Geek on the Cheap #124:
More TEI – Demos, Workshops & Kits

February 7th, 2010

NOTE: I switched out computers this weekend and Adobe is not allowing me to reinstall CS2 (yes, I’m still using 2). So no pics this week because I’m Photoshop-less.

It’s now been an entire week away from TEI and I must admit the glow is starting to fade as the day-to-day toils of life clog my mind. But here are some great links to take me back to it all:

TUI Blog by form+zweck
Written mainly by Christian Zöllner, one of the creators of the SMSlingshot which was demoed at TEI (it allows you to type in a message then slingshot it onto a wall).

Groove Mechanic: TEI Demo Roundup
This blog by Abel Allison, one of the creators of the TessalTable, offers another nice roundup of the demos.

Technology Review: Malleable Maps, Artistic Robots and Bubble Interfaces
Videos of five of the demos — 3-D Responsive Map, Interactive Art Cobots, Tangible Jukebox (very cool), Augmented Reality Pattern Table (very very cool), Soap Bubble Interface (see my video from last week). Unfortunately, the vids are narrated (oddly) by a monotone voice that makes what’s being described sound almost boring.

Humanism at the MIT Media Lab’s TEI Conference??!
Last but not least, Jon Kolko looks back at the conference and comes up with the conclusion that “the geeks are begging for design.”

KITS

Below are a few kits available from people who gave related workshops at TEI. I would have loved to have taken these workshops, but we could choose only one. Oh well, at least I can pretend to conduct my own pseudo-workshop at home. And you can, too.

Fabric Sensor Kits
Hannah Perner-Wilson is currently a grad student in MIT’s High-Low Tech group (read this interview with Hannah from Fashioning Technology). She held a workshop at TEI on making textile sensors from scratch.

Fritzing
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Fritzing is open source software that helps non-technical designers move from physical prototype to actual product: creating a printed circuit board with the appropriate circuit and desired shape.

Vital Threads Biofeedback Apparel
Sean Montgomery is a recent neuroscience PhD who likes to stand out in a crowd. I had a blast meeting him at TEI and seeing his devices in person. On this site, you can get kits for his Truth Wristband (turns from blue to red as the wearer becomes aroused) and Heart-felt Apparel (detects your heart beat and displays it as a pulsing LED heart on your t-shirt).

Top 30 Wiimote Hacks
I also missed the Wiimote Hackery workshop and the presenters — Amanda Wiiliams and Daniela Rosner — don’t have any kits. But Wiimotes are crazy-easy to hack, so here are Hack N Mod’s top 30 Wiimote hacks (my favorite is #2 Wiimote Controlled Lawn Mower).

Have fun hacking and don’t forget — if you’re not pulling your hair out at some point in the making, you must be doing too many things right.

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Geek on the Cheap #123:
TEI ‘10 – Best Conference Ever

February 1st, 2010

TEI Studios from jay silver on Vimeo.

So I went to the TEI Conference last week and had a fantastic time — learning, meeting people, having braingasmic fun. This conference concerns itself with the interlinking of the digital and physical worlds through tangible interfaces, whole-body interaction and interactive surfaces.

There were about 230 attendees from around the world and everyone was brilliant, accomplished and collaborative. Although English was the lingua franca, people were gabbing in German, Japanese, Portuguese, Swedish, Chinese (just to name a few) — a refreshing breeze through my Brocas since I live in very white Vermont.

Of course, right off the bat, I went to the wrong building. Somehow I didn’t know that MIT has built a brand new Media Lab building, a cross between an Apple store and Kubrick’s 2001 — very white with lots of glass, a floor-to-ceiling central atrium with wrap-around labs and walkways criss-crossing from one side to the other. Apparently I have no sense of direction at all whatsoever, because the second I was off the conference floor I was lost. (Though quite happily so.)

A couple of photos I took from the ground floor - click the image to see a slideshow

I had planned to tweet during the papers, but I couldn’t get past the rudeness of having a computer in my lap while someone’s presenting. I know from first-hand experience that it’s awful to look out at an audience and not find anyone looking back at you. And I didn’t tweet from the hotel because you had to pay for wifi, which I refused to do (yes, I’m cheap).

However, I did shoot a few videos, and this week’s Geek includes a couple that describe the breadth of the work shown at the conference.

The Soft and the Hard

We all use interfaces every day — our phones, microwaves, light switches, cars. We push a button, click a mouse, swipe a finger. We expect them to be where they always are which is, in fact, considered to be good design.

However, what if an interface is temporary, ephemeral? Do we really need to know where it is all the time if we know what it is? And what if the interface requires great care in its handling? Does this make it more precious or the work it accomplishes more dear? These are just a few of the questions that come to mind with the work of Tanja Doring, an integration of art and technology:

With Soumitra Bhat, however, we have a lovely synthesis of music, technology and social impact. He has created TouchTone, an electronic musical instrument for children with cerebral palsy. It’s a clever way of giving these children access to the joy and therapeutic benefits of making music. Normally, their limited physical abilities make it impossible for them to play a musical instrument.

These two innovations describe the breadth of work presented at the conference — from concrete applications of interaction design to more abstract ideas of how we might use the various properties of physical objects in combination with either current or projected computational and/or electronic capabilities.

Stay tuned for more next week — workshops (and kits). The video at the top is just a tease of how cool they were.

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Geek on the Cheap #122:
Delicious Innovation at the MIT Media Lab

January 24th, 2010

I’m on my way to Boston today for the TEI Conference, so here are a few videos to show you the sort of thing they do at the MIT Media Lab, which is hosting the conference.

The first video is about Scratch, a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art — and share your creations on the web.

Next, this CRAFT Video shows e-textiles pioneer Leah Buechley and students from her research group called “High-Low Tech,” which blends technology with traditional crafts to make new toolkits for creativity and learning.

And last, but not least, in June of 2009, the Center for Future Civic Medias Future of News and Civic Media conference showcased some of the work done as a part of the Knight News Challenge, focusing on creative ways to provide people with the news and information needed to engage their communities effectively.

And, of course, there’s much much MUCH more happening at the lab. As for the conference, I’ll report back on it next week, and will probably be tweeting on it while I’m there.

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Geek on the Cheap #121:
ScienceOnline2010

January 17th, 2010

ScienceOnline2010

I’m going to the TEI Conference at MIT in a week so I’ve got conf-head right now. Which is why I was so thrilled to come across ScienceOnline2010.

This is an annual conference on science communication — the Woodstock of science blogging, according to Cocktail Party Physics. Or, in more mundane terms, the conference on science literacy, the popularization of science, science in classrooms and homes, the debunking of pseudoscience, and using blogs as tools for presenting research. Important and interesting stuff, whether you’re a science writer, a scientist, or a parent with a kid in science class.

It was held this past week (January 14-17) in Research Triangle Park (RTP) as it is every year, and the web coverage is so wonderful, it’s almost as good as being there. Not only is there a nice, loooong list of links to blog and media coverage, but several sessions were streamed live and will soon be available on YouTube.

So what, you say? Well I’ve been following O’Reilly’s Tools of Change for Publishing (TOC) conference since 2007 and I’ve done this by downloading PDFs or PowerPoint presentations. Only my avid interest in the burgeoning role of technology in publishing has kept my eyes on the screen. Okay, they’ve also put a few sessions on blip.tv, more every year. But there’s no handy list of media coverage.

In contrast, I can click through the list of blog/media coverage at ScienceOnline2010 and easily follow a blog post about a workshop or session. It’s like sitting and talking about it with a friend, and I didn’t have to Google or Bing and sort, sort, sort.

I’m lucky that my boss/university is sending me to MIT, but I don’t expect them to be shelling out for any additional conferences this year. So I’m hoping that more conferences will be as open and collaborative as ScienceOnline2010. Since the reason people go to conferences is to make connections (in person), offering the information presented online won’t decrease attendance.

And is it too much work to put up a list of coverage? Isn’t that what interns are for?

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Geek on the Cheap #120:
CES 2010’s Best New Tech

January 10th, 2010

The 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) took over Vegas this past week and unveiled some mouthwatering tech, most of which will be available by the late spring or early summer. This is the technology directed at you, the average consumer, although much of it may be farther in your future than manufacturers would like due to price and already existing options.

If you want to see a sampling of tech from the show, check out the “best of” lists by CNET and PC World, while the Huffington Post has a nice roundup of eReaders. The most interesting of the bunch is the so-called “Kindle Killer,” the enTourage eDGge. It has a 9.7″ eReader/eInk screen on one side and a 10″ color screen on the other. Can’t wait to see it.

Of all the exciting technology at CES this year, however, my favorite soon-to-come devices are:

Lenovo Ideapad U1 Hybrid: Netbook + Tablet

The Lenovo Ideapad U1 Hybrid combines a netbook with a detachable tablet. This is possible because each piece has its own processor and battery; the LED screen works for both devices. To use the computer as a tablet, you simply undock the screen from the chassis and start writing on it or using it as an eReader or watching a movie on it.

I think I’m in love.

I’ve been using (IBM) Lenovo ThinkPads as my mobile computer for about ten years now and have always been satisfied. This time, I’m expecting to be bowled over. At the very least, this device ups the ante for all netbooks. Accordingly its price is expected to be a bit richer ($999) than the average netbook.

Zomm: Never Lose Your Cellphone Again

ZommZomm is a gadget the size of a chubby poker chip that you hang from your keychain –- a wireless “leash” for your cellphone.

Whenever your keychain (ostensibly you) with its Zomm is more than 30 feet away from the cellphone you’ve synced it to, the Zomm sounds an alarm. You’ll never leave your cellphone in a hotel room again! The Zomm can also be used as a speakerphone. And lastly, it can be used as a personal security device — if you hold the button down for 9 seconds, it will automatically dial 9-1-1.

Best of all, the Zomm was invented by a mom who kept hearing people complain about losing their cellphones. What did she do? She came up with a solution. (Got to nip that whining in the bud.)

Keep an key out for the Zomm this coming summer at a price of $79.99.

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Geek on the Cheap #119:
WiFi and SciFi Go MacDonalds

January 3rd, 2010

SyFy: Imagine GreaterMacDonalds isn’t on my radar unless I’m roadtripping because a small vanilla milkshake is almost always necessary for the driver.

But now I might stop and sit a while.

As of this January, MacDonalds is providing wireless service for free in 11,000 of their 13,000 U.S. locations. Before now, it cost $2.95 for everyone except AT&T customers. To see if it’s available where you want it, check here. Hey Starbucks, pay attention! You’re way behind the curve on this.

The second reason I’ve been thinking MacDonalds lately is the fabulous blog post “SF Goes MacDonald’s: Less Taste, More Gristle” by Athena Andreadis. I found out about it through a reposting on the Huffington Post and I have to thank the HuffPo for familiarizing me with Andreadis, whose discussion of American’s “disdain for all expertise” brought on by our political/cultural shift to the right mirrors my own concerns. One of the consequences of this attitude shift is the increasing dearth of real science in science fiction.

Why does it matter? Because, as Andreadis says, “if science disappears altogether from SF or survives only as the gimmick that allows ‘magic’ plot outcomes, SF will lose its greatest and unique asset: acting as midwife and mentor to future scientists. ”

Like Andreadis, I was one of those kids who read science fiction and it certainly “shaped my life and personality” in ways I’m probably not even aware of. I imagined hopping a space ship to another planet, traveling back and forth in time, MacGyvering my way out of sticky alien planets with eco- and political systems both uncannily alike and stubbornly unlike our own. Putting science in such a context frees it from the research bench and opens young minds to the thrills of discovery, altruism (putting society before oneself) and resourcefulness. Science has provided and will continue to provide a better life for humans and our planet.

Which makes it all the more depressing to be part of a culture that distrusts science so. Another recent example of this is the December 24th New York Times review of a book on Darpa. The reviewer, William Saletan, sees such technology as that enabling limb replacement not as revolutionary or emotionally miraculous, but as a frightening scenario with “humans being reconfigured for the machine.” What?! I wonder if his attitude would change if he suddenly lost an arm. Would he prefer a carved wooden replica to a “computerized arm that reads the body’s electrical signals”? I doubt it.

Are fears such as those voiced by Saletan the chicken or the egg? I don’t know. But as a result of the political policies of the past decade and as Andreadis notes in her blog post, “the US is no longer the uncontested forerunner in science and technology and its standard of living is dropping accordingly.” Bill Gates has been harping on this problem for the past several years: we’re turning out fewer and fewer engineers/scientists every year. This is not just an intellectual but an economic issue.

But I refuse to believe that Americans will continue in this downward spiral. As our political situation has turned in a new direction with Americans electing a person considered an intellectual, maybe so will our attitude toward science. And if, as Andreadis says, “science fiction is really a mirror and weathervane of its era,” maybe we’ll see this first on our literal or virtual bookshelves.

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Geek on the Cheap #118:
Why Can’t the Past Become the Future?

December 28th, 2009

Professor Richard Feynman,

With the New Year just a few days away, I’m thinking about time. Why must time move in one direction — forward? Why isn’t it reversible? Why can’t the future become the past? Because it just can’t, you say impatiently, already bored by the naiveté of the question.

And yet…

The fundamental physical laws of nature such as gravity, electricity and magnetism are reversible. Even molecular collision is reversible. So why aren’t the phenomena that happen according to these laws of physics reversible — the phenomena that constitute our perception of time?

How do we resolve this paradox?

In Richard Feynman’s lecture, “The Distinction of Past and Future,” he explains how the laws of physics do not have a obvious relevance to the world as we experience it. Don’t know Feynman? He’s a professor famous for a series of lectures taped by the BBC at Cornell University in 1964. Last July, Bill Gates made these lectures publicly available through a Microsoft Research initiative called Project Tuva.

But let’s get back to the question of time: How can it be that our experience of time is so different from the fundamentals that constitute it?

To me, this is similar to the false intuition that a heavy object should fall more swiftly than a light one. It doesn’t. (Gravity, unlike your mother, is blind to how much something weighs, though it might agree that you look fat in those pants.) If you drop a book and a fork, they’ll hit the ground at the same time, even though you might think the heavier object — the book — should hit first. I’m always guilty of thinking this way. I was reminded of my wrong intuition recently as I was reading about Newton’s Second Law of Motion in The Great Equations. (At least Aristotle was wrong, too.)

Why do we get these things wrong? Because, as Feynman explains at the end of “The Distinction of Past and Future,” the world is both fundamentally simple and tremendously complex, “to stand at either end and to walk out off the end of the pier only, hoping out in that direction is the complete understanding, is a mistake.” In other words, maybe our (incorrect) intuition that heavier objects should hit the ground first comes from the fact that they hit the ground harder, and we connect this to the idea of velocity, which takes us around to the idea of heavier falling faster. Makes sense, but it’s wrong. We’re standing at the wrong end of the pier and can’t see what’s really happening.

As for time, what phenomenon could be more straightforward: a simple line of actions connected dot to dot, the single constant in our lives, irrevocable. So why do we wonder and wish to make the past the future — to jump backwards, branching out in a new direction? Because our knowledge of time is complex, our understanding of what could have happened instead as real to us as the memory of what did.

Remorse and regret, hope and aspiration — these complex thoughts and emotions spring from our perception of time passing. They are as real as the law of gravity and sometimes so heavy they sink you into a hole, other times so light you feel as if you’re floating. At this time of year, it’s nice to be reminded that there’s always the other end of the spectrum; it exists all the time. You don’t have to wait until next year for things to turn around because in some way they already are.

But enough of this. All I really wanted to say was Happy New Year! Simple.

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Geek on the Cheap #117:
Top 10s for 2009

December 21st, 2009

PopSci.com’s Robotic Jellyfish (photo: Kai-Uwe Knoth)

I’m jumping right into the year-end top 10s. Here are four (five eluded me — I kept finding a possibility then ditching it); so here are four lists to peruse while you’re recovering from December’s shopping hangover:

  • lifehacker: Most Popular DIY Projects of 2009
    Love lifehacker, love these projects. I have several favs including the inverted bookshelf, under-the-cabinet kitchen PC from an old laptop, and the monitor stand from door stoppers (a version of which will soon be atop my desk).
  • PopSci: The Year’s Most Amazing Scientific Images
    The brain array (image 2) is a silicone mat of 32 electrodes that sits directly on the brain (not on the skull, which is what I initially thought when I looked at the photo). What an amazing and (sort of) noninvasive neural interface, which could help those with brain disease or injury.
  • Technology Review: Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2009
    In TR’s annual list of the 10 technologies that may change the way we live, my favorite is Michel Maharbiz’s biological machines, such cyborg beetles. Imagine the possibilities!
  • O’Reilly Radar: The Best and the Worst Tech of the Decade
    No, no, no — this isn’t that O’Reilly. James Turner’s list is a nice roundup of tech and I must say I wholeheartedly agree with his choices. In additional to the technical, he covers the social implications of the technical.

For those of you on vacation over the holidays (and especially for those of you stuck at work), hope you have the time to dream and build. Humans are makers — go out and make something!

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Geek on the Cheap #116:
Charitable Gift List

December 13th, 2009

Are you already done with your holiday shopping? If not, how about a gift that supports a great organization? Or what about that person who’s impossible to shop for? Give a donation in her name and your gift won’t be returned — in fact, it’ll be greatly appreciated. Below are my five suggestions for 2009.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
EFF is the leading civil liberties group defending your rights in the digital world, such as free speech, innovation, privacy and fair use. What does this mean? Let’s talk digital books. Companies are using copyright law and DRM to restrict what you do with your digital book once you buy it. Okay, there are lots of problems with that in general but, again, let’s talk specifics: what if you’re disabled and would like to convert your digital book to a different format because the text format isn’t accessible to you? If you do, you’re breaking the law. Is that right? Donate and get a cool t-shirt.

Mozilla
I use the Mozilla browser Firefox every day, along with its plethora of add-ons — Web Developer Toolbar, Woot Watcher, ColorZilla, just to name a few — that make my work and personal life easier. But Mozilla isn’t just Firefox, it’s an open source software project, which means its code is readily available to developers, which means they can innovate like crazy. It’s about time you pick up a shirt or some swag and support them.

Creative Commons
Creative Commons provides a modern version of copyright law that makes it easier for people to share their own work and build on the work of others. For example, I’ve been doing a bit of video editing lately and have needed background music. I don’t have any budget for this, so I’ve been using music covered by the Creative Commons license that allows you to use the artistic property as long as you provide attribution — in my case, list the musician in the credits. This is legal, ethical, provides me with a service and provides the artist with some visibility. A win-win all the way around.

Women for Women International
If you don’t know about this organization, you should. Women for Women runs one-year programs where women who’ve survived war in countries such as Afghanistan and Rwanda are initially given financial support to stabilize their lives, then are taught rights awareness, leadership skills, and vocational and technical skills. This process allows each individual to transform from victim into active citizen. What can you do? Give a gift that gives back — starting at $15, you can give okra seeds; for more you can give a sewing machine or a wheel barrow or teach a woman to read. I must admit I’m very biased toward Women for Women because I’ve been involved with them for several years now as a sponsor. I believe in their mission because it allows women to empower themselves, and hopefully empower others.

Donate Your Old Computer
Did you upgrade this year? Why not give away your old tech — it’s a nice cash-free way to give and saves you the trouble of properly recycling your computer. Here are simple instructions on finding a charity in your area. Just remember to wipe your hard drive before the computer goes out the door. Even if the organization tells you they’ll take care of it, do it yourself using a free download like as Eraser or Active@ Kill Disk. Now you’ll have that warm, fuzzy feeling that comes with giving instead of the stress of watching the bid amount not increase on eBay.

Happy Holidays!

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Geek on the Cheap #115:
A Visit to the MIT Museum (from your living room)

December 6th, 2009

I know I said I’d put up five more gift suggestions this week, and I was going to describe my top five charitable gift opportunities, but I haven’t had time to compile a list. Work has been crazy — between editing a video and building a database, I’ve hardly had time to eat.

But I’m not complaining, because I like my job and my boss rocks. He’s the one who’s sending me to MIT in January for the 4th International TEI Conference on tangible, embedded and embodied interaction — HCI, design, interactive art, user experience — how computing can “bridge atoms and bits into cohesive interactive systems.”

I’m already so excited to be going that I’ve been fantasizing about being a grad student (again), working on research and writing all day in a crappy Boston apartment (again). Though this time around no one is offering me a fellowship — yet.

And it doesn’t help that the MIT Museum is so incredible. If only I were twenty and didn’t have a mortgage. If only I didn’t like my job and were willing to drop it all and move out of this lovely state of Vermont. Am I? Probably not, so this video will have to do. For now.

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