WisconsInnovation

What is ethical when it comes to tinkering with patent protected hardware? Is it different for hardware than it is for software? This article introduces Adafruit which is a company that sells DIY electronic kits and open source software. They are searching for programmers capable of hacking the new Microsoft Kinect device. Adafruit is offering a $2,000 reward to programmers that can produce drivers that will unlock the devices RGB camera, a depth-sensor, four microphones and motorized pivot. Microsoft is not supporting their efforts to unlock the device and has mentioned the possibility of a lawsuit. The situation is similar to the launch of Linux, but on a much smaller scale. Software giant Microsoft is trying to control the uses of its product, but creative programmers see potential for more functionality.

Microsoft fosters a containment culture. I think that if Microsoft allowed their customers to modify their hardware products they would see growth in sales. They need to capitalize on the modifications that their users are going to make regardless of their support.

I read an article yesterday about an undercover officer who videotaped a college student modifying an Xbox 360. The student was charging $60 for a modification on the Xbox that would allow you to download old school games to the hard drive. He is facing up to 10 years in prison. I think that something is very wrong with our laws if they are going to sentence a creative college student to 10 years in prison for making the Xbox better than it was.

Backed by Netscape, the new social media-based browser "RockMelt" was launched today. The browser, developed conjointly by innovators Tim Howes and Eric Vishria (in complete secrecy), has been dubbed a "social browser" and holds the intention of "build[ing] your online connections into your Web browsing experience." As social media and the social nature of the Internet has crescendoed, Howes and Vishria noted that many users spend the vast majority of their online time interacting with sites like Facebook and Twitter. Consequentially, the browser seeks to integrate user profiles into the browsing experience.

In this YouTube clip, Sir Ken Robinson, a world-renowned education and creativity expert discusses the modern paradigm of education in an RSA Animate production. This caricatured interpretation of our nation's obsession with the "ADHD epidemic" explains why our standardized system of educating children should be taken in a different direction.
Robinson explains that our education is modeled on the concept of industrialization; we need to move away from this production line mentality. This runs parallel to the evolving concepts of product development and consumer co-creation that we talk about in class. Children should be encouraged to learn by expressing their ideas and understanding that there are a lot of possible answers to the questions they face. Robinson says "most great learning happens in groups," and that classroom cheating should be simply labeled as collaboration. The consumer world is changing, so the same concept should trickle down into our educational models.

Last week, Dunkin' Donuts introduced a new food item, Sausage Pancake Bites. These items sound like a normal breakfast item, but for a chain that has prided itself on donuts (especially Munchkins), people have been drawing the comparison between the pancake bites and Munchkins. Many websites have dubbed these items as "Meat Munchkins," which do not sound too appetizing. I personally do not think these items will last on the menu, especially if the term "Meat Munchkin" sticks. Innovative? Yes; but successful? Probably not. To see a video of a brave man trying one of these "Meat Munchkins," click here.

Something to Give is the vision of Andy McRea stemming from the belief that increased community involvement is a powerful solution to many social problems we face in the USA. The mission is to create a social network of people giving their time as a volunteer or an opportunity, experience, or reward. A common reason why people do not volunteer is because of the "what's in it for me" mentality. Something to give allows volunteers to earn credits by volunteering hours for certain organizations and they can win rewards posted by other people!

After completing the open-source case on Linux last week, I discovered this article which features an interview with Dries Buytaert, the founder of the open-source software project, Drupal. The volunteer project has grown immensely since its beginnings in 2000 and is used by big names such as The White House, Harvard, and MTV.

An innovative robotics company, Kokoro, introduced a new Japanese android that strongly resembles a human nurse. The newly released android looks incredibly life-like and even tested by some hospitals in Japan. The purpose of this "nurse" is to provide patients with some company as they spend time on their hospital beds; they only sit beside the patient as the patient undergoes various tests. Heres a link to the video that demonstrates its movements.

When we think of innovators, we usually think of inventors, or businessmen. Most people do not think of athletes. I am here to tell you that there might be a new innovator in the world of sports, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. The origins of such classic pitches as the four seam fastball and the classic curveball are unknown, but recently, pitchers have been finding new ways to throw the ball. In the 1930s, Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell perfected the screwball (the anti-slider), in the late 1970s, Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter created and perfected the splitter (a dropping fastball), and in the 1990s, future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera invented the cutter (a breaking fastball). Now, in the 2010s, Matsuzaka could be working on inventing and perfecting the "gyroball." Unknown to most American baseball fans, this mysterious pitch creates a spin on the ball with an axis of spin in line with the direction of the throw (like an American football). If perfected, Matsuzaka could continue his career with the Boston Red Sox with as dominating numbers as the innovators Hubbell, Sutter, and Rivera put up before him.