Ok, there's a new buzzword around here (Web2.0 spin): "third generation of social-networking systems" as attested by this TR article by Wade Roush. Instead than focusing on this '3rd' thing, the interesting point of this article is that it highlights the new important feature of social software: th...
blubox: creative toolbox for bluetooth
Via the locative mailing list , blubox's blurb: blubox is a unique bluetooth software and hardware application designed and developed by Maria N. Stukoff and Jon Wetherall for the creative use of mobile phones via bluetooth. as part of this development we are invited to trail the first phase of blu...
Bio Art? Group C
I like this work by group c. They are prints derived from the "Tissue software" they developed. Exposes the movements of synthetic neural systems. People interact with the software by positioning a group of points on the screen. An understanding of the total system emerges from the relations betwee...
Journal of HCI CFP: In-Use, In-Situ: Extending Field Research Methods
A call for paper that seems to be relevant for our research domain at the lab: In-Use, In-Situ: Extending Field Research Methods â Special Issue of the International Journal of Human Computer Interaction. Submission deadline: 10 February 2006 Human-technology evaluation paradigms differ substanti...
The uncanny valley: why almost-human-looking robots scare people more than mechanical-looking robots
Yesterday I had a good discussion with Xavier Décoret (from INRIA-ARTIS) about the Uncanny Valley phenomenon. It's a a concept coined by japanese roboticist Doctor Masahiro Mori well described in this paper: The Uncanny Valley: Why are monster-movie zombies so horrifying and talking animals so fasc...
An esperanto for toasters to do what?
Speaking about the 'Internet of Things' the other day, this Technology Review also makes sense to be read. It's about an "esperanto for toaster" concept: ZigBee, namely a wireless standard that could be used a a "common language" to lights, appliances, doors or cell phones. Specifications could be ...
Record tracking data from your bluetooth GPS receiver
GETrack is a pertinent application that allows you to "record tracking data from your bluetooth GPS receiver and send the track via bluetooth to your PC for direct use with "Google Earth.": The tracking data is ready to be used with "Google Earth". These files can then be sent by email to your frie...
Cell phones and toilet-related accidents
Via Antony Townsend's mailing list, this improbable fact: More and more mobile phones are turning up in the sewage system of the Helsinki Metropolitan area, according to Helsinki Water, which serves over one million households. It's not known if the phones are purposely or accidentally disposed of,...
High-Altitude Platforms to deliver WiFi
Laurent sent me this intriguing news: High-altitude platforms for wireless communications by T. C. Tozer and D. Grace: The demand for high-capacity wireless services is bringing increasing challenges, especially for delivery of the ‘last mile’. Terrestrially, the need for line-of-sight propagation ...
What is a Digital Library Anymore, Anyway ?
Great article in the last issue of D-lib: What is a Digital Library Anymore, Anyway ? Beyond Search and Access in the NSDL by Carl Lagoze, Dean B. Krafft, et Sandy Payette, Cornell University, et Susan Jesuroga, UCAR-NSDL. Based on a variety of calibrations1, we are now in the adolescence of digit...