Flapi, our in-house Augmented Reality mascot, is in the spotlight again. After a high-profile stint at Engadget, this time Flapi stars in an Exame Informática (a Portuguese leading IT magazine) article and video.

You can find the video below, where Ivan Franco, our R&D Director, talks about YDreams’ work with Augmented Reality, and showcases Flapi and the Interactive Bubbles (in portuguese):

YDreams’ interactive installation at the Portuguese pavillion in Zaragoza’s international exhibition is drawing a lot of media and public recognition. An 18-meter wide wall projection, allows visitors to ‘grab’ words that fall from the sky directly into a Guadiana River image. The public interacts by moving their hands over the screen, selecting and watching as the words splash in mix of sound and light, amounting to a better understanding of sustainable development issues.

You can read all about it in our press release and, judging from all the comments featured in the media so far, it’s a definite highlight of the whole exhibition. Even the Portuguese Republic President, Cavaco Silva, interacted with it on the inaugural day and seemed to enjoy himself.

And please do check João Vitória’s, our Zaragoza project manager and in-house illusionist, interview to SIC tv channel, which you can find right here.

“Now watch closely as I make your logo disappear!” João Vitória, Project Manager at YDreams, offering to use his incredible magical skills to make SIC’s logo disappear into thin air.

By António Câmara’s request, YBand applied to fight in the 8th edition of the Battle of the Corporate Bands - a contest promoted by Fortune magazine, seeking to find the best band formed mainly by amateur musicians working in a given company.

Well, that’s an order any of us at YBand were more than happy to fulfill! Not only there’s a personal joy to it, but a huge marketing potential as well, if we go any far in the competition.

So, we embraced the challenge with a sense of responsibility towards the company, and a great dose of childish excitement, for having an opportunity to do something different with our amateur skills for music.

First step was to decide how we would start the whole process. Each band needed to send 3 songs to the promoters. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Keep in mind that there are 32 members in YBand. We needed to pick 3 songs, and that meant leaving some of us out of the fun.

Through a voting pole, we decided that we would pick the 3 songs without worrying about who would eventually record them. Luckily, the 3 songs that were selected in that pole were songs that we already recorded for the Xmas CD. Thus, some of us went back to the studio to either remix, retouch or even re-record the song altogether.

Next step: send it to the jury. In order to participate, we were required to create a Sonicbids EPK (www.sonicbids.com/yband2006) and wait for the results. I was always very confident that we were going to be selected, and we all started believing when the promoters sent me some emails asking whether we need to have 32 members on stage.

And then, bingo! We got the news that we were selected! You can check for yourselves at www.sonicbids.com/yband2006 how our re-recordings worked out for the jury – (please do, it sounds a lot better than the CD, I think)

Next step in the competition is to play live a 20 minutes gig in London, August 23^rd, were other 5 bands will also be playing. If we win that competition, we will play the final in Cleveland against yet another 7 bands, selected throughout the United States.

I got the confirmation that we could not change band members during the London semi-final, so we went through the unpleasant task of selecting who will go and who will not. Democracy played an important role again, as we voted the formation that will represent YDreams in the London gig: Petra Pais, Luis Ferreira, Fernando Gomes, Luis Vargas, João Afonso, Octácio Rodrigues and Bruno Neto are the lucky ones.

This week we finally got toghether to agree on a set list. Here it is:

1 - Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out 3:30

2 - When Love Comes to Town 6:00

3 - Head On 2:00

4 – Everlong 4:00

5 - Mojo Working 4:00

Rehearsals will start in mid-July. If any of you can be in London next August, 23^rd, please do, we appreciate your support!