The way we experience and use the web is changing dramatically. That much is obvious to regular users of the internet. Less visible are the many technologies in development which will shape the (very near) future. What insiders (and increasingly the general public) refer to as “Web 2.0″ is only the beginning of the story, the proverbial tip of the iceberg. A more dramatic evolution (revolution?) is just around the corner, as information moves out of the confines of a web browser application into realms previously considered outside of cyberspace. Your coffee table, for example.

In this video, Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos Photosynth and one of the underlying technologies, Seadragon. Photosynth is reality today. Seadragon, with its amazing visualization of data, has the potential to change the web in ways we have yet to imagine.

Another development project, Microsoft Surface, re-invents the computing platform (or the coffee table, depending on your perspective). Surface not only brings the web out of the PC, but also links previously disparate tools such as your mobile phone.

The astute reader will have noted that both of these technologies are coming from Microsoft labs. This is coincidence. The point is not to promote Microsoft, but to illustrate the coming innovations which may soon change the world.

Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 @ 7:53 am Uncategorized
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