Cognitive Labs

Microsoft has agreed to fund an institute dedicated to learning-related games - in particular, looking at titles such as WoW to see if there is any benefit.

Groups of veterans play WoW to improve attentiveness when they return from the warzones, natural for them since mostly they were playing it before they enlisted and also while they served.

However, keep in mind that this is not particularly new, though it seems to be reported by the MSM as if it were shockingly new. Microsoft in the UK has been studying benefits of games since the early 2000's.

Published research we're involved in (go here for an overview) and some of our theory-in-use studies, such as at E3 back in 2005, also bear out the benefits in terms of improvement on normative measures. Similar studies at UC-Irvine, Scripps, and Western Ontario do as well. With additional research at University of Texas, Austin showing improvement in IQ scores, cohort studies at secondary schools have reported enhanced SAT scores (significant), and athletes have reported an improved tennis game (in the case of two professionals) along with at least one all-star major league infielder who regularly hit over .300.

One would think with the exploding audience and engaging nature of cognitive gaming that it will remain a high-growth area for the next decade-plus. Time spent playing our games in 2009 is up well over 100% from the same period in 2008, to an average of 50.7 minutes per visit, which compares very favorably to most websites. During the same period, for example, visits to traditional media (newspaper) sites has declined as has the average time per session.

Labels: 100percent, 50.7, coglabs, kotaku, microsoft, minutes, session, tauren

I haven't checked what Arrington says about Microhoo/Yahoosoft but it's a little like the old joke Fedex is merging with UPS and now there's one company called "FedUps."

I see a couple of effects: check it out

(1) the yahoo mail franchise which may be the biggest asset now could become a platform for getting people to upgrade to Vista

(2) many tech types will switch to gmail. there's a huge number of users that have a gmail account but not for their primary use

(3) hotmail and yahoo mail integration creates an email behemoth, which may be unwieldy like the giant in 'jack and the beanstalk'

(4) a gap may be created for an enterprising dark horse (or two) to emerge

Labels: microsoft, yahoo

Microsoft and Yahoo to merge? Balmer, Semel & Co.

That's what the buzz is saying.

Labels: microsoft, yahoo

There were two major stories in technology over the weekend, for those interested in this topic. The first is Google's acquisition of DoubleClick on Friday, and the second, Microsoft's announcement of Silverlight, a vector authoring tool designed to compete with Adobe. Since Flash is installed on up to 99% of the total available market (TAM) for browsers, it will be interesting to see what their strategy is.

Labels: adobe, doubleclick, Flash, Google, microsoft, silverlight

We Can Remember it for you Wholesale...Pictures jog Your Memory. This is the premise of Memory TV and also our new test variations....good thing we've filed the patents

Scientists have found that Alzheimer's sufferers who were given a "human black box", have shown significant improvements in long-term memory.

The 'human black box' called 'SenseCam' is a square black camera 3in square and half an inch think, and is worn around the neck. It has a series of sensors that trigger a fish-eye lens to take pictures in response to changes such as motion and light variation, gestures or heat from a person in front of the camera.

The research was conducted by Microsoft.

As part of the study it was found that a patient, who without the camera, had virtually no recall of events five days after they happen, was able to recall details of trips several months after viewing images taken by the device to trigger her own memories, the Telegraph reported.

The device takes up to 2,000 pictures per day, which are downloaded to a home computer, and can be viewed as a speeded up slideshow or one by one. Microsoft is still testing prototypes.

The researchers claim that the miniature camera can enrich the lives of people with dementia and other memory problems.

SenseCam can also be used for tourism or as a personal digital diary. Combined with other sensors such as a heart rate monitor, it could have other medical applications.

The findings were revealed at the British Psychological Society conference in New York.

Labels: alzheimers, microsoft, remember, wholesale

This article from PC World pertains to Microsoft, but we get a little mention at the end.

Labels: brain, cognitive_labs, microsoft, PCworld