Interesting Times

About a year ago Carl Fisch produced a video called '20/20 Vision' that looked into the future as if he were speaking to the graduating class in the year 2020.

Google hit the web today with a major press release which was summarized by a NY Times blog entry.

Interesting ?

The oncoming release / sale of the 700 megahertz spectrum and Google's announcement about about the Open Handset Alliance will change how wireless carriers conduct business and all related services and costs to consumers in the near future. Verizon dove into the fray today announcing "any apps, any device."

Interesting times indeed.

InfiniteThinking.org

Lucie deLaBruere wrote an article for InfiniteThinking that highlighted our proposal to switch over to Google for Domains here at BBA.

Rich Ortiz

Rich Ortiz showed us his stellar musicianship today as part of our Guest Lecture Series. Rich spoke to us about how he's created this great sound, his experiences, the music business and played some great originals and a few requests. Rich's unique act, sound, lyrical music and stage presence filled the room for a great show. Thanks so much to Rich for coming in. You can find more of Rich's music on his web site and by searching on iTunes. A great send off for a well deserved Thanksgiving break. Enjoy !

Guest Speaker Series Continues Nov 20th, 2007

Rich Ortiz, a vocalist and guitarist plays bass keyboard with his feet (no kidding) and records rhythms he taps out on his guitar using a digital looper. Rich blends all this together on the fly, building each song, becoming a 6-7 piece band - by himself. Rich will be talking to us about how he got started, how he incorporated these new tools into his act, all things that went right and wrong as he developed his business and then give us a concert. 1215-230pm in the Riley Center Theater.

Time Mags Inventions of the Year

TIME Magazines latest features the innovations of the year. Worth a look.

Along the lines of Robinson's speech from TED.com highlighted in a previous post, students entering high school today will be retiring in the year 2058 (assuming they retire at the age of 65). We really don't have a clue what the world will look like in 2058 do we ? We don't really have a clue what will be on this innovation list five years from now actually. Five years ago even, most all of the innovations in this years TIME Magazine offering were not thought possible. Just imagine what innovations will be out five years from now. With the increase of mobile devices, e-paper and the expansion of the web many newspapers will be all digital by then. Perhaps magazines will too.

Thought Provoking, Brilliant Presentations...

19 minutes and 23 seconds... and well worth it.

So...

Things are cookin' here in the lab. 57 projects are underway at this time. Five students over three classes are working on expanding the visual presentation on the BBA web site. New projects hit the lab this year in farming technology and searching out related related grants, snowboarding technologies and one study in theatrical lighting. We've wrapped in our studies of the OpenCourseWare initiatives and are gearing up for our chats on crafting presentations.

The challenge issued to the lab about 'what education could look like in the future' has sparked some stellar debate in class. As we look at alternative approaches, modern work environments and 'social networking,' ideas on the future of education will no doubt spring to life. One interesting thread surfaced about combining academic areas into one facility (new building!). MIT has been pulling previously separate offices / departments together for a bit now. By mixing the brain trust together new ideas are generating... the lines between previously separate disciplines are vanishing. Discussions on a fabrication shop that incorporated wood, metal, robotics and a new look at energy efficient vehicles ramped up. Hands on design work, testing and building. High-end computer and networking labs, art and design studios, television, independent film and animation as well. Incorporate solar energy, wind energy and related testing gear - integrate the systems into the building. Hydroponics throughout to thread in a more natural environment, air filtration and humidity control to the environment. Many new buildings out and about mix in high tech environments with a more natural approach. The NRG building in Hinesburg, VT is one such model that we'll look at.

On another forward thinking note: Our laptop proposal continues to gain momentum here at BBA. So many students have contributed to this project and it is rewarding to see so much thought provoking work drive forward.

Have a great weekend! AP