The Buzz: Ramachandra Budihal augments reality

Photo: Ramachandra Budihal at TEDIndia, Session 7, "Power of Stories," November 6, 2009, in Mysore, India. Credit: TED / James Duncan Davidson

Session 7: Ramachandra Budihal clearly thrilled TEDIndia's live audience -- and also our webcast audience, who had plenty to say on Twitter:

The 3D augmented device demoed by Ramachandra Budihal . Now I know how I can communicate folk stories to the future generation -- ramkrsna

Just watched a 500 yr old King resurrected - u can now experience ancient Indian history #TEDIndia for true innovation -- mita56

AAAAAAAAAAmazing!!! Ramchandra Budihal!!!!! #TEDIndia totally rocks!! -- moneymunot

We don't enter the future, we create it. And we create what we imagine." - Ramachandra Budihal -- brainpicker

What Budihal is describing, cannot be trapped into words. W-O-W! -- TEDxShekhawati

Beautiful Commercial: Vodafone Symphonia

A few years ago an acquaintance of mine had a brilliant idea. He wanted to persuade advertisers to sponsor so called “SMS Waves”.

A football stadium would ask everybody in the audience to send an SMS with their seat number to our system and then at one point during the break everybody would hold up their mobile phones, and a wave of ringtones would go around the stadium.

Sounded great in theory and we decided to invest a few thousand to build a prototype. The entrepreneur even patented the technology and started pitching it to potential clients.

Reality can be a cruel though. When we first tried it out, with 50 volunteers during a local basketball game, we realized it would never work. Half the participants had their mobiles on vibrate, used a ringtone that was inaudible and it was totally unpredictable when phones would start ringing. Some started ringing within a few seconds and others took 45 seconds before they woke up and made a sound.

Oh well, you win some you lose some.

Today I was reminded of our little adventure by this beautiful commercial from Vodafone. With my history in getting a lot of mobile phones to do one single thing at the same time I can assure you the whole thing is as fake as a kid in a balloon, but that shouldn’t spoil the fun:

According to the official website these are 1000 connected phones playing in concert. There are two movies there on how they made the whole thing work.

Internet Speeds and Costs Around the World

The Galilean Moons

Most Serene Prince.

Galileo Galilei most humbly prostrates himself before Your Highness, watching carefully, and with all spirit of willingness, not only to satisfy what concerns the reading of mathematics in the study of Padua, but to write of having decided to present to Your Highness a telescope ("Occhiale") that will be a great help in maritime and land enterprises. I assure you I shall keep this new invention a great secret and show it only to Your Highness. The telescope was made for the most accurate study of distances. This telescope has the advantage of discovering the ships of the enemy two hours before they can be seen with the natural vision and to distinguish the number and quality of the ships and to judge their strength and be ready to chase them, to fight them, or to flee from them; or, in the open country to see all details and to distinguish every movement and preparation.

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