Sunday, December 30, 2007

Innovative Minds Don’t Think Alike - New York Times

Innovative Minds Don’t Think Alike - New York Times:

"Elizabeth Newton, a psychologist, conducted an experiment on the curse of knowledge while working on her doctorate at Stanford in 1990. She gave one set of people, called “tappers,” a list of commonly known songs from which to choose. Their task was to rap their knuckles on a tabletop to the rhythm of the chosen tune as they thought about it in their heads. A second set of people, called “listeners,” were asked to name the songs.

Before the experiment began, the tappers were asked how often they believed that the listeners would name the songs correctly. On average, tappers expected listeners to get it right about half the time. In the end, however, listeners guessed only 3 of 120 songs tapped out, or 2.5 percent.

The tappers were astounded. The song was so clear in their minds; how could the listeners not “hear” it in their taps?

That’s a common reaction when experts set out to share their ideas in the business world, too, says Chip Heath, who with his brother, Dan, was a co-author of the 2007 book “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.” It’s why engineers design products ultimately useful only to other engineers. It’s why managers have trouble convincing the rank and file to adopt new processes. And it’s why the advertising world struggles to convey commercial messages to consumers.

“I HAVE a DVD remote control with 52 buttons on it, and every one of them is there because some engineer along the line knew how to use that button and believed I would want to use it, too,” Mr. Heath says. “People who design products are experts cursed by their knowledge, and they can’t imagine what it’s like to be as ignorant as the rest of us.”

But there are proven ways to exorcise the curse.

SPLITCAM video clone split cam capture driver software

SPLITCAM video clone split cam capture driver software




Under development
Sound splitting.
Support for more video codec’s.
Adding Text or Picture as second layer over the main video stream.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Sanch TV » Showreel

Sanch TV » Showreel

Showreel

Vj showreel entirely done with vvvv.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Bug Labs: Products

Bug Labs: Products

Products


BUG is a collection of easy-to-use, open source hardware modules, each capable of producing one or more Web services. These modules snap together physically and the services connect together logically to enable users to easily build, program and share innovative devices and applications. With BUG, we don't define the final products - you do.

The Platform

BUG helps you explore the realm of personalized devices and applications, and find ways to solve many of the problems current gadgets can't.

For example, with BUG, you can easily assemble and program a GPS + digital camera device that automatically publishes geo-tagged photos as a web service. Integrating with an online photo-sharing service like Flickr is only a few more lines of code away, and now you have your own real-time, connected traffic-enabled mobile Webcam!

The platform is designed to enable a collaborative development environment. BUGnet (launching soon), our online community, is tied in directly to the BUG SDK, which allows developers to connect with others, share information, and jointly build products or services.






Available Q4, 2007


GPS
Digital Camera / Videocam

Touch-sensitive, Color LCD Screen
Accelerometer, Motion Sensor

SitePlayer-telnet-Home

SitePlayer-telnet-Home



SitePlayer Telnet is an Ethernet to RS232 adapter. It allows you to
connect to RS232 devices using TCP/IP. Once connected you can send and receive
data to SitePlayer's serial port at various baud rates. SitePlayer Telnet can be
configured using a standard web browser.

Features:
Compact size
RJ45 10BaseT Ethernet interface
Binary data transfer using
TCP/IP
Binary data transfer using UDP
Full configurable RS232 DB-9
serial port
Baud rate selection from 50 to
115000 baud
Parity selection Odd, Even or
none
Flow control selection RTS/CTS,
XON/XOFF or none
Control signals available RTS,
CTS, DTR, DSR, DCD and RI
Device configured via a web
browser. Web browser can be
password protected
Flash ROM software updates can
be uploaded to device
2 static IP addresses
External 110VAC to 7.5VDC
power adapter included
Network Virtual Terminal (NVT)
support
AT command set to switch between
Server and Client mode through
serial port.
Free SitePlayer Serial Port
Redirector driver for Windows®
PC (2000, XP)
around $25

New Lab Develops Computer Games for Social Change - Chronicle.com

New Lab Develops Computer Games for Social Change - Chronicle.com

December 12, 2007

New Lab Develops Computer Games for Social Change

Computer games can make the world a better place, and Parsons The New School for Design and the MacArthur Foundation are betting $450,000 on that proposition. The institution, with the non-profit organization Games for Change, just got a grant in that amount from the philanthropy to start a public-interest game design and research laboratory for interactive media.

The facility, to be called PETlab, will work with Microsoft’s Xbox development platform and Think.MTV.com—the youth-oriented network’s online activist community—to develop learning tools and digital games that explore social issues.

Gaming as an education tool is attracting attention from a number of higher education institutions, including Boston College, Columbia University, and Amherst College, which are supporting an online educational game environment called Immersive Education, The Chronicle reported earlier this week.

PETLab will focus on new games and simulations to encourage learning and investigation into social and global issues, as well as educational assessment, according to Colleen Macklin, Parsons chair of communication design and technology and director of the lab.

Among the projects: Xbox on Campus, which uses the Microsoft game platform to develop games relating to social issues. It will be made available as open source material for other universities to adopt and expand.—Josh Fischman

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Eye-Fi Wireless SD Card

Eye-Fi Wireless SD Card

What's the Deal: I've been told technology makes life easier. But ...my life hasn't become easier; it's just become overwhelmingly involved.

Then I stumbled upon the Eye-Fi card. Here's a device everyone uses, an SD card, that actually takes work out of my day. Rather than providing me a "more efficient method" (as so many products and services pitch) of transferring photos from a digital camera to my computer, it provides me with nothing. That is, it does everything for me, completely removing the procedure from my life.

I plug the Eye-Fi dongle into my PC (or Mac) and configure a few settings: Where I want my photos saved, the website I want them uploaded to, etc. I then put the Eye-Fi card into my camera and take photos as I always do. It functions as a normal SD card with no problems and no fine print. As soon as the camera gets within range of a Wi-Fi network, it automatically begins transferring the photos on the card to my computer and my Flickr account. It easily handles full-resolution, huge JPEG files and automatically resizes them, if required, by sites such as Facebook.

I don't even have to be on my home network because it sends the photos to my personal Web-based Eye-Fi account and then pings them over to my computer. If I turn off my camera before all the photos are transferred or my computer isn't on, the photos are queued in my Eye-Fi account and sent when everything is golden. They are then deleted from my Eye-Fi account once successfully transferred, so there are no worries about my pictures being anywhere they shouldn't be. The only time I need the dongle is when I want to change the card's settings.

I now have one less thing on my daily to-do list and I didn't replace it with a "more efficient" task. It's just gone-crossed out. How many times has a friend said they'll put a photo of you online so you can have a copy, and somehow it never happens? They either forget or it sits on their camera for three months until they get around to transferring it. By then they've forgotten to send you a copy. With Eye-Fi your Edward Fortyhands photo is online the minute they get home-literally.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Slideshow: Transparent Desktop Opens Doors

Slideshow: Transparent Desktop Opens Doors


A computer can be controlled with finger gestures using Factop. Pointing and flicking fingers opens and closes windows, selects text or double-clicks icons.

David Stotts and Jason Smith

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Cuter Scooter Defined By Electricity, Portability

Cuter Scooter Defined By Electricity, Portability:

"The whole design project was accomplished in eight months, 'from a blank sheet to a built concept,' Mitchell said. The multigenerational, cross-disciplinary team included a core group of four graduate students along with several others who made contributions, and a group of MIT's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program students. One key to their ability to accomplish the innovative design, he said, was that 'they don't know what's 'impossible,' so they just go out and do it.'"

The new design "was all about providing a clean, green, silent electric scooter that would provide, even better, the same kind of urban mobility," he said.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Salon.com Technology | Why Johnny can't code

Salon.com Technology | Why Johnny can't code:

"Typing in a simple algorithm yourself, seeing exactly how the computer calculates and iterates in a manner you could duplicate with pencil and paper -- say, running an experiment in coin flipping, or making a dot change its position on a screen, propelled by math and logic, and only by math and logic: All of this is priceless. As it was priceless 20 years ago. Only 20 years ago, it was physically possible for millions of kids to do it. Today it is not.

In effect, we have allowed a situation to develop that is like a civilization devouring its seed corn. If an enemy had set out to do this to us -- quietly arranging so that almost no school child in America can tinker with line coding on his or her own -- any reasonably patriotic person would have called it an act of war."

Torpedo Digital Projector - Wal-Mart



Torpedo Digital Projector $150 at Walmart

Torpedo Digital Projector



VoiceThread - Group conversations around images, docs and videos.

VoiceThread - Group conversations around images, docs and videos.

This is a great new service, and a great example of a Tool for Creative Practices.
(And this particular voicethread is a really interesting exhibit!)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda - New York Times

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda - New York Times

I do favor a gasoline tax phased in over 12 months. But let’s get one thing straight: My opponent and I are both for a tax. I just prefer that my taxes go to the U.S. Treasury, and he’s ready to see his go to the Russian, Venezuelan, Saudi and Iranian treasuries. His tax finances people who hate us. Mine would offset some of our payroll taxes, pay down our deficit, strengthen our dollar, stimulate energy efficiency and shore up Social Security. It’s called win-win-win-win-win for America. My opponent’s strategy is sit back, let the market work and watch America lose-lose-lose-lose-lose.” If you can’t win that debate, you don’t belong in politics.

Webcam 1-2-3 - broadcast live video and audio with windows media streaming,web camera server, broadcast live video on the web, webcasting software,str

Webcam 1-2-3 - broadcast live video and audio with windows media streaming
Webcam 1-2-3
Webcam 1-2-3 is simply the best choice if you want to monitor your store, home or office over the Internet! Webcam 1-2-3 enables you to broadcast video and audio easily yet provides the features professionals need. All you need is an Internet ready PC and a web camera.

Live Streaming Webcam Capture Software, Windows Media Streaming, Real time broadcasting, Live feed broadcaster

Live Streaming Webcam Capture Software, Windows Media Streaming, Real time broadcasting, Live feed broadcaster:

Webcam Tracker Live!

Webcam Tracker Live was created with the use of modern technologies. It uses Direct Show for working with video and sound capturing devices and Windows Media for dataflow transfer.

Webcam Tracker Live screenshot Webcam Tracker Live screenshot

Using Windows Media technology, you can compress video and sound by any video/audio codec installed into your system and make it any size you want. Thus you will be able to transfer sound and video in real time with acceptable quality even using a regular modem line.

daantje.nl » Convert Axis webcam stream to Flash (.swf/.flv)

Convert Axis webcam stream to Flash (.swf/.flv)

We use an Axis 206w webcam at work. This camera has an build in webserver that serves an MJPEG (Motion JPEG video) stream. Later cams servers also MPEG4 streams, but the 206w doesn’t. It has an buildin .swf feed, but that one does not work on my browsers. Now I have a work around to use swf files. What I do is using FFmpeg to convert the MJPEG feed to swf and flv. I use a separate server, not the build in one on the cam!

Welcome to Oculon

Welcome to Oculon

Hikari Rro920, the World's tiniest projector!

 Looking for the pocket projector? When choosing a pocket projector, look out for the light-weight and color accuracy.
 Oculon, maker of award-winning, high-quality presentation and display products, is showing two new, tiny business projectors in International CES,2008. The booth is located in Sands. #73638.The world's smallest projectors, Pocket Projector each weigh in at 10 ounces and fit easily into a purse, coat pocket or the palm of a hand.

Olympus: Shooting and Projecting Omnidirectional Video Images in Full HD -- Tech-On!

Olympus: Shooting and Projecting Omnidirectional Video Images in Full HD -- Tech-On!

On the left is a camera that can shoot video images with horizontal and vertical viewing angles of 360 and 50°, respectively, in full HD resolution. In the center is the projector that can project images shot with the camera. At right is the image projected on a cylindrical screen.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Creative Generalist

Creative Generalist:
"There is a tremendous demand for design thinkers today."

This quote, from a recent article in BusinessWeek called The Cross-Discipline Design Imperative, is for all of the Creative Generalists out there who have, over the years, emailed me to lament that nobody's hiring generalists:

There is a tremendous demand for design thinkers today. In industry and in consulting, those who can marry creative right-brain thinking and analytical left-brain thinking are at a premium. That's because innovation often happens not in the center of a discipline but in the space between disciplines, and right now a lot of new value is being found at the intersection of design and business. Professionals who can understand and respect both sides are at an advantage in our increasingly creative economy.

There is definitely a major shift underway and at its core is a growing recognition of the enormous value that a whole / intersectional / systems / design / long-view / intertwingled / interdisciplinary / multicultural / T-Shaped / versatilist / creative generalist approach actually has on business, research, innovation, arts, organizations, education, society, and life. It's immensely exciting to see more and more articles like this and to learn of all of increasing number of initiatives taking advantage of it.

[Take, for example, one of the examples mentioned in the article: the "Support Design Education" project. Check out the great video they put together describing it.]

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Top-10 gift ideas for the Linux Gadget Geek

Top-10 gift ideas for the Linux Gadget Geek
Top-10 gift ideas for the Linux Gadget Geek Nov. 09, 2007

Got a Linux Gadget Geek on your shopping list? You can't fail with a gift from this guide to the ten hottest Linux-powered devices gleaned from LinuxDevices.com's news throughout 2007. There's something for everyone, at prices from $150 to $1,000, organized from least to most expensive. Enjoy!


Top-10 gift ideas for the Linux Gadget Geek


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PMP does WiFi, downloads music, runs Linux -- Flash memory and consumer device specialist SanDisk is shipping the first portable multimedia player (PMP) able to download music directly via WiFi, without the use of a PC. The "Sansa Connect," which runs embedded Linux and Mono, connects directly to online music services via WiFi. About $150 for the 4GB version.


Linux IM pad beefs up, invites hacking -- Zipit Wireless has updated its Linux-based, WiFi-connected instant messaging client for kids and other frequent IM users. The new $150 Zipit Wireless Messenger 2 (Z2) adds a color screen, a faster processor, and expansion interfaces likely to prove popular among both kids and Linux hackers.


Linux-based programmable clock device ships -- Chumby is shipping its Linux-powered device designed for the bedside, desktop, and kitchen counter. The alarm-clock sized "Chumby" has hackable hardware, software, and outerware, connects via WiFi, and can be programmed to display everything from clock faces to stock quotes. $180 with free shipping.


Motorola touts updated Linux/Java phone platform -- The MotoRokr Z6 (vendor site) is the first of Motorola's Linux phones to be widely sold in the U.S. It's a music-oriented slider phone, and you can buy one for $275, or two for about $500, as long as you don't mind them both being the same color. Formerly known as the MotoRizr Z6 when first announced, the phone uses an innovative single-chip, dual core architecture with a single memory bank, for longer battery life, among other geek-pleasing features.


iPhone-like Linux phone ready for hackers -- A project to build an open, user-extensible Linux-based mobile phone has opened its online store for business. About 1,000 OpenMoko Neo1973 phones are available initially, primarily targeting hackers and developers, with general availability of a "mass market" phone expected this Fall. Price: $300 to $450, depending on whether or not you want the "hacker" edition (you know THE GEEK will!)


Linux-powered Asus Eee PC mini-laptop arrives -- The Xandros Linux-powered mini-PC has finally arrived. One of the most eagerly awaited laptops in some time, the tiny Asus Eee PC 4G is now available from online retailers that include Newegg and Directon, albeit priced higher than originally expected, at nearly $400. A sub-$300 model should follow by mid-November, however.


Nokia unveils Linux-powered N810 Internet Tablet -- This is probably the one they really want. This new version of Nokia's Linux-based Internet tablet is smaller, heavier, and faster than the older N800, with new features that include a slide-out hardware QWERTY thumb keyboard, GPS receiver, FM transmitter (for in-car listening), and a light-sensing screen dimmer. It runs Maemo Linux, one of the flagship examples of how well open source development can work, and costs about $380. The older N800 has the same internals, and is just as good for users not planning to do email/IMing on the device. It sells for as little as $250, and still seems to be in production.


OLPC "Give 1, Get 1" promo starts Nov. 12 in the U.S. -- One Laptop Per Child's "XO" device -- commonly referred to as the $100 Linux laptop -- will be offered as part of a "Give 1, Get 1" promotional program in the U.S. and Canada beginning Nov. 12. Total cost of doing a good deed for your child and one in a foreign land? About $380.


Mot's Linux phone arrives at U.S. stores -- In October, Motorola sent out a mass email inviting recipients to "experience" its Linux-based RAZR2 V8 phone "at your nearest mobile phone store." The first of Mot's "iconic" Razr line to use Linux, the V8 may have been delayed, however, as it still doesn't seem to be available as of Nov. 7 from major U.S. GSM/GPRS providers like AT&T (formerly Cingular), Sprint, and T-Mobile. You can find unlocked versions for about $500. Motorola has also announced a "Luxury Edition" with 24K gold plating and fake snakeskin, which probably costs even more.


Linux device makes good, better, Best -- Another Linux-based gadget has broken into the mainstream consumer electronics marketplace. The Sonos Digital Music System, first introduced in 2006, but updated several times in 2007 with features such as WM11 file support, is now available in more than 450 Best Buy retail outlets in the U.S. A basic two-room setup costs about $1,000, including a nifty Linux-based handheld controller.


And, an honorable mention...

Linux-powered prophylactic protects Vista PC -- The Yoggie Pico is a Linux-powered, USB-interfaced firewall squished into a thumb drive-sized package. The device can be found online for $150 or less.