Is it possible to incorporate a personalized "context" into the generator? Weather, market/news sentiments, calendar events, etc... to style the end result.
Killer feature(idea): Work with a Kinect sensor on a feedback loop to update the playlist based on number of people, size of the room, acoustics, aggregate playlist taste of people who "check-in" to the room so their tastes gets included (you're a good host right?). I imagine it would bring a more social component to the playlist and put that social component to use.
One thing I could foresee happening with the increased use of furniture/concepts like this (the UrbanDesk, as well as some of the other products from other companies) is that a user may get disoriented from using the same space for multiple purposes. I like having a room for different functions. A room for sleeping has a different feel than a room for working. A room for eating breakfast has a different feel than a room for eating dinner with family. A room for relaxing and watching TV casually, has a different feel than a room for entertaining guests. You get the picture. This helps create mental and emotional "spaces", but also leads to a lot of wasted space. With more people wanting to move back to the cities, I imagine this distinction between mental and emotional "spaces" will become more blurred. Does anyone know of any good products or services that would compliment these products? I'm thinking along the lines of programmable/wireless ambient lighting.
I wonder if also using a sandboxed localstorage as a memcached would be useful? I guess you would have to account for bandwidth, response time, and available memory. Also account for variable CPU usage, but I wonder if you could train an algorithm to account for these factors. I could see it being a great way to "get paid for using X Extension".
I've always thought it would be cool to have employers offer "MAKEation" days instead of vacation days. This would be time accumulated to take a month, a quarter, or even a year off to build your own product/service/dream. The company offering this would also provide mentors, resources, and periodic sit-downs to discuss investment into your new product/service/dream. You maintain your insurance throughout this time also. When you return to work, instead of having a meeting to "be brought back up to speed", you discuss with managers how to integrate your new business into the company, what you learned, and then make a presentation to the rest of your business/department. The idea being that every business can be it's own incubator of sorts. I would imagine this would attract top talent to your company, allow for new sources of revenue, keep your business fresh, and promote innovation among those that might otherwise be more risk-averse.
"In addition to" vacation days, I could see it, but in lieu of? No thanks.
Taking time away from work is an important part of my mental health. The last thing North American culture needs is another way for corporations to replace leisure time with yet more work.
You might enjoy this broadcast that we (the radio show I work for) did last year on aging, the feeling of a lack of purpose, and what to do about it. It's mainly geared towards those about to retire, but it can also be relevant to others.
