(via) Skyscout is a GPS-enabled handheld device meant to "point and click convenience to instantly identify thousands of stars, planets, constellations and more". Identify: Simply point the SkyScout at any star in the sky and click the "target" button. The SkyScout will instantly tell you what obje...
HCI rant by Bill Buxton
Microsoft Researcher Bill Buxton has a good rant towards HCI in the last issue of Interfaces (the journal from the british HCI group): Buxton, William (2006). Who cares if you are dressed if you are alone? Interfaces, 66, Spring 2006, 5-6. the CHI literature played no role in the development of wha...
PhD Annual Report
I just completed my PhD annual report. It basically compile what I did in the last 2 years and what's next. Probable title of the thesis: Analyzing and Modeling the Use of Location Awareness in Mobile Collaboration Thesis Director: Prof. Pierre Dillenbourg Keywords: human-computer interaction (HCI...
Airfoild ring for CD/DVD to safely toss them into the air
A curious patent: FLEXIBLE AIRFOIL RING FOR SAFETY FLYING CDS AND DVDS An annular protective ring attachment designed to grip the outer peripheral edge of all compact discs (CDs) and digital video discs (DVDs) which, when used in combination with said CD or DVD, creates an airfoil. The airfoil ring...
Paper in eMind about CatchBob!
Our paper "Getting Real with Ubiquitous Computing: the Impact of Discrepancies on Collaboration" (Giradin, F. and Nova, N.) has been published in the spanish HCI journal eMinds: Ubiquitous computing is still a maturing field of investigation. The vision of the seamless integration of computers to p...
Julian Bleecker's talk at eTech
Julian's talk at eTech 2006 is a highly-relevant-for-my-research-and-personal-interests gig. It was called Pervasive Electronic Games: Theory Objects For Social Play. (be careful: huge pdf). Check regine's note or liz goodman's write-up for more about it. Some of Julian's considerations as he summa...
TIME about "what's next"
The last issue of TIME is about the recurrent question "what's next". It's about the fact that innovation, which used to come from small groups of experts, now seem to be more bottom-up. These people might have been engineers, or sitcom writers, or chefs. They were probably very nice and mi...
Anti-social behaviors to criticize anti-social behavior
Jan Chipchase's last post is about anti-social behaviours (of dog owners) "through actions that many other people would consider anti-social, even if it involves graffiting one's own wall reminds me a trend in Geneva: everywhere on walls, journal distribution cases, trash-cans... there is this mess...
Kid drawing tablet on TV
V-Tech has an interesting tablet: V.Smile Art Studio this art studio will help your child become the next budding Picasso! This interactive, creative studio provides opportunities to unleash your child’s imagination! The touch-sensitive drawing pad, which looks like an artist’s palette, and intera...
Mapping Swizterland
Mapping Switzerland was an interesting exhibition by Hosoya Schaefer Architects, Zürich: This exhibition curated by Pius Freiburghaus and organized by the Perforum at the Kulturzentrum Seedamm looks at maps, art and myths. It attempts at finding new ways to describe the identity of Switzerland rang...