Wednesday 22 April 2009

New Websites - Game Republic and OS4B

Two new sites have been launched this week, well I guess Game Republic is kind of a re-launch but anyway i'm counting it!

So first up is Game Republic a network for the Games Industry in Yorkshire and Humber. The new site is looking great and has loads of info on it including news, events, business support and also Jamie's blog. They also have a list of all the games companies in the region, which is very useful and includes titles produced by the companies so makes an interesting read. If you're a games company in the region and you're not on the list get in touch to get yourself added. Finally, they also have a Vodcasts page with a video of Team 17's Martyn Brown talking about Yorkshire's fab games industry.

The second new site this week is OS4B, Open Source for Business. Run by the nti this project is all about bringing Open Source to more businesses in the region and supplying the skills needed for various different Open Source applications. There are various training courses currently on offer including Google's Android, Apache, Linux and an Introduction to Gimp (an image editor I used to use all the time and I definitely recommend an intro course rather than trying to figure it all out on your own!), keep an eye on the site for new courses.

They also have a news / events page, a jobs page and a communities page which lists a few of the different communities in the region. It also lists OS4B's own community - the employers forum. If you're a business working with open source or interested in developing open source you can join the employers forum and input ideas on the types of training that should be supplied and get some information / advice from other members.

Thursday 16 April 2009

Creative Networks April event


Just to spread the word about the next Creative Networks event. I've probably blogged about Creative Networks before, they're excellent events held at Leeds College of Art & Design and always get great speakers. This time it's going to be Ajaz Ahmed, founder of Freeserve (and coincidentally a Yorkshire Forward board member!) and his subject area is 'Lessons Learnt', which i'm sure is going to be of great interest to many. The events are free to attend and more info can be found at:


You can also find information about their recent events (and check out the great previous speakers) at:


I think potentially meeting Jimmy Choo at my first Creative Networks event (and getting his business card no less) is one of my most treasured moments :-)

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Future Technologies April - Printed Electronics

I've decided to make life more difficult for myself and add a monthly feature to my blog that will be vaguely related to future technology / predictions / cool technology of the month - type thing.

This month I thought i'd focus on Printed Electronics... (Photo courtesy of Thin Film Electronics listed below)

It seems everyone is predicting massive increases in printed electronics and the potential affect on various everyday products are huge. Being able to print electronics will eventually change almost everything but current research seems to be focusing on:


Displays / screens
Think mobile phones, laptops and TVs. The latest idea I just came across being wallpaper TVs (for when flatscreen just isn't flat enough)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/4786367/Japanese-develop-television-wallpaper.html

Lighting
Leading on from that you can obviously see the connection with lighting. I have already heard of examples of lights without bulbs, i.e. the lighting electronics are printed into the lampshade, apparently they're not very bright yet but that's just a matter of time.
The first OLED lamp has been prototyped already:
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1523/

Batteries
Everyone's looking into batteries but i've come across quite a few articles about reserch MIT is doing around this area - it doesn't take a genius to realise the commercial opportunities are huge and that as devices get smaller and better batteries need to too.

MIT's most recent press release regarding battery research:
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/virus-battery-0402.html

Note: "The prototype is packaged as a typical coin cell battery, but the technology allows for the assembly of very lightweight, flexible and conformable batteries that can take the shape of their container."

Memory / storage (rfid)
An example here could be printed security tags that contain information in the memory contained within the label and can be printed onto any surface, as described by Thin Film Electronics based in Sweden:
http://www.thinfilm.se/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=54


Another example would be interactive scratchcards that have several goes (the card can be wiped so several 'scratches' are included on one card).


So then I decided to brainstorm it myself and came up with the following product ideas:


Leaflet laptops taking netbooks to the extreme!
Bathroom cabinet organisers (online diary on half the mirror so you can see what you've got that day while brushing your teeth!)
Instant messaging business cards (message a person instantly through their business card)
Re-ordering through labels (i.e. you need a new hoover bag so you press an area on the label on the bag and you've automatically ordered a new bag, just like that)
Menus in fast food outlets that submit your order electronically
Printed runway lighting at airports, maybe even lighting that's contained within paint in the distance future!


Some of these, maybe all of these, have probably already been thought of but I thought it demonstrates the many, many applications that this will bring into our lives.


If anyone out there is seriously interested in printed electronics in Yorkshire just drop me a line as it's something we're working on through the Northern Way partnership.

Thursday 2 April 2009

Get Connected to Investors

An opportunity for businesses that are classed as high growth and technology based to get in front of some investors / venture capatalists is being held by Connect Yorkshire:


You have to fill in an application form which can also be found at the above link. It's not as scary as it might sound because Connect Yorkshire will help you prepare your pitch in advance of the actual event - so even if you don't get any cash out of it the advice is worth having. It's good to know how to pitch your business for funding and get some feedback.