Category: observations

"My research suggests that, at least in terms of the mobile phone, these early adopters say that having the most advanced mobile phone technology makes them feel like they are living at the edge of tomorrow. The technology gives them a sense of the possible and the unprecedented. Thus in a very real sense, they not only have a feeling that they are living in the future, but – by having new powers and experiences that only recently became technologically feasible – in many senses they already are… The barrier between communication technology and body, once quite distinct, is becoming less so. The trend will continue: many future users will want their communication machines to be one with their physical bodies and social selves. "

"Twitter users who lack an audience for their messages can now buy followers. Australian social media marketing company uSocial is offering a paid service that finds followers for users of the micro-blogging service."

"The re-establishment of a parliamentary Science and Technology Committee was approved on Thursday. The committee will be made up of the same members as the existing Innovation, Universities, Skills, and Science Committee (IUSS)."

"Under the arrangement, the companies said they will work together on chip design and open-source software. Intel recently has entered that field with its Linux-based operating system called Moblin, designed to function on portable devices, and Nokia has a Linux-based operating system, dubbed Maemo. In addition, Intel will license some modem technology from Nokia."

BBC 'Click' makes some claims about what MIT is 'inventing': "MIT – is a breeding ground for boffins – the next generation of gadget creators. Ten thousand students, five schools and one college including the famed Media Lab make up MIT – which has an annual research budget of well over $500m (£302m). Every year hundreds of new inventions and patents are created at MIT and millions of dollars are earned in royalties from previous projects that have become public. So what's next?"

China begins to ban 'gold farming': "Cash earned in games in China can no longer be spent on real world goods. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce policy aims to limit the impact of game currencies on real-world markets. In the future, any cash earned by Chinese gamers can only be spent to acquire items or equipment in that particular game."

Urban Atmospheres/ CommonSense (a la Intel Berkeley) -style public sensing project, led by Imperial College: "Cyclists, buses, cars and even pedestrians will become mobile pollution detectors in an initiative launched on Tuesday. Led by Imperial College London, the project will trial three types of mobile, wireless pollution sensor. These will measure traffic pollutants throughout the UK, and transmit their data via the mobile phone network."

Telecommuting gets 'mobilised' (again) for the noughties, the beeb reports: "Today work is somewhere you travel to – in the future work will come to you. So says a report attempting to work out what the offices and workplaces of 2030 will be like. It predicts that as workforces get more mobile, technology will ensure that everything an employee needs is available no matter where they are."

"The Zoombak Universal A-GPS locator helps you stay connected to the things that matter the most by allowing you to actively locate what you are tracking in real-time and on-demand. It is a simple and ingenious way to keep track of items that need keeping track of – including children, bicycles, pets, backpacks and more!" Is there an equivalence between the list of those things?!

"An intelligent, mobile-phone-based social network is being tested by researchers at Hewlett Packard. Friendlee analyses calls and messages to build up a picture of a person's closest correspondents." Bernardo Huberman is at it again, a quantitative algorithmic analysis is s'posed to give a reflection of your social life. An interesting experiment, possibly a disaster in personal privacy.

Neat and simple visualisation of wirelessly communicable objects.

Testing M$ 'natal', good review (with video) if a little gushing: "I haven't been quite this blown away by a tech demo in a long time. It looked neat onstage at Microsoft's keynote. Seeing it, feeling it in person, makes me want to believe that this what the future of gaming looks like–no buttons, no joysticks, no wands. The only thing left to get rid of is the screen, and even that'll happen soon enough."

More ubicomp near-futurism: "One coming change in the cityscape that I’m expecting will be subtle, but pervasive: technology folks call it “ubiquitous computing.” The city will be alive with information, even more so than it is now. Every object–street signs, food carts, trains and busses, and especially people–will be digitally connected into an “internet of things.” It sounds Buck Rogers but in many ways it’s here already: Metrocards are connected to bank accounts, cell phones know where you are (and what’s nearby), signs on some subway platforms know when the next train is due to arrive."

Scientific spectac-ulation "To generate this list of contributors, I approached some of today's leading scientists and asked them to name some of the rising stars in their respective disciplines: those who, in their research, are tackling some of science's toughest questions and raising new ones. The list that resulted amounts to a representative who's who of the coming generation of scientists." Scientists have all the 'answers'…

"Changing the model of pedagogy for this generation is crucial for the survival of the university. If students turn away from a traditional university education, this will erode the value of the credentials universities award, their position as centers of learning and research, and as campuses where young people get a change to "grow up.""

Hmm. "”The technology will provide the location of the individual wearing the shoes within 30 feet, anywhere on the planet,” said Andrew Carle, an assistant professor at George Mason University who served as an advisor on the project."