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Scroll down to see the Dead Sea manuscripts

September 28th, 2011 Posted in Google, Great Ideas, Internet, Technology, Virtual No Comments

The Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical manuscripts known to man, are now available online as high resolution images, courtesy of Google and the Israel Museum.

The project, which was launched on Monday, will feature text-searchable images of the five Israeli scrolls that date back to the time of the birth of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Explanatory videos and information are also integrated.

The 1,200 megapixel images are 200 times higher in resolution than a standard camera and were taken with UV-protected flash tubes at a shutter speed of 1/4000th of a second to avoid damaging the manuscripts.

An English translation is provided and the scripts even show up in Google search queries. We challenge you to find anything older than them online. View the images for yourself here.

Source: Telegraph

Tesco’s virtual subway store

July 14th, 2011 Posted in Augmented Reality, Campaign, Great Ideas, Mobile, Technology, Virtual No Comments

They’ve previously brought out in store sat-navs, the mobile shopping app, and even a drive-through supermarket. Now Tesco have taken one step into the future and created the first virtual shopping experience using QR codes (those square barcode-like things that we’re seeing all over the place these days).

The project came about as a way of making Tesco Homeplus the no.1 supermarket in South Korea. They wanted to beat their biggest rivals, E-mart to the top spot without actually increasing the number of stores. So they created virtual stores on the walls on subway stations, of course.

While waiting on their trains, commuters can browse the aisles and scan the QR codes of products with their phones. It’s automatically added to their online shopping cart and delivered as soon as the arrive home. Although virtual, the stores are exactly the same as physical stores, from the display to the merchandise.

It literally brings mobile commerce to a whole different dimension, and has been quite successful too – online sales increased by 130% after the campaign. Take a look at how the whole thing works below.

Source: Adverblog

Harry Potter steps into the world of Transmedia

June 24th, 2011 Posted in Books, Internet, Online, Trans Media, Virtual No Comments

To date there has been seven novels (translated into 67 different languages), eight films, a host of online forums and fan fiction, and even a YouTube series (with puppets) dedicated to the wizarding world of Harry Potter, as created by J.K. Rowling.

The author has said she will definitely not be writing any more Potter-based books, and with the final film about to be released, many wannabe wizards are sure to find a void in their lives soon.

Enter Pottermore.com, a new site developed by TH_NK and Rowling herself that will curate the wealth of content that now exists about the series. It’s a virtual world based on the books as well as 18,000 words of additional content that will be released by Rowling, and fans’ contributions.

The site will host forums, games and interactive content, will sell e-books of the series for the first time, all centred on an online, expanded version of the Potter story in its entirety.

It’s a first for the book publishing industry, and as the step was taken by the biggest-selling author of the last decade it’s a highly significant one. The Pottermore team are working on web-enabled tablet integration too, so the site will not just be a separate experience to the e-books.

The site was launched last week and will be fully available in October, with a limited number of early admissions given to those who subscribe now.

Check out Rowling’s introduction to the site below.

Source: The Telegraph

Chromaroma: Gamifying London’s Underground

April 26th, 2011 Posted in Games, Online Game, Online Games, Virtual No Comments

Chromaroma is a cool new role-playing game is taking the streets of London by storm – or more specifically, the public transport system. Described as an automated version of Foursquare, the game is played out as commuters travel the city with their Oyster Cards.

Using data stored on the card, points are amassed with every journey taken via the Tube, bus, or Boris Bikes, as well as undertaking missions as a team or as an individual. Extra points are awarded for travelling outside rush hour or for getting off a stop early and walking. The overall objective is to ‘win’ stations.

Produced by Mudlark and launched last November, the game currently has around 3,000 users. The makers hope to conisder sponsorship opportunities in the not-too-distant future and possibly expand it to other European cities.

Source: Digital Buzz

Labour are Red, Fine Gael are Blue…

February 14th, 2011 Posted in Humour, Internet, Politics, Virtual No Comments

If you’re stuck for the perfect Valentine’s Day gesture, the latest from Fine Gael’s election campaign can help…

They’ve devised a virtual Valentine’s Day greeting featuring romantic messages, which you can send by email. All you have to do is choose from a dashing boy in a tuxedo or a girl standing by a cliff, and then pick one of several inspiring verses such as :

“Love is all around me,
It’s everywhere I go,
Our policy plans are for you,
So come on and let us grow.”

“Roses are Red,
Violets are blue,
The country is broken,
But Fine Gael will fix it for you”

And finally:

“Fine Gael won’t break your heart,
Like Fianna Fail broke your bank balance.”

Spread the love the Fine Gael way here.

Enjoy a virtual Christmas dinner

December 22nd, 2010 Posted in Apps, Virtual No Comments

Virtual Holiday Dinner from virtual holidaydinner on Vimeo.

Did you manage to book a table at Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam’s Virtual Holiday Dinner? Well just in case you missed out here is a video of it. The dinner featured 156 people, over 6 continents and 3 days having a very cool Virtual Holiday Dinner together via Skype. The guys at W+K Amsterdam managed to create a great little facial recognition app that would allow skype callers to control their mechanical doll just by turning their head! Great idea.

(Source: DigitalBuzz)