Thursday, December 31, 2009

Josh Blake's Nice Multi-touch and Natural User Interface Applications for Surface and Windows 7



Information from Josh's YouTube channel:
"This is a video of some of the cool multi-touch and Natural User Interface (NUI) applications I designed and developed for Surface and Windows 7." The InfoStrat.VE map control for WPF and Surface is available for free at http://virtualearthwpf.codeplex.com.

I especially like the moving ring-menu concept, as it facilitates smoother collaboration between people on an interactive table or surface, where flexible orientation control is important.

At 3:15, the demonstration of Josh's ink-shape recognition begins. This is a feature that would be great to incorporate in my applications for children with disabilities who have some fine-motor limitations.



Josh's Blog:  Deconstructing the NUI
Josh's Recent Post about post-WIMP concepts:
Metaphors and OCGM
Josh works at InfoStrat

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

From a post-WIMP Perspective: What Happens When Post-Mass Market Goes to Market? Bob Garfield's insightful video, and more...

I realize that working for the public good has prevented me from developing a thirst for marketing competitiveness. I don't have a greedy bone in my body. The only reason that I've developed a slight interest in advertising and marketing over the past few years is my interest in technology and how our society has been transformed by recent changes. Everyone has a cell phone, everyone wants an iPhone, everyone expects that technology will help us to meet our social, political, financial, health, education, environmental, and humanitarian needs, right?

What is happening to our "mainstream" cornerstones?

By mainstream, I mean traditional newspapers, magazines, network television, cable, and brochure-like websites. All of a sudden, reporters are running to take graduate classes in multi-media journalism, a domain previously "owned" by network TV 10-15 years ago. Newspapers and magazines are now web-based, your favorite radio and television program have their own websites, and just about every one is on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.

The Web is easily accessed, ubiquitous, running on SmartPhones and iPhones, netbooks, and now, e-readers, right from your pocket, purse, or bag.

Ten years ago, if you had a job coding for a tech company, there wasn't an expectation that you'd have to hone your writing skills to maintain a blog, and learn how to produce short video clips to promote your work and the work of your company. If you preferred NOT to be open and social, it was fine! Now, you are probably just holding on. Maybe.

What inspired this post is a video of a presentation by Bob Garfield, an ad critic and essayist for Advertising Age. a magazine I interact with online. He is the co-host of NPR's On the Media program, and has a lot of insight regarding advertising trends and so forth. He is also hilarious. If you are viewing this in a family setting, know that Mr. Garfield uses a few "bad" words and quite a number of data and financial statistics to make his point. No traditional media institution is untouched.

An eye opener.  Worth every 34+ minute!


The Chaos Scenario from Greg Stielstra on Vimeo.
"Bob Garfield...forcasts the disintegration of mass advertising structures that have worked in perfect symbiosis for 400 years and prescribes "listenomics" as the way for brands to thrive in the digital, post-advertising age.  He warns that all formerly top-down institutions cannot dictate to consumers with advertising through mass media as before, but must use digital tools to forge relationships with them--no longer seeing people as piggy banks, or eyeballs, or votes, but as genuine stakeholders in their enterprise.  Amid the ruins of mass media,the choice for business is stark:  listen or perish.  Learn more at thechaosscenario.net."


(For those of you following the postWIMP discussion, you might be interested in looking at the post on the chaos scenario.net blog: The Problem with Acronyms.  What a coincidence!)

Bob Garfield's insights were forshadowed by the "Prosumer" video from a couple of years ago:


Google and Yahoo are getting it, and demonstrate foresight by providing free wi-fi service in urban environments.  Below is a short video clip of Dana Spiegel, the NYCwireless Executive Director, about Yahoo's sponsorship of free Wi-Fi in Times Square in New York City:



And here is a spin from Microsoft:


Windows Mobile 7 User Interface

Sunday, December 27, 2009

HDMI Version 1.4 will support 3D and more features/capabiltiies; info about Wireless HD

My husband surprised me with a new HD TV to replace the old non-HD "clunker" that was taking up space in an armoire in our bedroom.  I went to attach my HD video camera to the new TV, and realized that three-foot HDMI cable was much too small.   Knowing how fast everything changes with technology, I decided I should research HDMI before setting out to purchase a longer cable.  


There is more to know about HDMI than I thought!   Here's what I found so far:


There is an organization dedicated to HDMI standards, HDMI Licensing, LLC that provides a wealth of information about HDMI.  It's worth taking the time to review the information contained on HDMI website, specifically, the following two links:

Key points about HDMI 1.4 from the HDMI website and the Specification Features overview:
  • Consolidation of HD Video, audio, and data in a single cable.
  • Enables high-speed bidirectional communication.
  • Enables IP-based applications over HDMI. (Ethernet)
  • Transfer speeds up to 100Mbps.
  • Supports audio return channel.
  • Can support up to 10.2 gigabits per second of bandwidth transmission
  • HDMI 1.4 is the latest standard. It includes definitions for common 3D formats and resolutions, up to 1080p.
  • HDMI 1.4 supports 4K x 2K resolution, which is the resolution of state-of-the art digital theaters and up to 4 times the resolution of 1080p.
  • Allows for the optimization of picture settings based on type of content.
  • Supports digital still camera-specific colors.
  • Allows for smaller HDMI connectors, ideal for portable devices.
  • Provides "High Definition Everywhere" support, with an automotive connection system designed to work effectively in vehicles.
About HDMI Version Numbers (from the HDMI website


"HDMI version numbers are used by manufacturers to identify a set of features. To help you shop for the features you want in a cable, the HDMI licensing authority has created standardized names for certain key features. Here are a few:


  • Deep Color refers to monitors that can display a greater number of colors than traditional TVs, billions or trillions of colors rather than millions.
  • x.v.Color> refers to an expanded, "wider" color gamut that includes colors not traditionally available in TVs. The x.v.Color space incorporates a much larger portion of the visible color spectrum than the older RGB color model.
  • Standard and High Speed refer to two grades of HDMI cable, tested to different performance metrics. A Standard cable can transmit a 1080i signal for 15 meters (49 feet) or more, while a High Speed HDMI cable can transmit a 1080p signal for at least 7.5 meters (25 feet)."
Podcasts about HDMI
The podcasts focus on HDMI 1.3, but also provides information about HDMI for the future
The podcasts feature interviews with Jeff Park and Steve Venuti from HDMI Licensing, via  Dolby Labs "Dolby cast".  Topics covered include HD devices, HDMI feature sets, capabilities, and HDMI versions.  The podcast also touches upon previous problems with firmware deployment, as well as wireless HD, which is not part of the HDMI specifications.


ENGADGET
HDMI 1.4 spec getting freshened up in preparation for broadcast 3D
Richard Lawler, 12/23/09


According to Lawler,  the various companies are working towards standards, but we're not there yet. More information about HDMI 1.4 will be available at 2010 CES, held January 7-10 in Las Vegas.

-Photo of 3D video camera courtesy of Engadget.


SOMEWHAT RELATED
Wireless HD
The following is a direct quote from the Wireless HD website:



"Broadcom Corporation, Intel Corporation, LG Electronics Inc., NEC Corporation,Panasonic Corporation, Philips Electronics, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD, SiBEAM, Inc., Sony Corporation and Toshiba Corporation, have joined together to form the WirelessHD Consortium, an industry-led effort to define a worldwide standard specification for the next generation wireless digital network interface specification for consumer electronics and personal computing products. The WirelessHD specification has been available since January 2008 and includes the following attributes:
    • High interoperability supported by major CE device and technology manufacturers
    • Highest quality HD video, audio and data transmission, scalable to future high-definition A/V formats
    • High-speed wireless, multi-gigabit technology in the unlicensed 60 GHz band
    • Smart antenna technology for reliable non-line-of-sight operation
    • Secure communications with DTCP and HDCP over WirelessHD technology
    • Device control for simple operation of consumer electronics products using the basic remote control that ships with the TV
    • Error protection, framing and timing control techniques for a quality consumer experience
    • Low power options for mobile devices"
Dolby Labs Podcasts
Dolby 3D


Cross-posted on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

What is DOOH and Why Should We Care?

What is DOOH and Why Should We Care?


"Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is a dynamic, fragmented, and rapidly evolving space. It's one of the fastest growing media channels, with year-over-year growth pegged in the double digits through at least 2011....as with many emerging media channels, DOOH is a bit of a gray area in terms of what type of agency should own strategy, planning, and buying. A traditional agency because TV spots can be repurposed? The OOH shop because it's just a digital version of a billboard? The interactive shop, because it's digital, often interactive, and highly measurable? Or will a new class of DOOH specialty shops emerge to deliver services explicitly for the channel? This lack of clarity creates uncertainty and hesitation in advertisers.
-Jeremy Lockhorn, ClickZ  7/13/09 Digital Out-of-Home Landscape Brief (pdf)


This is an industry that is beginning to take off, just as internet-based advertising and web-design/user experience did during the 1990's. The number of players, and potential players, is growing.


At the same time, the web and video content is migrating to mobile devices, such as smartphones and net-books, that have broad-band wireless access.   Everyone will want a bigger share of our eyeballs, and attention!

  • No one has complete ownership of this space.
  • Converging industries and disciplines come to the space from very different vantage points.
  • People are interested in the DOOH space because they see the potential for $$$$.
  • Digital Out-Of-Home experiences have the potential of becoming something that we DON'T WANT:
          - In-your-face used car sales TV ads, but not on your TV
          - Internet pop-ups and banner ads, but not on your PC screen
          - No option to "opt-out", like the irritating 15-second "pre-trailers" that we are forced to view  
            when we access video content on the web.


Below is an example of what things might be if we have no say in the matter. The scene is from Minority report. The character played by Tom Cruise walks across a mall full of translucent 3D digital signage ads, all customized to match his identity, which is determined by a mandatory scan of his eyes.

Although the content is beautiful and seductive, it is overwhelming and in my opinion, worse than what I experience when I'm out and about or when I'm on the Internet. scenario above doesn't allow people to opt in, as their identity is determined from automatic eye scans, connected to a vast database of information that fuels the system. (This sort of data is there, just ask Google!)


We aren't quite there yet, so there is time for thoughtful people to create a world outside of our homes that might be unobtrusive, pleasant, or entertaining.


Here are some examples:


Below is a slideshow of an assortment of pictures of screens and kiosks from airports, malls, grocery stores, cruise ships, and a smattering of other places, taken from 2007 to the present:



It is not always pretty, but there is hope:


Digital Signage Insider
Bill Gerba, Senior Writer


Bill Gerba is the CEO of Wirespring, a company that provides hardware, software, and services for digital signage and kiosk projects.  Founded in 2000, this company has grown along with the digital signage industry. Wirespring's clients include Walmart, bp, P&G, Harris, Clear Channel, Televisa, Marriott, and GLFinancial.  


One of the reasons I started following Bill Gerba's blog is that he takes a very user-centered view, and his recommendations are based on evidence supported by metrics as well as what is known about human information processing and behavior.  Bill takes a wider view when gathering information, and he shares his thoughtful insight in a clear manner.


Must-reads:
Digital Signage Screen Placement: Targeting the Attention Zone
Digital Signage Screen Placement: Understanding Store Layout
Digital Signage Screen Placement: Angle, Height and Text Size
Digital Signage Screen Placement: Modeling Consumer Behavior



What makes good digital signage content effective?
Making Great Digital Signage Content:  A Quick Reference Guide
This article contains links to more in-depth "how-to" articles that cover topics such as the serial position effect, use of chunking and coding to facilitate better recall among customers,  optimizing for context while eliminating distractions, crafting copy and "call-to-action", use of font faces, sizes, and styles, use of features related to color, contrast, motion, silhouettes, and animation, and composing shots and scenes.  
The DOOH Advertising Paradox: Better Spots Are Harder to Sell

RELATED
OVAB Digital Media Summit:  Focus on Digital Out-of-Home
OVAB (Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau) Audience Metric Guidelines  (pdf)
"Founded in 2007, the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau(OVAB) represents leading out-of-home video networks and the advertising community that is actively engaged in planning, buying, and evaluating the effectiveness of the medium. On behalf of its members, OVAB seeks to foster ongoing collaboration between agencies and out-of-home video advertising networks, and provide standards, best practices, and industry-wide research as well as promote the effectiveness of out-of-home video advertising."


The Web Outside's DOOH Dictionary
"DOOH refers to digital signage that is displayed in public spaces (Times Square, airports, outdoor concert venuesenormous office buildings in Dubai), social places (bars, restaurants, cafes, college campuses,convention centers), and retail environments."
DAILY DOOH  Adrian J. Cotterill, editor
Profiles of a variety of digital signage related companies
(from the Digital Signage Universe website)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

CityScape 1.8: What would it be like on an interactive touch/gesture screen or table?

Video, links, and pictures can be found on the following Interactive Multimedia Technology blogpost:


CityScape 1.8: What would it be like on an interactive touch/gesture screen or table?

Urban Screens Conference & Exhibition: Call for Interactive Media and Video Art (2010, Toronto, Sept. 24-30) Cross Post

I've been fascinated by urban screens for a while, and this is a passion that is shared by a growing number of people who come to the "screenspace" from a wide range of disciplines. I received an email this morning about a call for interactive media and video art for the 2010 Urban Screens conference and exhibition that will be held in Toronto between September 24th-30th 2010.  This is a great reason to plan ahead for a trip to that fantastic city!


Below is a description of the urban screens concept, the details for potential conference and exhibition partipation, and a section of links and resources related to this topic.
The theme of the conference is "I am here; what can we do?"

"Public screens – or rather large screens situated in public space – are proliferating in cities all over the world. How should we understand the emergence of the electronic screen from the domestic interior onto the streetscape of contemporary cities? What are the implications of the merging of screens with architecture, which turns the surface into a communication resource? How will the overlap between streetscape and datascape shape public space in the future?
– Scott McQuire, “Mobility, cosmopolitanism and public space in the media city” (2009).

"Urban screens are digital displays and visual interfaces situated in urban public spaces. They include LED screens and signs, plasma screens, projections, information terminals as well as intelligent architectural surfaces and media facades. They support the idea of using public space as a platform for creation and cultural exchange, strengthening the local economy and encouraging public interaction and discussion."  - Urban Screens Association


Call for Interactive Media And Video Art

The exhibition “I am here; what can we do?” is part of Urban Screens Toronto 2010, an international urban screens conference and exhibition taking place between September 24th-30th 2010; produced in collaboration with the International Urban Screens Association (IUSA).

Urban Screens Toronto 2010 will promote a multifaceted approach to exploring the growing appearance of moving images in urban space and the global transformation of public culture in the context of networked forms of urban screens. It will build on the successful events held in Amsterdam, Manchester, and Melbourne and will be the first international Urban Screens conference held in North America.

Through an integrated program of keynote lectures, panel sessions, workshops, curated screenings and multimedia projects, it will bring together leading Canadian and international artists and curators, architects and urban planners, designers, ad agencies and brand managers, screen operators and content providers, academics, activists, policymakers, technology manufacturers, software developers and more.


I am here; what can we do?

Public Call For:
New or existing experimental, interactive artwork
suitable for urban screens.

Short-format video works relevant for presentation on urban screens.
Interactive design & advertising works created for urban screens including past commercial interactive work from advertising  agencies and designers.
Student work interactive and video work by students from any institution worldwide.
Themes include, but are not limited to: The meeting point of the real and the virtual; work that incorporates media technology and contemporary building/architectural technology; user-generated content; multi-site, networked projects; work that addresses public spaces and civic engagement.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Submission deadline: MARCH 1 2010
 Submission format: Please submit PDF files only, no larger than 3 MB.
 Proposals should include:
 1) Brief 50-word summary of your artwork
 2) Full proposal or description of the project (maximum 2 pages)
 3) Maximum 10 images and URL where work can be found online if applicable
 4) Documentation of this work if it has previously be exhibited, or of another exhibited work by the artist.
 3) Detailed list of technical requirements
 4) Curriculum Vitae (maximum 3 pages)

Fees: There is no entry fee. Reasonable presentation fees will be paid, for new and existing interactive work and videos. Fees will not be paid for design & advertising work. Students will not receive a fee, but will  be automatically considered for a prize. Please note that we cannot fund the creation of new work.
Submit; In the subject line please write URBAN SCREENS PROPOSAL

Email to JURY at: 
urbanscreenstoronto@gmail.com

The jury will be comprised of Toronto Urban Screens committee members Michelle Kasprzak, Janine Marchessault, Gabe Sawhney, Suzanne Stein and Sharon Switzer.
Notification: April 1, 2010



RELATED
International Urban Screens Association
Urban Screens Blog
Urban Screens' Resources
Urban Screens '09 Videos  "The City as Interface"

Urban Screens' Blogroll
Digital Urban
Infosthetics
Interactive Architecture
Luminapolis
The Mobile City
Urban Projection
Visual Foreign Correspondents
We make money not art
Urban Screens Reader

Urban Screens Reader
"The Urban Screens Reader  is the first book to focus entirely on the topic of urban screens. In assembling contributions from a range of leading theorists, in conjunction with a series of case studies dealing with artists’ projects and screen operators’ and curators’ experiences, the reader offers a rich resource for those interested in the intersections between digital media, cultural practices and urban space."


"Urban Screens have emerged as a key site in contemporary struggles over public culture and public space. They form a strategic junction in debates over the relation between technological innovation, the digital economy, and the formation of new cultural practices in contemporary cities. How should we conceptualize public participation in relation to urban screens? Are ‘the public’ citizens, consumers, producers, or something else? Where is the public located? When a screen is erected in public space, who has access to it and control over it? What are the appropriate forms of urban planning, design and governance? How do urban screens affect cultural experiences?"
FYI:
I'm re-visiting all of the above blogs and will share what I find after I surface from the digital rabbit-hole!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Sensacell Modular Interactive Surface Technology & Robert Stratton's Interactive Art Installation

Interactive surfaces continue to crop up in public spaces.  Today I came across information about Sensacell, an interface system consisting of "smart" modules that can be put together to form a communication network. The system integrates non-contact sensors that can detect people and objects up to six feet away, and this sensing can occur even through glass, plastics, wood, and so forth.  The sensors are capable of tracking environmental changes.


The Sensacell Corporation is led by Leo Fernekes and is often used to support interactive art  and related displays in public spaces. The most recent installation is located in Manhattan and can be accessed by people on the street.


Robert Stratton Interactive Art

According to the information on the YouTube video, the Sensacell Interactive LED Wall was created with Max/MSP/Jitter.


"The artwork by Robert Stratton entitled semiboneless transforms the storefront window into an electronic interactive canvas that senses hand movements through the window glass, allowing the viewer to interact and influence the behavior of the piece- art that begs to be touched." (YouTube description)


"The work is located at 141 East 33rd Street, on the north-east corner of Lexington Ave. and 33rd St. in Manhattan, New York. The exhibition will run from 12/14/2009 though 1/12/2010 and is viewable 24 hours day. The artwork is installed in a large storefront window of a street level retail space." (PR Web 12/17/09)


Sensacell: Below is a video of an 8 x 8 LED Wall Sensacell Module



RELATED
Working with Sensacell: Modular Interactive Proximity Sensor and Lighting System (pdf)
Sensacell Corporation Presents an Interactive Storefront Art Installation by Artist Robert Stratton  (PRWeb, 12/17/09)
Robert Stratton Interactive Art
Chashama (An arts group - provided space for the interactive art installation.)
"chashama supports thriving cultural communities by transforming temporarily vacant properties into spaces where art can flourish. By recycling and repurposing buildings in transition, we invest in neighborhoods, foster local artists, and sustain a vast range of creativity and culture."


Sensacell has been around for a while
2005 post:   Sensacell  (Interactive Architecture blog)


Sensacell Interactive Floor

Sunday, December 13, 2009

On a Lighter Note: Taking the Internet of Things a Bit Too Far - Tweeting Honeymoon Bed, Play by Pee


Best Man Rigs Newlyweds' Bed To Tweet
  MG Siegler,  Tech Crunch  12/12/09




PlayBy Pee Encouraged Radio Listening Bill Gerba, Digital Signage News 11/12/09

I wonder what data system would be best for keeping up with the new forms of interaction!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Will NoSQL Rescue the World Of Data in the Cloud? (Info and Links for the Tech Curious)

In a week, I will have three weeks off from work, and since I usually give in to my inner geek when I'm on vacation,  I thought I'd find out more about cloud computing and NoSQL today.   I was overwhelmed by what I found within the first minutes of my search!  (It has been about 4 years since I took a database class.)


The first place I visited was the O'Reilly Radar blog, which usually has a few interesting links about emerging technologies:  Four Short Links:  11 December 2009  (Nat Torkington)


Eureka!   
Number 2 on  Torkington's list of links:
NoSQL Required Reading   "Papers and presentations to get up to speed in the theory and practice of scalable key-value data stores" (via Hacker News)


Here is a sample of some of the info I found during my first trip down the NoSQL rabbit hole:


Braindump Blog
NoSQL Debrief,  (Johanos Karsson)
"The idea was to give attendees a solid introduction to how distributed, non relational databases work as well as an overview of the various projects out there." (The NoSQL DeBrief includes a variety of presentation slides and videos that I'm planning on viewing on my next tour of the rabbit hole.)


Pragmatic Programming Techniques  (Ricky Ho's blog)
Query PRocessing for NoSQL DB
       "The recent rise of NoSQL provides an alternative model in building extremely large scale storage system. Nevetheless, compare to the more mature RDBMS, NoSQL has some fundamental limitations that we need to be aware of. It calls for a more relaxed data consistency model.It provides primitive querying and searching capability."
       "There are techniques we can employ to mitigate each of these issue. Regarding the data consistency concern, I have discussed a number of design patterns in my previous blog* to implement system with different strength of consistency guarantee."
*NoSQL Patterns


All Things Distributed - Werner Vogel's weblog on building scalable and robust distributed systems: Eventually Consistent- Revisited




Website


Website

RELATED
Cloud Computing:  Ground Computing, Local to the UserCouchDB - Local Web Platform

View more documents from Chris Anderson. (Interesting visual on the slides. Chris has a good sense of humor.)






Video Version from YouTube Google Tech Talks:  Chris Anderson Discusses CouchDB

Chris is "Obsessed with bending the physics of the web to give control back to the user".


Dave Rosenberg's Software, Interrupted Blog,  CNET News 12/9/09








Update 12/12/09


Here are a few more links, thanks to Nati Shalom:

Why Existing Databases (RAC) are So Breakable!  Nati Shalom (11/30/09)


No to SQL?  Anti-database movement gains steam- My Take Nati Shalom (7/9/09)


Are Cloud Based Memory Architectures the Next Big Thing?  Todd Hoff (3/16/09)


Other alternatives:  In-Memory Data Grid


SOMEWHAT RELATED

I hope this won't be another "boys club" thing.  The NoSQL community doesn't appear to have many representatives from an important gender that will increasingly rely on cloud computing technologies during their daily lives.


I stand corrected.
Delegates at the Berlin NoSQL meeting- there looks like there are at least three women in the group:

NoSQL pic1
Monika Moser was a presenter at the NoSQL conference and was featured in a blog post written by Isabel Drost and Jan Lehnardt:  Happenings:  NoSQL Conference, Berlin


"More and more web applications have data storage requirements that can't be fully met using traditional relational databases. Object-oriented and document-oriented databases provide an alternative – and a field of development that has recently seen much activity."


According to the information on post, Monika developed the transactional storage layer of Scalaris, and is currently an Erlang/Ruby/Hadoop developer at nugg.ad.

NoSQL pic2







Friday, December 11, 2009

Participatory Design Conference 2010 + Reflections about participatory design and usability...

Cross posted from Interactive Multimedia Technology:


I really want to go to Australia next year and attend this conference! Below are links to the conference, along with an excerpt from the conference description:

11th Biennial Participatory Design Conference:  Participation :: The Challenge (pdf)
PDC2010 Conference Website
PDC2008 Conference Website

"Participation is the complex, contested, changing, creative and celebratory core of participatory design. We invite you to explore what participation can and needs to mean in the design contexts where we are working now and those we are likely to encounter soon. While current ‘best practice’ in many areas of interactive technology design now at least pays lip service to people’s participation, how is this participation being negotiated and defined, and by whom? And if Participatory Design methods developed some 20 years ago are claimed to have become standard design practice, how do we go about developing the methods that will define standard design practice 20 years from now?"


REFLECTION
Judging from what I've experienced as a consumer/user,  there are many things that are floating around in the form of electronics, software, and related gadgets that are examples of the absence of participatory design.

My daily pet peeve is the remote control for my entertainment set-up, which includes DVR and a small but growing number of interactive TV channels.  Another pet peeve is the usability of productivity software, including the software I must use for work.

At any rate, below are links to some of my thoughts related to usability topics that might be of interest to people who are thinking about or practicing participatory design or user-centered design.

2007 Letter to the Editor, Pervasive Computing
Useful Usability Studies (pdf)

2007 Blog Post
Usability/Interaction Hall of Shame (In a Hospital)

2008 Blog Posts
Interactive Touch-Screen Technology, Participatory Design, and "Getting It"
An Example of Convergence: Interactive TV: uxTV 2008

2009 Blog Posts
Microsoft: Are You Listening?  Cool Cat Teacher (Vicki Davis) Tries out Microsoft's Multi-touch Surface Table
Haptic/Tactile Interface:  Dynamically Changeable Physical Buttons
The Convergence of TV, the Internet, and Interactivity:  Update
UX of ITV:  The User Experience and Interactive TV (or Let's Stamp Out Bad Remote Controls)
ElderGadget Blog: Useful Tech and Tools

Friday, December 4, 2009

More Urban Screens and 3D Media Facades

Maybe this will sprout up on outdoor building walls in a city near you!




There's more to life than a Volvo - Frankfurt 2009
"3D projection and production by NuFormer in coorporation with Saatchi & Saatchi"


RELATED


3D Projections on Buildings: A distinctive way of communicating


Communicating Through Architecture:  Media Facades and the Digital Infrastructure  The Rathous
Contains an assortment of videos and pictures)


Art and Commerce Meet on Building's Interactive Media Facades
Kelsey Keith, Fast Company, 10/2/209
Book: 
Media Facades:  History, Technology and Content, M.Hank Haeusler 
Media Facades: History, Technology And Content // M. Hank Haeusler









International Urban Screens Association

"Urban Screens are dynamic digital displays and visual interfaces located within urban public spaces. They include LED screens and signs, plasma screens, information terminals and projection surfaces as well as intelligent architectural surfaces and media facades."


"Urban Screens transform the capacity of public spaces to serve as a platform for user-generated civic and cultural expression, community building, multiculturalism and public engagment in issues related to social, cultural and environmental sustainability."


"Through networking, content sharing and joint broadcasting, they constitute a rapidly expanding and still largely experimental global multimedia infrastructure for commercial and cultural exchange."


"The IUSA aims to inform and support the ‘worldwide Urban Screens movement’: the expanding use of dynamic digital displays in public spaces; their considerate and sustainable integration in the urban landscape; and the ability for screen communities to collaborate in the digital space to share content, experience, ideas, innovations and emerging possibilities."

For Techies: Video of HTML5 JavaScript APIs video from Codebits, featuring Remy Sharp

Be patient, the crowd noise stops when the presentation begins.


More info to come!

Comment

Where are the sisters?!


Thursday, December 3, 2009

Interactive Digital Bus Shelters

Touch Screen Interaction at a Digital Bus Shelter,  Via Daily DOOH

(Link to the video of the digital bus shelters displaying  a recent LG promotion on interactive touch screens)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Brief Post: Video of WebGL (3D) in Firefox on a Nokia N900, via MobileCrunch



From Vukicevic's YouTube Channel: "A few quick demos of WebGL content running in Firefox on Nokia's N900. WebGL should be available in Firefox for N900 nightly builds soon."

For detailed information about Open GL, 3D, and smartphones , see Greg Kumparak's Mobile Crunch post: WebGL might eventually bring awesome 3D to web apps (12/2/09)

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Missed the recent 2009 Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces?

I posted about this conference previously, and thought I'd provide links to more information about the people behind this conference.  I'd also like to provide more information, such as video demos and links to papers related to this conference.

Invited Speakers
Ken Perlin,  Chia Shen, & Bill Buxton

2009 Program

Steering Committee,  ITS 2009
Chia Shen,  Harvard University, USA
Bruce H. Thomas,  University of South Australia, Australia
Sheelagh Carpendale, University of Calgary, Canada
Gerald Morrison,  SMART Technologies ULC, Canada
Andy Wilson,  Microsoft Research, USA
Sriram Subramanian,  Bristol University, UK
Shahram Izadi, Microsoft Research,  Cambridge, UK


Program Committee, ITS 2009





Patrick Baudisch
Hasso Plattner Institute Potsdam, Germany
Francois Berard
University of Grenoble, France
Peter Brandl
Media Interaction Lab, Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences, Austria
Andreas Butz
University of Munich, Germany
Francois Coldefy
Orange Labs, France
Morten Fjeld Chalmers
University of Technology, Sweden
Kentaro Fukuchi
University of Electro-Communications, Japan
Tovi Grossman
Autodesk Research, Canada
Mark Hancock
University of Calgary, Canada
Petra Isenberg
University of Calgary, Canada
Yuichi Itoh
Osaka University, Japan
Karrie Karahalios
University of Illinois, USA
Hiro Kato
Osaka University, Japan
Hideki Koike
University of Electro-Communications, Japan
Frank Maurer
University of Calgary, Canada
Max Mühlhäuser
TU Darmstadt, Germany
Christian Muller-Tomfelde
CSIRO-ICT Centre, Australia
Miguel Nacenta
University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Patrick Olivier
Newcastle University, UK
Jun Rekimoto
Sony / University of Tokyo, Japan
Meredith Ringel Morris
Microsoft Research, USA
Daisuke Sakamoto
Tokyo University, Japan
Yoichi Sato
University of Tokyo, Japan
Chia Shen
Harvard University, USA
Masahiro Takatsuka
University of Sydney, Australia
Lucia Terrenghi
Vodafone Group R&D, Germany
Bruce Thomas
University of Southern Australia, Australia
Melanie Tory
University of Victoria, Canada
Edward Tse
SMART Technologies, Canada
Fred Vernier
South-Paris University, France
Andy Wilson
Microsoft Research, USA
Massimo Zancanaro
Bruno Kessler Foundation (formerly ITC), Italy