TED Blog

David Pogue on TEDTalks

David Pogue is the personal technology columnist for The New York Times, an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News, and one of the world's bestselling how-to authors. In this unconventional talk, he offers a sweeping (and unusual) view on the state of software, partially set to music. [Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 22:05]

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Lego my Audi

Could digitized analog be the new black?

From Pixar's incredible Zoetrope to the time-lapse interstitial films we saw between sessions at TED 2006, capturing analog events on digital media suddenly seems a lot more interesting and compelling than slick computer graphics or a carefully manicured piece of Photoshop wizardry.  I think it has something to do with authenticity and tangibility, that Deer Hunter-esque aesthetic sensibility articulated by Robert De Niro which says "This is this.  This ain't somethin' else.  This is this!".  Ultimately, digitized analog just feels more human.

For example, the Audi race car depicted in the illustration to the left is actually a digital photo of a hand-built sculpture made up of, oh, a few quadrillion-zillion Lego bricks.  As you can see from this video about the making of the illustration, starting with a photograph and building a Lego rendition of the image and then taking another photo of the sculpture entails a lot more work than would have gone into a simple digital manipulation of said original image, but the end result is so much more compelling.  It's cool, it's a fun story to watch, and I'm glad that artist Todd Osborn did it.

By the way, the Audi R10 will be racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend.  A wicked piece of technology, entertainment and design, the R10 is the first serious diesel-powered entry at the historied French endurance race, and will make big news if it wins.  No, it doesn't feature quattro, but its V12 diesel motor represents a serious leap in the state of the art.

Photoshop Fraud: It isn't just for tabloids anymore

At TEDGlobal, UK artist Alison Jackson raised eyebrows with her brilliant faked celebrity photographs — the Queen in bed with her corgis, Diana and Dodi with a baby they never had — pictures so disturbingly realistic they could fool fans and family alike. Jackson's images are manipulated the old-fashioned way (they're staged with celebrity doubles) but they raised again that digital-era question: In the age of Photoshop, can you believe your eyes?

The issue goes beyond the tabloids. Following last month's revelation that Korean researcher Dr. Hwang Woo Suk faked evidence of cloning human stem cells, scientific journals are also standing guard against digitally manipulated images. In fact, The Journal of Cell Biology has put in place a systematic method of analyzing digital files, so they can smoke out traces of Photoshop forgery. This New York Times piece examines the methods of manipulation (Can't clone cells? Just use the "clone stamp" tool!) and the fancy footwork needed to detect the deception.

Google Earth Released for the Mac

At long last, Google Earth — which has been demoed at several TEDs in different contexts — has been released for the Mac. TEDsters got an early glimpse of Google Earth at TED2002 when Dan Dubno gave a fly-through of its previous incarnation, Keyhole. And Domus editor Stefano Boeri used Google Earth to explore the future of architecture at TEDGlobal. The PC version has been available (in beta) since May. Now, finally, Mac-using TEDsters can share the eery exhileration of zooming in from outer space to the corner store.

MemeWatch: Evil Search Engines

Everyone loves to love Google. With its uncluttered interface, useful services and utterly likeable founders (TEDsters both), what's not to like? But what if the friendly search engine revealed a sinister under-belly? What if it reneged on its corporate mantra, "Don't Be Evil." Such ponderings are fueling one of the most entertaining memes in the blogosphere: The Evil Search Engine Scenario. TEDGlobal producer Bruno Giussani and The Search author John Battelle have been swapping Hollywood-worthy stories of a world in which Google switches sides ....

Georgia O'Keefe: Software muse?

Was Georgia O'Keefe the unnamed inspiration behind the (rather beautiful) icon for open-source web browser FireFox? ArtsJournal supplied the evidence: Goat Horn with Red (left) v. Firefox logo (right). You make the call. [Hat tipped to Boing Boing for the link]

Are we inside Bubble 2.0?

Something truly significant is happening right now in the world of web creation. Engineers, entrepreneurs, and investors are buzzing with the possibilities of web 2.0 technologies, and the interactive applications they enable. There's an energy — even a joyfulness — pervading the industry that this former web gal hasn't seen since perhaps 1999. The web is getting fun again.

But the flip side of the fun is the fear that we might be witnessing (or rather, inflating) another bubble. "Bubble 2.0," as TEDster David Hornik calls it in VentureBlog today:

Over the last couple of months I've noticed an increasing sense of unease in the venture community about the trend in Web 2.0 company creation and financing events. While no one is officially willing to peg it Bubble 2.0 for fear of missing the next great opportunity, I've been having lots of conversations with venture investors about this nagging feeling that we've been here before....

So why am I now getting this increasingly uneasy feeling? ... There are a large number of "companies" being created again for the express purpose of being acquired ... These folks are unabashed about their intention to be acquired and they are developing their software and services with an eye towards compatibility with their would-be acquirers.

Acquisitions in and of themselves are certainly not a problem. The vast majority of money-making venture investments reach liquidity through acquisition. But, by in large, the most successful venture investments end in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) ... If companies are indeed again being built for acquisition rather than independence, venture investors are in for a rude re-awakening (that will be precipitated by a very loud popping sound). While a few companies being built for acquisition will be acquired, the vast majority will ultimately run out of money and be shut down.

For those of us, as David writes, "who've seen this movie before," it's an important conversation to continue. Full post from VentureBlog: Built To Be Bought (Bubble 2.0)