ContinuousClient
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Nsquared's Seamless Computing, Surface + Kinect + Slate + Phone = amazing interface (video)
Sydney's nsquared is calling it "Seamless Computing" -- software which unifies Windows Phone 7, Surface, Windows 7 Slate and Kinect. Begin designing a new home on your phone and then place it on the Surface to share between all the devices, then pick up the Slate to make some modifications before walking through a 3D model of the building, navigating with Kinect's gesture interface. Software like AirPlay and Touch to Share already give you a taste for this sort of tech, but the experience that Dr. Neil Roodyn demonstrates in the video below is far more immersive -- not to mention unspeakably cool.
PlayStation Vita title 'Ruin' connects to PS3 for continuous client gameplay, we give it a swing (video)
Cross-platform gaming is a wonderful idea, but Sony's showing off something even more impressive at E3 this year -- a game that you can starting playing on either PS3 or the PlayStation Vita handheld and immediately transfer to another console. Ruin leverages cloud storage to save your entire hack-and-slash RPG game, right down to the positions and actions of every nearby enemy and the structures you've destroyed. Then, a second or eight after you hit load on another machine, you're right back in the very same fight. Resuming on console or handheld and picking up exactly where you left off -- yep, it's a bona fide continuous client, and we had to give it a try. So, off to Sony's E3 2011 booth we went, to seek out developer Idol Minds.With both Vita and PS3 connected to a local router, it was both as simple and as mind-blowing as you'd expect -- simply save on one (no matter what you're doing), load on the other, and everything (save certain scripted animations) loads exceptionally quickly. In fact, Idol Minds VP Jeff Litchford said that while show floor conditions necessitated the local router, Ruin's cloud resume functionality would even work over 3G, as the save files are actually fairly small, on the order of 250KB. He couldn't tell us whether you'll have to purchase two copies of the game to make the magic happen (we're hoping not), but he did have some good news on the cloud storage front: it won't cost a thing to save your game data, not even a subscription to PlayStation Plus.Sean Buckley contributed to this report.
KonnectUs cloud-based software makes easy cross-platform sharing a reality, we swoon (video)
Last year, we expressed a yearning for something we called the Continuous Client that would allow us to pick up on one device where we left off on another, and in less than a year we saw the advent of HP's "Touch-to-share" technology, but our dreams weren't fully fulfilled -- we longed for a platform that would offer seamless sharing across all of our devices. Well, it's like we rubbed a bottle and KonnectUs popped out. The cloud-based software is a collaborative effort between Sensus and Open Exhibits that enables you to transfer files and information across platforms -- including Windows, iOS, and Android -- with a simple swipe of your finger. As it turns out, KonnectUs was built with museums in mind, but the company is offering APIs for integration into third party applications -- so maybe the perfect world isn't that far off after all. Oh, that's right -- we still don't have a robot to shake our martinis after a hard day at the office. Video after the break.
Trillian gets there first, brings Continuous Client features to latest build
Well this is rather awesome. Cerulean Studios may have just become the first company in the world to implement some of the ideas I hatched in an editorial I wrote about a little something called the Continuous Client. If you need a refresher you can read the article here, but the gist of my argument is that the work you're doing in applications on your phone, tablet, or PC should follow you around. You shouldn't have to restart each conversation or refocus your Twitter stream or re-open applications and load up files you were working on. Your devices (and their clients) should talk to each other so that you can placeshift your session from screen to screen. Well, believe it or not, someone took this to heart. The makers of the super-popular chat client Trillian have implemented Continuous Client features in the latest beta build for Windows (5.0 build 30). Amongst the new features added is the ability to share chats between devices "in realtime," allowing you to switch from PC to phone to iPad without losing the thread. Using "presence technology" the client can make logical guesses about when you're at (and not at) your PC or phone, and reroutes your notifications accordingly. The company has a blog post on all of the features of the new build, but of course, the best way to experience it is to download the software and try it out for yourself. We'd love to see your reactions and find out if it's making life easier, so sound off in the comments below.
Chrome to Windows Phone 7 now available
Approved and waiting for your download, Chrome to Windows Phone 7 is now available in the mobile OS' operating system. True to its name, once you download both this app and the applicable Chrome extension, a quick click on the Windows logo in your otherwise Google browser will send links or selected text to your Microsoft mobile. Join your Android friends in embracing the Continuous Client lifestyle. Update: Looks like Site to Phone can handle just about any smartphone. Thanks, Ed!
Chrome to Phone now available in Android Market
Chrome to Phone isn't a new product -- we've been using it since May, in fact -- but Google's second mobile announcement today (behind Voice Actions) is that its continuous client app is now "official" and available to all users (with Android 2.2 Froyo) via Android Market. As it was before, websites can be pushed from the Chrome browser to your Android device, with certain apps (Maps, YouTube) taking over for the browser when contextually appropriate. Additionally, the code is open, which we're hoping means this Chrome extension will find its way to other browsers. The team is "looking into" bringing the capabilities to other mobile OSs (the iPhone was specifically asked), but don't get your hopes up: nothing's been submitted, and we didn't get the feeling it was an active push. Incredibly useful? Yes, yes indeed.
How-to: push Chrome / Firefox links to your Android 2.2 Froyo device (video)
While we absolutely adore our Nexus One -- now that it's got a bellyful of that fabulous frozen yogurt -- one of the most exciting Android additions shown off at Google I/O isn't actually slated for Froyo: the ability to push apps and music over the air from computer to phone. The underlying framework apparently is, though, and thus a bite-sized version of the functionality is already available at Google Code. If you're one of the lucky few running Android 2.2, you can get an extension for Chrome and Firefox web browsers that will let you push URLs, Maps and YouTube video links direct to your device using a Google Account. You can think of it as an early foray into a Continuous Client, perhaps, sharing with yourself before you head to a business meeting. Better yet, share an account with a group of friends and push interesting items to everyone on the go. See how (and see it in action) right after the break.
Apple applies for patent to resume media playback on another device
Remember that "Continuous Client" piece that was burning up the pages of Alt the other day? Well, we might get one sliver of it fulfilled if Apple has any real plans for implementing this concept they're in the process of patenting. The idea basically uses cloud syncing to let a user pause a song or video on one device and then resume it from that same spot on another device -- perfect for Apple's little phone / PC / TV ecosystem. Not exactly earth shattering, and probably half as complicated as this diagram makes it out to be, but would certainly be convenient. You're going to do something cool like this right after you make good use of Lala, right Apple? Right?
A modest proposal: the Continuous Client
There is a missing link in our computing experience that has recently been made painfully clear thanks to the current onslaught of highly advanced mobile devices, and I believe the solution to this problem is simple. Allow me to set the stage. Just now, I was reading one of my favorite blogs on my laptop, but I wanted to relocate to my couch, and I wanted to switch to reading on my iPad. Of course, this required starting a new browser session, calling up the web page, and finding my place once again. This same situation now occurs constantly with Twitter (where I'll have to read and re-read timelines depending on whether I'm checking on my phone, laptop, or iPad), Facebook (a mess similar to that of Twitter), and even in my IM sessions (different locations, different conversations, different logs). There is no continuity in my call logs, text messages, or notes when seated with my laptop or desktop, and there is no way in which to continue working on something in an application on two platforms without tremendous effort. Frankly, it's a mess. The solution, I believe, is something I'm referring to as the Continuous Client.
