Today Apple revealed the third generation iPad with its Retina screen, bringing the most powerful mobile visual display to market with a whopping 326 ppi in its 9.7 inch space. Print resolutions typically range from 300 - 1800 dpi, which means that Apple has effectively brought mobile computing into that same realm, a significant step to say the least. There's no doubt that the e-reader experience on the iPad will be greatly enhanced, be it for books, magazines, or even PDF documents. And with a starting price point of $499 for its bare bones model, it's conceivable that the other tablet competition and dedicated e-reading devices like the Kindle and Nook could soon be in for a bumpy ride.

I don't think there's any question that the creative class jobs that drive our innovation economy — designers, engineers, scientists, architects, entrepreneurs, writers, etc. — are all positions that require constant learning and evolution. In a larger sense, our economy, the companies that survive and thrive, the types of jobs in demand, and the skill sets required to successfully compete for these positions, are changing at a rate faster than we ever could imagine.

The Fast Company article, "This Is Generation Flux: Meet The Pioneers of the New (and Chaotic) Frontier of Business", has an interesting take on this phenomenon, framing the current economic environment as a system caught in the throes of creative destruction, brought on by rapid technological innovation and radical business model changes. A related article, "The Four Year Career", examines the imminent demise of the long duration job and the well defined career path.

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

The Internet of Things Will Rise in Boston
With the advent of the mobile revolution, we're now living connected lives, where our day-to-day activities are closely tied to the digital products and services that we carry with us everywhere on our smart phones. The future vision of smart devices networked via an Internet of Things takes this connectedness one step further, to a place where not only our phones, but our cars, our homes, the appliances within them, and any number of other objects can communicate with each other and us. This connected vision may be closer to reality than we realize.

The Mass Technology Leadership Council held its annual Big Data Summit yesterday at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center in Cambridge, MA. The sold out event was attended by a broad cross-section of the Boston tech community with engineers, designers, venture capitalists and business managers all coming together to discuss the future of Big Data in the Bay State. Massachusetts is well positioned to take advantage of the coming boom in big data according to a recent MassTLC white paper that reviews both the current lay of the land and future opportunities.

Last week, the IxDA's Interaction12 conference in Dublin, Ireland brought together the professional interaction design community from around the globe for four days of inspiring talks and workshops.

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.

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.

The "It's (so-and-so's) birthday" feature on Facebook is simultaneously one of the best and worst examples of how social networks can impact our digital lives. Best, in that it lets us know when something important and personal is happening to people we are connected to, and makes it easy for us to connect with them in that context. Worst, in that it elicits inauthentic responses and reduces the process of responding to such an event to a relatively hollow "Happy birthday!!!!!!" on their wall that shows up among a sea of similar announcements. The true lack of time and care the responders are giving back to that announcement is clearly apparent by the similarity and curtness of their responses. Indeed, while some or even all may truly be having good feelings and a lingering moment for the person they are "celebrating", that does not come across in the sea of short and generic comments.

In this blog feature, we highlight articles from the past, written by our Invo colleagues that have stood the harsh test of Internet time and still have something to say to us today.

The space in which we work defines us, both as individuals and as teams. Sometimes we're unaware of how important our office environment is, but the fact remains that it's key to our every day mental health and our ability to perform. Our work space effects whether we're able to get our work done and whether we enjoy doing it. Of course, the digital life of the knowledge worker provides a measure of flexibility when choosing working environments. With the need only for a laptop and a broadband connection, we can easily work remotely at home or in shared co-working spaces, in coffee shops or even in public areas. The question comes down to: How do we work best, especially with others on our team? For businesses: How do we optimize our physical space so that it serves both the well being of the team members, as well as productivity? At Involution Studios Boston, we have settled on an open floor plan, with desks more or less clustered according to work function type.