Came across this brilliant ad today..absolutely to-the-point and really innovative!

If you think the sun shines out of your arse – try using an energy saving instead!
Voiced by Martin Freeman (The Office, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy).

                     Photonic Integrated Circuit.

Overview

Scientists have developed what they claim is a small scratch on a piece of glass, which could make the internet nearly 100 times faster and give users unlimited, error-free access anywhere in the world. Lead researcher at the University of Sydney Ben Eggleton while making the announcement said, initial testing of the technology showed it was possible to achieve Internet speeds 60 times faster than the current Telstra network. But if developed further, the circuit could reach speeds 100 times faster, he added.

What is ‘The Scratch’ all about?

“The scratched glass we have developed is actually a Photonic Integrated Circuit. This circuit uses the ’scratch’ as a guide or a switching path for information – kind of like when trains are switched from one track to another – except this switch takes only one picosecond to change tracks…this means that in one second the switch is turning on and off about one million times. We are talking about photonic technology that has terabit per second capacity, we [now] use electronics for switching and that has been okay, but as we move toward a more tech-savvy future there is a demand for instant Web gratification,” Eggleton said.The University of Sydney has developed the scratch in collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark and financial support from Australian Research Council.

How it works

The new device, called ‘scratch’, uses tiny scratches on a piece of glass to guide information along optical fibers rather than using electronics’ to do the same job.

Information travels through the internet coded through a series of light flashes which are generated by lasers.

These flashes are then converted into electrical signals which the computer uses to form what is seen on the screen. But there is only so much information the electrical components of a computer can deal with at any one time.

To get around this obstacle the researchers created a filtering device which uses tiny narrow lines to filter the light into 64 channels, delivering much more information in a way which doesn’t overload the electronics of the computer.

Scratch circuits would be installed where information is served from, such as on the computer of an internet service provider.

General view

According to the Centre for Ultra-high bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS) at the University’s School of Physics, the scratch will mean almost instantaneous, error-free and unlimited access to the Internet anywhere in the world. Eggleton said that up until now information has been moving at a slow rate, but optical fibers have a huge capacity to deliver more. The scientists have claimed that this ’small scratch on a piece of glass’ is a critical building block and a fundamental advance on what is already out there.

David Britton, professor of physics at Glasgow University and a leading figure in the grid project, believes grid technologies “could revolutionize society…with this kind of computing power, future generations can collaborate and communicate in ways older people like me cannot even imagine,”

Conclusion.

The general opinion about the Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) is of a positive revolutionary turn in the world of internet. Networks that are potentially a hundred times faster than the already existing services without costing the consumer will positively change the face of the internet across the world.

. This ‘Scratch’ gives the world an opportunity to get a lot done in less then a second and can take business on the internet to sky rocketing levels, especially online marketing.

Resources

http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jul/10net.htm

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HealthSci/A_scratch_to_make_net_100_times_faster/articleshow/

www.techworld.com.au/article/252361/photonic_switching_beckons_100x_internet_speeds

www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23995523-948,00.html

www.usyd.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=2411

kooladda.wordpress.com/2008/07/12/a-scratch-to-make-net-100-times-faster

What is Lively?

Lively is a 3D virtual experience that is the newest addition to Google labs. It is available through a browser plugin for Firefox and Internet Explorer. It is Windows only for now. Lively does not feature one coherent world like Second Life but splits worlds up into different rooms. Lively was originally developed as a 20% project by Niniane Wang.

Google Lively is billed as a “chat experience” using avatars. Google says, “You’re about to embark on a chat experience in which you can communicate and express yourself using avatars in your very own space. Choose an avatar and use it to make friends and chat. Create rooms, decorate them to your liking, and make sure to invite your friends over.”
Choose a Google Lively room

What all does it offer
Lively runs completely in the browser and you use your Google account to log in and create your own avatars.

What all can you do on lively

Within the world, you can interact with other users, very much like you would do in Second Life. You can also watch YouTube clips on virtual TVs and share your own photos.

Users can choose from a number of preset animations for their characters, ranging from shaking hands with others, to applauding, crying, etc. By double clicking on certain items in the virtual world, users can also often activate some preset animations such as sitting down on a chair or jumping off a dive board.

Setting the plugin up and creating an avatar is a very simple process. Creating rooms, too, seems quite easy, as you can quickly import a number of templates to get started. Currently, all virtual items for Lively are for free, but chances are that Google will start charging for premium items in the future.

For now, the content in Lively is being created only by Google, though over time, they are planning to allow users to start creating their own content as well.

Rooms can be easily embedded into any webpage and worlds often launch with a basic skeleton of the room within just a few seconds.

Here’s how it works

Choose a Google Lively room

• From the Room List, click the title of the room you’d like to visit first.
• Use the tabs at the top of the page to sort rooms by most popular, most visitors, or newest.
• Once you’ve added friends or created a room, the My Rooms and Friends’ Rooms tabs will also be handy.

                     
Choose your Google Lively avatar

• Click My Avatar on the right sidebar.
• Click the avatar you like and choose Select Avatar (your avatar changes instantly).
• Once you’ve chosen the one you want, click the X to hide the menu.

Change your Google Lively avatar’s clothing

To change your outfit, check out the styles available in the wardrobe picker. Here’s how:

• Click My Wardrobe on the right sidebar to open your wardrobe.
• Browse or search the options in your wardrobe inventory and select items to wear. When you double-click an item, it’ll appear on your avatar instantly. You don’t have to close the window to find out if you like the look.

If you don’t like how something looks on your avatar, go back to your wardrobe, left-click on the item, and choose Remove Item.

If you want more wardrobe options, add new stuff to your inventory by o quickly change your entire outfit, click my avatar and choose I’m Feeling Lucky. You’ll see the new duds on your avatar instantly.

                        
Create your own Google Lively room

• Click new room and choose Create New Room to start the process.
• Look over each tab and choose what you want your room to look like, the permissions you want to grant visitors, and whether you’d like to play music in your room.

Conclusion

Lively lets you have the world available where you want it, rather than forcing you to go to a certain space. Or, as Google puts it: “It’s integrated with the Internet. It’s not an alternate destination. Our intention is to add to your existing life.”

Resources
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/lively_google_launches_virtual.php

http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/archives/003432.html
www.lively.com

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/be-who-you-want-on-web-pages-you-visit.html

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080708-181651

What is Piclens? 

It’s a free browser plug in from Cooliris, which provides astonishingly good image browsing facilities on the web. The best way to describe PicLens is that it’s a like the slideshow feature in Picasa or a similar photo viewing tool, but applied to web pages. Clever use of zooming, panning and 3D style presentation not only improves your ability to scan, but is also visually stunning. Piclens provides full screen immersive picture browsing of web sites that support Media RSS.

How and where it works 

To use PicLens, a user clicks a small translucent icon   that appears atop the image of   interest once the plugin is installed. The PicLens slideshow interface appears and the user can move from one photo to the next or press play and enjoy the show. A user can intuitively browse images within search results, photo albums, and Media RSS enabled websites.

Support is currently provided for Flickr, Facebook, Friendster, Picasa Web Album and image search results from Google and Yahoo. Site owners can add support to any site with photos by including Media RSS support.

What you can do on Piclens.

3D Wall

Transform your browser into a full-screen, 3D experience for online photos and videos

3D Video Search

Fly through 1000s of You Tube videos faster than you’ve ever imagined possible

 Discover

MSNBC, ESPN, movie trailers…Get the latest news, photos, and video feeds

Shop Amazon

Browse products from Amazon in a new virtual window shopping environment

Conclusion

The full screen rendering does require a decent internet speed when displaying large photographs, but visually the results are stunning. This Firefox plugin is going to find a lot of fans very, very quickly

Resources

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/26/full-screen-web-photo-browsing-with-piclens/

www.greatapps.blogspot.com

www.piclens.com

We created a short music video to showcase the India team at the Digitas Global Meet in Paris last month. The video titled “ Right Now @ Solutions Digitas”, is a inspired by Van Halen’s 1991 hit “Right Now”.
You can view it right here!

Concept, Script, Visualization, Direction & Presentation by: Nikhil Sarup (Squintedeye Media!).

If you haven’t seen the original video, watch it here:

Intel has completely revamped its initiative for the Indian youth, with the launch of Intel Youth Network (youth.intel.com)

Targeted at the tech-focused youth, the community focuses not only on technology, but also features information on exciting career options and some interesting on-site games to engage the audience. The youth Network is a one-stop shop for the youth to find interesting & relevant information, understand computing-related technologies, refer friends to win rewards, participate in exciting games & contests and  a lot more.

The network also offers an innovative web-based referral scheme, wherein members can pass on PC-sales leads that they may come across within their peer group/friends/family to GID’s (Genuine Intel Dealers) and earn exciting rewards upon closure! This in our opinion is one learn & earn program that is relevant, exciting and can be utilized with minimum fuss!

Bigger plans are afoot to make the website even more relevant & focused in the coming days.

Solutions|Digitas designed the new look and feel and worked with Intel in bringing in content partners. They also are managing the website and will be responsible for future updates, promotions et al. Solutions|Digitas’s involvement is not just limited to the online aspect of the program. They are also actively managing all on-ground promotions including those at colleges, malls & multiplexes.

You can join the network here!

VivaKi – A New Growth Engine for the New Media and Digital Environment

Paris, June 25, 2008 – Publicis Groupe today announced the launch of VivaKi, a new
strategic initiative designed to significantly improve the performance of advertisers’
marketing investments as well as boost Publicis Groupe’s growth in the context of rapidly
expanding digital markets. VivaKi will be led by Managing Partners Jack Klues and David
Kenny, both members of Publicis Groupe’s Management Board.

VivaKi will take advantage of the combined scale of the autonomous operations of Digitas,
Starcom MediaVest, Denuo and ZenithOptimedia to develop new services, new tools, and
new partnerships. The strategic move reflects Publicis Groupe’s conviction that a totally
new and more integrated organization of the  media, interactive, analog and digital
universes is necessary in order to leverage scale and technological innovation, the key
determinants of future success.

Maurice Levy, Chairman and CEO  of Publicis Groupe, commented: “The explosion of
digital over the last ten years has led to a revolution without precedent in economic history
– in terms of the incredible speed of change, its geographical reach and its depth (the
world today has at least 1.7 billion Internet users).  Our societies are being transformed
before our very eyes: the way people are  educated, gather information, entertain
themselves, meet each other, dialogue and  do business is being  profoundly influenced
around the planet by the digital, interactive and mobile phone environments. Our business
is undergoing equally vast changes. We are witnessing the creation of new global giants
(such as Microsoft, Google and Yahoo) as well as a redefinition of our business models
thanks to the blurring of boundaries: geographic, professional, as well as between content
and distribution or  roles regarding content generation.

In order to help our clients rethink their marketing and improve the performance of their
media investments in this new world, we have built a leadership position by integrating
digital capabilities in all our agencies, by acquiring Digitas and through striking innovative
partnerships with new players such as Google.

We are today taking a decisive and transformational step by profoundly modifying the
Groupe’s organization, by redirecting investments toward digital and by instituting a
significant change in our professional approach. All these changes will make our agencies
and networks even more competitive and will help our clients build better connections with
their audiences by increasing the efficiency and productivity of their marketing
investments. In reinforcing our leadership in  these new areas, we fully intend to benefit
from the surge in this sector’s growth  and to win substantial  new market share.”

The VivaKi Difference

VivaKi is sharply differentiated by four essential elements:

1. Scale – this is a key factor unleashing value for our clients as they face large new actors
in the media landscape. Publicis Groupe today has the necessary size for global
leadership in its sector. The Groupe is now further leveraging its scale by aligning
resources and the power of its operations under VivaKi.

2. Innovation – by building the VivaKi Nerve Center at the heart of the new entity, Publicis
Groupe is fulfilling several objectives:

•  Creating the world’s largest center for developing the new technologies necessary
to our clients’ future growth

•  Making the resources of the VivaKi Nerve Center available to all Groupe entities,
including our creative agencies

•  Bringing our clients the best solutions to improve performance marketing, relations
with platforms (MSN, Google, Yahoo) or social networks (MySpace, Facebook, etc),
as well as integrated media solutions  and the optimization  of data analysis and
return on investments.

3. Technology – the approach of Publicis Groupe rests on Open Source systems giving it
access to all available innovations and solutions. Proprietary tools will however be
developed, such as Navigator® and Insight Factory®. Links will be developed with digital
platforms, cable operators, telcos and media  supports to improve exchanges and to
benefit form leveraging scale.

4. Talents – with the shaking up of our industry, new more flexible and more diversified
talents — liquid talents — will be critical. Finding and developing such talent will be a core
competency of VivaKi, through the new training and career development programs offered
by its Talent Development Platform.

The different entities (Digitas, Starcom MediaVest, Denuo and ZenithOptimedia) will
continue to develop solutions specific to each of their clients, in a totally independent way
– all supported by the VivaKi Nerve Center and the Talent Development Platform.

The VivaKi Management Teams

Jack Klues and David Kenny are Managing Partners of VivaKi, functions which reflect a
shift from a traditional hierarchical management approach.

Within VivaKi, David Kenny will focus on identifying advantages linked to scale (VivaKi
Nerve Center, Talent Development Platform and Technology); Jack Klues will be
responsible for growing and developing brand-specific solutions.

According to David Kenny: “VivaKi’s scale creates unparalleled advantages for our clients.
It allows us to invest in training and developing the best talent, to sustain the strongest
open-source technology platform, and to provide strong and impactful solutions to our
media partners.”

Laura Lang is promoted CEO of Digitas replacing David Kenny.

Starcom MediaVest, ZenithOptimedia and Denuo will continue to be led by their current
CEO’s – Laura Desmond, Steve King, and Rishad Tobaccowala.

Curt Hecht will lead the VivaKi Nerve Center.

Renetta McCann will organize and activate the Talent Development Platform.

Said Jack Klues: “Starcom MediaVest Groupe, ZenithOptimedia and Digitas will take what
they need from VivaKi to strengthen their existing operations. They will continue to operate
in a completely independent way, developing customized solutions for clients. At the same
time, these clients will benefit from VivaKi’s ability to deliver proprietary tools as well as
advantages of scale — helping clients reinforce links to consumers in a more cost effective
way.”

The VivaKi Name

The name VivaKi is derived from the word “viva” which means life, and “ki” (or Qi) which is
often translated as energy flow.  According to Lévy, the Groupe sought a name that
signified a new frontier – a new lead solution in the digital era.