Is the age of ubiquitous computing is upon us? We may not be living yet in William Gibson's plugged-in future, but there's no doubt that we're absolutely dependent on the digital realm. From tablets to smart phones to laptops to car navigation systems, we always seem to be connected. The digital life is everywhere we go, and software is our intermediary between physical reality and the bits and bytes. Over the past two years, the massive rise in popularity of mobile devices has changed the frequency, duration, and level of engagement of our digital existence. No longer is digital interaction reserved for those specific times when we huddle around the glow of desktop monitors. Mobile has made software integral to and embedded within people's lives, but the convenience and pervasiveness of mobile computing is only part of the story.

Here’s what we’re reading online, this week at Involution, on design, tech, and the digital life, in our links round up.

SOPA: Anatomy of a Public Uprising
As most of us of are aware, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill in the US House of Representatives, while purported to protect content providers, in fact hides within its depths the chilling ability to freeze online businesses and tech innovation through a set of draconian provisions, that would, for instance, force search engines to filter their search results.

Happy new year! Two thousand and twelve is going to be big here at Involution Studios. We're excited, not only by the software we're designing and building for our clients, but also by an internal project, that, after months of operating in stealth mode, is ready to have the wraps taken off. So, as the new year brings with it a cold blast of arctic air, at least in the Boston area, let's warm ourselves up around the glow of the Invo endeavors of the coming months.

For Immediate Release
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (U.S.) - November 18, 2011 - Involution Studios Creative Director Juhan Sonin was announced today as a featured speaker at the HIMSS12, healthcare and technology conference. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), is the largest U.S. not-for-profit healthcare association focused on providing global leadership for the transformation of health and healthcare through the optimal use of information technology. Sonin will be joining other notable leaders in both tech innovation and healthcare policy including Biz Stone, Donna Brazile, and Dana Perino. Sonin will be presenting on the topic “Health Everyware: Making Mobile Health Beautiful and Useful."

"We're excited to have Juhan talk on mobile software design in health at the HIMSS12 conference. He's been a driving force behind the HIMSS Mobile Design workgroup for the past 2 years, collaborating on national design guidelines for healthcare mobile applications." said Edna Boone, Senior Director Mobile Initiatives for HIMSS.

Here’s what we’re reading online, this week at Involution, on design, tech, and the digital life, in our links round up.

If You Make Sure You're Kinected, the Xbox is on the Wall
Last week, Microsoft's Kinect turned one year old, and the Redmond giant celebrated the "Kinect Effect" with a video highlighting future applications of the technology from healthcare to music to education.

I'm a big Boston sports nut. And, as cliched as the sports metaphor may be for discussions on teamwork, there are lessons to be learned from the collapse of the Red Sox, which was the worst in baseball history and has ongoing and transformative consequences for the organization. There were, of course, many reasons for the losing streak that took the Red Sox from a healthy lead of nine games in the AL wild card race to the low point of their 2011 season, where they dropped out of playoff contention entirely.

As countless, near-identical Steve Jobs obituaries spew out of the blogosphere/Twitterverse today, let's honour his contribution by doing what he did best: anticipating at what will be next...

Last month Marc Andreessen published a significant essay in the Wall Street Journal, outlining the many ways in which software has become not just important to our world, but the critical guts and infrastructure of it. Andreessen is, of course, pointing out a trend that has been building for some time, which has culminated in a sea change in the world of business that is only beginning to be understood. The perfect example of this change is the news that the iconic HP has chosen to abandon the PC market for software, seeing the former as commoditized and the latter as the future.

Here’s what we’re reading online, this week at Involution, on design, tech, and the digital life, in our links round up.

Visualizing Irene
For those of us on the Eastern seaboard of the United States, last week was quite a ride, starting with Hurricane Irene wrecking havoc all the way from North Carolina to Massachusetts, and continuing with an arduous clean up effort to remove the debris, start repairing the damage, and get back our lives into some sense of normalcy.