Following on from Daniel’s opening piece on Picnic06 on Monday, we conclude today.
I was really looking forward to John Thackara’s talk entitled “Global issues demand creative leadership” but it was skipped and he went pretty much straight into chairing the “The creative business leaders debate”. He did mention that he’s usually the one to ask “why” are we doing all this [technology innovation], asking what will it be used for and is that so good anyway? But then he ignored those questions completely and followed a more boring corporate line.
Overall, there did seem to be a lack of social comment. There was much more focus on ‘business needs to get investment and customers’ rather than benefits to society – call me old fashioned but we need to ask more ‘why’ and ‘what for’ questions.
Yet again there seemed to be an inverse relationship between the size of the company and the content of the presentation. MTV, Google, World Directories failed to inspire beyond a little spark here or there. Too much reliance on videos within a presentation didn’t help. And, of course, they can’t tell us anything new as they’d blow their competitive advantage.
To be fair I didn’t see all the keynotes nor attend all the workshops. It was simply not possible. It was a very full programme. I was a bit of a conference butterfly, catching a bit here and there, putting my oar in when I could and, of course, couldn’t pass up that free massage.
The production was slick and impressive. But more could have been done to inspire and challenge us; more focus and discussion on issues and less corporate plugs. Perhaps the real benefit of this event was the networking, which there was plenty of. This was an ambitious event and I’d say that, on the whole, the team at Cross Media Week pulled it off.
Incidentally, I found my accommodation (a room in a shared flat 5 minutes cycle from PICNIC) on craigslist – so it works for something. A bicycle came with the deal. Cycling around Amsterdam is always fun. Everything is so close. And sitting outside, by a canal, having a quality meal, one may ask what else is there to life?
A new report examining the role computer and video games can play in education was released today by ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association), in association with the UK Department for Education and Skills’. 
Some will find it surprising that it’s not just young joystick twitchers that are benefiting from learning through games. E-learning expert, Professor Stephen Heppell, who has been studying this area for years explained, “The curious thing is that we’re seeing people playing games and challenging themselves with their computers right across the age range, literally womb to tomb. (We take our hat off to him for being the first person to use the ‘Womb to Tomb’ phrase, which, from this point forward, we will never tire of using.) 
With its bottom spanked raw by a damning expose on the BBC’s Watchdog programme, beleaguered TalkTalk boss Charles Dunstone has admitted that they screwed up the launch of their free broadband service. 
She soon learnt all about how useless their call centre was too, on one occasion spending 56 minutes 40 seconds waiting on the line. 
A survey released by Best of Stuff suggests that nearly a third of Brits own up to 15 gadgets. 
The trusty ol’ gogglebox came in a close second with 27 per cent of the vote, and 46 per cent of those surveyed reckoned that the fabbest new innovation in the market is HDTV. 
But it’s not all love-love-love in the world of gizmos, with 40 per cent of respondents declaring themselves disappointed with their gadget’s battery life, pointing the finger of blame at MP3 players, laptops and mobile phones as the worst offenders.
Router heavyweights D-Link have announced a new line of “V-CLICK” dual-mode phones that allow users to easily switch between cellular and Wi-Fi networks. 
D-Link doesn’t say if the phone will work with existing VoIP providers like Skype – their press statement simply says that users will be able to configure a specific SIP profile, with multiple profiles being available “to make usage between home and office automatic.” 
In a sure sign that TV content on the Web is going to be as important as TV content on the TV, AOL has signed up everyone’s (in certain parts of the UK at least) favourite ‘geezer’ cook Jamie Oliver. 
But it’s a ‘win win’ scenario for Oliver and AOL, Oliver will be able to plug his latest book and AOL are expecting non-subscribers to sign up for their free Webmail accounts. 
Dyson have this morning launched a new product, the Dyson Airblade, a replacement for tired old hand dryers. 
Just spotted on the 
Notably, it’s also got a colour screen, albeit a teensy weensy, itty-bitty one which has to be one of the smallest we’ve ever seen that’s capable of showing album artwork (but we like seeing album art, even when it’s this small!). 
The Walkman is billed as shipping with “noise cancelling technology,” courtesy of “high value EX headphones” with the player promising a healthy 50 Hours battery life backed up by a quick charge function. 
Two UK lads, Gary and Ash, have taken upon themselves to go into Internet chats, posing as a 13 year old girl and converse with various men who happened across them. 