Japan's 1st Green IT Expo

We all know that Japan is such a tech-driven country, whether its about robots, gadgets, cell phones or back-end data storage and securities. And now they're officially trying to go green with their gizmo world.

Yes, everyone appears to be jumping on the green bandwagon. Yet sometimes stamping brands with green badges sometimes appears to be only a marketing nod to current social trends and energy challenges. Yet, the first step is acknowledgment at least. At Japan's first official "Green IT Expo", I did find several booths that addressed issues of energy conservation by being audited to determine carbon footprints and taking necessary actions to minimize their environmental impact. But I also found a majority who didn't acknowledge the title of their expo in any way.

What I did find were lavish displays that featured showroom sets for entertainment productions to introduce or discuss the latest server or security package. At one was a full-on magic show complete with dancers! (I was asked to turn off the video camera before the magician appeared suddenly in a cage). Each booth also featured scores of women to hand out advertising brochures and collateral. Others were quietly stationed in and around the massive center patiently displaying their services, hardware and software.

Was it green? Yes and no, but it's a start.
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Alternative Tokyo Subway Advertising

In Tokyo, one is bombarded by advertising everywhere you go. You can't escape. Above is a video display built into the top of a subway turnstyle. I can't imaging how anyone is going to retain any message because you're usually flying through the turnstyles with the masses anxious to catch the next train or get out of the station. But you do glance down as you swipe your automatic prepaid Pasmo train card. So, perhaps a one second glance will get planted into your subconscious.

Since the advent of e-ink and its very public launch on the cover of Esquire magazine in October, '08, we are now seeing it pop up in advertising, like this banner hanging in Tokyo subway trains.

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Akihabara - Tokyo's Electric City!

Akihabara - Tokyo's Electric City! from SMaRT Technology Services on Vimeo.

SMaRT Technology Services' Marketing Director, Jeff Wichmann, visits computer and electronic center in Tokyo.

Flashing neon signs, giant ideograms, gaudy posters selling tech goods -- it's all in Akihabara, Tokyo's electric city where you can find any electronic consumer good from around the world. Computer superstores bustle with thousands looking for a deal on the latest laptop. And here, it's all about size and portability. The smaller the better. Sony, Dell, and Toshiba all have micro computers selling anywhere from 500 to 1,500 yen ($500-$1,500). Every store has barkers on microphones announcing the latest deals and brands. Each isle has four sales reps ready to assist with a purchase or barter at a moments notice. Pre-recorded sales announcements in Mandarin scream from the ceiling appealing to the masses of new wealthy Chinese recently visiting Japan. If there is a recession in Japan, you can't tell in a place like this where wallets are springing open and deals are made every hour. This is no Best Buy. And it's certainly no Circuit City. Read more!

Tokyo Lives - Tokyo Phones!

Tokyo display flagship for Japan telecommunications giant KDDI reveals the future of telecom -- your cell phone and your lifestyle are one and the same and organically evolving. 5 spiraling floors display future concept designs, the hottest phone displays, at-home media interaction (controlled by one's phone of course) and a wireless cafe on top. All in the effort to display KDDI's research on advanced technologies that they hope will form a future technological foundation for improvement of communications systems infrastructure.
And that future lies in organic creative technology. For the musician in all of us, they have concept cell phones that turn into keyboards, drum sticks, or harps. Also featured is a "dog phone" designed by avant-garde sculptor, painter and novelist Yayoi Kasuma. On display are power adapters that look like vines and mini video projectors the size of a credit card. One floor features the sexiest life-style phone displays for the athlete, the party girl, the student, or the accountant. And although featured brand names are Kyocera, Hitachi, Sanyo, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, and Panasonic, they all have the same rectangular shape that either flip or slide, yet none look like phones in the States made by the same manufacturers. One display housed US phones made by Samsung, Panasonic, Kyocera that appeared so utilitarian black in contrast with the rainbow of cool colors offered in Japan. But the only reason they were on display was to feature the US' superior streaming video via cellphones which show 40 frames per second verses 15 frames in Japan. The only difference is one must pay in the States for this feature whereas it's included in Japan. And what about the suffering iPhone in Japan? I asked showroom host Yasuhiro Sekigouchi what he thought, "It's cool, but I don't have one. It is limited by the lack of video taking options and multi-media messaging. But I do have three friends in Tokyo that own one and they enjoy it."

The building also features "Wired Cafe 360" on the top floor with tropical plants and casual woodsy atmosphere that contrast with the neon rich buildings up and down the streets of Harajuku. Wireless hotspots for laptops are hard to find in Tokyo where most use their cell phone for all interactions and web surfing. Since forming in 1953 as a domestic phone company, KDDI has evolved into tech-savvy giant that effectively synthesizes our creative lifestyle choices with our inherent ability to communicate with one another.

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Eye Candy iPhone Apps

At a recent design meet-up in Tokyo I met Tetsuya Imamura of J's Avenue, Inc. - a small Tokyo-based company that focuses on content development for game consoles, mobile phones, PC networks, and pachinko machines. Tetsuya waved two iPhones around showing a cool new application he developed - Stuffed Animal. It's mostly eye candy fun featuring an interactive animated racoon. Hold the phone over your head and he'll try to jump into your view. "I tried to import 3D models into the iphone," he explained. "I thought friendly animals in a virtual world might be cute." This app follows his first, Metallic Worm, where he began building a virtual world. "I thought animated, life-like metallic objects would have impact," he added. These are the first apps he developed for the iPhone which was introduced in Japan 10 months ago. He's currently developing other apps that may be available for the rest of us, if Apple approves them of course. Yet, he's also planning on creating apps for the Android phone. Keep a look out.
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VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE

The bot race to find the perfect personal assistant has been on for a long time with developers across the world still hell-bent on creating a virtual assistant whether they've been a talking head on a computer screen or a rubber facsimile with a giant power cord. Remember, the idyllic 1950s vacuuming robot with apron only evolved into a simplistic Roomba. And still hovering in the fatalistic future is good 'ol HAL from Space Odyssey 2001. Yet, we're still trying to go there. NPR host Liane Hansen talks this week with Microsoft researcher Eric Horvitz about the development of their virtual personal assistant Laura. And while Microsoft is forever focused on PC utilization (ehem), Japanese programmers have been trying to "make it real" for years, like this expo video from 2006.


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Future Shock: The PC of 2019

Great article this week from Computer World regarding the future of computing. In many ways, we are already there - cloud computing, increased personalization of devices, more interactivity. Say goodbye to laptops as devices get smaller, more flexible, portable, interactive - um, hello iphone. Also say adios to mice and keyboards as touch screens, voice commands, and even brain waves become the dominant input methods.

And keeping with touchy feely technology similar to last week's Siftables post, check out this MIT Labs video regarding sensing technology so personal that it blurs the boundary between individual and machine.
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SIFTABLES - Building Blocks For Brains and Bodies

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CeBIT This Week!

This week, the world's largest IT exhibition, CeBIT 2009 in Hanover, Germany, features 4,300 firms from 69 countries presenting digital solutions, trends and innovations. Featured exhibits include "Webciety" and "Green IT" plus the latest in robots, itty-bitty computers, and future-thinking options for medical, social, manufacturing, distribution, banking, government and science within our global environment. It IS the melting pot of IT - bar none. From the global stew, The State of California is the official partner of the event and of Germany's IT and telecommunications industry association, BITKOM. And yes, the Governator did open the event on Sunday. Reportedly, the exhibitor numbers are down from last year's 5,845 due to the current glum global economic situation. But that won't impact those presenting or attending looking for solutions in a pared down future that honors practicality over techno-bling. Scientific American went inside and posted this video review. Read more!

The Future According to Marc Andreessen

Have a look at this optimistically frenetic interview with Marc Andreessen, co-founder and chairman of Ning and an investor in startups such as Digg, Plazes, and Twitter. He's best known as co-author of Mosaic and founder of Netscape. He is on the Board of Directors of Facebook and eBay. Try keeping up with his mind as he flies through the current state of affairs with social networking and the latest tech trends.

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