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The Lab That Fell To Earth: MIT's Media Lab
from the post-boom-hangover dept
It’s been a while since I’d heard much about MIT’s Media Lab, but I had figured that was just because not many people were writing about cool new technologies any more. Now, however, this new Wired article suggests that the famous playground for new technologies is struggling to stay alive. They can’t even raise the last few million dollars they need for their new, I.M. Pei-designed, building. I’m sure that some people who got sick of Negroponte’s constant overhyped predictions will welcome this news, but it really is too bad. They certainly were working on some very interesting projects. However, with so many big name companies struggling – and not willing to spend a single “speculative” dollar, it’s tough to find companies willing to plunk down cash to the Media Lab just to be associated with it. This is especially true when some are beginning to see a lot of the Lab’s output as “fluff” inventions that put on a good show, but have little real substance.
Comments on “The Lab That Fell To Earth: MIT's Media Lab”
ML
The media lab deserves to die. They have never produced anything useful that I have ever heard of – lots of toy ideas that VCs jumped on and paid vast amounts of money to over-privileged MIT grad students to develop in to companies that sank without trace. And of course it encourages Negroponte’s negropontification – or bullshitting as it is is known to normal people. “oh, it’s MIT, it must be good” Crap.
Re: ML
I have been there. The article “The Lab That Fell To Earth” of Wired is full of prejudice and wrong information though. If you get rid of the author’s “comment”, there is not much things. And if you look into the “facts”, much seemly based on quotes from professors. The “quotes” are actually wrongly interpreted by the author to mislead people. If you are used to read political articles which blacken their opponents, you know what I mean. I just don’t know why the author would write such an article? What’s the motivation? Rumor has it that the author is good friend of some administrative staff laid off by the lab??
Regarding the production of the lab… Do you know MPEG-4? It’s from the lab. Have you heard about Electronic Ink? From there too. Even the hologram on every credit card is invented by Prof. Steve Benton of ML. The Lab has a lof of great inventions if you once did any study on it. FYI.
Is the golden era of computers over?
Seems nobody is coming out with really new ideas anymore — just reworded tweaks of things that already exist.
Is it just me or will there not be a shortage of IT professionals for a long time to come? I’m moving into another career as we speak.