10 posts and columns on Minority Report

Nordstrom Plays Around With Xbox's Kinect to Create Interactive Window Displays

in Commerce on April 6, 2011 at 5:01 pm PT

A number of hacks have already demonstrated how Microsoft’s Kinect technology can be used beyond playing games. Here’s a look at how it is helping to redefine window shopping at Nordstrom.

Voices

Luring Shoppers to Stores

in News on August 26, 2010 at 5:00 am PT

It’s Steven Spielberg’s futuristic “Minority Report” come to life. Marketing companies are experimenting with a new wave of digital technologies to pitch to consumers while they shop: interactive dressing-room mirrors, kiosks with virtual customer-service representatives, and shopping carts and digital scanners that offer personalized discounts.

Full D8 Tech Demo Video: Microsoft's Project Natal

in D8 on June 11, 2010 at 10:15 am PT

Since Microsoft will be officially unveiling its Project Natal at the Electronic Entertainment Expo gaming show next week in Los Angeles, take a preview gander of it in action at the eighth D: All Things Digital conference recently. At E3, the software giant will give the innovative gesture-based controller for the Xbox a spanking new name and will likely announce other related features.

Voices

Almost Famous: Keith Lee of Booyah Games

in News on February 8, 2010 at 1:07 am PT

This week, we took a short walk down University Avenue in Silicon Valley with Keith Lee, co-founder and CEO of Booyah Games. We talked about his time as lead developer for Blizzard, his total lack of common sense, and how he’s trying to make the whole social game world “level up.” Don’t worry–we made him translate most of the gamer lingo.

Want to Use New York City’s Coolest App? Get a Google Phone.

in Media on February 5, 2010 at 3:30 am PT

Apple has some 140,000 apps for its iPhone users. People who use phones with Google’s Android operating system have much less choice. But here’s a consolation prize: Android users do get to use the coolest app in New York City. At least, according to the NYC Big App competition, which awarded its Grand Prize last night to WayFinder NYC, an Android-only app.

Voices

Microsoft’s "Minority Report" Predictions

in News on September 21, 2009 at 1:30 pm PT

In the near future, consumers will be playing videogames without controllers, giving directions to lifelike avatars and waving files from screen to screen a la “Minority Report,” according to Microsoft.

BoomTown Talks About the iPhone Apps Economy on the News Hour (Plus Some Future Stuff Blather)

in News on September 4, 2009 at 1:52 am PT

Last night, “The News Hour With Jim Lehrer” aired a piece on “how technology companies are innovating amid the recession by designing popular new smart phone applications.” BoomTown was to talk about how perhaps not all of the 65,000 apps being created by legions of third-party developers for the Apple iPhone will result in gold, diamonds and unicorns raining down on entrepreneurs. Oddly enough, I somehow went all Jules Verne at the end and started talking about screens on coffee tables, so I am obviously just as bad.
ibeer

D7 Tech Demo: Canesta

in D7 on May 28, 2009 at 9:55 am PT

Say goodbye and good riddance to your clunky and obsolete remote control. At least, that’s what Canesta, a San Jose-based company specializing in 3-D “natural interfaces,” would like to see happen. Today the company will demonstrate new technology that allows a person to use gestures to control TV functions–everything from changing channels to navigating more complex menus.
Canesta

Reports of Yahoogle's Death Are Greatly Exaggerated

in News on October 21, 2008 at 2:07 pm PT

Today, The Deal got played, and claimed that Yahoo and Google were likely to abandon their controversial search ad outsourcing deal. Wrote The Deal’s Cecile Kohrs: “A proposed joint venture between rival Internet companies Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. appears headed for the trash bin, just ahead of an expected U.S. Department of Justice challenge to the agreement, lawyers close to the deal said.” Well, maybe it will die at some point. But, in the words of Juba in the last line of the greatest movie ever (“Gladiator,” of course!): Not yet.