Conrad Ostwald's Showreel

I StumbledUpon this and thought it an absolute must for a post. This is Conrad Ostwald's showreel. It's a sample of the various types of digital design and production he is capable of, and believe me, he's no slouch. This is by far the best showreel of a designer or filmmaker that I have seen in a very long time!



Conrad Ostwald Reel from Grapplica on Vimeo.

XO Gen2

OLPC founder Nick Negroponte has unveiled the next generation of the XO Laptop.

One word - awesome!

Half the size of the XO 1.0, the new XO looks more like a book then it does a laptop. Two touch screens mean that there is no keyboard, instead either screen can double as a keyboard or mouse. Of course it isn't actually two touch screens, it's one large screen with a middle fold! Unfortunately it's not due until 2010, but their aiming for $75 and one-watt power consumption which is mind blowing in itself.

Blank Canvas

"Imagine we could start again with a blank canvas!"


Really nice ad.

Fiat's Digital Wall

As part of Fiat's new UK concept store, Moving Brands and AKQA have produced this fantastic Digital Installation. Purely as an experience piece, the sole puirpous of the wall is to to create a unique interactive experience to engage, excite and inform customers.

Using nine 40' LCD screens with 48 ceiling and wall mounted infra-red sensors, the installation creates a real-time onscreen interaction designed to replicate the cheeky personality of the new Fiat 500.

British Bill May Force ISPs to Hand Over Online Activity, Emails, VOIP Calls and Text Messages

It has come to light this week that the British Home Office is currently considering a proposal that would require all British ISPs and telecoms companies to make available billions of records of customer emails, internet usage, VOIP calls, and text messages.

According to Reuters, if passed, the Communications Data Bill would allow police and security services access to this information, with court approval. The aim is to "help security forces in the fight against crime and terrorism."

Currently, all phone calls and text messages within the EU are kept for 12 months as part of an EU anti-terrorism ruling.

"The changes to the way we communicate, due particularly to the Internet revolution, will increasingly undermine our current capabilities to obtain communications data and use it to protect the public", said a statement from The Home Office. "To ensure that our public authorities and law enforcement agencies can continue to use this valuable tool, the government is planning to bring forward the Communications Data Bill."

The draft bill is expected to be released later in the year, but the plan has yet to be discussed by ministers.