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Hi guys!

Google I/O 2011 is kicking off every moment. Many rumors make their round among those many Google TV ones. The screen that Google did not yet conquer. Here are some ideas I'd like to see in future Google TV devices. I would love Google TV to be more like a tablet experience. What do I mean by that? Give us a home screen with apps and widgets just as we know and love it from our Android phones and tablets.

But TV is different. Here are just two points:

1) TV is not a personal device, it's a multi-personal device. Dad's don't want their children to access their browers history or access their social apps, right? 

Solution: I'd love a lean and easy user login. Just let people add their Google Accounts to the TV once. Afterwards all you need to login in is to enter a PIN. Entering your password every time would be a pain. PINs could be e.g. 4 digit codes or a sequence of button presses (vol up, ch up etc.). Or use a finger print reader on the remote. And off course there needs to be a guest account that clears all data after every user switch.

2) TV unlike phones and tablets is more than an arm lenght away. No direct touch interaction. Plus fingerprints would pretty much suck anyway. This is a big issue. How does a 21st century remote control look like? Off course you can use a remote app for your phone and tablet. That's all good. But would you really like to look down on your touchscreen handheld everytime when you want to change the volume or channel? Plus, phone and tablet batteries drain quickly. And would you like to hand you personal phone over to your little sister just so that she can swtich channels?

Solution: A Boxee Box like remote. Simple and apple-esque on the one side and a qwerty keyboard on the back for your social texting needs. Below I attached a mockup (very early stage).

As you can see I added the youtube like/dislike buttons to rate content, be it live-TV or VOD. This feature could be integrated with Google +1. Alternatively checking-in to a TV show or movie could also be integrated. Last but not least a button for switching users and a touch pad for gestures.

Kicking back now and following the Google I/O 2011 kick off.

Thanks for reading! 

Update 2/2/2011: Just saw this VW ad. Totally rad!!! Could be my new No. 1. Great acting little Vader. I always liked their ads. I youtubed my favorites, here they are:

No. 3

No. 2

No. 1 - All-time favorite

Inspired by Exgerian's awesome minimalistic TV Show posters I started to create some myself. Here they are. (click to enlarge)

Decreasing the size does not matter anymore when you already have a tiny device like the 'old' Shuffle. The result you get from an even smaller (ca. 50%) form factor is bad usability. No dedicated buttons anymore, just a stupid one-button headphone remote (my Panasonic Walkman had that already in 1996). They could have just added the playlist feature to the old Shuffle and done. Voice over, really? Different voices for PC and MAC? WTF!?! And that guided-tour video girl is annoying! Oh boy, did Steve approve all that? Please come back Steve! I am worried about my shares .

The new Shuffle is the best argument for buying a generic and inexpensive USB MP3 stick with twice the memory for at least half the price. Guess what? You'll get a free display with it. Never was a big fan of the Shuffle. But the 'old' one had a nice look and a tolerable interface.

As a product and usability freak, I had to get this of my chest!

Now I feel better. 

Thanks for the link Philipp! This ad goes so well with my previous post and especially well with my beer coaster thong contest.

BTW, Kölle Alaaf my friends!

Funny beer ad. Even funnier is that boys get the joke, while girls tend to see the real thing and not the illusion the ad is trying to convey. I am always saying boys are more visionary.

It's a video from the German government. Kids are explaining European values. This video resembles an old German game show called Dingsda, where kids explained words without saying the actual word. Each time they accidentally said it, you would hear a sound overlay. These kids are just adorable. I especially like the last two the most.

Palin's ABC TV interview

OMG! Her interview was pathetic and ridiculous. She is such a bad speaker, you can see and hear her think. She would not withstand 3 min in Trump's board room. That'd be actually quite a good yardstick . Bring on the show! I can't see how Hilary supporters will swing vote for her. She is a hypocritical clone, just an empty bin with a boring worn-out tape record playing. Sorry guys, I am always for fact-based discussions, but with Palin, I can't do it. She isn't discussing fact-based either. I have tons of respect for McCain, but Palin... don't get me started. She's not even the same league. Go home!

Quote from Youtube: In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message.

Math with Brands, hilarious! More, a day with brands.

AWESOME!!! I keep watching the German goals of the last two matches and still get goose bumps every single time. And even more when I listen to "Seven Nation Army". The match was a real thriller from the start and even more when the TV signal broke down for ~6 minutes.

All goals semi-final


All German goals quarter-final


Funny story, Germany's most renowned TV news got our flag wrong

Happy Easter folks! Just yesterday I complained that there are literally zero Easter songs but tons of Christmas songs. Thanks to the weather craziness we can just rephrase all the Christmas songs now: e.g. I'm dreaming of a white Easter. I just love Easter in ALL its colors .

A look outside


What a ride!

Reporter Owned By Sled - Watch more free videos

Boring match until the last amazing quarter! NY Giants FTW (for the win)!!!

Less than a minute to go the Giants were behind and needed a touchdown, when this scene happened. This pass was key and put them into the position to score seconds before the end. Amazong pass!


I heard rumors about a Michael Jackson appearance during the Super Bowl, but he appeared... NOT. But the Jackson spirit was somehow a part of this year's Super Bowl experience . All Super Bowl ads can be watched here.