On no account should you allow a Vogon to read poetry at you.

This morning at the BBC, there was a mockup of the Stephen Nolan Show with the man himself. I don’t like Stephen Nolan ever since he turned a real issue into a circus (the social worker-mandated imprisonment of young men and women with learning difficulties at Muckamore Hospital with no hope of parole). He’s a … Continue reading “On no account should you allow a Vogon to read poetry at you.”

This morning at the BBC, there was a mockup of the Stephen Nolan Show with the man himself. I don’t like Stephen Nolan ever since he turned a real issue into a circus (the social worker-mandated imprisonment of young men and women with learning difficulties at Muckamore Hospital with no hope of parole). He’s a shock jock. And for that base entertainment, I reserve the right to despise him. I felt comfortable when answering his oddly phrased question though, maybe because I had rehearsed it a hundred times before in front of government committees, elected representatives, network members, senior people in both public, private and academic institutions and a few times, I suppose, in the car.

Also, the Media Innovation Awards were announced.

In the afternoon, I attended a Creative Industries Strategy Session hosted by Belfast City Council. I think we hit on a few killer ideas which, sorry to say, I’m not going to repeat here. I think it’s fair to say that a few of the individuals knocked it out of the park. And, frankly, I’m going to contrive to work with them again soon.

It’s worth noting that Momentum doesn’t send me to these things because they’re paid to. Because, frankly, we’re not. Digital Circle, as a separate project, ended last September and we’ve kept it going over the last 9 months by delivering other projects for other organisations and doing Digital Circle in our ‘spare time’.

While we all know that Digital Content, Software and Digital Hybrids are probably one of the only rapidly growing sectors, government has been slow to react. Demanding document after document, trying to secure promises that everything will work out fine (from people who can only guarantee their own performance) and generally giving every indication that this industry is beneath even contempt.

A local entrepreneur (originally from Germany) said that support in Germany is a lot better for digital content and hybrid companies. I know the supports available in Sweden, France and Norway are much better. When Denmark wanted to create a digital media cluster, they invested €9 million. When Northern Ireland wanted to do it, they invested £235,000 with an industry investment of £265,000. GAP supports are still overly complicated. Most of the other supports (other than Trade Dept) are complicated, unwieldy and designed for the industrial revolution. Even the Creative Industries Innovation Fund has a form that was designed by sadists and a process that is more obfuscatory than anything I have ever encountered. And I’ve worked with big corporations (Apple, NBC Universal). In the face of this evidence it would seem that digital media is not actually a priority in Northern Ireland (unlike every other country, region, republic, democracy and municipality in the world) and I would have to say they are right.

The Media Innovation Awards are not a big thing in the real scheme of things. They’re a first step for the BBC to become engaged with the local industry. The money that’s going into this scheme is coming from InvestNI and DCAL and it’s all about teasing the BBC out of the hole they have dug for themselves in Northern Ireland with a few decades of smug isolationism. The interesting things will be the second and third steps. The possibility of a “Salford” type development in Belfast with the BBC as an anchor tenant not just as a large name in the midst but as an active participant. The potential access to the BBC Archive to re-invent old things as new. The development of new “digital first” ideas. All of this is on the table.

Despite all of this. Maybe even because of all of this, I’m determined to work to change things. I will not let the Vogons get me down.

Pepsi? I wanted Coke. But if that’s all there is, I suppose I’ll drink it.

Yesterday I gave a presentation to Creative Skillset. They’re the Sector Skills Council for digital media which includes TV, film and computer games (and oddly, fashion). Skillset presentation View more presentations from cimota. One of the points I made was that we had to follow the market and follow the money. I said that in … Continue reading “Pepsi? I wanted Coke. But if that’s all there is, I suppose I’ll drink it.”

Yesterday I gave a presentation to Creative Skillset. They’re the Sector Skills Council for digital media which includes TV, film and computer games (and oddly, fashion).

One of the points I made was that we had to follow the market and follow the money. I said that in 2008, we asked for Objective C and Cocoa courses from universities and colleges and, to be honest, we got a half-assed response. A little bit of Cocoa, a little bit of Objective C. And a heap of Android. Because, in the academics esteemed opinions, Android was going to take over. Android was cheaper. It was all the same really. Anyone could, they argued, make a great IOS app if they could make an Android app.

This did not happen. This was not the case. This was not true.

Four years later and look where we are. Universities are not producing graduates with the right quantity or quality to populate our local companies. Academia ignored the industry. And worse – the Department of Employment and Learning ignored the evidence.

And on iPhone versus Android?

For every $1.00 spent on iOS, an equivalent Android developer makes around $0.24. And that number is probably boosted through advertising. And as we know, advertising makes for an amazing user experience.

We can blame a lot of reasons for the disparity. It could be fragmentation of software and hardware. According to TNW, only one device counts for more than 10% market share in Android-land. But really, the software fragmentation is where it hurts. In two weeks, Google will be showing off Android 5.0 at their annual Google io conference. This is while their 4.0 version has managed to get only 7.1% market share. All of the new APIs and features, the user experience improvements and the bug fixes (and security fixes) of 4.0 only reached 7.1% in 7 months. IOS 5 has managed more than 75% penetration since October 2011 (also about 7 months).

Whether or not you like a platform is not important. We should train people to be the best, but we’re just training them to compete. The market demanded IOS, our educators gave them Android.

But we accepted it because when you’re dealing with a starving man, even a shit sandwich starts to look tasty. I’ve given this to the CAL Committee. I’ve spoken to QUB and the University of Ulster. I’ve tried to talk directly to DEL. I gave this presentation directly to Creative Skillset (in front of NI Screen, DCAL, Invest NI, the BBC, Belfast City Council and others). And I’ve had to listen to all of the investment given to film and television in terms of training courses, new facilities and new tax breaks. Dozens of new apprenticeships. Two new sound stages. Tax breaks for high end drama.

They do not seem to understand that software, in it’s myriad forms, already vastly outnumbers the film and television industry. And unlike television (the BBC is currently reducing headcount, remember?), the software industry is currently growing. And it’s growing faster than our universities and colleges are training people.

This is why CoderDojo and similar clubs are important in the North of Ireland. We’re in the boom times and we simply cannot afford to wait for the Minister for Employment and Learning to do something about it. What we’re doing isn’t enough. We know that. But someone has to do something, however small.

You’re presented with this white room. In the middle of the white room is a black cube. [updated]

From Toucharcade: Fable and Populous creator Peter Molyneux’s new studio, 22 Cans, has unveiled Curiosity, its first experimental release in an upcoming line of one-word “games” designed around pure concepts and ideas. This one focuses on a user’s desire to poke around inside a mysterious black cube, which is presented in a flat, white room. … Continue reading “You’re presented with this white room. In the middle of the white room is a black cube. [updated]”

From Toucharcade:

Fable and Populous creator Peter Molyneux’s new studio, 22 Cans, has unveiled Curiosity, its first experimental release in an upcoming line of one-word “games” designed around pure concepts and ideas. This one focuses on a user’s desire to poke around inside a mysterious black cube, which is presented in a flat, white room.

What will be inside it when it’s released on PC and iOS (in six weeks)?

Who knows.

Will it be amazing?

I doubt it.

But I am interested in the gameplay and, probably more importantly, how this will connect across the world to gamers. Simple concepts. Simple shapes.

UPDATE from Eurogamer

But before the cube opens, players will be able to buy one of a limited number of chisels to improve their tapping strength. An iron chisel – 10 times more powerful than the default tap – costs 59 pence. The diamond chisel is 100,000 times as powerful – but it costs £50,000, and there is only one available.

We lost a generation of Artists, Inventors and Dreamers

Colin Williams, SixteenSouth at TEDxBelfast last night: Our city needs New fathers, Trusted rulers, People of integrity, Not people of fear. I hope this video gets published soon. Related posts: All Is Lost The Third Generation of Personal Computers The Mirage of Economic Prosperity and the Bitter Generation

Colin Williams, SixteenSouth at TEDxBelfast last night:

Our city needs

New fathers,

Trusted rulers,

People of integrity,

Not people of fear.

I hope this video gets published soon.

If you can get to your 40s, and still be in a boardroom talking about alien invasions, then that’s a life well spent!

Gamasutra Interview with the CEO of Splash Damage. “And we’re just about 200 years ahead of the rest of the population, because when machines do everything for us, we’ll spend all of our time just theorizing and talking about alien invasions,” he jokes. “But for now, 95 percent of the population sadly has to do … Continue reading “If you can get to your 40s, and still be in a boardroom talking about alien invasions, then that’s a life well spent!”

Gamasutra Interview with the CEO of Splash Damage.

“And we’re just about 200 years ahead of the rest of the population, because when machines do everything for us, we’ll spend all of our time just theorizing and talking about alien invasions,” he jokes. “But for now, 95 percent of the population sadly has to do real jobs.”

That’s where I want to be.

Television

BusinessInsider writes about the imminent demise of TV business models This user behavior has been changing for a while, and, so far, it has had almost no impact on the TV business. On the contrary, the networks and cable companies are still fat and happy, and they’re coining more and more money every year. But … Continue reading “Television”

BusinessInsider writes about the imminent demise of TV business models

This user behavior has been changing for a while, and, so far, it has had almost no impact on the TV business. On the contrary, the networks and cable companies are still fat and happy, and they’re coining more and more money every year.
But remember what happened in the newspaper business.
When the Internet arrived, user behavior started to change. It took a decade for this change in behavior to hit the business. But when it hit the business, it hit it hard–and it destroyed it shockingly quickly.
And the same thing seems likely to happen to the TV business.

Really good article especially when you look at the UK and more specifically the microcosm of Northern Ireland.

We have two ‘local’ broadcasters. The BBC and UTV. One of them is propped up by advertising sales via their profitable radio station segments. And the other is propped up by a mandatory tax levied if you own a television or computer.

On top of this we have Channel 4 and Channel 5 and then a multitude of Freeview channels.

I just wonder what will happen in the current market. Well advertising supported television die off as advertisers become more savvy to changing user habits? It seems to me that advertising supported channels (UTV, C4, C5) are making hay while the sun shines. Of the three only Channel 4 seems to have made any efforts towards changing models for the future.

And then we have the BBC. It will obviously break the mould for television business models due to the government subsidy from the ‘license fee tax’. Indeed, it seems well suited to weathering an upcoming storm though it has many faults. Not least the insistence that the intellectual property that it has within the archives is extremely valuable. I don’t deny these things have value but decades of poorly considered contracts and a lack of future-proofing have made their position untenable. We, the television-owning public in the UK, paid for all of this content once already. I can’t help but feel we’re being nickel’n’dimed now we want to view older content.

The shakedown of television is just beginning. And it will start with local channels and move to the larger national and international advertising supported channels.

Portfolio

Several times a year I get wheeled out in front of undergraduates and I’m expected to say something that will inspire them. Like I have a secret or something. Some folk listen intently, some folk don’t. Some ask questions, some stay silent. Some never look up from their device or their notes. I feel guilty … Continue reading “Portfolio”

Several times a year I get wheeled out in front of undergraduates and I’m expected to say something that will inspire them. Like I have a secret or something. Some folk listen intently, some folk don’t. Some ask questions, some stay silent. Some never look up from their device or their notes. I feel guilty every time I don’t get a question. Like a lack of clarity on a point is an opportunity for engagement. I feel the need to polarise, to incite some sort of debate and I feel like I have failed when this has not happened. Sometimes the students file out silently, avoiding the gaze of this old bloke who has turned up to prance around in front of a projector. I’m the thing standing in the way of lunchtime, or worse, beer. Every now and then I see some rare gems. Like an artist who sets about a stop motion animation with nothing but a phone, a pen and a packet of post-it notes. Or a passion for music that sets the individual apart. Or a pair of comedians who love their art and are teaching themselves fire-breathing.

In truth, I am consistently the one inspired.

Greg Maguire posted this on Digital Circle. It’s a showreel from one of his Masters students, Gerard Dunleavy, who just won the Computer Graphics Student of the Year Award. An international competition, with the most amazing competitors.

The message I try and give students I meet is that the pieces of paper that a college or university gives you are not the worth of you. Things like the showreel above show your passion, commitment and talent.

I’ve said before that my big plan is to start a games company. And I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find the right people with the right attitude. I’m looking for guns and tanks and aliens. But to attract the attention you want, you might need to make birds or grass or tables and chairs your subjects. I remember an interview with a comics guru who said that he was inundated with pictures of impossibly muscled men and ludicrously buxom women in spandex. But he would invariably give the job to the guy who could draw normal people. Who could make unreal things seem real in the context of comics.

I think Gerard has excelled in this, even among his competitors. My suspension of disbelief is almost complete when watching the sequences with the alien ships and the zombie assailant. It’s just amazing and I can think of nothing else. Someone will be very lucky to work with Gerard in the future.

Living Spaces – Urban Stewardship and Design Manual for Northern Ireland consultation

I’d like to echo NICVA in asking the general public and publicly disposed organisations to respond to this consultation on the Urban Stewardship and Design Manual for Northern Ireland. To assist in strengthening city and town centres and to increase their vitality and viability making better places to live and work and more attractive to … Continue reading “Living Spaces – Urban Stewardship and Design Manual for Northern Ireland consultation”

I’d like to echo NICVA in asking the general public and publicly disposed organisations to respond to this consultation on the Urban Stewardship and Design Manual for Northern Ireland.

  • To assist in strengthening city and town centres and to increase their vitality and viability making better places to live and work and more attractive to visitors and investors
  • to promote a positive sense of place encompassing local involvement, distinctiveness, visual quality and potential to encourage social and economic activity which are fundamental to a richer and more fulfilling environment.
  • well maintained, well managed and well connected streets and places;
  • reduced speeding and pedestrian safety;
  • how to ensure that buildings and environments are convenient and enjoyable to use for everyone.
  • engage with relevant stakeholders, to include: Roads Service, Planning NI, DSD (Regeneration), NICVA; Strategic Investment Board NI; and NITB etc;

It’s really an invitation for the civic minded to consider what 21st Century (and perhaps even 22nd Century) cities should look like.

Pi: it’s the software, stupid…

Yesterday, Donald Clark (who describes himself as a man with enough time) gave the Raspberry Pi a bit of a kicking behind the bike sheds. He detailed 7 reasons why it won’t work. His main question, though not bolded was: How do you actually learn with this thing? That’s the first problem. The Pi isn’t … Continue reading “Pi: it’s the software, stupid…”

Yesterday, Donald Clark (who describes himself as a man with enough time) gave the Raspberry Pi a bit of a kicking behind the bike sheds. He detailed 7 reasons why it won’t work.

His main question, though not bolded was: How do you actually learn with this thing?

That’s the first problem. The Pi isn’t a learning device. It’s a cheap introduction to computers. I believe the purpose of the device is to see whether the spark that turned a generation of young geeks into modern day programmers could be replicated with a device in 2012 that was a fifth of the price of the ancestors from the early 80s.

His main beefs and my point of view.

1. Amateurishness.

It’s not for everyone. I wonder if it is even for me. My interest in the Pi is in a score of cheap devices in tiny custom cases that can provide little services around the house. An AirPlay device for all of the TVs in the house? Sure. But having to fight with Linux? *sigh*

2. Nostalgia.

The device is definitely aimed at 40 year old men who remember the Spectrum, the Commodore and the BBC from their youth. They’re buying them for their kids. I know a couple of dads with no programming knowledge who think the Pi is a cheap computer for kids. It’s obviously not that.

3. Lack of realism.

I don’t think the goals are unrealistic. I think that others have greater expectations than the developers might have given themselves. The thing is: when you’re shooting for the stars and you hit the moon, you have to still congratulate yourself. Just ask Elon Musk.

4. Hardware fixation.

I’m most encouraged that it’s a low power ARM design that will do stuff. You do have to wonder why Arduino wasn’t good enough. And we’re seeing a raft of Android circuit board clones appearing. The hardware is important but, as Donald days, it’s not as important as the software.

5. Learning ignored.

I know of two projects which are dedicated to building software stacks for the Pi for schools. There will be more. Others have already ported Scratch to the Pi. That’s a great start. Learning happens. The problem is there is little support for Teaching.

6. Wrong target audience.

I’m interested in what could be done to make this appeal to 11 year olds. Release the code to some basic games? Make sure there’s a GameMaker software stack available? The thing that is missing here is the raft of support materials we had in the 80s; the magazines.

7. Not cool.

It’s differently cool. It’s not “Not cool”, it’s just different.

So, will it fail?

I agree with Donald that “it’s the software, stupid” and giving people Python as a development environment is not the same as the plethora of magazines such as Crash, C&VG, Your Spectrum, Your Sinclair, Sinclair User, Sinclair Programs, ZX Computing, MicroHobby and more.

I’m not interested in sitting back and waiting for it fail. I’m keen on doing something to help.