Is there really an app for the end of the world?

I heard about one, so I went on a search for it.

Oh the fun advertisers have!

For those who believe that the world will end on Dec 21, 2012 there is an iPhone app that will let them keep track of time using the ancient Maya calendar!

A countdown to the end? Not really.. but if you want to know what the date is according to the Maya calendar, complete with the proper glyphs for it, this app will let you keep up with the ancients. The end of the world hook in the advertising is subtle: "learn about various Maya cycles of time and gain a better understanding of why December 21, 2012 A.D. is an important Maya date." The end is near!

I remember many years ago the sandwich board with "the end is near" painted on it that doomsayers sported on the streets was as high tech as the end got, but now we can count down to the end of the world with digital accuracy. Now, yes, there's an app for that! Progress.

What do I want to watch?

On the weekend the spouse was busy putting together some of his favourite photos to create a book (potentially quite a nice book, updates to follow). So he said "watch whatever you want on the TV, but not a pirate movie". OK, so maybe I've played those DVDs too much lately, but what do I want to watch?

I want to watch something with adventure, humour, fun, physical action... no, actually I want to be IN something with all those things. I want movies to take the next step and be 3 dimensional, and I want to be involved in them, not just watching them on a flat screen.

We have a Wii game console, it's a great tool for having fun because you typically stand while playing a game, and your arms swing and you can actually work up a sweat. Unlike other game consoles, your thumbs are not the only part of your body getting exercise when you play with the Wii. I want the same kind of interaction with movies. I want to do sword fights and swim underwater and be inside the movie.

So how long do we have to wait for this to happen? The Star Trek series was said to inspire the iPod and other MP3 players into existence. When will something inspire enough smart people to create the technology to put people inside a movie rather than in a chair watching a flat screen?

Sometimes progress is just too slow.