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Ivan Poupyrev

Interview taken from the February issue of Dazed & Confused:

A mathematician’s son, Ivan Poupyrev left his homeland following the collapse of the Soviet Union and divided his time between Washington and Japan, where he earned a doctorate from Hiroshima University. After an eight-year stint with Sony’s Tokyo labs he moved to Pittsburgh to take up a senior post with Disney Research, where he dreams up the interfaces of the future. Poupyrev works in physical computing, making responsive interfaces out of unexpected objects. His Botanicus Interacticus transforms ordinary house plants into touch-sensitive musical instruments through the magic of Touché sensing technology. Mathematical wizardry enables Touché to add gesture control to any object that conducts electricity – so secret gestures can unlock doorknobs too. Revel was a similarly lo-fi stroke of genius; by manipulating our bodies’ electrostatic fields, it lets our hands feel computer-generated textures. An image of a ball can feel rubbery, sand gritty and pebbles smooth.

What drew you to touch-based technology?

We can completely control data and conjure any image or sound we want from it; there are no limitations to what we can create visually. But the sense of touch is really lacking from these creations. You can’t really feel it, touch its texture, wrap your hands around it. That’s a huge lack – touch is an important part of how we experience life. So my idea is to bring the virtual into the palpable realm. Maybe you can shape soundwaves with your hands, feel light falling on your hands, or grasp objects you can’t normally see with your eyes.

What’s the difference between physical computing and ‘the internet of things’?

They all refer to the same vision of the future but come at it from different angles. The internet of things is focused on objects talking to each other over wi-fi, for example. Whereas I approach this vision of the future by making the world an interface. I did my PhD in virtual reality – I was fascinated by creating completely artificial environments you become immersed in, where anything is possible. Physical computing brings qualities of the computer into physical reality.

If you could only use storytelling or technology to enhance reality, which would you choose?

The original storytelling pretty much used narrative alone. A narrator takes you through the story step-by-step and you are essentially passive. But computer games opened storytelling right up. With video games you are an actor in the story unfolding in front of you. A compelling story will remain really important but technology gives you a greater sense of immersion. Your actions have consequences, and that fosters a far stronger emotional connection.

What other things extend the technology of storytelling?

If you imagine what the ultimate game could be – with no limitations on your imagination – then it would be your own life. If you could live your life, then load it from level one (i.e. your birth), that would be awesome! We can approximate elements of this ultimate game with wearable technology: as you go through your day, it changes your experiences according to a certain narrative, and this narrative becomes part of your real life. This idea of thinking about the ultimate experience first, then stepping back and approximating it with what we have to hand, is how I work.

So what’s the future of entertainment?

Entertainment used to be a confined experience, one-on-one with a book or sat in front of a TV. It was bound to one particular place: the theatre or cinema. Mobile devices changed the game, so the next step is to connect to the real-world environment, and the next step after that is to enhance your real-world environment. I think the next technological revolution will be in merging the physical and the digital. Simplicity is key to this. Back in the 60s, if you wanted to own a car you needed to be a part-time mechanic to maintain it. Now cars just work, they’re simple. I think that same transition needs to happen with the technologies that connect the real world to the digital.

Augmented reality is technology that merges the digital with the physical. Kevin Slavin famously criticised its visual bias and said ‘reality is augmented when it feels different’. Do you agree?

I can see both sides of the argument. Realism, by itself, is boring. When the artist can inject their very personal view of the world, morph the world and objects within it in a way that reflects how they feel about the world, that’s when things become interesting. That’s why cartoons are compelling. The resurgence of 8-bit graphics is also related to this. Bitmapped graphics enable a purity of expression: when you’ve got a limited palette, every pixel matters. Things become interesting when you can create experiences you cannot experience in the real world. That’s what fascinates me.

Brian Eno famously complained about the imprisoning nature of computer interaction. he said, ‘how does one Africanise, or Brazilianise, or otherwise liberate a computer?’

I’m with Brian Eno 100 per cent on that! Liberating yourself from the screen was exactly why I got into virtual reality in the first place. But computers themselves are a culture. For the original supercomputer designers, the idea that you would use a machine of that power to play games on would be outrageous! That way of thinking about computing as a serious tool to do serious business is still very strong. It’s less about west vs east, but it’s a historical legacy of how computers came to be.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I’m always looking at trends. I want to see the seeds of what is happening, not the results. Printed electronics really interest me at the moment. Printing is a very old technology but it’s seeing a reinvention right now. We’re printing things which were not supposed to be printed. The big shift is we’re printing things that can do things themselves. We printed an optical sensor that senses input, using LEDs and light pipes printed inside the object! These technologies will let us create previously impossible things. It’s going to be hugely significant.

Where will the next tech revolution happen?

Well, the revolution happens from all quarters. I think that the enthusiasts are the ones on the forefront but it’s when there’s big business to be had that things accelerate fast. Even with lots of stupid money being wasted on projects during the first dotcom boom, it was that swell that made the big companies wake up to the internet. But the maker community around (open-source tools for creating interactive environments) Arduino and Processing was eye- opening for me. They are tools that lower the entry bar, and the community that’s emerged bucks the trend of passive consumers. When entry barriers are lowered, people get involved. Curiosity is wired into us: the excitement of making and creating something new.

There’s A Dangerous Vacuum In Western Africa As Mali’s Government Dissolves

Mali

AP

Mali's prime minister has been arrested and forced to dissolve the government by soldiers who orchestrated a military coup earlier this year, Adam Nossiter of The New York Times reports.

The removal of Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra late Monday throws a wrench into international plans to liberate northern Mali from al-Qaeda-linked radicals who have taken over two-thirds of the country.

The 'gangster-jihadists' who currently run northern Mali have installed strict Shariah law in the north, leading to barbaric conditions including stonings, child soldiers and a complete ban of music.

Hundreds of foreign jihadists have entered the country to defend the area against a proposed offensive by UN-backed African forces, but the dissolution of the Malian government will likely delay plans for military intervention.

That delay seems to be exactly what the military wants as The Washington Post reports that Diarra's petitioning for international help caused tension with military Capt. Amadou Sanogo. Sanogo, who led the March coup, reportedly believes that the muddled Mali's military could recapture the north on its own.

U.S. and UN officials have said that they won't support intervention until constitutional rule is restored and democratic elections are held. Until then, the Malian military controls the south and the jihadists control the north.

SEE ALSO: The 'Gangster-Jihadists' Who Run Northern Mali Built Their Empire Off Ransom And Drug Payments

YES, IT’S A CRISIS: 1,000 Jobs Gone At Groupon And LivingSocial; Can The Daily Deal Sector Turn It Around? (GRPN)

Daily deals title image lifehacker

via Lifehacker

The daily deal world is in turmoil.

LivingSocial just announced the firing of 400 employees, which is about 8.9% of its total workforce.

What's more unnerving is that over the past six months, Groupon reduced its workforce by 648 positions.

More than 1,000 reductions across both businesses is a huge deal. Those reductions aren't all layoffs; some are through attrition.

To cap it all, Groupon CEO Andrew Mason's job was in question all week, and he only received his board of directors' seal of approval late Thursday.

If this was happening at Facebook or Twitter — or any other major tech brand — people would be freaking out.

So why isn't anyone freaking out yet?

Arguably, this is a recession in the daily deal business.

It's the industry's first, given that it didn't exist until about four years ago.

LivingSocial told Business Insider via email about the job cuts. "After two years of hyper-growth from 450 to more than 4500 employees, these moves will align our cost structure against our 2013 plans and will help us set the company on a path for long-term growth and profitability. Specifically, they will allow us to invest more in critical priorities like marketing, mobile, and the hiring of additional technology staff."

LivingSocial told CNNMoney that it is moving much of its customer service from its headquarters in D.C. to Tuscon, "so some job openings will be available in that area." Sales and editorial, however, have simply been "streamlined."

The job losses reflect the shaky economic underpinnings of the daily deal business, which Groupon and LivingSocial have yet to wrestle into control.

LivingSocial posted a net loss of $566 million in Q3 2012. $496 million of LivingSocial's loss stems from a huge writedown of some of its acquisitions from 2011, the Washington Business Journal reports. LivingSocial's revenue also fell to $124 million in the three-month period, down from $138 million in the second quarter.

As of market close today, Groupon's stock price is currently sitting at $4.54, according to Yahoo Finance. The 52-week range is shocking: it reached a high of $25.84. That followed six months' of shrinking total billings at the company. (Its American business is robust; the international arm less so.)

A Groupon spokesperson tells us that its layoffs were largely due to new technology the company invested in that made those jobs irrelevant. In fact, we're told, Groupon has 200 job vacancies open across North America right now.

And, of course, the job cuts don't mean that Groupon and LivingSocial are going to vanish tomorrow. They're huge businesses after all. But they are cause for concern as they illuminate potential weaknesses in the daily deal business model.

The main problem is operational scale.

Both companies are dependent on large salesforces. It is very difficult for them to leverage operation scale: To sell more, they need to employ more people. Groupon historically has prided itself on the long-term relationships its salesforce builds with its merchants. They have struggled to leverage self-serve, turnkey sales the way Facebook has.

In fact, Groupon and LivingSocial aren't even tech companies. Rather, they're email companies. Although email is here to stay for a long time, the tidal shift among consumers is away from email to instant messaging, social media messaging, and mobile phone messaging. They need to pivot into alternate methods.

Groupon is trying just that, with Groupon Goods, which so far has been a success. And both companies need to do what Groupon says it is trying to do, which is replace human-to-human selling with tech that can increase each individual worker's selling power.

Lastly, the downturn ask whether the daily deal business has hit one of its natural ceilings: new merchants. Both companies need a fresh supply of new merchants to offer more deals, or to re-up on repeated deals. It's an open question that both Groupon and LivingSocial now have to prove: Is there enough new merchants or incremental repeat business from merchants for the sector to continue to grow?

A thousand-plus layoffs suggest that, for now, the question lacks a satisfying answer.

Fashion Roundup: Is Lena Dunham the next Carrie Bradshaw? Plus, Kristen Stewart at Paris Fashion Week!

Anne Hathaway got married to longtime beau Adam Shulman in a stunning Valentino dress! The actress got married in a Jewish ceremony last weekend, in spite of reports in the media stating that she would not marry this year, since she’s been so busy with The Dark Knight Rises and her new movie Les Miserables. (Refinery 29)

Taylor Swift covers Glamour magazine’s November issue. The teen star also answers questions inside,, revealing stuff she only tells her girlfriends. She talks about relationships, fame and money... (Glamour)

HBO ‘Girls’ star and creator, Lena Dunham, covers her first fashion glossie. She’s featured on the cover of ASOS Magazine. The talented writer is becoming somewhat of a fashion icon, after being on the cover of New York magazine, as well as attending the Met Costume Institute Gala. (Fashionista)

Avril Lavigne presents her Abbey Dawn Spring 2013 collection. This rock & roll clothing line is inspired by Avril’s own personal style and traveling experiences, mainly from Tokyo and Japanese styles. (Examiner)

Paris fashion show cancelled because of missing goods… Turkish designer Hakaan Yildirim was forced to cancel his show at PFW, due to mysteriously losing his Spring 2013 collection. Last November, the same thing happened to Marc Jacobs. (Washington Post)

Closing our list of weekly highlights, Kristen Stewart attended Balenciaga's Spring 2013 presentation at Paris Fashion Week. Showing up in high spirits, wearing a bold outfit with a neon jacket and black printed pants, she sat next to Anna Wintour and Salma Hayek in the front row.

Take a look:

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