Coming soon to a sofa near you – in 3D !

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In the past week I’ve heard more about 3D than ever before. In fact, if you listen to the electronics industry experts, they will tell you that 3D is going to change the way we experience all visual media – movies, games, TV and even in-store shopping !

Last week I attended the US Flat Panel Display conference and much of the talk from industry leaders was how fast 3D will arrive on our doorsteps, in our stores an on our PCs. Add to this the blockbuster success of Avatar in 3D and the excitement is obvious. How about watching sports in 3D so it feels like you could reach out and grab the ball ? Or how about home shopping where you can almost feel the texture of the product you’re buying ? The core issue now is to make sure that quality content is available. But what about the total user experience  – beyond the “reach out and touch” feeling ?

It’s those glasses ! I’ve been thinking more about this, and to me it seems like for 3D to truly make an impact in a home TV environment, we need to look at the glasses issue. Think about watching a 3D movie in a theater – it’s dark, glasses are on and you’re in the “bubble”- huge screen, no outside distractions – let’s be quiet and watch the movie. It’s actually a very personal, individual experience.  TV is different. Many times when people are watching TV it’s with family or friends, it’s more interactive and it’s usually OK to have a conversation or other activities going on at the same time (well, at least it is in my house !!!) I can’t really imagine watching Wimbledon with my friends, with everyone in their private world of 3D glasses.

The good news is there are some technologies in the works that just might solve the problem, including display and TV solutions that alleviate the need for glasses all together.

Let’s see how this all develops. This is fast moving technology, so let’s see where we are in a few months.

In the meantime, send me your comments – just make them in 2D so I dont have to find the glasses

Filling the search field

Tags: Google earth, journal Room, keyboard, search engins, search field, skyskrapers, streets, the cloud

In the Architect journal Room I read Sam Sundberg´s chronicle about something I found utmost thoughtful. Sam is author and outdoor journalist and he has reflected over the symbol for the 2000 century. This is his conclusion:

If a picture is to conclude the 2000 century it will neither be the crasched twin towers, nor the forests of bragging skyscrapers in Shanghai or Dubai. No, the symbol is the empty search field. We meet it daily in Google, Wikipedia, Spotify, Eniro, the Pirate Bay and everywhere on the web where we are looking for something: the persistently pocking marker. “What do you search for” it asks. “What do you do here?” “What do you want“?

Instead of moving about in the city, chasing along streets and buildings with our eyes, we are seated at our keyboard, staring at the search field. Instead of groping about in countless stores chasing for a good laptop we search for it on the web, cross referring among search engines and sites for price comparisions.

Smart architects have realized that the city space is changing in its margins and thus design and build houses in two dimensions, on our web browsers!  Zaha Hadid has reached the most advanced solutions in his Google Earth-architecture – the buildings look better from above than in street level.

Whith a huge investment on smart phones they create a constant presence in the streets. The building The Cloud,  proposed at the Olympic arena in 2012, is an internet time observation platform. It takes the observer on a strange sky trip which is full of information noise. This is the empty search field in a physical shape.  Because, when climbing up its twisted, windling  stairs, blinking and lost, we ask ourself:  why are we not at home watching the olympic games in our web browser?

Good habits

Tags: earth hour, energy consumption, WWF, you and the planet

Earth Hour for 2010 will take place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm. Closing down most of your energy consumtion for one hour every year is supposed to contribute to a clear and measurable global energy saving. This will be one of the good initiatives taken and will be a continued call to action. It will, I think, also be an eye opener to more good habits, by you, for you and the planet. 

Welcome also to Earth Hour 2010 Conference, organized by WWF, World Wide Found for Nature, on 23 March at 1.00 pm – 5.30 pm, in the Golden Hall, Stockholm City Hall. The conference will present a series of pioneering examples of how business, politics and public sectors together can solve the global climate challenge.

If you can read Swedish,  more on WWF site

For more information check also the official website for Earth Hour

US Flat Panel Display Conference set for next week

Tags: Green IT, IT products, LCD display, USA

The annual “meeting of the minds” in the display industry will meet next week to discuss industry trends, analyze market opportunities and forecast the future of the display and TV business around the world. The annual Display Search US Flat Panel Display Conference offers manufacturers, channel partners and industry analysts the chance to explore current and future markets for display products. TCO will be there and be assured, there will be plenty of talk about Green IT solutions. Look for my blog posts direct from the conference. For more information log onto www.displaysearch.com

Energy Resolver II – Power to the people

Tags: energy saving, ICT, PC energy consumption, TCO Certified

Some say we need more power stations and if we’re going green then it’s got to be nuclear to fill the demand. 
A scary scenario when there are already 400 nuclear power stations in the world leaving their radioactive waste for future generations to clean up, not to mention other risks with this source?
But is there really an energy crisis looming? Could it be that there would be enough to go around if we started to consume it more wisely?
The best way to avoid a crisis is through good management…and in this energy situation, the manager that has a big say over the amount of energy you’re using during the day, is YOU! You’re a self-employed energy tycoon with the right to hire & fire…& right now you might be thinking business could be better.

So, as I promised you in my new years resolution a couple of weeks ago, let me give you a simple first aid guide on how to cut back your energy consumption, your energy cost & green house gas emissions in one easy move at the office….and please try this at home also.
Just use this link:
http://www.tcodevelopment.com/pls/nvp/Document.Show?CID=4146&MID=255
It will direct you to our web site and an easy step by step guide on how to set up the energy saving function on your computer.
This set up will place your computer and screen automatically in a standby/sleep mode when you are not using it and it automatically starts it up again when you touch the mouse or keyboard.

Savings: For example: for a 19” TCO certified monitor this will mean a drop in energy consumption from approx 20 Watts to less than 1 watt during an estimated 3 hours of a working day (these power levels are not guaranteed if you do not have a TCO marked product). A computer & screen that is always on may cause 7kg of CO2/week from electricity production. If an energy saving function is active on your computer however, that level will sink to as little as 0.8kg CO2/week.

A low hanging fruit like this is something we can all reach from the comfort of our chairs…so enjoy this double energy saving, since my next tempting apple in a couple of weeks may take a bit more effort to reach

Green Guide in your Iphone

Tags: Green Guide, Iphone, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation

Many people want to act environmentally smart today, but they do not know how to choose the right product when standing in the store. Now they can get quick and educational information directly into the phone at the time of purchase.

Green guide, intitiated by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, is now avaliable  for IPhone users. You can choose between green products and in this way make your life a bit greener.

read more: http://www.naturskyddsforeningen.se/gron-guide/gron-guide-i-mobilen/

Local Government chooses Green IT – sees measurable difference

Tags: Government, Green IT

I noticed this video from the Local Government Channel in the UK, with a good example of how local government is making smart choices in Green ICT and how working closely together with a vendor can streamline the process.  Click here to view the video.

LCD desktop monitor production highest since 2008

Tags: computer display, display, Green IT, IT products, monitor

January LCD monitor production for top PC and monitor brands about 85% of the market was 12.5 M, the highest level in more than a year, as noted in the newly announced DisplaySearch Monthly Desktop Monitor Brand and OEM Production Report. Additionally, near-term production build-plans show that March could be the highest monthly production of LCD monitors on record, reaching over 12.9M.
Read the article here

Energy Resolver 1

Tags: energy saving tips, resolution, TCO devlopment

A few weeks ago it was time for the predictable New Year resolution. Mine, probably like yours was going to be the normal: Use more energy! That is to say, the kind of energy burnt down the gym, not with a light. Unfortunately the predictable part of resolutions is that they don’t last long. A few weeks into the New Year and I’ve already got the flu, and now the memory of that promise is starting to fade. Does this sound familiar?
But now, whilst I’ve been sitting around sniffling in self pity, I came up with a cunning alternative plan. This year instead of trying to burn more energy why not try and burn less. I can feel many out there getting interested in finding out more about this plan, but just to warn you, this time I’m talking about the light burning kind, since I reckon you like me no doubt know enough already about how to burn less of the physical kind.
So from the comfort of your couch follow my blog every other Friday as I do the foot work and find out the whys & hows of product energy saving at work & home.
So come on, we’ll convert those Kilos & lbs to Watts and cut our energy abuse together.

Green All in One Usability

Tags: All in One PC, Lenovo, single unit, space conserving, TCO Certified

All in One PCs – a computer and display in a single unit – are a great way to get the performance of a desktop PC without the cable clutter of a separate CPU and monitor. The compact design of an AIO also enables the user to conserve space on the desktop.  Ideal where space is limited or when the user wants to maintain a clean look on the work surface or having a free space under the work surface.

TCO Certified is your assurance that your AIO delivers all the visual performance you expect from a freestanding monitor – outstanding color, luminance and resolution. It fulfills some of the toughest environmental criteria around – from strict limits on hazardous substances and energy consumption, to designed for recycling. It fulfils a brand commitment to socially responsible manufacturing practices. Add to this the criteria for safety, usability and low emissions and you can be sure that every product bearing the TCO Certified label is among the very best.
AIO is the latest addition to the family of TCO Certified for PCs. First out to certify AIO is Lenovo, hereby congratulated.

Read more: http://www.tcodevelopment.com/