I was browsing the internets the other day when I happened upon the news that Nintendo’s releasing new colors of their mega-sized DSi XL in Japan. They look pretty fantastic (I’m especially diggin’ on that yellow one).

The video reminded me how much I love the smurf blue DSi. It kinda reflects my odd taste, and I dig that. Sadly the digital tool that reflects my odd digital tastes the most is boring on the outside. My smartphone. The 2010 smartphone is a decidedly black, white, and grey affair. Well consider this my call to arms. For color. My call for color if you will (clever, right?).

Apple, Google, HPalm – will someone, somewhere PLEASE build a serious smartphone in some damn colors. Color doesn’t limit functionality or reception (although apparently covering your hand over an antenna does). Color isn’t inherently immature or non-technical. So why are we stuck with monochromatic portable gadgets? It’s problem is so bad that a company named Colorware has created a highly lucrative (and insanely pricey) business out of simply COLORING the pieces of our digital culture.

All gadgets should come in clear purple (Nintendo called it “Atomic Purple,” which is also awesome)

Portable gamers are used to having a glut of color options available for their perusal. Since the very early days of the industry handheld gaming systems have tended to come in a rainbow of colors. Other gadgets have had their flirtations with color as well. Nokia did it (albeit with faceplates) with their popular phones in the early 00s. Apple did it with their original iBook (fair disclosure… I owned one… and yes it looked like a clamshell mated with a purse… but a colorful one!). Heck, they created a whole campaign about it with their nano-chromatic line of iPod nanos. So why do we live in a world of black and white now?

Apple is the most egregious violator in my eyes – if only because they’ve got a well documented history of being a leader in color. It started with that (still superior) colorful Apple logo. It continued with the delightfully colorful iMacs. When the whole nano-chromatic iPod nano hit, I figured Apple was just continue their conquest of color. But then the iPhone 3G came out… in black and white. And the iPhone 3GS came out… in black and white. And the iPhone 4 was announced… in black and white. Except that it’s only available in black until late July. You’ve got to be kidding me, Apple.

Maybe it’s because glass only comes in black and white

Look, I understand the economics are a bit wonky and it’s tough to stock all those colors of the same product. Why not just follow gaming’s example? Both the PSP and the DS always come out with only a couple of colors at first. Usually black and/or white are one of them and there’s another crazier color in the mix. Then, as the platform begins to lose a bit of steam, release some more colors (usually along gender lines) and BOOM – more sales. It’s a tactic Nintendo has used again and again to much success over the past two decades. Check Nintendo’s balance sheet – I promise you – the tactic works.

In a world where the Gulf of Mexico is being turned black (or brown if it’s been *ahem* “chemically dispersed”) – the last thing we need is LESS color. So consider this my Chromatic Call:

Smartphone manufacturers release us from the bonds of black and white and grey and silver. Not only do we deserve mini-computers in our pockets that enable us to Yelp that mediocre phở we just had in Wicker Park. We deserve to do so in COLORS, dammit.

Related posts:

1. What a Girl Wants: Hand Candy
2. Android Has An Interesting Couple Of Days
3. 140 characters on: google’s new favicon

We’re very excited about this April Fool’s day, and not just because the long-awaited Meeting Roulette debuted. April 1st, 2010 marks the next stage of the betacup challenge – the betacup contest is officially live.

Everyone and anyone can now submit ideas that rethink the way we consume coffee and help reduce paper cup waste through jovoto.com.

The contest starts today and will be accepting submissions through June 1st, 2010. Ratings will be accepted through June 8th. Experts in design, coffee, and innovation (including some from threadless, Starbucks, and yes even Denuo) will offer professional advice and guidance throughout the contest. There’s also $20,000 up for grabs for the best ideas as determined by the expert jury and the larger community.

We’re excited to partner with such a fantastic cause and pumped to see what the power of mass collaboration and creativity can do. We’ve got even more brewing in the betacup pot (see what I did there?!), so keep an eye out and get cracking on submitting your breakthrough, world-saving ideas.

Related posts:

1. The betacup
2. Reflecteur – Issue 63
3. WE WON A TWITTER REVENUE CONTEST!

Denuo loves Dreamcast, that wacky Sega gaming console released on 9.9.99 in America.

Denuo loves Dreamcast because it swung for the technological fences against the impending juggernaut of the Playstation 2. It ushered in a new era of videogame console specs: 128-bits, built-in internet connectivity (56kbps worth!), discs that stored more than a CDs worth of data, and VGA-capable graphic resolutions.

Denuo loves the Visual Memory Unit. A combination memory card and basic portable gaming system – it allowed for gamers to take micro-versions of their Dreamcast games on the go. The idea of connecting the portable and console gaming worlds still hasn’t hit the big time, but a decade later folks are still trying.

Denuo loves the Dreamcast controller. As painful as it still is to use, it served as the inspiration for the modern classic that is the Xbox 360 controller. Heck, Denuo loves ALL the zany controllers the Dreamcast pioneered. Dreamcast fishing rods, Dreamcast keyboards, Dreamcast microphones, and even Dreamcast maracas. When it came to plastic and silicon, Dreamcast went for broke.

Denuo loves that Dreamcast was the first connected console. Sega squeezed all they could out of that 56k modem and ended up creating a plethora of connected gaming experience. Sega even had its own ISP for a while, SegaNet, which provided lower latency gaming connections over a dial-up connection. As amazing as it sounds, the setup worked. Gamers at the dawn of the millennium had (relatively) lag-free online console gaming through dial-up because of the Dreamcast.

Denuo loves Dreamcast games. The Dreamcast library represents game development at its most ballsy, wacky, innovative, and just plain ol’ GOOD. It introduced so many innovative concepts that we’re STILL seeing its influence.

Denuo loves Phantasy Star Online. Many a Denuologist sunk hundred of hours in front of their TVs exploring, hacking, and slashing through the world of Ragol with friends from across the world. Heck, Sega even solved for international conversations with a universal symbol/translation system accessible within the game.

Denuo loves Jet Grind Radio. The game gave players a position in a rollerblading gang of graffiti artists in an uber-stylish, futuristic version of Japan (so, uh, like Japan I suppose). More importantly, Jet Grind Radio introduced the world to a technique called “cel-shading,” in which 3D rendered graphics took on the appearance of hand-drawn animation. The effect has gone on to become an industry staple – and is heavily featured in another thing Denuo loves.

Denuo loves Space Channel 5. The game put players in the orange platform boots of Space Channel 5 reporter Ulala in her quest for higher ratings against her rival Pudding from Space Channel 42 (this is not a joke). Along the way Ulala is tasked with saving save the world from an invading alien army armed with ray-guns that force people to dance. Also – Michael Jackson makes a cameo (again – we’re serious here). But the greatest thing about Space Channel 5 was the music – with its boss-nova style it can be heard in the halls of Denuo from time to time.

Denuo loves Shenmue. An epic that boasted hyper-realistic graphics and for first time actually HAD them. Set in a living, breathing recreation of a 1980s Japan town it featured a cast of hundreds, all of whom lived their own “lives” within the game. And perhaps, most importantly, it was one of the world’s first “sand box” style games. Shenmue allowed for gamers to move the story forward at their own pace, had a “day and night” system (revolutionary at the time) and provided plenty of “real world” distractions (an arcade featuring Space Harrier!) to keep you busy outside of the main plot.  Shenmue also happens one of the most expensive games ever made coming in at at LEAST $20 million dollars to create.

The Dreamcast’s legacy still lives on today in modern franchises. The entire 2k Sports series of games originated on the Dreamcast. They were some of the greatest sports games of their day – and 2k Sports still provides some of the greatest sports gaming experiences a decade later. Project Gotham Racing and its innovative Kudos system got started with a fantastic Dreamcast-exclusive by called Metropolis Street Racer. Soul Calibur had its breakthrough moment when it launched on 9.9.99 alongside the Dreamcast and blew everyone away with its visuals and fluid mechanics. These are just some of the franchises that had their big, breakout moments on Dreamcast and still remain viable today.

Denuo loves that Dreamcast was unafraid to be so damn WEIRD. There was Seaman – in which players interacted with a snarky fish-man who was aware of time, date, personal gameplay history (!) and most importantly voice. Players visited Seaman every day and everyday there’d be new things to discuss and do with him. He remember answers you gave him, and used them in conversations weeks later. Also, Leonard Nemoy narrated it – updating players on their progress with his dulcet tones (as heard on the video below).

There’s also Typing of the Dead – a typing-tutor version of Sega’s popular House of the Dead franchise. Players used the Dreamcast keyboard peripheral to behead zombies by typing words quickly. The guns in the game were replaced with Dreamcast and keyboards. WMP as weapon. Weird, but great.

Then there’s a personal favorite, Samba de Amigo, which shipped with an expensive, unwieldy, and officially sanctioned Maraca Controller. Imagine a latin-themed Dance Dance Revolution, but using maracas and hands. It featured a Brazilian Carnival aesthetic and starred Amigo, a monkey whose emotional stability is dependent on your performance. Other modes in Samba de Amigo had you shaking maracas with a partner to determine your “love compatibility” and a Whack-A-Mole style minigame called… wait for it… Guac-a-mole. Brilliant.

Denuo loves Dreamcast because it was unafraid to be innovative and risky. Denuo loves Dreamcast because it pushed the gaming industry into the new millennium. Denuo loves Dreamcast because it was, very simply, awesome. That is all.

Related posts:

1. THE TRUE IMPACT of STARCRAFT 2
2. DenuoFlash: Matt Story Talks Sports Gaming in Vegas
3. PLAYED – Denuo@E32010

Everyone around here knows that Dan is the music-ologist of the group. His recent 100 songs of 2009 post will no doubt be inspiring me throughout 2010. But while spending some time with his list, I realized that the way we experienced music this year was really different. Which is funny, because Dan is the guy I spoke to about music the most this past year.

So, in an effort to show an alternative view of the music world, I present my favorite albums of the past year. There are a couple key differences between our lists that reflect our different listening styles:

• These albums weren’t necessarily released in 2009, but albums I discovered in 2009. I’m not a “new music” searcher, I just kinda stumble upon stuff haphazardly throughout the year.
• These are albums, not singles or tracks. Ironically, I left the “singles” mentality during music’s transition to digital distribution. I’ll discover a song I like and I’ll need to hear the album.
• I’ve tried to keep it to one album per artist, but this was the year I found the Beatles. And I can’t just pick one Beatles album, dammit.
• I’ve tried to approximate what season I discovered the music in. It reflects how long the album has “been with me” – which (sometimes)  effected its position. It’s not anymore specific than that because I have the memory of a goldfish.
• I have a really obsessive relationship of album artwork – so you, dear reader, get to enjoy the fruits of my artwork searches.
• I’ve tried to post a link on the album in some form or fashion – note that some of them are obscure or prohibitively expensive. Sorry, I’ve got weird musical tastes.

20. Camille – Le Fil (Fall)

Camille’s soothing voice is featured on the fantastic Ratatouille soundtrack (which almost made this list). Turns out Camille can sing a lot more than French ballads about rat chefs. This album is young, energetic, and diverse. In short, a blast.

19. Asher Roth – Asleep In The Bread Aisle (Spring)

Quite possibly funnier than Kanye (especially THIS year). When the infectious single, “I Love College,” is the WORST track on the album, you know it’s good album.

18. Final Fantasy X – Piano Arrangements (Spring)

When I discovered Square Enix’s line of piano arrangements for their greatest games on iTunes, I knew I had to try this one out. When stripped down the bare essentials, FFX’s music is even more evocative.

17. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup (Spring)

Filled a musical need in my life I didn’t know I had. Russian carnie music brought down a notch. I can’t explain why, but I now regularly have the urge to be taken back. Flippin’ awesome.

16. k’naan – Troubadour (Fall)

Know I’m late on this one, but damn k’naan is brilliant. He’s got Somalian street cred, he’s unafraid to play with his music, and he’s constantly switching styles. This album will keep you on your toes.

15. Glee: The Music Vol. 1 & 2 (Fall)

It was fall, and Tim and Eric wouldn’t stop gushing about Glee. I figured if the D&D contingent of the office was getting excited over a high school musical, it was worth checking out. I was hooked from the first episode, and (bonus!) the music kicks all kinds of ass.

14. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Summer)

Like Beirut, I can’t quite put my finger on why I love these guys so much. It could be the awesome drum patterns. Maybe the toe-tapping baselines? Perhaps the brilliant album name? Let’s just chalk it up to all around awesome music.

13. The Beatles – Let It Be (Fall)

One of my 2009 resolutions was to listen to the Beatles chronologically, giving each album time to “settle” in my brain. I caught Beatlemania by the first month. So when it came to this list, I limited myself to three Beatles albums. Then I couldn’t leave “Let It Be” out. I often wake up and go to sleep with “Dig a Pony” stuck in my head. In the same day.

12. YMCK – Family Genesis (Summer)

One of the best games on Nintendo’s mobile app store DSiWare, is “PictoBits,” a puzzle game featuring astoundingly good remixes of 8-bit tunes. I discovered the music was composed by Japanese group YMCK and grabbed this album. It turns out when 8-bit musicians count Miles Davis and the Beatles among their musical inspiration… great things happen.

11. The Beatles White Album – Summer

The Beatles went absolutely everywhere with this album, the musical shotgun to Let It Be’s sniper rifle of mellow. And, as I learned this year in The Zombie Survival Guide, sometimes the shotgun is the way to go.

10. Passion Pit – Chunk of Change LP (Spring)

I once opined “Sleepyhead” must be the song played at the gates of heaven. A couple (hundred) more plays of this track proves this analysis is absolutely correct. The rest of the LP can’t help but be infected by the sheer joy and energy of Sleepyhead.

9. John Lennon – Imagine (Winter)

As my Beatlemania started to subside, I started exploring the Fab Four’s solo work. I’ve gotten as far as one, this album, and it made the top 10 of my list. Jesus. Imagine gets this high with so few listens for being so damn schizophrenic whilst still maintaining brilliance. Lennon is all over the place here, and I love him for it.

8. Kanye West – 808s + Heartbreaks (Spring)

Kanye has certainly done a lot of dumb things, but 808s isn’t one of them. Ye’s risks on 808s took him in some amazing artistic places. Sarah may not agree, but I think Kanye is a better artist because of this album. Can’t wait to see where his post-college career takes us next.

7. Matt & Kim – Grand (Spring)

Addictingly earnest and optimistic. This is what happens when happy hipsters get together on bright, sunshine-y day, and rock out with reckless abandon. Happiness compressed into sound.

6. The Beatles – Abbey Road (Summer)

I wasn’t a believer at first. In fact, there was a time where I thought “She’s So Heavy” wasn’t a good song (I know, I know). But luckily, I came around to Abbey’s genius. The amazing transition after She’s So Heavy, the entire back half of the album, “The End.” This is the Beatles at their best.

5. Mario & Zelda: Big Band Live (Summer)

A live recording of a concert by “The Big Band of Rouges,” who transformed a variety of Nintendo tunes into a big band set list with banjos, a live chorus, and a Japanese audience energetically singing along. There are just epic amounts of fun to be had here, even if you’re only slightly familiar with the source material.

4. Michael Jackson – Off the Wall (Fall)

After MJ died I started to explore his discology a little and found the gem that is Off the Wall. Every song on this album could be a single – and discovering each one was like find musical buried treasure. And seriously, where has the title track BEEN all my life?!

4. Major Lazer – Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do (Winter)

One day Eric sent me a (potentially NSFW) video for “Pon the Floor” and I was absolutely entranced. The way Major Lazer twisted the traditions of dance hall and reggae intrigued me. A listen confirmed it: This is my shake yo’ ass album of the year. It sounds unlike anything out there, but you’ll still want to dance from beginning to end. If you need more convincing, here’s Major Lazer’s backstory:

“Major Lazer is a fictional animated character, who (according to press releases) fought as a Jamaican commando and lost his arm in a secret zombie war in 1984. He fights vampires and various monsters, parties hard, and has a rocket-powered hoverboard.” Epic. Win.

2. The Very Best of Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers – Winter

This album hits me where it hurts. My soul. Sounds strange, I know, but there’s no other way to say it. Sam’s vocal strength is enough to take my breath away. But combined with the Stirrers here, their simplicity and power here will have even the staunchest non-believer standing up and giving praise to the musical gods. Do yourself a favor and check this out, now.

1. The Beatles – Please Please Me (Spring)

This certainly isn’t the best Beatles album, or the most diverse, or the most experimental. I love it the most this year for the sheer youth and enthusiasm at which the Beatles are doing what they do. Listening to this album is listening to four brilliant friends and the reckless fun they’re having. In a way, Please Please Me sums up my 2009 quite nicely. Not necessarily the greatest or most solid year, but damned if we didn’t put our all into it and had fun doing it.

Related posts:

1. Dan’s Top 5 Albums of 1998
2. Lollapalooza 2009 Recap
3. The 2009 Coachella Report

The 2009 Chicago marathon starting line (taken with iPhone 3GS).

A couple weeks ago I ran the Chicago marathon. It was a cold, slightly gloomy race – and the last two miles were absolute hell. But I had an ace up my sleeve – or rather in my hand. My iPhone 3GS. It helped me finish the marathon – and (more importantly for THIS post) it shifted my perspective on what experiences the current generation of “phones” are capable of delivering.

When the iPhone 3GS was announced – the “killer app” for me was actually Nike+ integration. Being able to finally consolidate my running iPod and my phone made things a lot simpler and safer on training runs. I ended up training with my phone in hand for the entire summer. It served as my pedometer, my iPod, my phone (in case of emergency), and my camera on almost every run I went on. It also allowed me to run when normally I wouldn’t have been able to. Around the office I became known for my “lunch-time” runs – and I wouldn’t have been as comfortable leaving the office to run without people being able to reach me if they needed to.

Sometimes when you’re training you just see something you’ve got to take a pic of…
(in this case the beautiful Chicago skyline as seen from 10 miles north).

One screen is now both small and powerful enough for users to expect that screen to serve a diverse array of uses. “Mobile phones” are increasingly becoming digital chameleons – capable of quickly changing function depending on their environment.

This dawned on me when I realized my training needs and my marathon needs were subtly different- and that my device was able to transform to meet those needs. What was (during training) a run tracking, music, and business device – became a location broadcasting, memory-keeping and motivation device during the marathon. You’ll note that “mobile phone” has nothing do to with either of those descriptions – neither does “pocket computer.”

The starting line looks a bit different from the inside…

As the race went on I found myself texting the most. Updating my friends on where I was at, getting updates on their locations and, most surprising, getting random texts of encouragement from people who knew I was running the marathon. The personal encourgemen-texts (see what I did there?!) were a powerful motivator – even with the tons of people screaming at me from the sidelines. When I needed a little extra motivation to finish off the last two miles – I texted some close friends with “tired. still running.” and got replies that helped me finish the race.

11 characters that meant quite a bit at mile 25.

I suppose it’s appropriate that the (newly dubbed) digital chameleon – with its ever shifting colors – is still most powerful when it is connecting people.

Related posts:

1. What a Girl Wants: Hand Candy
2. A Digital Family Adventure
3. Digital World Cup