InteractiveTV Today (ITVT): Links to information and updates about CES 2013, via Tracy Swedlow.:

If you want a quick look at the latest news related to interactive TV, including cool stuff featured at CES 2013, a good resource is the InteractiveTV Today website.   

Below are a few quick links to posts written by Tracy Swedlow, the founder of ITVT.  You'll see that there has been a flood of news and information generated from the companies featured at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2013) held in Las Vegas:

Interactive TV headlines Round-Up (I): Aereo, Amazon, A +E Networks, Turner, Warner Bros., Samsung, Roku, Nintendo Wii U, CBS, Microsoft Xbox

Interactive TV Headlines Round-Up (II):  ConnectTV, DDD, LG, Delivery Agent, Samsung, Magic Ruby, "Sons of Anarchy", Digitalsmiths, Time Warner Cable, i.TV

Interactive TV Headlines Round-Up (III): DirectTV, Dish Network, Ensequence, Sony, ES3, Azuki Systems, Microsoft Mediaroom

Interactive TV Headlines Round-Up (IV): Asus, Google TV, Marvell, Sony, Ubitus, Amazon, YouTube

It might take a while to catch up!

BTW, the ITVT website has a number of bloggers who share insights and news related to interactive TV and multimedia.  The ITVT Community Blogstream is a good place to start.

KAPi Kids at Play Awards: Best in Children's Technology 2013 Winners Announced

The following information is from a PRWeb press release announcing the winners of the Fourth Annual KAPi Awards:

Living in Digital Times and Children's Technology Review Announce 2013 KAPi Award Winners  The Most Innovative in Children's Technology to be honored on Thursday, January 10, at the 2013 International CES ® in Las Vegas

"Collaboratively organized and produced by Living in Digital Times and Children’s Technology Review, the fourth annual KAPi Kids at Play Awards honor the best of the best in children’s technology."- PRWeb, 12/18/12

The 2013 KAPi Award Winners Are… 
 1. Best Younger Children’s App: LetterSchool by Boreaal Publishers 
 2. Best Older Children’s App: IMAG-N-O-TRON by Moonbot Studios 
 3. Best Tech Leveraged Toy: Skylanders Giants by Activision 
 4. Best Video Game Software: Kinect Sesame Street TV by Microsoft Studios 
 5. Best Hardware or Peripheral: Kindle Fire HD with Kindle FreeTime Unlimited by Amazon 
 6. Best Technology Toy: littleBits by littleBits Electronics 
 7. Best Educational Technology: BrainPOP GameUp by BrainPOP LLC. 
 8. Innovation: The Cube by 3D Systems, Inc. (3D Printer)
 9. Pioneer: Dale Dougherty, Co-Creator, Maker Faire; Publisher, MAKE Magazine 
 10. Pioneering Team: Toca Boca 

Judges of the KAPi Awards consisted of 13 journalists and/or experts in children’s interactive media, they were: 
Warren Buckleitner, Children’s Technology Review
Chris Crowell,  Children’s Technology Review  
Dan Donahoo, Wired GeekDad and Project Synthesis 
Chip Donohue, Erikson Institute 
David Kleeman, American Center for Children and Media 
Ann McCormick, Co-Founder, The Learning Company 
Frank Migliorelli, Mig Idea 
Robin Raskin, Living in Digital Times 
Reyne Rice, Toy Expert 
Carly Shuler, PlayScience 
Andrea Smith, Mashable 
Aleen Stein, Organa 
Scott Traylor, 360 Kid

Mary Lou Jepsen, Inventor of Pixel Qi Technology, Discusses Screen Technologies & Multi-touch Tablets

I've been meaning to devote a few more posts about the new screen technologies as multi-purpose netbooks become available.  In my opinion, this technology will change the way we access all sorts of interactive media, including news and entertainment.

In this post, I feature Mary Lou Jepsen, an engineer who is the inventor of Pixel Qi technology. During the first quarter of 2010, there is a possibility that a few Pixel Qi screens will become available to the DIY community.  The first units will be multi-touch. Pixel Qi will be at the January CES in Las Vegas.

Mary Lou has worked on the screen technology found in One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project, and her work has resulted in affordable net-books and laptops.  According to information from the Pixel Qi website, "Mary Lou founded Pixel Qi Corporation in 2008 and is its CEO.  Previously, Mary Lou has founded 4 companies, served as a professor at RMIT (Australia) & MIT,  and in executive management at Intel Corporation.  Mary Lou holds a Ph.D. in Optical Sciences, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Art (req.) all from Brown University as well as a Master of Science (in Holography) from the MIT Media Lab.".

Mary Lou Jepsen, an engineer,  tests out "e-paper" content in the sunlight and in the shade on three screens. In the following video, the E-ink Amazon Kindle, an Acer Pixel Qi 3Qi LCD netbook, and a Toshiba transflexive R600 laptop are compared.  At 4:20, Jepsen discusses touch and remarks that there are new touch technologies that might work. (The content on the resistive touch screen that was on hand during the video was difficult to see.)


Mary Lou Jepson demonstrates the Pixel Qi screen in her home lab/laundry room on the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child). Jepson is focused on making screens that everyone can use.


Mary Lou Jepsen Answers User Questions



Comparison Chart (from the Pixel Qi website)



Pixel Qi is working on a design of a sub-10 watt HDTV that can run on a minimal power supply, including a battery that can be charged with a crank or solar pane.