The future is now.

A friend passed this on to me a couple of months ago, and after watching the demo my jaw hit the floor. After watching the demo you’ll have an idea how this new technology could seriously direct the way we interact, visually, on the web. One of the many exciting practical applications of Photosynth is how it could allow us to have a print like layout for newspapers brought to the web, and then made unobtrusively interactive.

From the T.E.D. website:

“Using photos of oft-snapped subjects (like Notre Dame) scraped from around
the Web, Photosynth (based on Seadragon technology) creates breathtaking
multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features that outstrip all
expectation. Its architect, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, shows it off in this
standing-ovation demo. Curious about that speck in corner? Dive into a
freefall and watch as the speck becomes a gargoyle. With an unpleasant
grimace. And an ant-sized chip in its lower left molar. “Perhaps the most
amazing demo I’ve seen this year,” wrote Ethan Zuckerman, after TED2007.
Indeed, Photosynth might utterly transform the way we manipulate and
experience digital images.”