More cool tables

Also a link to useful collection of museum components at Open Exhibits

Idenum have made a very nice plasma based multi touch table - anyone got any budget left guys?

I can only say one thing - leg room!

Transparent computing

I was writing a short description of what my research is and where it is going. This is the bit I've cut out 

I call my current research area, transparent computing. Transparent computing looks to build and study a range of devices trying to investigate how computing will change over the next ten years.

Transparency has two opposing threads which make up the theme, how to make interaction with a device transparent - were the way you use a computer becomes so transparent you don’t have to think about how to use the computer but on how to achieve your goal. This is strongly related to W's calm computing but also has notions of embodied computing. 

The other side of transparency is how to you remove the black box nature of current software systems? How to you visualise what’s going on inside the machine in order for users to better understand the limitations and conditions that the information being presented to them.  Currently computation stands as a Deus ex machina information is captured and the machine delivers the results (‘the machine says no’).  Frequently we don’t have the information to be aware of problems. The object of transparent computing is to give insights into the current state of the digital world. 

visual finger tracking for mice ?

stubled over this - Given you can connect via blue tooth can you use more than one ? I wonder what sized area it covers

ideal programming language thoughts

I think things like strong and weak references have to be brought into the programming language.

so in the definition
class Telephone 
{ 
  public: 
       
      Number phoneNumberDigit ; // normal 
      String weak name ;
      String  lazy phoneNumber ; // regenerable 
 } 


So when you assign elements you have

  thing.phoneNumberDigit = new Number( 230033) ; // normal 
 name <- "bob" ; // weak reference and don't forget it. 
 phoneNumber <- thing.phoneNumber.toString();// we can regenerate on demand 

   when you accesses them you get the same kind of thing.
  
    this->name.something(); 
   if( this->phoneNumber != null )  this->phoneNumber.something() ; // forced by compiler

naturally you would put the access to a lazy value in an accessor to make sure it was there when
you needed it.

Basically weak things say - if everyone else has stopped looking at this then its OK to loose the object. I don't own this I just know about it.
Lazy objects say - hay if your short of space its OK to loose this reference too I will check each time I need it.  Good for compact low memory environments.
  

A Day Made of Glass...

I've found my self strangely drawn to these kinds of things. You know they are made by a 'brain storming' exercise and then made to look cool by a well funded corporate video production team.

They are the infeasible concept cars of the digital industries. Except now they are being made by the glass industry.

A good news day (

Well what a busy day Its 5:46 and I'm about to have my morning coffee. Gonzalo turned with with some AAC students and Ava which was very nice. So they are mostly Architects and Sculptors with a curiosity in things digital ( this was the old  UCL Virtual Environments course I set up a long time ago). They were very fun and it was nice to see some young faces for once.

Gonzalo and I had a good time running them through the final stage of the wineshop. while we did G, told me that Chirs Luebkeman ( Ducan Wilson's boss see my links ) from the mighty Ove Arups is doing a TED talk and he wants to use an image of the Wineshop as part of that talk eke!

Arups are also going to use  run the experiment in their london space for a while as well. This would be really cool Yvonne asked about being truly ecologically valid.

So a happy day. It was interesting I was talking to the students and it made me realise how busy things are and how much we have to play with. The students were quite envious of the kinds of things we have done to the building and more importantly the space we have to do thing with. Which is quite nice its was very good to be reminded of the positive sides of being here.

Today both Gonzalo and I managed to get 6 people through our experiments ( cool!) but for me the most interesting aspect was Gonzalo sat down and did a focus group about the place stats. He started to use the Microsoft desirability cards but in a group context which I thought was interesting. It makes you wonder what kind of work has been done in the context of focus groups and HCI.

While I'm on the good news front OUR HCI2011 workshop has been accepted ( the link to the call is here ) and I'm in a workshop for CHI ( so time to hurriedly sort CHI attendance out too).

Oh and I did I mention that Rose has got most of the grey balls painted and I've nearly completed the pads for Nicolas experiment?

Also a copy of Analog In, Digital Out arrived on my desk - I thought I would check out the Associates widget worked.