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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 
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
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.
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
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Of all the major brands launching new products during CES this year, Lenovo was clearly a standout with a range of new products, like the new Ideapad hybrid Notebook / Tablet PC and their company-wide focus on the ”reduce, reuse, recycle” theme. Check here for some interesting insights from Lenovo President Rory Read.
Tags: carbon footprint, CO2 emissions, energy saving, environment, Green IT, IT products, save energy, sustainability, sustainable IT
While major electronics brands compete to develop more eco-friendly PC products, some areas of Green IT are actually shifting towards greater industry collaboration. A couple of recent stories caught my attention. Firstly, at CES I attended an Electronics Takeback roundtable, hosted by the US EPA and featuring senior environmental managers from Panasonic, Best Buy and L.G. When discussing the challenges of implementing a cohesive takeback infrastructure, industry reps agreed there is a need to work together to create a common eco-system and create efficiencies in how takeback is handled across multiple product categories.
Second, the Green Touch project was announced this week in a cross-industry effort to reduce PC processory energy use 1000-fold. In real terms, this would mean being able to run the world’s communications networks, including the internet, for nearly three years using the same amount of energy it currently uses in one day. The Green Touch project kicks off in February. More details here
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Companies at CES this year unveiled a ton of creative electronic products to help us manage our power consumption and make life more convenient at the same time – talk about usability and environment going together ! Check out some of these innovative solutions here
Tags: CES, Green IT, ICT products, USA
ust back from the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Mobility, social media and eco-friendliness were key themes among many of the product lines on show.
Of particular note was the number of tablet PCs that were creating a lot of attention – offering consumers a more powerful PC than a netbook, but more versatility than a larger sized notebook. Touch screens were also a popular trend, with some netbooks featuring multi-touch technology allowing for maximum flexibility for the user to manipulate the image on the screen. Social media applications were everywhere, with facebook- and twitter-friendly technologies gaining a lot of attention. Microsoft and HP even organized a spontaneous “Tweet and Greet” event on the show floor, relying exclusviely on the social network to spread the word and gather attendees.
Environmental features continue to be a big story in consumer electronics. Energy efficient LED backlit TVs and Notebooks are growing in poularity and several products featured motion sensor technologies that set the screen into sleep mode once the user left the room, and even a TV that can detect whether a viewer is or doing another activity, and adjusting the brightness of the TV automatically.
Overall, industry reps we talked to at CES are looking to these new technologies to help drive the economic recovery. Click here for more product reviews and news from CES.
Tags: combine usability and environmental aspects, design, environment, Green IT, sustainable IT, usability, World Usability Day
I think this heading captures the purpose of truly sustainable design and the theme for World Usability Day 2009.
Each year, World Usability Day is an opportunity to highlight achievements in user-centric design. On November 12 usability thought leaders, consumers , industry and researchers gathered at events in over 43 countries to discuss the latest innovations in usability design. Basically, the mission of the event is to “Make Life Easier”.
This year’s theme was “Designing for a Sustainable World”, and reflected the growing demand for “green” design in combination with highly functional products. In the United States, TCO Certified showcased a selection of TCO Certified notebook PCs at the event hosted by Sabre Holdings in Southlake, Texas. The event featured product exhibits, usability testing demos and a keynote presentation by renown design professor and author, Nathan Shedroff. You can view a copy of Nathan’s presentation below -a useful source for why usability and sustainability in design must go together.
Nathan’s message in short: “Don’t design things today that make tomorrow worse”
http://www.worldusabilityday.org/sites/worldusabilityday.org/themes/wud/resources/nathanshedroff.pdf
Tags: ergonomics, Human factors, USA
For those of you interested in all things ergonomic and human-factors related, I can highly recommend www.ergoweb.com. It’s a good source for product news, regulatory updates and offers discussion boards for current topics in ergonomics and workplace design.
… and this week they are publishing an interview with me about the importance of ergonomics and green in combination. Check it out at www.ergoweb.com
