Matmi's Musings

Please visit us at our new blog - current news, great articles and the usual musings from the matmi team!

It’s a sugary skyline that marks the bitter-sweet story of London’s Docklands. The piece commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Museum of London Docklands

Matmi's insight:

If you know me, you'd would understand why this particular piece of art appeals to me. I have a sort of thing for sugary edibles. Aside from that, it is also a nice peice of creative work. ^SL 

The object of this competition is to create a cool JavaScript "application" no larger than 1k. Starting out as a joke, the first version ended with a serious amount of submissions, prizes and quality.

Matmi's insight:

Although it's a basic demo, it's amazing that something like this can be produced with less than 1kb of Javascript. To keep it under 1k takes alot of thought and creativity. Some other great examples on the main page of demos.  ^NB

Augmented reality and 3D printing, while very different technologies, circle around the same general concept: bridging the gap between the physical world and the digital world. 3D printing makes the digital physical, and augmented reality enhances the physical world with digital overlays.

So what happens when you combine them? This question was at the heart of a project created by Dutch new media artist Sander Veenhof and designer Joris van Tubergen, who fused the worlds of 3D printing and augmented reality in a really interesting way.

The concept, dubbed the “UltimARker”, allows 3D printer owners to get a real-time preview of their 3D designs as their devices create them. Along with the design overlay, the UltimARker (which is a play on the name of the Ultimaker 3D printer and “AR” or “augmented reality”) also displays information like how long the printer’s been at work, and, in theory, how long it will take a job to complete. You can see how this works in the video below.

Matmi's insight:

This is a lovely proof of concept, combining two distinct technologies both brudging the gap of the physical world and digital - "phygital".

As the article mentions, with the increasing use of augmented relaity and the release of Google Glass, expect to see more and more innovative uses of this technology. 

Twitter is increasingly pressing beyond the confines of the 140 character text messages that defined the social network at its inception. The Twitter timeline of today -- replete with tweets that feature pictures, videos, music and short clips of news articles -- is far from the timeline of truncated status updates that launched the social network seven years ago. Indeed, the company seems intent on challenging nearly every social media competitor, from Instagram to Facebook to YouTube.

Matmi's insight:

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Google continues to increase the reach of its Google+ platform, and today the company is launching a new mobile content recommendation service powered by Google+. These recommendations will appear as small widgets at that bottom of the screen as users browse a news site that has enabled this service.

Google’s launch partner for this service is Forbes, but others can implement these recommendations by just adding a single line of code to their mobile sites. Recommendations, Google says, can appear regardless of whether a users are signed in to Google+.

Matmi's insight:

This move doesn't come as a huge surprise. Google have made no secret as of late about the increasing importance they are putting on social and mobile - attempting to change the way we find, create, share and consume content.

Their own social media platform may still feel like a ghost town to some but the number of active users is on the rise. Just about every major brand now has a strong Google+ presence, attracting more users.

"As it stands now, Facebook currently accounts for 46% of all social logins, while Google’s share is hovering around 34%. Facebook had a 3% drop from Q4 2012, but guess where it went? That’s right. It went to Google+. This is the second consecutive quarter that Google’s social network has closed the gap on Facebook, and the inverse relationship is no coincidence." - http://bit.ly/125NVZ6 

With the myriad of services you can now access with one Google login - YouTube, Drive, Play Store, Music etc. - the uptake of Andorid smartphones and the emphasis they are placing on social signals within the world of SEO, it's no wonder that the tech goliath looks set to make a come back in the social media world.

The Guinness Book of World Records has officially confirmed The Smiler roller coaster at Alton Towers as having more inversions than any other coaster.

Matmi's insight:

Well it is official. The Smiler is going to turn you inside out with 14 loops. We at Matmi are proud to have been able to work alongside the guys at Alton Towers and TBWA to develop The Smiler's companion app. Check it out, it's FREE!

For iOS and Android - http://bit.ly/YQBjsf 

Visiting Alton Towers soon? Then have the app at the ready to scan the hidden images dotted around the park and get all the in-game unlocks.

With over 500,000 Indian English language learners becoming fans of the official Facebook page of the UK-based Cambridge English Language Assessment, the page

Matmi's insight:

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TechCrunch is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.

Matmi's insight:

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Yesterday we were alerted to a video on YouTube, after appealing for more information, we have been sent more footage recovered from Dan and Trisha's house. It appears that Dan and Trisha have gone missing. Do you know anything?

Please let us know at http://www.the-smiler.com/videos

Matmi's insight:

The Ministry OF Joy hard at work, experimenting with new recruits for The Smiler. An open invitation for more volunteers to be 'marmalised' will be sent soon...

A nice (and creepy) viral video promoting Alton Tower up coming new ride, The Smiler. Can you find the clues and enter them on the @altontowers website? po.st/sepR6S

Or download the FREE app to experience the ride in 3D and much more: http://www.the-smiler.com/the-game/

Developer Mike DiGiovanni just created an app called Winky. It lets you wake Glass from standby and take a picture with the wink of an eye.

"Winking really changes things," DiGiovanni writes. "You might not think it's hard to say "Ok, Glass Take a Picture" or even just tap a button. But it's a context switch that takes you out of the moment, even if just for a second. Winking lets you lifelog with little to no effort. I've taken more pictures today than I have the past 5 days thanks to this. Sure, they are mostly silly, but my timeline has now truly become a timeline of where I've been."

Matmi's insight:

*funny and amazing

Matmi's insight:

Established over a century ago, and Liberty London are always ahead of the times with their visual merchandising. Check their current QR Windows in place of the traditional fashion displays..

( I also really want a piece of their Levi/Liberty collaboration http://www.liberty.co.uk/levis-liberty/article/fcp-content but dunno if thats really geeky enough for the matmi following!) >MH

CEO of Perfect Fools Patrick Gardner argues that luxury brands are missing a trick by opting for ineffective advertising over innovative tech solutions to connect with customers

Matmi's insight:

Really cool article explaining the opportunites available to fashion and lifestyle brands to reach audiences; I've just been reading about Topshop, Burburry and Google+ at London Fashion Week, these brands are getting pretty tech savvy! > MH

Matmi's insight:

Absolutely love this! Not sure that it would work in Macclesfield, but the simplicity of the design makes it an absolute winner for me. ~ SM

Versus/Hearts is about rivalry.

Matmi's insight:

Lovely ultra-simplified geometric artwork by the inspired Dan Matutina. Matutina pits both classic and current enemies against each other using fantastic naturalistic textures, noise and materials.

Goes to show what a little imagination can do with such a basic shape.

As smartphones and tablets have become the norm, more and more of us rely every day on mobile applications.

Matmi's insight:

The Next Generation of mobile apps is here , and your business could be a part of it. As stated in this infographic - mobile users spend 81.5% of the time consuming media using apps, versus 18.5% using an internet browser, It's time to get rid of the boring banner ads and move your digital marketing to an app to drastical increase your customer engagement levels

From human anatomy and Maxim cover-models to Sesame Street, tech giant says AR is more than a gimmick. By Stuart Dredge

Matmi's insight:

AR is going to become such a big part of how we see everyday life. Get on board! - SM