Hasta La Gadget!

Henry Markram discusses who’ll be the first to die in the robot apocalypse (not confirmed).

(Credit: TED Conference)

Understanding why we, as humans, do the things we do is one of the pieces of the puzzle of our existence. Too bad we may have to wait another 10 years for some definitive answers.

This week at the TED Global conference, Henry Markram, director of the Blue Brain Project, revealed that he and his team in Switzerland are aiming to build a functioning, artificial human brain within the next 10 years.

The team started out a few years ago by attempting to create a fully functioning artificial rat brain using the IBM supercomputer, Blue Gene. The thought was if they could successfully replicate a rat’s brain, they would then leverage their knowledge to do the same with a human one.

When they began their experiment, the digital rat brain only fired neurons when prodded by a simulated electrical current. Recently, however, the neurons have begun spontaneously organizing themselves into a more complex pattern.

According to the scientists, this is the beginning of the self-organizing neurological patterns that eventually, in more complex mammal brains, become personality.

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We’ve been wondering what the Microsoft’s retail shops are going to be like. Well, according to a Powerpoint presentation leaked to us, it’s going to make the Apple Store look downright boring. UPDATE: Microsoft comments.

The presentation is by Lippicott, a “design and brand strategy” consultant firm with extensive retail experience that it appears Microsoft has hired to help develop the store’s concept, principles, and design. It looks pretty legit to us—if it’s a fake, it’s fairly elaborate, with detailed graphics, research, plans and even rough store layouts.

Essentially, Microsoft is taking the best elements from the Apple Store, Sony Style and other “flagship” stores. The main focuses are going to be Windows 7, Xbox, PCTV (Windows Media Center) Surface and Windows Mobile, revolving around this concept customer they call “Emily,” who’s basically a younger version of your mom, since they make all the buying decisions.

Frank Shaw w/ Waggener Edstrom, left a comment below on behalf of Microsoft, implying that many of these concepts are merely that and not final plans:

“As a part of our process in briefing creative agencies, we shared some early prototypes and concepts of our retail store plans. No final decisions have been made. As we previously announced, we are on track to open retail stores this Fall.”

That said, it’s still probably a pretty good indication of how Microsoft and its consultants are thinking about their store, at least at the beginning of this month, since the presentation is dated July 7.

Here are the highlights of the slides, if you just wanna skip to the meat of the 140 slides we got and the 54 we posted:

• There’s going to be a Digital Media Wall—a massive screen—that wraps around the entire store showing various messages, which you can see in some of the slides
• Personalization is something they’re stressing big time, with fancy areas devoted to customizing computers and gadgets using an “Xbox style” interface at various kiosks
• Here’s a sample store layout
• Lots of Surface demos
• Stage areas for Windows 7, Windows Media Center (PCTV) (it’s kinda surprising how much they’re pushing PCTV, actually), Windows Mobile and netbooks
• Their take on the Genius Bar is the Answers Bar (or Guru Bar or Windows Bar, depending on which slide you look at, showing it’s slightly up in the air, though we prefer Answers Bar since its sounds like slightly less like a Genius Bar ripoff)
• Apple Store-style table layouts
• Some of the stores they profiled for ideas are Nike, Nokia, Sony, Apple and AT&T
• They’re already planning out huge demos and events around Project Natal and their secret mobile project Pink
• A fancy Microsoft shopping bag
• You can pay to have your birthday party at the Microsoft Store

In short, if it’s anything like what Lippincott is planning, it sounds absolutely amazing, and we’ll be lining up the first day it opens.

This week in the App store, things got a little deep: We discovered haunting new sounds, created fine art, psychoanalyzed our friends, read great literature, experimented with prescription drugs, and even reconnected with an estranged child. Your turn!

Layers: Layers is a Sketches-style drawing app, except with, well, layers. That might seem a little excessive for a fingerpainting app, but for serious iPhone art—which is a thing, by the way—five layers and the ability to export in PSD format is invaluable. Five dollars.

Barnes and Noble eReader: Barnes and Noble‘s eBook+eReader megannouncement mentioned that their fancy new eBook store would be supported on the iPhone, and this is what they were talking about. The app is a readily customizable e-reader with integration for B&N’s store, which seems large and cheap enough, though I haven’t had much time to dive into it. The app worked fine for me, but quite a few folks are reporting glitches in this early build—some quite serious. Free, until you want some decent books.

iConcertCal: Another ultra-obvious iPhone 3.0 app that we just weren’t allowed to have until now, iConcertCal scans your music library to produce a list of concert dates for all your favorite artists. The $3 price would be excessive if the app weren’t as good as it is, but the inbuilt ticket purchasing, venue mapping and iTunes integration are thoughtful and, well, they work.

PhonyPhone: Babies love iPhones, for a lot of the same silly reasons adults do. So if you’re prepared to take on the risk of handing over a fragile, multi-hundred-dollar gadget to a being that hasn’t even figured out how to stop soiling itself yet, you may as well go for it. For a buck, PhonyPhone will give babies a colorful fake phone interface to play around with, which will speak numbers at them, play a song, and most importantly, keep your precious, dial-happy bundle from spitting up, long-distance, in your boss’s ear. I feel like there could be a little more functionality packed in here—more noises, more songs, more to play with, basically—but then again, I’m not a baby.

Rorschach: I’m a sucker for games like Rorschach, which drive you to become a moralistic, bloodthirsty vigilante bring a pass-around-the-phone element into their gameplay. (Human interaction is pretty OK! Who knew!) The concept is simple enough—you and your friends guess each others answers to simple questions about various ink blots—and it has a familial, board-game-like draw to it. Great road trip fodder, to be sure. Two dollars.

Ghostly Discovery: There are two reasons to download this app, both pretty convincing. First is the music selection, drawing from the Ghostly label’s eclectic stable of artists (if you like them, you’ll have heard the name). Broadly, though, it’s a cool take on music recommendation, which take into account parameter like how “organic” or “digital” music is, or what color “mood” you’re in (don’t worry, there’s a guide). Actually, there are three reasons: It’s freeee.

Medscape: Are you a doctor? Probably not. But if you are a doctor, or a med student, or an industry journalist, or a pharma-follower, or you’re just deep, deep into multiple pill addictions, WebMD has an app for you! Medscape keeps you from mixing your barbiturates with your muscles relaxants, and provides all kinds of pharmaceutical information, keeps you apprised of the latest medical news, offers free mini-lessons to keep doctors sharp (CMEs they’re called, for Continuing Medical Education), and most usefully to nonprofessionals, provides access to a massive directory of hospitals, physicians and pharmacies. And like pretty much nothing in healthcare, the app is free of charge.

This Week’s App News On Giz:

• Google Latitude for iPhone Is a Lame Web App Because Apple Thinks We’re Easily Confused

• Kensington Nightstand Dock Converts iPhone Into Retro Alarm Clock

• Half-Amazing, Half-Terrifying Concept App Combines Facial Recognition with Augmented Reality

• The App Store Is Just Like the Civil Rights Movement, and Other Lessons We Can Learn From iFart

• Navigon MobileNavigator for North America Hits the App Store, $70 For Now

• Don’t Expect a Huge Increase in Complexity Of iPhone Apps Any Time Soon

• Sports Illustrated Swimsuit App Is as Close As You’ll Get to an Official iPhone Porn App

• David Bowie Space Oddity iPhone App Lets You Remix the Thin White Duke Anywhere

• Public Radio iPhone App Adds On-Demand Content, Accidentally Kills FM Radio

• Augmented Reality iPhone App Helps You Find Your Mommy

• iPhone Icon Paperclips Appify Your Office Supplies

• Universal Hopes You’ll Actually Watch Blu-ray Special Features If They’re iPhone Apps

• Need Medicinal Cannabis? There’s an App For That

This list is in no way definitive. If you’ve spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our Favorite iPhone Apps Directory and our original iPhone App Review Marathon. Have a good weekend everybody.

For each of the next four weeks, I’m awarding one Leatherman Freestyle CX to the Gadget Lab reader whose comment best contributes to this site.

The Freestyle CX (right) is one of the smallest tools Leatherman makes. It’s got a pair of pliers and a hard, 154CM stainless steel blade, and that’s about it. It fits nicely in your pocket, feels good in your hand and looks cool.

This week’s winner: Shlepzig, whose advice on fixed-gear and freewheel bikes is helpful, informed, nondogmatic and practical. It’s also long — longer even than the post, by Charlie Sorrel, to which it’s attached. Thanks, Shlepzig, for taking the time to share your knowledge with Gadget Lab’s readers! Special note to Shlepzig: If you read this note, send me an email at dtweney@wired.com so I can get the prize to you.

Now, here’s some background: We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to raise the level of discussion here, by deleting comments when they are spammy, excessively profane, or add nothing to the conversation. It’s been helping. For instance, the discussion on Brian X. Chen’s post about iPhone 3GS encryption is helpful and interesting.

But besides merely deleting comments, I also want to encourage the good comments. So when the Leatherman company donated four Freestyles for us to give away to Wired.com readers, I figured this was the way to do it.

What makes a good comment? It’s interesting. It adds something to the conversation. It’s on topic. It doesn’t have to be long, nor must it agree with the views of Gadget Lab.  It doesn’t even have to be particularly polite, so long as it’s on topic.

If you see a comment on Gadget Lab that deserves recognition, let me know at dtweney [at] wired [dot] com. And in the meantime, keep those comments coming.

See Also: Gadget Lab’s Comment Policy

Last month, we got some hands-on time with Wii Sports Resort, the first-party Nintendo game that comes bundled with Wii MotionPlus.

While most of the minigames are new, you’ll recognize a few classics from the original title such as golf and bowling. That aside, there’s a lot of …