March 07, 2005
readings for March 8th
I like it is some ways, just more as a data collection system more then a system to track what my child is doing for restrictive reasons. When I was 3 years old, though, I walk out the door of the back yard and just started walking and walking and walking. about two hour later my father who had beeen called home from work to find me was driving back home when he spotted me happily walking down the highway. i was happy and without a worry but my mother was freaked out and so was my father. this would have been a great moment to have a way to locate me.
What comes to mind, though is the worry about privacy...but is that such a reason to bring a halt to everything that may be useful. But be the product is for children, pet, or elderly this has it moments when it is useful and those moments are worth more then all the fears.
When I looked at this I think of PlaceLabs a Intel intiative. This is a great idea it is a wondeful use of an infrastructure which exists to give people more then was expected. what is intersting is to use these system to follow road networks for example and track buses a and routine movement is a cheap and efficient way. Here 802.11 is used but there are many systems which are used to do the same thing today. cell towers, and even radio and tv tower have been know to be used for location based information.
Posted by dimitri at 09:56 PM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2005
readings for Feb 22nd
Urban Tapestries
The redivision of the publicspace is a interesting arena. there is a new balance of how spaces to be developed. Once architechs designed the their builds with a specific public space in mind. It is interesting to look at is what they thought of a space 50 years ago and what is is used for today, and how todays designs focus on something that may not be tomorrow.
While the above is a digression, the ideas are important to think about then think about the threads of "MEAT SPACE" and the Virtual World.
The Urban Tapestries system enables users to create a relationships between geographic places via the creation of pockets and threads.
Pockets are the relationship a user makes to a specific geographic place... ...and contain the media the user chooses to associate with that place... ...Threads are the thematic relationships between pockets and geographic places and can vary from the practical, 'Fair Trade Goods Sold Here' to the personal, 'My Favourite Bars & Cafes'.
What happens to a space when it is completely tagged by many? There is an interesting source for datamining. take the multiple inputs for the various visitors and users of the space and slice it across all these plains and view where the in/consistances are.
Zagats of this world maybe able to look to a truly impartial census taking.
Posted by dimitri at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2005
readings for Feb. 1st
Disappearing Computer Initiative
funny I was a bit late on this reading and poof the site disappeared. BUT by the title it did seem really interesting.
EQUATOR project
The idea is great to get little sensors out in the places which are hard to reach. and gather data we have no other way of getting with out building outposts. Remindeds me of the everest climb which was in the IMAX movie where the were able to leave a microcomupter and sensor system at the top.
Some of the other work seems like work done at MediaLab Asia in India
Using Digital but Physical Surrogates to Mediate Awareness, Communication and Privacy in Media Spaces
It is a wonderful insight into the directions people can go to hide technology and give it a faceplate. It reminds me work done at the MIT Media Lab. It also reminds me of a proposal I made to D-Link for a AP design. The idea is you a picture frame as the antenna and the base a the processor area. The picture would be a digital image. and would change based on users desire. hourly, daily communication based. If I want a slide show of my last trip. or want to see who wrote the last email to me...
Posted by dimitri at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2005
Feb. 8th readings
sms window
looking at the project it seems to work with the element of distance. because it is a window display interaction it need to have a way to interact masses and the individual. I think there is interesting work that coulf farther the experience such as bluetooth and allowing more the one control person get involved, ideally up to 7 and then the added others with SMS.
blinkenlights
This is great, it remindeds me of buildings in Milan, Italy that were used to display messages at night by lighting certain office light.
Posted by dimitri at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2005
reading:THE COMING AGE OF CALM COMPUTING
This article started out in a what was a seemingly old view, and I was then happily suprised with the direction it went. I feel the history is know and the article should really start about half way through. In anycase, the article make a good point that technology is there now and makes us rush more more and more and life becomes so frantic we are left with grayhair and a blank expression on our faces.
The first day during the talk with Despina someone mentioned the Microsoft ads with the peole needing to make use of their time. I have never seen these ads so I might be wrong, but from what i understood it was all about business and how having an palmtop with netowrk connection would get you to use your time fully never wasting time. Now this was all for work... what if while your waiting being able to have that time to communicate with family.
While people who get out of work rarely are thinking, it 8 o'clock pm lets work some more on the way home. Nor are they think "I really need to get intouch with grandpa." They usually just want to relax.
That is what this article is trying to get us to have with the technology in hand. Great! It is so true and very needed.
I think the window for the windowless office is something which should be almost manditory. I believe we have cubicles to get around the need for virtual windows.
What is amazing about this piece is its age and the state of the world today, why isn't it better?
Posted by dimitri at 07:23 AM | Comments (0)