Make a Start

In one of the early editions of The Espresso- The Newspaper For Thinkers we wrote about a startup that was in beta called SIRI (a speech recognition 'personal assistant'). Low and behold last week it was the major announcement for Apple and their new application for the iPhone5 . Not long after we wrote about  the SIRI, Apple bought the company and have obviously set their mind to bringing it to life. If it's half as good as Tim Cook's (the new CEO of Apple) presentation at the WWDC on SIRI than it will yet again change the way we communicate. The lesson for me is that as with the case with SIRI the most important part for developers or creators was making a start . Too many people worry about what might happen to their product down the track, whether it will work, whether anybody will like it and in some cases even whether they can sell their business before they have started.  With all this weight of the world, worry and distraction they will never make a start. We can't wait to get our hands on SIRI which will be yet again a wonderful legacy from the genius of Steve Jobs and Apple.  

Click here to see how SIRI works

The Moving Screen 

We have been tracking how people are innovating around the humble shipping container. If you are a regular reader you will know that we have talked about the moving kitchen that Singapore Tourism have put together to promote their food. We have seen retail stores, houses, coffee shops and in more recent times a whole shopping complex made from shipping containers and our latest up until now was the university campus made from containers. But now for the next instalment: New Zealand On Screen is part of the REAL New Zealand Festival thats running alongside  the 2011 Rugby World Cup . Those people lucky enough to be going to New Zealand for the World Cup might see a big shipping container on the waterfront in Auckland or Wellington. If you see it, run inside because up until October 23 iconic kiwi films, TV shows and music videos are being showcased within the container wallls thanks to a collaboration between NZ On Screen and production company Story Box. Inside the shipping container are state of the art, interactive video walls and an iPad app that allows you to take a photo of yourself and inset it into a classic Kiwi film or TV scene. Our portfolio of uses for the shipping container just keeps getting bigger. 

Flip The Page

We have spoken a lot this year about companies that are taking unwanted products and recycling the into something that is usable. Paper Flops are our next instalment. Based in Indonesia this eco- friendly company make Flip Flops out of old newspapers. The Paper Flops are made from bio- degradable materials like newspapers, coconut shells, palm tree roots and 100% natural rubber. Whats even cooler is that they employ mentally and physically disabled workers as well as street children in Jakarta providing education and training in arts and crafts and then manufacture the hand made Paper Flops. Each pair of Paper Flops will use about a kilo of newspaper so you can imagine they are not only doing the right thing by the environment and helping out the people who need it most, but also they are remarkably light. Grab a pair for summer, they come in all different styles and different sizes. 

When Shopping Becomes a Sport

We have all seen the aimless bozo trying to do their shopping whilst holding a conversation on the phone or checking in on Facebook. They aimlessly wander the shelfs and aisles unable to concentrate on one thing at once. So when we saw a new experiment that Sainsburys were doing in London that provided shopping trolleys with iPad holders, speakers and on board battery with a self charging solar panel all designed to allow male shoppers to watch sport while they shopped we had to shake our head in amazement. I would have loved to have seen a focus group that led Sainsburys and their joint venture with Sky Sports News down the path of thinking to provide more opportunities for males to shop by giving them the chance to watch sport while they do it. But just by chance should the sport that the guy is watching prove distracting and lead to a head, the new trolleys also feature a front bumper complete with a sensor that beeps when the user strays too close to the other shoppers. So if you are in London at the Cromwell Road Sainsburys in West London and you would like to try it, just take your iPad, pop it into the holder and plug in. If you hurry you might catch the end of the Rugby World Cup.