The Funware Blog @ rmbr

Researchers at the University of Washington (et al) have developed a new game that makes it fun to fold proteins! It’s not just spare silicon processors they’re after - it’s spare grey matter cycles! And what better way to get you to give science a few downtime minutes of your brain power then to create a game!

Yeah, it sounds like a really good time, doesn’t it? I have to admit that although this app technically qualifies as Funware, I’m not sure if I’m smart enough to play it appropriately. I’d love to hear from folks that actually like to fold proteins on what they think of the game.

Calling all bionerds!

Kids generally do a bad job at brushing their teeth. Many have hypothesized that making the experience more fun (branded toothbrushes, colored pastes, teddy bear videos) would lead to better adherence, and they’ve gone down the road to prove it.

Well, from our friends in Taiwan, comes a toothbrushing game that melds spatial virtualization with toothbrushing to create an objective-oriented game to clean those dents. Using Wii/eyeToy style technology, the game gives kids control over a virtual character that appears in their mirror, brushing to win! Check it out. I love Taiwan.

Thanks to the folks from NewScientist for the news!

This past year, a number of bloggers have covered a site called I’m In Like With You, a very interesting Funware app that is effectively a social network based on flirting. Many of these bloggers also made the connection between Amy Jo Kim’s work on bringing game design to the web and IILWY, which does some very cool stuff. A great article on the subject was written by Yi-Wyn Yen on the Startup Game Blog.

We’re hopefully going to talk to I’m In Like With You founder Charles Forman in the next little while and delve deeper into their approach to Funware.

Turns out, TechCrunch is reporting that one of our favorite web2.0 services, and faithful assistant to rmbr, EchoSign, has raised a $6M round.

Let me say that EchoSign is one of the companies that is most helping rmbr reach it’s potential in a highly leveraged, green, and low-capital way. It’s a service that enables you to digitally sign all kinds of documents quickly and easily. Echosign is hosted cheap, straightforward and perfectly tuned to the way that we need to do business. It takes only a few minutes to get a contract signed, and there’s no printing, signing and faxing in our lives anymore.

In the past 4 months, the company hasn’t mailed a single physical check (except to the government, figures!) or signed a physical contract, despite having both paid and agreed to contracts. We’ve done it all electronically, saving time and paper! Echosign is truly a great service, and if you don’t use it, you should.