Episode 348 – Whistle while you walk

replica revolutionary war whistle — photo by Michael Martine, Dec 2021

Minecraft, telepresence, transit gamification, @Tesla’s Cyberwhistle, Web3 to Web11.0, @engineered_arts robot, repurposed nuclear missile silo keyboard, & Dirk Gently.

Andy and Michael R have a wide ranging discussion on this week’s episode, starting things off with a deeper discussion about the recent Minecraft update. Then, they move into the experimental Google telepresence experience, and consider what is involved in setting this booth up, and the chip supply chain shortage implications. Next up is a discussion on a gamification experience in the London borough of Hounslow in 2019.

In the “people will buy anything department”, Michael and Andy examine the Tesla Cyberwhistle and how quickly it sold out, and the secondary market is already quite vibrant. This is reminiscent of the VW Fast that surfaced in the GTI advertisements several years ago.

The co-hosts then have a detailed discussion on Web3 monetization and blockchain based on the Wired article about Gavin Wood’s coined definition from from 2014. Andy points out that Michael M introduced Web 11.0 long ago, as a tongue-in-cheek response to all those talking about Web 2.0 at the time.

Michael R and Andy then take a look at Engineered Arts’ robot Amica. Amica has extremely realistic expressions – check out the show notes below and see for yourself.

Rounding out the show for this week, is an interesting article about an USB update to a keyboard that once was part of a nuclear missile silo control system from Hackaday that also reminds Andy of a USB keyboard conversion he did with a Commodore 64 computer.

What would you convert to a USB keyboard? A Timex Sinclair perhaps? Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz !

Thanks for listening!

Selected Links

PC Gamer article: Minecraft 1.18 finally resurrects the experimental feel I loved 11 years ago — https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/minecraft-118-finally-resurrects-the-experimental-feel-i-loved-11-years-ago/

The Verge article: Here’s how Google’s experimental 3D telepresence booth works — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/2/22813731/google-project-starline-specs-features-research-paper-8k-tv-microphones-camera-capture-pods

Ars Technica article: We transformed a London borough into a game to get fewer people traveling by car — https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/11/we-transformed-a-london-borough-into-a-game-to-get-fewer-people-traveling-by-car/

Beat the Street — https://www.beatthestreet.me

Cult of Mac article: Elon Musk: Don’t wast money on ‘silly’ Apple Polishing Cloth, buy our $50 Tesla whistle — https://www.cultofmac.com/760041/elon-musk-tesla-whistle/

Tesla Cyberwhistle — https://shop.tesla.com/product/cyberwhistle?sku=1715672-00-A

Volkswagen FAST — http://www.neffink.com/vwfast

VW FAST example on ebay — https://www.ebay.com/itm/324923538515

Wired article: The Father of Web3 Wants You to Trust Less — https://www.wired.com/story/web3-gavin-wood-interview/

The Daily Beast article: This Robot’s Facial Expressions Will Freak You Out — https://www.thedailybeast.com/humanoid-robot-ameca-with-freakishly-realistic-facial-expressions-by-engineered-arts-makes-debut

Engineered Arts — https://www.engineeredarts.co.uk