<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Adding to an exclusive -- but growing -- list of things that were just as well off before running headlong into RFID technology, the next issue of France's Amusement Magazine is billing itself as the \"first ever connected to the Internet!\" The PR we received for this bad boy asks some questions: \"What if a magazine... could consist of paper, ink, electronic components and digital content all at the same time? What if the contents of a magazine could go on living forever in cyberspace? What if the difference between written and digital text finally becomes one in the same?\" May we add one more question to the list? How about, \"why can't you just throw in a CD-ROM / DVD-ROM like everybody else?\" Or maybe, \"What am I supposed to do with this?\" If you're a Francophone with a Violet Mir:ror laying around, hit that read link. PR after the break.March 2009Paris, FranceWorld Premiere: Official launch of the first magazine ever connected to the Internet!AMUSEMENT magazine n&amp;deg;4 is equipped with an RFID tag connecting it to the webThe result of a joint effort between Violet and GS1 France, AMUSEMENT readers will have access to interactive online content available exclusively to them.This issue marks the very first magazine born into Internet of Things era.What if a magazine of merely 700g could consist of of paper, ink, electronic components and digital content all at the same time? What if the contents of a magazine could go on living forever in cyberspace? What if the difference between written and digital text finally becomes one in the same?Violet and GS1 are pleased to announce the official launch of the first Internet connected magazine : Amusement. This magazine quarterly is equipped with an RFID tag, allowing it to connect to the internet and access additional exclusive content online. But this innovation goes further still: AMUSEMENT acts as irrefutable proof that the internet and printed press are no longer separate entities but intertwined extensions of one another.How does it work?As of March 17th, AMUSEMENT is available exclusively at specialty store Colette in Paris, and as of March 20th, at select stands and sales locations throughout Europe and the United States, (In the Uk Amusement is available at Barbican for instance).An RFID tag is fixed in the middle of page 2 of AMUSEMENT magazine. As soon as the reader touches the magazine's tag to the RFID Mir:ror scanner, a request is automatically sent to the Violet server which orders the Mir:ror to trigger certain actions or have certain digital applications appear.Promotion of AMUSEMENTS latest issueThe first edition released will include access to the following digital applications online: a video game designed by the artist Messhof, an interactive multi-user device by Digital Shadow, an interactive installation by Factoid (Pierre Nouvel, Val&amp;egrave;re Terrier) and The Tone, a 3D video by Gkastere and wallpapers by Philippe Jarrigeon. Accessible from anywhere, the magazine's online component will continue to enrich with each new issue. For the editor, the launch of this I-magazine offers a brand new way to connect with his readers. Since each magazine comes with its own email address and in-box, it's possible for the editor to engage in a direct and contextual discussion with his readers. (The magazine will only respond to questions/comments made by the user themselves)Abdel Bounane, Publications Director for AMUSEMENT magazine states &amp;laquo; I believed this magazine to be a new genre all in itself, considering the relationship our paper had with dematerialized information. With the launch of AMUSEMENT magazine, we had hoped to rework old press technology into the Internet era by offering a real object-magazine. One year later, by connecting our publication to the web, we have demonstrated that it is still possible to redefine the paper magazine for our generation.For Pierre Georget, CEO of GS1, \"These publicly-available applications are shining examples of the latest ways in which we can use RFID technology, ways that have already been tested and approved in the BtoB world. Each year, the cost of RFID components decreases which contributes to the development of added value and innovative services for the consumer. This initiative is the extension of actions already taken in stores.\"According to Rafi Haladjian, co-founder of Violet, \"The dematerialization of music and videos is forever growing. The Internet of Things reveals a new economic model where the Internet itself is becoming a thing, indistinguishable from all the other objects in our daily life. This example of a magazine enriched by its connection to the Internet will apply to all other objects as well. In the same way that electronics replaced the majority of once mechanical objects, the Web becomes pervasive and implements itself in ordinary things\". He adds, \"There is no longer a need to consider all things digital as a separate sector from other economic and industrial activities or to think they have been designed to replace them. With the accession of the Internet of Things, the Digital becomes a means to add value and create new services and business models in all industries.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/23/print-magazine-rfid-hyperbole/>