AlphaDesigner Blogue

I remember those scenes in Minority Report where all the billboards across the city could recognize Tom Cruise by scanning his retinas and were able to talk to him. I also remember I thought this would pretty soon become a reality, even in my own lifetime. Well, the first prototype version is already here, The New York Times reports. Luckily, they can’t directly scan retinas and talk to us. Unfortunately, the technology they use hints the time is near.

This new Frankenstein of the advertising industry is equipped with a camera that will “scan” the passengers to determine their age (based on features like the distance between the nose and the chin) and their sex. Future improvements should add a capability to determine people’s race as well.

Of course the company that made all this dream come true claims it’s spy billboards won’t collect personally identifiable information. And of course people have all the reasons not to believe that, since it is widely known how the aggressive methods the industry uses inevitably lead to deception, even as an unintended side effect. Respecting people’s privacy has always been low priority for them.

So in the end, let’s all greet us with that punchline from Futurama - Welcome to the World of Tomorrow!

Last weekend I finally took a trip to the Rila Monastery with my friends. It was one of the things I have been planning for a very long time. Even though it is only about 100 km away from where I live, I never really managed to get there for some reason.

I certainly didn’t expect it to be as majestic as it appeared in front of my eyes, although I was a bit disappointed with the architectural ensemble in the yard. Or maybe I was having a bad day for taking pictures because I didn’t manage to find a decent composition for the church and the tower beside it. Whatever the reason, it ceased to matter the moment I spotted the frescos. I felt really strange because Orthodox images weren’t my cup of tea. However, those were different. I didn’t realize it right away. It took me a day or two browsing through the photos and some feedback from my online contacts to realize that I’m actually in love with those masterpieces. I’ve shot “interesting” things before when I visited “special” places but it was mainly because I wanted to have some kind of a record. This time it seemed much more personal.

First of all - the faces! As some people pointed out, these aren’t the usual faces that we all know from Orthodox artworks. There isn’t a trace of that tragic, mournful mood that makes the usual secular observer gulp convulsively. Just the contrary - they appear surprisingly human, calm, and peaceful. Even the demons weren’t depicted in a way that was supposed to scare you.

Second - the colours. Even blues and greens seemed warmer than they usually are. No need to mention yellow ruled everywhere, followed by red, both creating an amazingly uplifting effect. And last but not least - the sheer size of the murals covering every possible angle on the outside, overflowing between arches and domes, was absolutely stupefying. I felt like I was in the center of a huge 3D comics. It made me think of the times when few people were really able to read and images ruled the world as the main tool of story telling. It certainly felt different and much more intense. You can’t have that kind of relationship with a letter.

I did some research about the authors of the frescoes. Most sources say they were made by the Zograf brothers and people who worked for them. And because Zahari Zograf was a bit vain and had the habit to sign his frescoes, I assume those on the outside were made by Dimitar. Whoever it was, I love him.

My (once) favourite BBC News site has published a very intriguing article about the evolution of the web user. It basically contains the result of (what is obviously) a very competent research, concluding that web users “ignore efforts to make them linger and are suspicious of promotions designed to hold their attention”:

“Web users have always been ruthless and now are even more so,” said Dr Nielsen. “People want sites to get to the point, they have very little patience,” he said.

Of course, Dr. Nielsen is the infamous Jakob Nielsen, the father of usability zealotry. Remember the times when those folks were preaching that the web is all about strict code and glossy semantics? Some people still cannot overcome this disease, although I’m happy to report that most of the Web 2.0 is aware of the simple fact that without quality information, the pretty code is just a machine porn, or at least - a kitschy nonsense, separating effort from purpose like God split Heaven and Hell to make place for this sinful Earth. On which people like Jakob Nielsen get born, eat, sleep and ultimately - die.

But where was I? Oh, right - the selfishness of web users. It seems that Doctor Nielson complains people are not that adventurous as they used to be. They want what they are looking for, they want it fast, and they are impatient. Every psychologist would confirm that, however Jakob Nielsen simply didn’t make the effort to ask one. Instead, he views this tendency as something close to negative, comparing it to “ruthlessness”.

Yes, web users today are “ruthless” - because they finally managed to catch up and learn what the web is all about. The times when every Regular Joe used to click twice on every blinking banner offering 1,000,000 $ are passé. Moreover, the advanced users like me, who want to be informed about new products only when they feel they need to, are using plug-ins like AdBlock to prevent the loading of those swarms of blinking flash banners, which ruin the quality of our web experience and drain the juice from our bandwidths. The comfort days of all those advertisers and “fishers of men” are numbered. Even if someone finds a way to beam crap directly into my brain I’ll find the plug-in to block it. You’ve been warned!