Jason Rosado

As many of you know, there are rampant rumors are that the iPhone 5 will be announced this Tuesday, but I’ve got to register my suspicion against this mass expectation, if only so that I might be able to say I told ya so. And if I’m wrong (which is highly possible) then I’ll register the fact that I’m not very impressed by how they’ve officially announced the upcoming announcement event:

I have a sneaky suspicion that what they announce will be under-whelming. Why? Because I’m surprised the image on the invite for the upcoming announcement is so boring and generic and revealing of nothing. Usually they give a good hint of what’s going to be announced. Like this one, for example, which promoted the advent of the iPad 2:

Or this one which hinted at the pending ubiquity of the iPhone 4 OS:

Am I the only one who thinks the announcement image leaves more than just a bit to be desired? Especially, when compared to the examples of previous images? Add to that, the fact that most BIG Apple announcements have occurred at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco, and this event is at Company Headquarters in Cupertino.

In addition to all this, this Apple announcement has clearly been scooped by oh, just about everyone but Apple. AND if Apple really intended to promote the iPhone 5, don’t you think they would be pulling out some bigger marketing punches than this simple image?

So, if my suspicion proves correct, then I’m willing to bet they might just announce that the iPhone will now be available on Sprint and/or T-Mobile. That’s still an announcement. Still makes the analysts happy (expanded distribution) and if perhaps other rumors are to be believed, then perhaps a new iPhone 4 version, just not the 5.

Either that, or their marketing department is asleep at the wheel…
Before you say it – Yes, I know. I’m in way too deep on this… LOL

I read Douglas Rushkoff’s thought-provoking piece on CNN.com titled “Are Jobs Obsolete?” today and read some critique of the piece, and chose to respond to some on a list serve to which I am subscribed.  Here’s a synopsis of my thoughts on his article:

I think the premise that the reason why our economy is stagnant right now and for the foreseeable future is somewhat sound: By electronifying a variety of tasks that use to be handled by people, we’re sowing the seeds of our own demise, and so we need to figure out how to live better within that premise, so that we can continue to support efficiencies (where economically feasible) yet not simply continue down this path of creating an economy filled with robots, and the people who oil them.

It’s also why President Obama’s big supposed post-Labor Day jobs boost strategy to create more public works projects for all of the out-of-work construction workers may end up being a farce. That will cover MAYBE a million workers, what about the other 14 MILLION?  There are very little manufacturing jobs here any more, they’ve all been off-shored.  So many things rely on information-exchange, knowledge working and services.

How do we get “jobs” back??  Well, at the rate this is all going, you’d have to create an economically feasible reason to bring manufacturers back to the United States to begin with.  So, that means the abolition of the minimum wage and/or the repeal of the Thirteenth Amendment (prohibiting Slavery), or totally shutting down our trade agreements with other countries and mandate that everything be homegrown.  These are the reasons why jobs have left this country.  It’s too costly to be a manufacturer in this country and have a payroll of all American workers. The same goes for EVERY industry here.

For the record, I am being facetious and for the record, it’s also something I’m NOT AT ALL advocating for.  What I meant by the above paragraph that is that the minimum wage is what makes this country less attractive to corporations like Apple because they’re able to pay (what would seem like to us here in the US to be) “slave labor” wages to workers of other countries.  That, and tax free zones.

I don’t have the real answer, but does it makes sense to use taxpayer dollars to try to attract companies to come back to the States to create jobs but with the incentives to the companies of not having to pay ANY taxes at all while they’re here?  That seems to be the only way that will be possible, and in my opinion its double dipping.

No company in their right mind (other than for nationalistic pride) would bring their operations back on-shore for more cost, more taxes and less profit.  What would happen if they did that?  First, they’d get a ton of press, then slowly their stock price would drop, investors would dump their shares, and they’d probably fall off the markets.

I’m not justifying any of this, I’m just sharing what I think to be true.  To be clear, I’m not advocating for any of the crazy sh– I said would have to happen, I’m just saying that crazy sh– would have to happen in order to have the companies bring back their operations onshore.  The opportunity and ability to offshore is way too enticing, and there’s absolutely zero incentive. The horse has left the barn.

What I think needs to happen (which of course, won’t) is that after public works projects, the jobs bill should go entirely towards education.  Re-purpose the out-of-work knowledge workers who are just looking for their next corporate job.  Get them to become science and math teachers, college counselors and guidance counselors, teacher’s aids, etc.  That should cover another 1-3 million workers, easy.  Also, yes, put other information workers to work securing our borders and immigration system in a reasonable manner (I’m not saying just build fences).

There’s something to be said about companies like Task Rabbit that are breaking down traditional jobs into individualized tasks that are contracted out to the highest bidder. Set up a contractor system, where people can work smaller jobs for the government in short term areas of need.  Have people support health care reform initiatives and beach clean up and FEMA projects, etc. Have people test into government supported ITP-like programs that pay them to learn advanced computer skills (enough to at least make us competitive with India and other developing nations taking those jobs away).  And also create an incentive/points/rebate system complete with mobile app, etc. that incentivizes american consumers to buy locally to get them to consider where things are made, what that means for their economy, etc.

And we’ve intentionally painted our own selves into this corner.  In that admittedly unrealistic realm, the best thing (of the available sh-ttiest options mentioned above that include abolishing the minimum wage and advocating slave labor) for perhaps a short period of time to do is to put severe cramps on Freedom of the Media, especially Financial Media, since the era that we’re living in with respect to transparency towards business reporting etc. is creating this hysteria around whether or not the Dow is up or down in a particular day and what that means for our “economy.”  For heavens sakes, if Steve Jobs’ coughing fit is a a little louder than normal on a particular day, Apple stock goes down significantly.  It’s ridiculous.

We’re information over-sensitive.  We’re living in a country where companies with double digit profit margins STILL impose  hiring freezes because “the street” thinks they could still do better.  How does this make any sense to anyone?!?

We can’t create new “jobs” because our long term economic success depends on our ability to NOT create jobs through the use of media, electronics and robotics.  Our country’s crown jewel company (Apple, again) has followed this business model to a “T” with Foxconn, etc.  So we’re talking out of both sides of our mouths here. It’s like that old PSA about abusing cocaine (I do coke, so I can work longer, so I can earn more, so I can do more coke…)

So, getting back to the earliest point, if we collectively acknowledge this demise and understand our fate, what kind of new society do we create to work successfully within these constraints? This, I believe, is Rushkoff’s point.  How will we survive?  Will we just admire the problem or find new ways to fix it?

Stayed up late last night watching the news on the capture and killing our nation’s Bogeyman, Osama Bin Laden. While I would imagine it is some cause for “relief,” that this era of World History is officially over with his passing, I felt a little queasy watching the video of the rapidly formed “celebrations” in front of The White House and Ground Zero.

Please make no mistake, I hold zero sympathy for OBL and don’t regret his extermination whatsoever, but I am more sensitive to how we as Americans portray ourselves to the outside world. Seeing the celebrations reminding me of this unfortunate video after 9/11 that shook so many of us to the core.

I would prefer that we choose a more somber tone to reflect the passing of this awful man. I would prefer that we continue to focus on the tragedy of war and the failure of civilized society to address its issues without resorting to violence and death as a form of expression and communication. As Ghandi is known to have said, “An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.”

We should not forget the many, many innocent people of all countries, religions and perspectives that had to die in order for some of us to celebrate on this particular day. I would prefer that we not celebrate this day as we would celebrate a triumphant run or hail mary pass into the end zone, but rather consider a more discrete and respectful tone for all those we have lost as victims in the centuries-old wars between religious and ideological extremists.

I ran into Asli Sevinc last night at the ITP Winter Show, and she reminded me that I never posted our Guacamotion Stop Motion Video which Marco Castro and I did for our “Methods of Motion” class.  She was looking for it in order to figure out how to make Guacamole.  Here it is – Enjoy!

Big debates abound regarding the building of a mosque some 3-4 blocks away from the northern most boundary of the Ground Zero site.

There are some who are protesting the very concept of building a mosque close to Ground Zero. A friend of mine sent an interesting article (here) some of whose premise he seemed to support.

Mayor Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, supports the concept.

One wonders how close would still be too close? If it were 50 blocks away would this still be an issue? My bet is “probably.”

I’m sure there are plenty who would even argue against a new mosque in Washington Heights as “too close.” As someone who works a block away from 7 WTC and the proposed site location and who Iives nearby, I can’t say that I’m opposed to the building of the mosque.

Politics have welded Islam and terrorism together in the hearts and minds of many in this country. But the events of 9/11 had an effect on the entire world regardless of one’s religion or cultural background.

Allowing the association of religion to extremist acts such as terrorism and military strikes is a double edged sword that hurts both parties.

Rejecting a community’s objective to reclaim their identity near the venue that most influences the world’s perception of said community could mean that the extremist view of that mis-represented community prevails.

The question of danger is moot. Everyone knows that the FBI, NSA, CIA, and IRS will have their bugs and moles all over the place.

What I find more sickening are the vultures who sell photo albums with pictures of the events of that day and the tourists who ogle and buy them. Much worse are the politicians who use 9/11 to tug at heartstrings or inspire fear against the “other.” Or the racists who use the event to further excacerbate their ignorance.

New York is a city of difference, if we continue to push communities away because of their difference and use the Rudy Giuliani approach to diplomacy, New York’s greatest merit will cease to be.

We CAN get past 9/11. That’s not to say we should ever forget it. But there’s a difference between everyone knowing you have a scar and showing everyone you have a scar all the time, every day. More dialogue is better than less any day of the week. Blocking the Mosque is like stifling the dialogue.

If the Muslims in the mosque truly show the best side of their community through their work in the mosque/community center, that could do wonders for the world’s perception of Islam, and perhaps contribute towards a better overall mutual understanding.

Following the logic of blocking the mosque’s creation would be the same as preventing the many Muslim vendors who sell I Love NY t-shirts in the shadow of WTC from performing their daily prayer rituals. It would also mean that the President of the United States and any other elected officials should resist asking God to bless our soldiers before they head to battle.

Round 2 of Exciting vs. Frightening covers the inevitable blending of technology and organisms. Yeah, we all know where this will eventually go but in the meantime, we can watch it all evolve slowly and inevitably.

In this corner: The Skinput project coming from Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft promises to turn your body into a touchscreen. Who needs an iPod Touch when you have your own forearm as an input device?

Skinput makes use of a microchip-sized pico projector embedded in an armband to beam an image onto a user’s forearm or hand. When the user taps a menu item or other control icon on the skin, an acoustic detector also in the armband analyzes the ultralow-frequency sound to determine which region of the display has been activated.

I’ve long wondered why at the very least no one’s come up with a simple device holder that fits around the forearm. Actually, Ameya Mhatre did this at ITP last year. Not sure where he’s at with that… but this concept goes one step beyond and throws out the device entirely. You make the call: Exciting or Frightening?

In the other corner, coming from Japan. World renowned home of weird organic integration with technology, comes the “Hana Sukkiri Melody” ringtone which promises to clear your sinuses just by placing the phone near your nose when your phone rings. Now, as a sufferer of sinus allergies and the like, this seems interesting and would certainly diminish my need for Sinex, but then again, this begs the question: how the hell did they think of this? And more, how did they test this ringtone? More from the article here

The Japan Ring Tone Laboratory has some much more sensible-sounding ringtones in the pipeline, including “sleep-promoting ringtone,” “ringtone makes your date,” “crow scarer ringtone,” “ringtone makes your skin beautiful,” and more.

So, whaddya think… which one’s exciting and which one’s frightening. Let me know!

Here’s a new kind of post on recent technological innovations in our wonderfully delightful future-as-present reality. To reflect upon this current day, wherein we finally live most of the future that our ancestors warned us of (1984, for example) I’ll post one thing that’s innovative (and frightening) versus another that’s innovative (and exciting).

Readers can opine on which is better, interesting, etc. I should give credit in advance to my peers at ITP, who often introduce these new finds on our wonderful student email list. These two items come from Ms. Emily Ryan of NoTrustFund fame and Mr. Ari Joseph, of NotTwoMuch.

First up, coming in the Frightening Category. A major reason to find a significant other who simply doesn’t suck, steal your money, or curse at your family members and marry him/her NOW, so as not to engage in what might be the Dating Scene of the near-term future. Because, if you are “single and ready to mingle,” think again, especially if your date has the DateCheck app for your mobile device.

Not only does this harken me back to my days as an undergrad at Wesleyan University, where the DateCheck of choice at the time (rumor had it) were the stalls in the Women’s Bathrooms in the Student Center. It was here that women posted handwritten lists of men to stay away from. Names were added on occasion, some were scratched out. Others were defended or substantiated. Now, a young woman need look no further than their own iPhone to get the “goods” on their potential Mr. Right. Is this exciting or frightening?

And now for our feature in the Exciting category, we have an innovation by those crazy kids (what’ll they think of next) at MIT. The Flyfire is the next generation of multidimensional graphical presentation and they utilize (wait for it…) flying LED helicopters (three words I never even thought of to put together in one sentence).

That’s right, coordinated arrays of little LED lights flying in mid-air to illustrate oh, maybe the Mona Lisa or your next Pepsi ad… Hmm… The possibilities are endless. This is where Lightbrite meets Zero Gravity. Right now, the flying LED helicopters are about the size of a golf-ball. Will they get smaller? The answer, undoubtedly is, yes, of course they will.

But could they get so small that they become the re-animation of a normal display upon which one would watch their video (or video game) entertainment?  Will this technology let me decide where I want my screen to be at any given time?  Like on the ceiling when I’m lying flat on my back or against the walls when I’m walking around the house?  Will it introduce the z-axis in a new as yet physically unaccomplished way for what we know to be 3D imagery today? Is this exciting or frightening?

I would love to hear someone (anyone’s!) thoughts on these matters. Please feel free to post a comment!

So, I’ve been consulting a good friend of mine on the development of a blog, Green Eggs and Glam that focuses on the intersections of her passion for fashion with being a mother and educator. Another friend and fellow classmate at ITP, Ruxy Staicutt also shared some thoughts recently on designing and building an iPhone app for the shopping experience for her Thesis.

This led me to research and think about particular iPhone apps that cater to fashion and shopping. Here are some articles and thoughts about the topic:

Here’s a cool write-up in Styleist on Tommy Hilfiger’s iPhone App (here). From the article, below:

Let’s say you’re in a store and there’s a Tommy item you just can’t live without. But, alas, your size is sold out. Don’t fret! You can immediately check availability with the app and place an order from your Apple device. If something’s out of stock, you have the option of being alerted when it becomes available again. And if you start shopping from your computer, but need to run out mid-spree, your cart will show up on your iPhone and vice versa.

Norma Kamali has been getting a lot of on-line press for her App too (here). But for the most part, the app is not very interactive, in
the sense that you can’t purchase apparel through the app itself. It focuses for the most part on images, press clippings, and a mobile web version of her blog.

Here’s a great overview of different fashion apps as well.
This article led me to find Ralph Lauren’s make-your-own-rugby app. Now that’s creative! I think I’ll be seeing a couple of self styled rugby shirts in my wardrobe soon.

What most interests me in this space, beyond migrating what amounts to “brochure-ware” to the iPhone for viewing on a smaller, albeit touch-enabled screen are the models that allow the user to initiate and execute transactions right through the device. This facilitates the retail experience and adds additional value to the fun (sometimes pain) that can be retail shopping. Here’s a good article from the Times on how mobile commerce facilitated Holiday Shopping this past season. The article also introduces ShopSavvy:

With ShopSavvy™ users can scan the barcode of any product using their phone’s built-in camera. Once scanned, it will search for all the best prices on the internet.

The Lucky iPhone App is billing itself as:

the first-ever digital shopping concierge. Shop Lucky’s favorite products from your iPhone, and we’ll track them down at a store near you, check availability, and even put them on hold for same-day pickup!

Check out the screen shots from their iPhone app below. This business model makes a lot of sense since it ties the retail, catalog and mobile experience together. It is a free app, although I’m willing to bet for the value (and saved time) it provides to a consumer, one could argue it could be a pay-app.

More to come on this topic, as I come across it myself. In the meantime, Happy Shopping!

I thought you might find some of this research regarding Mobile Commerce interesting:

Key facts from this article regarding Mobile Commerce:
– Nine million Americans have already made at least one m-commerce purchase
– 125 million Americans are willing to make a purchase in the near future.
– Many merchants are utilizing alternative Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for their websites to be activated when their customers access their websites via mobile devices

And per this article, the Tower Group estimates:
– by the beginning of 2009, between 150-300 banks and credit unions will sign contracts for mobile banking solutions
– Mobile banking will reach close to 6 million users by the end of 2009
– 42 million active users of mobile banking solutions by 2012

According to this article:
– More smart phones will be purchased than PCs in 2011

And interesting developments per global giving/donations, in this article:
– Donations via mobile devices are outpacing commercial payments
– $11 million in 3 days were raised for Haiti’s disaster relief efforts via text messaged initiated payments

Here’s another article that supports my long-held hypothesis that mobile philanthropy will drive mobile commerce in the United States. The article posits that the crisis in Haiti will be the turning point for adoption of mobile commerce.

… and this article discusses the opportunity for mobile remittances addressing un-banked and migrant worker customer bases

Update: Could Microsoft be reading my blog? Doubt it, but check out this short article on this very topic. Microsoft is first out of the gate! How often do you get to say that?

In the news today, is the announcement that the storied New York Times will be introducing a for-pay model for their web information. Information on their new “metered model” is here and in the video below:

In my humble opinion, the metered model shouldn’t be necessary. What the New York Times should do is to finally acquiesce to the changing times. It’s 2010 and their delivery methods are still somewhat the same. Sure, they have a great looking newspaper and a great-looking web site, but how do the two platforms meet and support one another? The answer: They don’t.

Here’s my suggestion: The New York Times should implement QR or bar codes for all advertisements in their paper version such that simple micropayment transactions can be executed with mobile devices. See a good blog post here and another video below for how they’re widely used in Asia.

They can use the QR codes to integrate their online media (ex: David Pogue videos) with their paper version so that a scan of the codes in the paper version would bring up the video in iTunes (on either the iPhone or the iTablet) for purchase at a reasonable price somewhere between $0.10 – $0.25. They can do the same for other digital media like music, video, e-books, etc.

They can then take a cut on the transaction (and or just increase advertising rates, since they can argue that advertising within the Times is more conducive to revenue-enablement to the advertisers).

They should also change the dimensions of the printed version to tabloid size to reduce paper costs and or work to develop some sort of for-pay printable (and delivered) version for people who still want to read on the train/have tangible version in their hands. The for-pay printable version should also enable customer-specific advertising (based on associative recommendations, like Amazon) that also allows for quick and easy transaction execution.

In this way, they keep a cost-effective paper version of their news that will satisfy the traditionalists yet can actually be read easier, but also offer a hybrid style of media that is more executable and brings greater value to both readers and advertisers.

Perhaps they’ve explored these options, my assumption is that they haven’t. Happy to hear anyone’s comments on these ideas.