‹Dread› IMD Forum for 10/22/08: Paul Yarin 
22/10/2008 18:14:21 ‹Dread› http://blackdust.com/ 
22/10/2008 18:17:12 * omgpdv changes nickname to omgpvd 
22/10/2008 18:17:29 ‹Dread› http://web.media.mit.edu/~ishii/ 
22/10/2008 18:18:13 ‹Dread› http://tangible.media.mit.edu/projects/ 
22/10/2008 18:21:09 ‹Paul Yarin› Hello... feel free to ask questions or post comments on this as we move along. 
22/10/2008 18:23:22 ‹Dread› Tower of winds in yokohama: 
22/10/2008 18:23:23 ‹Dread› http://www.archidose.org/Apr01/040901a.html 
22/10/2008 18:25:02 ‹Dread› origins of ambient media 
22/10/2008 18:26:19 ‹ndef› http://www.ambientdevices.com/cat/orb/orborder.html 
22/10/2008 18:27:03 ‹Dread› usability testing for ambient media? 
22/10/2008 18:27:51 ‹ndef› Usability testing seems like a particular challenge, since the point of ambient media is that it operates below a conscious level of awareness. 
22/10/2008 18:28:35 ‹Dread› presence awareness vs ambient media? 
22/10/2008 18:29:48 ‹ndef› Pros and cons to making things physical. (Physical icons, like the model hamster.) 
22/10/2008 18:31:21 ‹Paul Yarin› One can imagine memory studies that measure retention of continuous data. Ambient media tends to be noticed most when it changes rapidly. 
22/10/2008 18:32:28 ‹ndef› inTouch - Coupling the state of a physical object over distances. 
22/10/2008 18:32:34 ‹s› an inTouch like object seems like a perfect addition to simple communication forms like Skype 
22/10/2008 18:32:44 ‹Diab› It also seems that this media is only relevant if it facilitated a kind of dialog 
22/10/2008 18:32:52 ‹s› already Skype has audio+video chat, but then you can add the inTouch feature to add tactile interaction to long distance conversations :] 
22/10/2008 18:33:04 ‹Diab› the inTouch semmed only interesting when there was another person at the other end 
22/10/2008 18:34:23 ‹nahil› there would need to be some kind of gestural language for it to be really meaningful in a conversation, spinning-roller morse code 
22/10/2008 18:35:15 ‹Paul Yarin› I agree - after a few minutes you invent some gestures or start playing back-and-forth games 
22/10/2008 18:37:03 ‹ndef› Triangles - Reconfigurable interface device. 
22/10/2008 18:42:28 ‹s› The music device "the Reactable" is a great example of wireless moveable 
22/10/2008 18:42:30 ‹s› objecs* 
22/10/2008 18:42:55 ‹Dread› metaDESK 
22/10/2008 18:43:49 ‹Dread› http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/1994/cp_car/ 
22/10/2008 18:43:50 ‹ndef› Devices that switch RFID identity by detuning the receptors with magnets... Not exactly sure what the killer application would be, but it seems like a really cool interaction scheme. 
22/10/2008 18:45:53 ‹ndef› Resolving ambiguity in physical icons (and relative movement) by adding physical constraints. 
22/10/2008 18:46:10 ‹Dread› http://tangible.media.mit.edu/projects/metadesk/ 
22/10/2008 18:47:29 ‹Lark› MetaDesk...nice application for museum exhibits? 
22/10/2008 18:47:39 ‹Diab› It's interesting to me how these tangibles can not scape narrative. They do tell a story by the mere relation to information 
22/10/2008 18:47:52 ‹Diab› I meant to say escape :) 
22/10/2008 18:49:15 ‹Paul Yarin› Yes, narrative is much of the project content and essential to the presentation 
22/10/2008 18:52:04 ‹Dread› i/o bulb: 
22/10/2008 18:52:06 ‹Dread› http://tangible.media.mit.edu/projects/luminousroom/ 
22/10/2008 18:54:53 ‹Paul Yarin› Take a look at John's "Illuminating Light" video for a better explanation of the Luminous Room/IO Bulb concept 
22/10/2008 19:01:18 ‹Diab› we don't have interactive techniques for dealing with portable storage devices 
22/10/2008 19:05:55 ‹nahil› data trail, footprints in the sand 
22/10/2008 19:07:07 ‹ndef› I've heard Amazon call that phenomenon "read-wear", in the sense that something shows wear when it has been accessed a lot. 
22/10/2008 19:07:19 ‹ndef› It was always a concept that resonated with me. 
22/10/2008 19:08:31 ‹ndef› The idea of collecting data in such a transparent way and displaying it back over the system. 
22/10/2008 19:12:12 ‹Dread› museums used to measure interest by how often they had to replace floor tiles in front of an exhibit. 
22/10/2008 19:19:11 ‹ndef› The games industry is more accepting of innovation than the mainstream computing industry. 
22/10/2008 19:20:22 ‹ndef› I just really like the name "hypersnail." 
22/10/2008 19:22:29 ‹omgpvd› hyperanimals are great 
22/10/2008 19:22:51 ‹omgpvd› I don't think that the game industry is MUCH more accepting than the mainstream computing industry though 
22/10/2008 19:23:23 ‹lolson› i think there's more context in gaming for nontraditional peripherals 
22/10/2008 19:23:35 ‹omgpvd› not in mainstream gaming 
22/10/2008 19:23:44 ‹ndef› Yeah, I have to agree. "Accepting of innovation" is not the first term that springs to mind when I think about the games industry. 
22/10/2008 19:24:20 ‹lolson› but i'm saying there's more justification for a new controller in a game than when doing word processing and surfing youtube 
22/10/2008 19:24:38 ‹ndef› Console cycles really do permit a lot more iteration in interface design, though... you get things that you just can't organize in the larger PC-computing context. 
22/10/2008 19:25:25 ‹ndef› I'm not convinced that there's that much more justification, but I think the frequency of hardware and software updates in the games space makes it more plausible. 
22/10/2008 19:27:02 ‹omgpvd› I agree with that 
22/10/2008 19:27:30 ‹omgpvd› but I think that the same economies of scale and requirements for a minimum number of sales to justify development apply to both the mainstream computing industry and the mainstream gaming industry 
22/10/2008 19:27:48 ‹ndef› Yeah, that makes sense. 
22/10/2008 19:27:57 ‹omgpvd› in order to introduce a new controller, nintendo re-released the gamecube 
22/10/2008 19:28:54 ‹omgpvd› I think there's a ton of room for improvement in the interfaces our users are already familiar with - if developers just tailored our input/output devices to their programs we'd all be a whole lot better off already 
22/10/2008 19:34:57 ‹Dread› http://nano.xerox.com/weiser/calmtech/calmtech.htm 
22/10/2008 19:35:16 ‹Dread› "calm technology" from PARC 
22/10/2008 19:44:42 ‹nahil› this looks like a fun game... Operation x10 
22/10/2008 19:45:34 ‹Diab› it also partially lives in the realm of interactive art as well :) 
22/10/2008 19:46:58 ‹Paul Yarin› Yes Mark Weiser's "Ubiquitous Computing" set the tone for a lot of interaction research. He was influenced by _The Tacit Dimension_ by Michael Polanyi - about tacit knowledge 
22/10/2008 19:58:15 ‹Dread› http://architectradure.blogspot.com/2007/09/operation-for-adults.html 
22/10/2008 19:59:03 ‹Dread› http://reactable.iua.upf.edu/musictables/MIT_Ishii_Musicbottles.png 
22/10/2008 21:27:54 ‹Dread› END