"Reaction [beta]"
Microsoft's "internet of things" 26 Apr 2007
The Pondering Primate has been keeping tabs on recent product developments at Microsoft. Apparently, the last few months has seen MS introduce the following technologies:
- A speech recognition browser (TellMe)
- ...Say the word "Microsoft" and you'll be transported to www.microsoft.com.
- A 1d barcode scanner (AURA)
- Snap a photo of a normal barcode using your phone, send it to Microsoft and they'll return you the product's info.
- A 2d barcode scanner and software suite (Windows Live Barcode)
- Snap a photo of a Quick Response Code barcode using your phone, send it to Microsoft and they'll return you the product's info.
- A mobile image recognition engine (Lincoln)
- A product that allows people to search the internet via their mobile phone camera (for example, users might snap pictures of movie posters or DVD covers to receive movie reviews via the web.)
- An RFID browser (in collaboration with Symbol)
- Technology built into your mobile phone that allows you to scan products with RFID tags and navigate to their associated websites for product information.
- A colourful 2d barcode
- A new barcode standard, allowing identification of commercial audio-visual works such as motion pictures, video games, broadcasts, digital video recordings and other media.
What does all this mean? Well, Google may be kicking Microsoft's butt in the digital arena at present, but MS may have stolen a march on the big G in terms of next-generation technologies. Microsoft, it seems, is intent on blurring the boundary between the digital and physical worlds to create "an internet of things". Exciting stuff!
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4 comments so far
Swampthing 27 Apr 2007 02:07 AM
Just my opinion, as a spectator in the mobile arena, MSFT is going to keep on getting their butt kicked by Google unless they do something about it.
If somone really does the research of the internet of things they will see another player that has been developing their mobile platform for the masses.
Microsoft can talk mobile until they are blue in the face. It is all about who holds the technology to provide the consumer and mobile web user with the dynamic response when objects are clicked upon. One click on the 1D, 2D, UPC, keyword, logo, trademark, slogan, RFID, billboard,etc.
Some and even myself say it is late to the game? Maybe.
But we know that MSFT is not famous for is getting it out the door and not getting it right the first time.
Maybe this group is doing just that?
Could very well be PRICELESS!
BTW, MSFT knows all about them. Just Qode it.
Matthew 27 Apr 2007 05:57 AM
Decent compact user interfaces (in hardware or software) will eliminate the demand for nifty ways to interact with the world around us. Want to find out about a movie? Call up the internet on your phone and type the movie's name into a google search. When typing becomes easier, the internet will become more popular on mobile devices. It's as simple as that. No matter how clever, no image recognition system can compete with the diversity of the spoken/typed word, so these innovations are going to have a short lifespan. My phone's small browser can find out what films are playing near me via Google in under a minute. That's because Google care about more about evolution than revolution when it comes to information retrieval. Making things that work well work better. And that's where MS falls down/plays catchup.
Swampthing 27 Apr 2007 04:52 PM
I do not mean to insult you or your blog. But lets be real. What cave did we just come out from. Who wants to type on and tap on a 2 x 2 keyboard????!! What mobile web user being billed for their web minutes is going to waste time typing long URLS??? Why not click on or say the keyword to go direct to content??? This innovation is not going to have a short life span by any means. Once users find how easy and quick they can be linked, look out. Why can't I get information in 10 seconds or less? Do you work for the mobile phone company?
Maybe this is the reason for not rolling out time is because the bugs are still being fixed so that there will not be a need for catchup later.
Typing?? Fast??
How about one click?
Still scratching my head on that one.
Let's think outside the box.
Matthew 28 Apr 2007 05:34 AM
It's not my blog.
How often are you next to a poster of a movie when you decide you want to see it? How often do you see the poster for any length of time (e.g. driving by poster)? Two obvious caveats I thought up at one in the morning. The research that goes on at Microsoft (and at labs around the world) is incredibly smart, but often lacking in ready-made deployment environments. The best ideas you'll see in products in the next five years. Most won't ever go beyond the lab testing stage, but many of those that don't make it will influence ideas that do.
That's why it's called research.
Oh, and GPRS data is priced per kilobyte, not according to the amount of time spent entering urls.
Seen the new blackberry pearls? Their interface is interesting to use. Hopefully the iPhone's onscreen keyboard will be a convincing outing for a software keyboard.
"Thinking outside the box" has been used to justify a whole manner of stupid ideas. Thinking on the edge of the box is where it's at right now...