Monday, July 12, 2010
Google's Android App Inventor: App Development for the Rest of Us - based on Open Blocks visual programming
INFORMATION FROM THE GOOGLE APP INVENTOR WEBSITE:
- Complete this form and we'll have you building apps soon!
- Set up your computer and phone for App Inventor.
- Run through the tutorials that introduce App Inventor.
- Get help by joining the App Inventor Google Group.
The blocks editor uses the Open Blocks Java library for creating visual blocks programming languages. Open Blocks is distributed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Scheller Teacher Education Program and derives from thesis research by Ricarose Roque. We thank Eric Klopfer and Daniel Wendel of the Scheller Program for making Open Blocks available and for their help in working with it. Open Blocks visual programming is closely related to the Scratch programming language, a project of the MIT Media Laboratory's Lifelong Kindergarten Group.
The compiler that translates the visual blocks language for implementation on Android uses the Kawa Language Framework and Kawa's dialect of the Scheme programming language, developed by Per Bothner and distributed as part of the Gnu Operating System by the Free Software Foundation.
The educational perspective that motivates App Inventor holds that programming can be a vehicle for engaging powerful ideas through active learning. As such, it is part of an ongoing movement in computers and education that began with the work of Seymour Papert and the MIT Logo Group in the 1960s."
More on this topic later!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Technology in the Sunday Paper, Tourists on Segways in Charlotte, NC.
"But the first sales figures on 3-D TVs and a newly released consumer survey indicate that the industry has a long way to go before the new technology catches on in a big way, if it ever does...In the sets' first three months on the market, beginning in February, consumers nationwide spent about $55 million on new 3-D-capable TVs and related equipment, according to an NPD Group survey of some of the largest retailers carrying the products, including Best Buy and Amazon.com." -3-D TV sets are selling, but no instant craze
Kristena Hanson, L.A. Times, 7/4/10, in the Charlotte Observer
In the wad of ads that came with my Sunday paper, I noticed a huge glossy spread by Sony, highlighting the company's 3D system and other newer technologies:
An ad from Wolf Camera and Image featured a Nikon COOLPIX S1000PJ, with a built-in mini-projector:
Back to the Sony spread, I noticed the Sony Dash Personal Internet Viewer:
"Hello, I'm Dash"
"As the Dash™ Personal Internet Viewer, I use over 1,000 free apps and your Wi-Fi®connection to deliver the information and entertainment you crave—right to your bedroom, kitchen or office. Now you can access always-fresh web content with the touch of a finger, without being tethered to your PC."
Why not just get a kickstand for your iPad, slate, or smartphone?
I also noticed the ad for the Sony Reader Touch Edition:
Technology in my world:
Later in the day, I was driving down Central Avenue in Charlotte's Plaza-Midwood neighborhood. Stopped at a light, I snapped a picture of some tourists on Segways:
Technology, as it is embraced in Charlotte, North Carolina!
RELATED
Direct HD 3D TV website
Friday, July 2, 2010
The Future of Social Relations: Pew Internet and American Life Project Future of the Internet Survey Results
Pew Internet and American Life Project has been studying all thing related to the internet for a long time. One of the most recent studies looks at how the internet has impacted social relationships and how it might impact social relationships in the future. Below is a link to the survey results, and an excerpt from the report:
The Future of Social Relations
"While they acknowledge that use of the internet as a tool for communications can yield both positive and negative effects, a significant majority of technology experts and stakeholders participating in the fourth Future of the Internet survey say it improves social relations and will continue to do so through 2020"
"The highly engaged, diverse set of respondents to an online, opt-in survey included 895 technology stakeholders and critics. The study was fielded by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center."
RELATED
Elon University's Imagining the Internet: A History and a Forecast website has a wealth of information about internet history and predictions. An interesting place to start is the "Early '90's Predictions" section, which includes a link to the 90's database search. The Visionaries Multimedia section includes video of various conferences, forums, and events such as FutureWeb and WWW2010, held in Raleigh, NC. during April of 2010. For teachers, parents, and kids, there is a KidZone resource section.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Reactable Live! at Sonar Barcelona 2010 - (You can see one at Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC.)
I like music technology. I like interactive, tangible table systems. I like the Reactable!
To understand this system, see it in action!
Below is a video of Reactable Live!, Performed at Sonar Barcelona 2010 on June 18th. The music and performance is by Carles Lopez, and the video was by Marc Morera.
"Reactable in Concert by Carles López sounds like electronic house, minimal, electro, techno, idm, dnb…"
Here is a video of children playing with the Reactable, at Sonar Kids, Barcelona, 2009:
I recently learned that there is a Reactable in my hometown!
The Reactable Experience was installed at Discovery Place in Charlotte. Discovery Place is the children's science museum for the metropolitan Charlotte, N.C. region. Below is a picture from the Discovery Place museum:
The Reactable is part of a new exhibition, "Think it up" Here's the description from the Discovery Place website:
"The Reactable is a cutting edge electronic musical instrument merged with a visual experience. Special objects are placed on a translucent surface which trigger sound clips and audio modulation. The sound produced by the objects is represented visually on the surface, providing feedback and guidance for the creation of new music."
This version of the Reactable is for museums, science centers, schools, universities, and other public spaces. It is an outgrowth of the original Reactable that was designed for musicians. This version is intuitive and invites people to share and create music collaboratively.
RELATED
Reactable Experience brochure (pdf)
Cross posted on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Intel Labs' demo of the Oasis Project for your kitchen counter: Gesture and Object Recognition in your kitchen!
Intel's Oasis system uses object recognition that triggers various applications that generate shopping lists and recipes. The system can handle more than one item of food. It includes videos of how to prepare meals, a great feature for people just starting out, or those who are learning to prepare healthier meals.
In my opinion, this sort of application would be useful to people with disabilities that affect memory.
(Also posted on the INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY blog)
Cisco's Cius, An Ultra-Portable, Android-based Mobile Collaboration Business Tablet: Supports Real-time, HD Videoconferencing, and the "Cloud"
Credit: Wired Gadget Lab, CISCO
Here is a promotional video from Cisco that provides a few scenarios that highlight how the Cius can be used in a cloud-computing business environment. The Cius provides mobile telepresence capabilities. It runs on the open-architecture of the Android operating system.
Here is a video, recently uploaded by someone attending the from the "reveal":
Cisco Cius Demo at Cisco Live
From the CISCO Cius website:
- 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G/4G data and Bluetooth 3.0 help employees stay connected on and off-campus
- HD video (720p) with Cisco TelePresence solution interoperability for lifelike video communication with the simplicity of a phone call
- Virtual desktop client enables highly secure access to cloud-based business applications
- Android operating system, with access Android marketplace applications
- Collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, WebEx, Presence, and IM
- 7” diagonal, high-resolution color screen with contact-based touch targets delivers an elegant, intuitive experience
- HD Soundstation supports Bluetooth and USB peripherals, 10/100/1000 wired connectivity and a handset option
- Detachable and serviceable 8-hour battery for a full day of work
- Highly secure remote connections with Cisco AnyConnect Security VPN Client
- HD audio with wideband support (tablet, HD Soundstation)
UPDATE
Pictures are from Jason Hiner's blog at Tech Republic:
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Economics of Cloud Computing: Live Webcast on ZDNet Highlights Microsoft's Approach
This might be a useful webcast for people interested in keeping up the changes in "cloud computing". If you aren't very familiar with the term, cloud computing refers to
Live Webcast: The Economics of the Cloud
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
12:00 PM ET / 9:00 AM PT / 4:00 PM GMT
http://www.zdnet.com/
"The shift toward cloud services is reaching across application development, deployment and delivery, and impacts virtually every aspect of how people and businesses use technology."
Google Tech Talk: Faculty Summit 2009 - good overview
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Mobile User Experience Graphic, via Sachendra
I came across the following graphic from a post by Sachendra on the Technology, Mobility, Usability and other Musings blog:
What I really like is how the picture depicts the "user" out and about, walking a dog. It gave me a smile, since I now carry my Android Incredible with me when I take out my own dog. My dog loves to stop and sniff around, one of her life's pleasures, and when she does, I found that it is a good time for me to interact with my connection to the world.
Although the picture in depicts a man, it could be a template for use during the user-centered design process. I see a lot of parents pushing strollers AND walking dogs as they are tethered to an iPhone or another sort of SmartPhone. In some cases, there are two dogs, and infant, and a toddler!
The author of the blog post includes a series of video clips that show the different ways HTC, Motorola, and Sony Ericson have utilized the Android platform by tweaking the UI to enhanced the perceived user experience.
Friday, June 25, 2010
10 Interactive User Interfaces for the Future, Via Gizmo Watch; CNN's Eatocracy Site for Foodies - Food with Stories
I changed the name of this blog to reflect my focus on interactivity. The World Is My Interface is now The World Is My Interactive Interface.
In keeping with the change-of-blog-title, I thought I'd share a quick link to a recent Gizmowatch post, Ten Interactive User Interfaces for the Future. Bharat, the authro, reviews a variety of interfaces, input methods, and interaction techniques, such as Skinput, a water-based touch screen, a muscle-computer interface, air gestures, brain-computer systems, and even a mud-tub interface.
I was fortunate to see some of these interaction techniques and interfaces when I attended CHI 2010 this past April, and plan to share some of my photos and video clips on this blog soon.
Totally Unrelated
Online connection for foodies
Eatocracy is a new website within the CNN pages that provides news- and more- about all things related to food. The categories on the site include "main", "news", "bite", "sip", "make", "think", and "buzz". The best part, in my opinion, is the heirloom recipe collection index, where people can upload and share family recipies and the stories behind them.
Here is the description of Eatocracy from the website:
Eatocracy "is your online home for smart, passionate conversation and information about food news, politics, culture. We'll highlight regional and family recipes, dive into restaurants and food shopping, chat with celebrity and local chefs, and show you what's for dinner around the world tonight. Grab a place at the table and read with your mouth full."
Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
WSJ's Interactive Graphics: China's Housing Markets, via Innovative Interactivity
Dissecting China's Housing Market - Multimedia - WSJ.Com
"How does China's housing market work? Who are the main players? And why have housing prices gone up so much? Watch an animation explaining all this and more."
The Wall Street Journal has dedicated a great interactive webspace that focuses on the country's housing market. Interactive content includes a timeline that shows the correlation between government policies and housing prices, videos that provide an overview of the situation and how the dream of home ownership is shared among many who live in China. The info-graphics are well-done.
For further information and analysis about the WSJ piece, see Tracy Boyer's recent post on the Innovative Interactivity blog:
Wall Street Journal utilizes motion graphics to illustrate China's housing market.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The First Self-replicating Cell with a Computer for a Parent - Synthetic Life.
"Craig Venter and team make a historic announcement: they've created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He explains how they did it and why the achievement marks the beginning of a new era for science." It took about 15 years for the team to complete the work on this project, which was funded by Synthetic Genomics, Inc.
Craig Venter is known for his role in the private effort to sequence the human genome.
RELATED
Press Release 5/20/10: First Self-Replicating Synthetic Bacterial Cell
First Self-replicating Synthetic Bacterial Cell (Overview)
J. Craig Venter Institute
Synthetic Genomics|Options for Governance
Colonies of the transformed Mycoplasma mycoides bacterium. Image Credit: J. Craig Venter Institute
More TED Talks: Chip Conley's discussion about measuring what makes life worthwhile
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." Albert Einstein
The above quote was used during Chip Conley's 2010 TED Talk about measuring what makes life worthwhile.
Chip Conley is a hotelier who focuses on creating habitats of happiness. In this talk, Conley discusses how he adopted the psychologist Mazlow's hierachy of needs and applied it to create a business model that focuses on intangible higher needs of his companies employees, customers, and investors. He also shares how he gained insight about metrics and happiness during a trip to Bhutan to study the Gross National Happiness Index (GNHI), which is something he recommends that business leaders and governments to focus on. He points out how the metrics behind the GDP may not be sufficient for monitoring or measuring the state of today's complex world.
RELATED
PEAK: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Mazlow
(Chip Conley)
Direct link to Chip Conley's TED Talks video, with an interesting discussion.
Note: During the weeks of my summer break, I thought I'd catch up on some of the TED Talks that I missed, and I'll share a few of my favorites on this blog.
Fractals in our world: "I'm a mathemetician and I'd like to stand on your roof": Ron Eglash on African Fractals
Interesting TED Talk:
Self-replication and recursive scaling patterns in African village architecture, discussed from the point-of-view of mathematician Ron Eglash:
Some of this architecture relies on complex algorithms. You can find out why some farmers in Africa make fractal fences. Self-organization is in our brains and networks, and also related to adverse medical conditions as well. The African Fractals website contains the pictures used in the TED presentation.
Here is Ron Eglash's bio, from the TED website:
"Ethno-mathematician" Ron Eglash is the author of African Fractals, a book that examines the fractal patterns underpinning architecture, art and design in many parts of Africa. By looking at aerial-view photos -- and then following up with detailed research on the ground -- Eglash discovered that many African villages are purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with self-similar shapes repeated in the rooms of the house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village, in mathematically predictable patterns.
As he puts it: "When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture very disorganized and thus primitive. It never occurred to them that the Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn't even discovered yet."
His other areas of study are equally fascinating, including research into African and Native American cybernetics, teaching kids math through culturally specific design tools (such as the Virtual Breakdancer applet, which explores rotation and sine functions), and race and ethnicity issues in science and technology. Eglash teaches in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and he recently co-edited the book Appropriating Technology, about how we reinvent consumer tech for our own uses.
RELATED
Learning and creating designs with African Fractals
Ron Eglash's Website
SOMEWHAT RELATED
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Smule's Virtual Glee App for iPad or iPhone: Sing with yourself in perfect harmony- or with other Gleeks around the world!
This was originally posted on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.
Sing with yourself and Gleeks around the world in perfect harmony:
Demo of the Glee iPhone + iPad App by Smule - "I'll Stand By You"
"Glee, for iPhone + iPad, by Smule. This impromptu, one-take performance by Smule engineer Nick late one night at HQ demonstrates how the app transforms his voice into a group of singers harmonizing with him."
This is exactly why I NEED an iPad!
Tutorial Part 1
"How To"
Tutorial Part II:
The Glee GlobeShows how you can share your Glee songs and sing with others around the globe!
RELATED
Cool iPad Digital Piano App
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Egregious Citations Issued to BP, via Nathan Yau of Flowing Data
Interesting post with related data visualizations and a few comments:
Egregious Citations Issued to BP
Nathan Yau 6/6/10
SOMEWHAT RELATED
Flowing Data's Beginner's Guide -A Guided Tour
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Media Facades and Projected Social Graffiti at Drexel University (Includes a 7-story tweet)
"Behold the seven-story tweet", a post by Leslie Katz on CNET News, highlights the Social Graffiti project by the digital media students at Drexel University, in Philidelphia. You can digitally tag your tweets with @dgmGraffitti, and it will be projected onto the surface of Nesbitt Hall.
There is a built-in filtering system, so profanity and potentially offensive messages will not show up, unlike real graffiti.
The slideshow below is from the Social Graffiti Flickr site:
Social Graffiti Project (Directions and more photos can be found on this site.)
TEAM: Matt Morton, Team Leader, Animator; Chad Porche, Flash Animator; Cara Schroeder: Modeler, Animator; Kurt Gawinowicz: Web Designer, Animator; Kerry Russo: Programmer
