Regional Multimedia News: Blind Squirrel Digital Builds MultiTouch Wall (Newton, N.C.)

Blind Squirrel Digital is a digital media company located in Newton, N.C.  One of the company's services is multi-touch surface design and implementation. Below is a picture of their  recently constructed multi-touch wall:

107 N. College Avenue • Newton, NC 28658 • 828-581-4252 
• info@blindsquirreldigital.com


About Blind Squirrel Digital:
Blind Squirrel Digital's services include iPhone and iPad application development, 3D animation/Visualization/Previz, multi-touch surface design/implementation, augmented reality design/implementation, multi-platform game development, digital signage/interactive and static content management systems, kiosk development, software and hardware design, exhibit design, simulation training application development, and real-time forensic reconstruction application development.


People behind Blind Squirrel Digital:
C. Michael Neely, the founder of the company, serves as President and Creative Director of Blind Squirrel Digital.  He has experience working with 3D applications and teaches digital effects, animation, and game development technology. He also has a few film credits under his belt, including "Pirates of the Caribbean III", "Spider Man III", "Fantastic Four", and "The Incredible Hulk 2".     Jeremy Cooper is the Vice President and Producer at Blind Squirrel. He has experience working on multiple creative projects (Digital Juice, Ballistic Pixel, and the Digital Design Center), and has taught a number of courses in the Simulation and Game Development program at Western Piedmont Community College. 



(The above information was gathered from the Blind Squirrel Digital website.)


RELATED

Doorways: iPad Game by Blind Squirrel Digital
Digital degrees launching high-tech careers: WPCC offers associates in gaming, animation
Jennifer Frew, The News Herald, 2/16/11

Monday Musing and Meanderings: Interesting videos and links about emerging technologies.

INTERACTIVE TANGIBLE TABLETOP MUSIC


Reactable Live! SubMixPro Studio Torino

The Reactable featured in the above video is used for DJ-ing in clubs. The one I've played with is at the science museum in my area - I love it. It is fun to improvise on the Reactable with another person.  For more information, see my previous blog posts featuring the Reactable.

AUGMENTED REALITY
While listening to CNBC on my satellite radio on the way home today,  I heard that investing in Qualcomm might be a good idea.   I wonder if this means that Wall Street analysts think that  AR will become mainstream soon...   


The video below shows a variety of creative AR game applications:


Qualcomm has an AR SDK that comes with tutorials, samples, an API reference, and developer forums. The SDK can be downloaded from the Qualcomm AR web-page.

For more information:

GDC 11:  AR- The Augmented Future of Mobile Serious Games?  Eliane Alhadeff, Serious Games Market, 3/7/11

Qualcomm Augmented Reality Research

Qualcomm Extends Augmented Reality with Unity Technologies

Qualcomm's secret mobile weapon:  Augmented Reality Robert Enderle,  TG Daily, 2/24/11

This sort of technology has been around for a while. For an example, take a look at  the 2007 MScape game demo of the AR game, Roku's Reward:

THE KINECT FOR MEDICAL DATA VISUALIZATION 

Here is another use of augmented reality, but this time, harnessing the Kinect:

Magic Mirror for Medical Data Visualization using Kinect

Madhav K. ,  Kinecthacks 

Public Presentation of mirracle

PHOTOELASTIC TOUCH

Transparent Rubbery Interface using a LCD and Photoelasticity
Toshiki Sato, Haruko Mamiya, Taro Tokui, Hideki Koike,  The Unversity of Electro-Communications;  Kentaro Fukuchi, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Abstract (pdf)


ART AND SCREENS

Nomad capacitive brush turns your iPhone into an art canvas for $24.00
Darren Murph, Engadget, 2/22/11

Nomad Brush for the iPad from Don Lee on Vimeo.

Supertouch Group: Use an iPhone or iPad to Send Balls into Kinect Dodgeball

See how they inter-"kinect"!



"The SuperTouch group mission is to generate wonder through simple, fun, entertaining and educational uses of interactive technology and HCI."


RELATED


iPAD + Kinect + Processing

IPAD + Kinect + Processing = stellar foundation for interactions from SuperTouch Group on Vimeo.

Top 10 Interactive Multimedia Technology Blogposts, November, 2010

Here are the "top ten" posts for this blog, according to the number of visitors during the month of November, 2010:

Hacked Kinect Multitouch using libFreenect and libTISCH (via Florian Echtler)
11/13/2010


Power to the Pixel Cross-Media Forum Streaming Live from London Today!
10/12/2010


Revised Post 8/1/06: Interactive multimedia for social skills, understanding feelings, relaxtion, coping strategies, etc.
7/12/06


Interactive Touch Screen Technology, Participatory Design, and "Getting It": REVISED
11/11/2010


Microsoft Surface Light and Physics App for Kids at the Smithsonian
11/24/2010


Interactive iPad Apps for Kids with Autism: Could some of these be transformed for multi-touch tabletop activities?
11/06/10


New Version of Surface from Microsoft?
11/10/10


Tech Product Placement & Embedded Advertising: Cisco Telepresence, Surface, Kinect, Windows 7 Phone, Apple, Apple iAd - Videos, Links - plus legal & ethical concerns
11/29/10


Digital Newspaper from News Corp, for the iPad (via physog, Guardian)
10/18/10


Online Physics Games for Interactive Whiteboards and Touch Screens (including mobile devices)
10/18/10

Digital Newspaper from News Corp, for the iPad (via physorg, Guardian)

iPad 'newspaper created by Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch
Apple and News Corp reportedly set to launch joint iPad news publication exclusively via download  Edward Helmore,  Guardian Weekender, 11/21/10


"According to the US elite fashion industry journal Women's Wear Daily, the Murdoch-Jobs "newspaper" will be run from the 26th floor of the News Corp offices in New York, where 100 journalist have been hired, including Pete Picton, an online editor from the Sun, as one of three managing editors. The editor of the Daily has not been announced, but observers are assuming it will be Jesse Angelo, the managing editor of the New York Post and rising star in the News Corp firmament." -Edward Helmore

Rupert Murdoch Does Another Daily
John Koblin, WWD 11/19/10


Website:  Media magnate Murdoch preps digital newspaper for iPad
Craig Johnson, CNN 11/21/10

SOMEWHAT RELATED
Here's a video clip of a recent interview of Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. Chairman & CEO discusses countries with the greatest growth for business. "Our best growth industry is in this country (US)" (Rupert Murdoch reportedly admires Steve Job and likes the iPad.)

NY Times article and Video: iPad Opens World to a Disabled Boy

I meant to post a link to this article a while ago:


iPad Opens World to a Disabled Boy 
Emily B. Hager, New York Times, 10/12/10



Cross-posted on the TechPsych  blog

Interactive iPad Apps for Kids with Autism: Could some of these be transformed for multi-touch tabletop activities?

I came across a great post about interactive iPad apps for special needs:

Ten Apple iPad Apps to Help Children with Autism
Joanne Carter, MacCreate 11/5/10


In this article,  Joanne Carter shares screen shots and detailed descriptions of a variety of iPad apps that support learning and communication skills of young people with autism.  You can find additional information about the apps discussed in the article by visiting the following links: 

Proloquo2go, Story_Builder, "Off we go" book series, Soundtastic, Visual Impact, Living Safely,  Tapspeak Sequence for iPad, iCommunicate for iPad, Autoverbal Talking Soundboard Pro, Is that Gluten Free?, and I Dress for Weather. 


I think that some of these apps have the potential to be transformed and tweaked for use on multi-touch, multi-user  tables such as the SMARTTable or Microsoft's Surface.  The aim would be to encourage paired and group communication and social skills among children with special needs.  I'll share my thoughts on this topic in a future post.

USB Midi on the iPad: Video demonstration of iOS 4.2, supports wireless MIDI

Video from the MooCowMusic YouTube Channel

RELATED
On iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, New MIDI Support, Via Wires, Wireless
Pete Kirn, Create Digital Music, 11/3/10
MIDI on the iPAD
Display Blog, 11/4/10

Thanks to Johannes Schöning for the link!
(FYI: Johannes will be at the Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces conference, held in Saarbrucken, Germany, from November 8-10.)

Online Physics Games for Interactive Whiteboards and Touch Screens (including mobile devices)

I have collected lots of resources for interactive whiteboards and other touch-screens, such  all-in-one Touch PC's such as the Dell and HP TouchSmart.  Some are optimized for use on mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and Droids.  

I'd like to highlight a few online educational games on this blog from time-to-time.

The PhysicsGames site is full of games that can be embedded into a blog or web page, making it easy for teachers and parents to organize and arrange the games as they see fit.  This feature also lets students do the same.

On the main page of the website, the games are arranged in alphabetical order, with picture icons for each game.  The titles of the games and the pictures on the icons give you a quick idea of what each game is about.  The games were created by a variety of developers, professionals, teachers, and if I'm not mistaken, tech-savvy students.

Below are links to the various categories of physics games found on the site. The games I explored all had music and sound effects, so make sure that the sound is turned on!  (Note: The site is supported by sponsors, but the advertising is not annoying-in many cases, you can skip the ads.)

Featured | All | Block Removal | Construction | Demolition | Platform | Projectile | Stacking | Othe

Here are a few examples:

MOONLIGHTS (please be patient, there is an ad!)

Online Physics Games

Video of Moonlights Gameplay

Physics Fidget

Online Physics Games

ROCKET SCIENCE, by NoFunZone.com

Online Physics Games

Cross posted on the TechPsych blog.

Reactable Mobile - Music Creation and DJ-ing On-the-Go : This is why I need an iPad!

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the Reactible Mobile,  a fun "DJ" electronic music generator for the iPod and iPad, created by Reactable Systems, makers of the Reactable.  The Reactable is a multi-touch, multi-user system for music creation, sharing, and DJ-ing, but it comes in the form of a table. Even though one version of the Reactable, the Reactable Live! is portable, it is still pretty big.

In our increasingly mobile world, it's nice to know that now we can have something similar to take everywhere we go, with the Reactable Mobile that runs on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad. You can download and buy the Reactable Mobile app for the iPhone and iPad from the iTunes Store:  http://itunes.apple.com/app/reactable-mobile/id381127666?mt=8

The following videos provide a quick overview of how the Reactable app runs on mobile devices. The first video is a demonstration of "Verde", Le Freak Selector. The second video demonstrates the Reactable app on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.





Reactable Mobile (Reactable Systems SL) Description  (Taken from the iTunes website)

"Improvise and create music playfully with the Reactable mobile. Based on the award winning Reactable as used by Björk on her Volta Tour, this application brings the full creative power of the famous interactive instrument onto your mobile device."

"It uses concepts of modular synthesis, sampling, digital audio effects, DJing, and combines them with modern human computer interaction and multi-touch technology.Based on the very same audio and graphics engine as the Reactable, the mobile version brings a complete range of objects to multi-touch devices:"
A set of generator objects:
- loop players, with possibility to upload your own loops,
- synthesizers, with a large range of instruments to select from,
- oscillators, to synthesise pure and complex tones,
- input, to get audio directly from the device's microphone.
A set of effects to modify generated sounds:
- wave shapers: distortion, compression, and resampling,
- delays: reverb, feedback, and ping-pong,
- modulators: ring modulation, chorus, and flanger,
- filters: low pass, high pass, and band pass.
A set of controller objects to modify other objects parameters:
- sequencers, with step-by-step, matrix, or random modes,
- low frequency oscillators (LFO), with different waveforms,
- accelerometer, to fetch data from the movement of the device.
A set of global objects to modify the settings of the entire table:
- tempo, to change the speed of the table,
- volume, to lower or increase the loudness,
- tonalizer, to change the harmony of the melody.
"IMPORTANT NOTE: A graphic resolution issue with iPod Touch 4G prevents using the version 1.0.3 on this device. An update is on its way.  Note: as this application uses both graphic and audio resources extensively, recent devices will provide the best user experience."

RELATED
There is a Reactable in an exhibit at the Discovery Science Center in Charlotte, N.C.  I had a chance to play with it during my last visit, and it was... awesome.   For more information, including pictures and video,  take a look at this post:
Reactable Live! at Sonar Barcelona 2010 (You can play with one at Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC.)

Here is a very short video-clip of the Reactable at Discovery Place. (Because of the noise in the background, it is a bit difficult to hear what I was trying to play.)


If you are interested in tangible user interfaces, including the Reactable and other similar systems, take a look my previous posts on the topic:
Tangible User Interfaces Part 11: More Examples, Resources, and Use for TUI's in Education
Tangiblie User Interfaces, Part I: Siftables

BlackBerry's "iPad" preview video! -- PlayBook

Thanks to Seth Sandler for the link!

More about this topic later...

For the iPad: Reactable Multi-touch Mobile

More details later!

RELATED
History of the Reactable


How it works (Info from the Reactable website)
"The way the Reactable works is deeply inspired by modular analogue synthesizers such as those developed by Bob Moog in the early 60s and enhances them with new concepts of sampling and digital effects processing."

"While with modular synthesizers one typically had to connect these different modules with patch cables in a complex and error-prone process, with the Reactable this is attained in a much easier and more intuitive way, since connections between the blocks are managed automatically based on their types and affinities and on their proximity."


Martin Kaltenbrunner (Co-founder of Reactable)
"His research concentrates on tangible user interfaces and the development of novel human computer interaction concepts within open tools for creative production. As co-founder of Reactable Systems he had been mainly working on the interaction design of the Reactable - an electronic musical instrument with a tangible user interface. He is author of the open source tangible interaction framework reacTIVision and the related TUIO protocol, which have been widely adopted for the realization of tangible tabletop applications."


SOMEWHAT RELATED
Soundythingie for the iPad
iPad Apps for Making Music: What's Coming Later
SurfaceDJ iPhone App (Vectorform)

iPad Apps: Supporting Communication for Young People with Autism (& Links to Moms with Apps)

Have you ever watched a kid pick up an iPad for the first time and just go with it? 


Some parents have found that the same is true for their of children who have autism.  The  iPad is a great way to support learning and communication in that it is user-friendly and easy for children- and parents- to understand. 


Here are two videos that were shared with my by Liz Ditz,  author of the "I Speak of Dreams" blog.  The first video is of a boy with autism. The second video is of his little sister, interacting with the iPad to watch a "home-made" social story about a family trip to a coffee shop, created in the "Stories to Learn" app.



YOUTUBE INFO:

"Another too-cool app for his iPad, this one all about writing as well as spelling (http://itunes.apple.com/app/iwritewords-handwriting-game/id307025309?mt=8). For each letter in the word, the app says the letter, has him trace it in super-easy guided steps, and his written letter replaces the original letter in the word (at top of screen). When he finishes, the word appears in his handwriting. The program then spells it and pronounces it, displays a kid's illustration of the word -- and Leo gets to shake the original letters into a hole in the corner of the screen. LOVE IT."

STORIES TO LEARN

YOUTUBE INFO:
"Our family (and a friend) worked together to make this social story about visiting our local coffee shop for my son with autism. We used Stories2Learn (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stories2learn/id348576875?mt=8), on our iPad. It was so easy! And he loves it. In fact he loves it so much I had to have his sister demo it, as he loves to play the voiceovers over and over again. :)"


RESOURCES
Moms with Apps
Moms with Apps for Special Needs
Moms with Apps:  Characteristics of great apps for kids with autism

Will the iPad rejuvenate journalism and sustain the growth of "slow media"? -Video via ZDNet

The Summit at Stanford 2010 wrapped up at the end of July. Those who had the $1995.00 to attend were treated to two and 1/2 days of highlights of "significant economic, political and commercial trends affecting the global technology industries".

The videoclip below, taken during the Stanford Summit, is an excerpt of a discussion of a panel about journalism in the era of the iPad - Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, Tony Perkins, moderator of the panel and founder of AlwaysOn, Quentin Hardy of Forbes, and Robert Scoble of Scobelizer theorize that longer-forms of journalism might have a new life on the iPad, based on its beautiful, touchable design.



Goodbye, "McDonald News"?

SOMEWHAT RELATED
Here are 5 examples of the 100 movers and shakers who presented at the Stanford Summit, as posted on the conference website:

Matt Grob
Sr. VP, Engineering and Head of Corporate Research and Development, Qualcomm

Jaron Lanier
Author, You Are Not a Gadget, 2010 Time Magazine top 100 most influential people list,

Phil McKinney
Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard Company

Barry Silbert
Founder & CEO, SecondMarket

Dwight Badger
CEO, Advanced Equities

SOMEWHAT RELATED
Qualcomm's Matt Grob on Augmented Reality
Andrew Bellay, AlwaysOn, 7/28/10

Wrangler Bluebell Jeans Interactive Ad on my TouchSmart PC -"How-to", plus a demo of ad on iPad

The content of this blog post was removed at the request of Wrangler.

Tech Fashion: The iPad Murse (Murse = Man Purse)

I'm vacationing this week, but since it is impossible for me to fully pull myself away from tech, I grabbed my husband's arm and made a beeline to the iPad display during our walk around Historic Charleston yesterday.  Nearly every iPad on the display had been temporarily adopted by a kid. All of them wanted one, and it was clear that the interaction design was intuitive for them to use. 

My husband commented that he didn't see what the buzz was all about.  His first comment?  "How would anyone carry this? It is too big for a pocket or a purse!   I pointed out that unlike me, most of the women in the store had huge purses.  Huge fancy purses that could probably hold a bazillion iPads.   (My mind is made up. I need an iPad AND a huge fancy purse.)

I noticed that a dad of one of the iPad-exploring kids was holding an iPad in a zippered case in his hand, so I asked him about it.  It turns out that the guy is a "Virtual IT CIO",  so he knows his stuff.  He said that he loves his iPad and has no problem carrying it around.    Knowing my husband, carrying around the iPad in a case without a handle would be a problem.  A deal-breaker.

I guess that the lack of an iPad Murse (man-purse) is something worth considering.  We all want to project a professional image, right?  I chuckled to myself as I read the following article:

Searching for the perfect iPad/Netbook man-purse

Scott Stein, CNET, 7/9/10

In the article, Stein reviews a variety of "murses" suitable for the iPad and netbooks, including Cocoon's Grid-It 10-inch Harlem Netbook/iPad and Gramercy Messenger slings, Booq's Taipan Slim XS, and STM Bags' Scout Laptop Shoulder Bag.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

(Credit: waynesuttun12, flickr)

Interactive Video Stories for the iPad, via Interactive TV Today

"Touching Stories" - iPad Demo + Behind The Scenes from Tool of North America on Vimeo.

"TOUCHING STORIES" APP OFFERS FOUR INTERACTIVE SHORT FILMS, DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE IPAD -Tracy Swedlow, 6/29/10

More later!

Quick Post: iPad and Mobile Learning - mLearnCon June 15-17, San Diego

Sorry for the delay in posting this.  I've been more than busy lately!

Here is the plug for the mLearnCon conference, currently taking place, June 15-17 2010 in San Diego, CA:


"Join the mLearning vanguard as we explore the potentials (and pitfalls) for mobile learning!
mLearnCon is where every aspect of mobile learning including management strategies, platforms (SmartPhones, PDAs, iPods, Tablets, etc), operating systems (Android, BlackBerry, iPhone OS X, Palm, Symbian, Windows Mobile, etc.), authoring tools and technologies, content design & development, and best practices will be explored. Whether you are working in an academic, corporate, government, or military setting ... mLearnCon will give you the ideas, information, and community you and your organization need to succeed."

Link:  http://www.elearningguild.com/mLearnCon/content/1603/


RELATED
Marc Rosenberg's article provides a good overview of the game-changing issues surrounding e-learning, m-learning, and recent technological advances such as the iPad:

Marc My Words:  Thinking About Mobile Learning in the Age of iPad

Virtual Glee App for your iPad, from Smule: Sing with yourself, or other Gleeks around the world, in perfect harmony!

Sing with yourself and Gleeks around the world in perfect harmony: 

Demo of the Glee iPhone + iPad App by Smule - "I'll Stand By You"
"Glee, for iPhone + iPad, by Smule. This impromptu, one-take performance by Smule engineer Nick late one night at HQ demonstrates how the app transforms his voice into a group of singers harmonizing with him."

This is exactly why I NEED an iPad!

Tutorial Part 1
"How To"



Tutorial Part II:
The Glee GlobeShows how you can share your Glee songs and sing with others around the globe!





RELATED 
Cool iPad Digital Piano App

Video and Links about Google TV : Another Flavor of Android - "Google TV brings everything you love about the web to your television"

"Google TV brings everything you love about the web to your television"

INTRODUCING GOOGLE TV



Transcript of the Google TV video:


"Back when there were only a few networks, watching TV was pretty simple.  You turned on the TV, and if you didn't like what was playing, you changed the channel. But these days, TV can be pretty complicated. Figuring out what you want to watch is hard enough, and that's only the beginning. Once you've chosen a program, you have to figure out when it's playing, and which of hundreds of channels it's on.  It's like you have to change your schedule to fit your TV's schedule.  In fact, many of us end up watching videos on the web, because it is easier to find things that you want.  I mean think about it, more and more of our favorite shows and videos are showing up online these days, and you can get to them really easily, whenever you want, just by typing in what you're looking for."


"The problem is, these smaller screens don't really compare to our home entertainment systems.  Which leads us to a pretty big question:   If the web is so smart, and our TVs are so fun to watch, why do we have to choose?  Why can't they work together?   


"Well, now they can.  Introducing Google TV.  Google TV brings everything you love about the web to your television. Some new TVs will come with it built-in, or you can get a separate box for the TV you already own. Either way, the way it works is very simple. Right on your TV screen, you simply type in what you're looking for...anything you're looking for, and Google TV will find it."


"It's basically an entertainment hub that searches all of your channels, recorded shows, YouTube, and other web sites. If you find something you like, you can add it to your home screen where you will always see your favorite channels, shows, websites, even music playlists and photo albums. That way, you can get to things really quick.  And with a full web browser, you get unlimited access to the entire Internet, so you can do stuff like browse photos or update your status.  And that's just scratching the surface."


"By opening up your TV to all of the improvements and innovation that the web has to offer, Google TV will make your TV smarter and easier to use.  So you'll be able to spend a lot less time finding what you want, and a lot more time watching what you want."

Here is some information from the Google TV website:

Watch

Google TV is coming to a living room near you.

Watch the Google TV announcement.

Learn

Learn about the partners we're working with.

Visit Sony, Logitech and Intel.

Develop

Optimize your web apps for Google TV.

Android SDK coming soon. Learn more.

Google TV is a new experience made for television that combines the TV you know and love with the freedom and power of the Internet. Watch an overview video below, sign up for updates, and learn more about how to develop for Google TV.

More Information about Google TV from Google

Announcing Google TV:  TV meets web.  Web meets TV

"Google TV is a new experience for television that combines the TV that you already know with the freedom and power of the Internet. With Google Chrome built in, you can access all of your favorite websites and easily move between television and the web. This opens up your TV from a few hundred channels to millions of channels of entertainment across TV and the web. Your television is also no longer confined to showing just video. With the entire Internet in your living room, your TV becomes more than a TV — it can be a photo slideshow viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more."

Google TV Developer Page

Designing Websites for Google TV

Related Google TV News and Links

Google: A new consumer electronics power broker

Tom Krazit, CNET News  5/20/2010

Google I/0 Keynote Day 2: Android Day (Live Blog)

Tom Krazit, CNET News  5/20/2010

Google tries where others failed: shaking up TV biz
Yinka Adegoke and Jennifer Saba, Reuters  5/21/10
Google Introduces Google TV, New Android OS
Priya Ganapati, Gadget Lab, Wired 5/20/10
Sony Internet TV
Logitec and Google TV
Logitec Google TV Box Will Have Special Powers
Matt Buchanan, Gizmodo, 5/20/10
Google Combines TV, Android, and All of the Internet
Jason Chen, Gizmodo, 5/20/10

Picture of Google TV Box, from Gizmodo:




SOMEWHAT RELATED
I wonder what the user interface will be for navigating around Google TV.   This just might be the opportunity for a next-gen universal remote control to emerge.   I hope so, because I've had usability issues with the current state of my remote controls and my DVR +  HDTV viewing experiences.


FYI:   A few of my previous posts related to remote controls, web-browsing on HD TV's, and so on:

Usability of a Remote Control
The UX of ITV:  The User Experience and Interactive TV (or Let's STamp Out Bad Remote Controls)
WebTaps HDTV and Touch-Screen Web Browser:  Share the view of the web on your couch!
Silverpac's Multi-touch website, by Ciplex features Evolution 5500, a user-freindly universal remote control, using Wiindows 7 SlideShow
Jonathan Kessler's Hand Eye Technologies:  Coordinating your cell phone with Interactive TV
An Example of Convergence:  Interactive TV:  uxTV 2008

UPDATE:

Maybe a something like the iPad app below will be created for a slate-application for Google TV?

Remote Control News:  Comcast Shows Off Sweet iPad Remote Control Prototype


This application supports socializing remotely via your remote....watch the video to see how it works:

Xfinity Remote Powered by Comcast (on an iPad)