600-square-metre arena where they’ll tackle obstacles, trip sensors, hit ramps and try to score the highest number of points possible. Open to skaters and BMX riders, it will kick off with a skating competition on June 4 and remain accessible to the public until June 26.
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San Francisco artist Scott Weaver is one of a rare breed: a visionary with an eye for meticulous detail. It’s taken him 35 years and more than 100,000 toothpicks to build a highly intricate model of his beloved city (it’s not an exact replica, but more of a loose interpretation). Rolling Through The Bay also moonlights as a sort of tiny theme park ride; drop a ball into it and watch as it rolls through a series of local landmarks and attractions.
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Purists may well be horrified by news that an algorithm has been developed to round off the rough edges on retro game art. The formula uses a combination of pixel analysis and spline curves to smooth out 8-bit graphics, resulting in vector images still recognisable as their original shapes but without the classic square pixellation.
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