The Insane Console History Video 2.0 from Elder-Geek on Vimeo.

UNIQLO LUCKY SWITCH from HN on Vimeo.

Apple have been developing NFC-based technologies for quite some time and it appears they will be implementing these in a new patent application for an app called “Products”.

Apple was first reported to be testing RFID iPhones last year.

It’s just a tablecloth and a piece of paper, until you pull out a Nexus One, at which point it magically becomes an arena where toy robots fire off punches.Augmented reality isn’t anything new, of course, but Qualcomm seems determined to bring it to cell phones in a big way — launching an AR game studio, sponsoring a $200,000 developer challenge, and announcing a free software development kit (which will see open beta this fall) all on the same day. The company partnered with Mattel to build the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots proof-of-concept you see above using that very SDK, and you’ll find a hilarious video of grown men pretending to have the time of their lives with it right after the break.

However, augmented reality is only half of Qualcomm’s mobile gaming plan — a rep told Pocket-lintgames like Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots are only financially viable if they can work across platforms. To that end, the company also demonstrated a simple three-player peer-to-peer title, but with — get this — a Nexus One (over Bluetooth), a Nokia N900 (over WiFi) and a Dell Latitude laptop all playing the same synchronous game. To commemorate this mishmash of awesome, the company funded another video; listen to an individual with a ludicrously bad accent give you the play-by-play after the break. Oh, and find some press releases, too.

Digital Hinterlands features a diverse range of work by some of the best recent architecture graduates from London’s Architectural Association, Bartlett , Royal College of Art, and University of Westminster. Curated by Ruairi Glynn in consultation with Arup, this exhibition revealed how the latest computational design and rapid manufacturing processes are providing new ways of understanding and designing space. From built models, 1:1 fragments, material experiments and installations, to interactive devices, virtual worlds and robotics, the exhibition presented the ideas of a wave of young designers, operating on the speculative hinterlands of architectural design.

Openframeworks is a c++ library designed to assist the creative process by providing a simple and intuitive framework for experimentation.

The library is designed to work as a general purpose glue, and wraps together several commonly used libraries under a tidy interface: openGL for graphics, rtAudio for audio input and output, freeType for fonts, freeImage for image input and output, quicktime for video playing and sequence grabbing.

The code is written to be both cross platform (PC, Mac, Linux, iPhone) and cross compiler. The API is designed to be minimal and easy to grasp. There are very few classes, and inside of those classes, there are very few functions. The code has been implemented so that within the classes there are minimal cross-referening, making it quite easy to rip out and reuse and/or extend.

made with openFrameworks from openFrameworks on Vimeo.

Wired magazine’s Nicholas Carr has written a fascinating article detailing how the internet is rewiring our brains and altering our brain activity.

‘The penalty is amplified by what brain scientists call switching costs. Every time we shift our attention, the brain has to reorient itself, further taxing our mental resources. Many studies have shown that switching between just two tasks can add substantially to our cognitive load, impeding our thinking and increasing the likelihood that we’ll overlook or misinterpret important information. On the Internet, where we generally juggle several tasks, the switching costs pile ever higher.’

Papervision – Augmented Reality (extended) from Boffswana on Vimeo.

Users will appreciate the iPhone 4’s gyroscopes new sense of control because it’s the closest thing you get to augmented reality without the extra hardware involved. What makes this so special is the nearly 1:1 motion control displayed by the software.

The game demonstrated here in itself isn’t all that complicated –aim and shoot targets accurately – but the limitless possibilities this gyroscope-developer symbiosis presents are mind boggling. Soon we could see apps like Layar, GPS aided information or car and flight simulators in a whole new way, literally.

As with all emerging technologies there is a staggering amount of eye-candy-only implementations of augmented reality being developed by brands as part of their digital marketing campaigns. Ikea’s application compliments, and integrates well, with the existing Ikea experience. Love-or-loathe it their linear in store experience – a passage through the entire collection to the final warehouse stage – is an integral part of their success and high volumes of sales. While this AR application is for use in a person’s home – and therefore after a person has left the store – it does have the potential of being used in store; to enable comparisons and combinations. Potentially a person could also photograph or film their interior-space prior to visiting the store using their mobile device, and then while in store map furniture into a composite in their mobile device.

Dr. Feelgood have often been called ‘the greatest local band’. Canvey Island is peculiar and strange little island at the end of the Thames Estuary. I’ve always been embarrassed by my ‘hometown’ but have always been proud of Dr. Feelgood. Lee Brilleaux – the Feelgood’s frontman – and my father were great friends and I used to recieve The Big Figure’s –the Feelgood’s drummer – spare drum sticks and drum skins. I ‘escaped‘ from ‘The Island’, moving to London to work in a design agency, when I was 18. Appropriately my very first ever piece of commercial design was for the Dr. Feelgood sister band The Canvey Island Allstars and their album Escape From Oil City. I too escaped. The CIA’s single, Werewolves of London, was the soundtrack to Paul Newman’s Hustler sequel, The Color of Money.

Oil City Confidential is the brilliant film documenting Canvey Island’s legendary local band Dr. Feelgood. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described it as “ ..a vivid study of period, music and place”. The film was broadcast on BBC Four in April 2010. It has recently one a Mojo award.

I am feeling the pull of mind-bendingly-fascinating sc-fi this weekend. Forbidden Planet really needs to be seen again to appreciate how beautifully is was art directed and produced. Truly ahead of it’s time. Wonderful audio and sound design. Astonishing even now.