Kerime B. Toksü's 2literal.com

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.

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?

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

Zomm 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.

MacDonalds 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.