I Love the Wii.

More women are playing games, and the Wii has grabbed a good portion of attention from them, especially with titles such as Wii Fit.

While some say this is due to Nintendo's marketing strategy, in my opinion, I think it is because Nintendo developed a system that is non-geek and family-friendly. When I first heard of the Wii, they were in short supply. I spent quite a bit of time stalking out the local GameStop stores to buy one. I wasn't the only female doing the same thing.

Think about it. The Wii was introduced just at the time when prices of large flat-panel TVs were coming down, making them more affordable to families. Although Dad might have hankered for a large-screen TV to watch sports, any Mom in her right mind would want to multi-purpose such an expense. If you have to have a huge TV messing up your family room decor, it makes sense to use it for multiple purposes, like playing the Wii.

Not long after the Wii made it home, it eventually sprouted legs and was adopted by my young adult daughters.  Now the only way I get to play the Wii is if I make the trip uptown, a 30 minute drive. And if everyone is playing Rock Band, I have to wait my turn to play the drums.

I need to buy another Wii!  I think it will carry me through old age:






It will help me keep my girlish figure (this is NOT a picture of me, by the way)






Seriously, the Wii is turning out to be handy for folks, young and old,  with health problems:

Pulse Sensing:  Wii Vitality Sensor


Here is a video showing how the Wii is used at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital's brain injury program:


Since more therapists and nurses are female, it stands to reason that a game console such as the Wii, which is very user-friendly, would be top on the list for use in health and rehabilitation settings.

The Wii is the focus of research with the elderly:
An exploratory study on senior citizen's perceptions of the Nintendo Wii: the case of Singapore International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology, 2009

Here is a video of what seems to be an HCI student testing out the Wii with her grandparents:





Nintendo might have some competition once Microsoft's Project Natal comes to market. Natal doesn't require any sort of device to interact with the games. For more information about the latest in games for health and "exergames",  take a look at the following blogs:

• Exergame Lab
• Befitt
• Exergame Fitness
• Exergaming Australia
• Exergaming Evangelist
• FootGaming
• Gamercize
• GamerSize
• Health Gamers
• TEN = ExerGame Network
• Humana's Games for Health Website
  Conference:  Games for Health 2010
  

RELATED

Nintendo Boasts 9 Million Player Advantage Among Female Console Gamers
Video Games in Play
 "And despite the stereotypes about teenage males, gamers are not monolithic. In fact, 45% of active gamers are female and women account for half (49%) of all Wii owners and 52% of Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) owners."
Seniors Bowled Over by Wii
Wii-habilitation could prevent elderly from falls
(Thanks to Josh B. for pointing out the how the stats could be a problem. I still can't find the original research!"

From a post-WIMP Perspective: What Happens When Post-Mass Market Goes to Market? Bob Garfield's insightful video, and more.(link)..

From a post-WIMP Perspective: What Happens When Post-Mass Market Goes to Market? Bob Garfield's insightful video, and more...

(No time to cross-post)

IDEO's Human Centered Design Toolkit - A MUST READ and a great resource!

Update 12/3/12:  The IDEO HCD Toolkit is available for download, but you will need to sign up in order to download the free 105-page copy on the IDEO  HCD Connect website.


The 105-page document is a great resource from IDEO, a global design consultancy.  It is clearly written and contains a variety of pictures, charts, and diagrams that facilitate the understanding of concepts.  A 61-page field guide is also available for download, and provides support for facilitators of design projects to lead group meetings and individual interviews. It includes exercises that teams should complete before going out into the field.


"Why Human-Centered Design?"
"Because it can help your organization connect better with the people you serve.  It can transform data into actionable ideas.  It can help you to see new opportunities.  It can help to increase the speed and effectiveness of creating new solutions." -IDEO


The HCD Toolkit, 2nd Edition, was prepared for use by organizations that work with communities of need, primarily in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which is important for high school students to know about, particularly those who are pretty sure about pursuing further education in a technology-related field.  


I also think that exposure to concepts related to human-centered design focused on work in developing countries would be helpful to encourage more female students to enroll in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses.  (This still is a significant problem. Both of the high schools I work at have very few girls in the computer programming classes, even though both schools have at least one female who teaches programming!)


At any rate, I think this toolkit should be a MUST READ for anyone interested in emerging technologies and human-centered design, anywhere on the planet. It transcends the concept of "design as a job that must be done" to something that can facilitate broader innovation across organizations, our communities, and the world.


The toolkit is full of tidbits of wisdom:


"Tip 1" (addresses the measurement of outcomes, akin to the "miracle question" used in solution-focused therapy/counseling/consulting.)
"Ask yourself what you would expect to see happening if the solutions were improving the lives of people. For example, if your goal was to increase household income, would women starting more businesses be an early indicator? If your goal was to increase childhood vaccinations, would the number of casual conversations about vaccines be a possible indicator?" -page 99
"Tip 2"
"It is critical to track the effects of solutions on men and women, young and old, empowered and disempowered – even if your ideas are focused on other groups. Often the group that is not the intended audience for the solutions is a key player in the implementation and use of solutions." -page 99


The toolkit also provides useful cautions:
"Watch Out"
"Often teams look for only the positive and intended consequences. To get a full view of impact, it is critical to challenge yourself to look for the negative and unintended
consequences of solutions." -page 99


The toolkit provides specific strategies, including helpful worksheets and forms, and good advice about story sharing, prototyping, identification of patterns, and so forth. Below is an example:





-IDEO



-IDEO, via Fast Company
Note:  The Human-Centered Design Toolkit was developed with the International Development Enterprises (IDE), Heifer International, ICRW, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

RELATED (and somewhat related)
Design Thinking for Social Innovation (Stanford Social Innovation Review,Tim Brown & Jocelyn Wyatt, Winter 2010)
IDEO's Guide to Designing for Social Impact
About IDEO:
Founded in 1991, IDEO is a global innovation and design firm that uses a human-centered, design-based approach to help organizations in the business, governments, education, healthcare, and social sectors grow and innovate.
Open-Source Innovation:  IDEO's Human-Centered Design Toolkit (Fast Company, Allisa Walker, 7/7/09)
Video: CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown, on Creativity, Play, and Innovation
(Touches on how our schools and work environments can and do suck out our playfulness and creativity, and provides interesting, simple suggestions.)

Update! The Post-WIMP Conversation: Some Thoughts About Conceptualizing NUI, Part I

The content of this post has been moved. For the most recent update of this post, please see:


The Post-WIMP Explorers Club:  Update of the Updates, Morning of 12/31/09

"The Known Universe Scientifically Rendered for All to See" (Americal Museum of Natural History via O'Reilly Radar)

-Astronomy Picture of the Day 


THIS IS BEAUTIFUL:


The Known Universe Scientifically Rendered for All to See
This six and 1/2 minute trailer is from a 60 minute experience, "The Known Universe: A Grand Tour with Brian Abbott", based on information from the Digital Universe Atlas, a four-dimensional map of the universe  maintained by the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. (The video was uploaded to YouTube on December 15th,2009 and has had 1,473,213 views in less than two weeks.)

"The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010. "


RELATED
Digital Universe Atlas 
You can download the Digital Universe Atlas, from the American Museum of Natural History website.  It will run on Windows, Mac, Linux, and IREX.  I'd recommend downloading the "Digital Universe Uncut" if you are a parent, teacher, or student.


Astrophyics Visualization Archive
"Explore astrophysics through scientific visualization and animation."


American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
AMNH's Space Show:  Journey to the Stars
"Journey to the Stars is an engrossing, immersive theater experience created by the Museum's astrophysicists, scientific visualization, and media production experts with the cooperation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and more than 40 leading scientists from the United States and abroad."


The Science of "Journey to the Stars"


Directing Journey to the Stars (Includes an interview of Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at the American Museum of Natural History)

HDMI Version 1.4, 3D HDTV, and Wireless HD

My husband surprised me with a new HD TV to replace the old non-HD "clunker" that was taking up space in an armoire in our bedroom.  I went to attach my HD video camera to the new TV, and realized that three-foot HDMI cable was much too small.   Knowing how fast everything changes with technology, I decided I should research HDMI before setting out to purchase a longer cable.  

There is more to know about HDMI than I thought!   Here's what I found so far:

There is an organization dedicated to HDMI standards, HDMI Licensing, LLC that provides a wealth of information about HDMI.  It's worth taking the time to review the information contained on HDMI website, specifically, the following two links:

• FAQ for HDMI 1.4

• HDMI 1.4 Specification Features (pdf)   (Steve Venuti, HDMI LLC 2009)

Key points about HDMI 1.4 from the HDMI website and the Specification Features overview:

• Consolidation of HD Video, audio, and data in a single cable.
• Enables high-speed bidirectional communication.
• Enables IP-based applications over HDMI. (Ethernet)
• Transfer speeds up to 100Mbps.
• Supports audio return channel.
• Can support up to 10.2 gigabits per second of bandwidth transmission
• HDMI 1.4 is the latest standard. It includes definitions for common 3D formats and resolutions, up to 1080p.
• HDMI 1.4 supports 4K x 2K resolution, which is the resolution of state-of-the art digital theaters and up to 4 times the resolution of 1080p.
• Allows for the optimization of picture settings based on type of content.
• Supports digital still camera-specific colors.
• Allows for smaller HDMI connectors, ideal for portable devices.
• Provides "High Definition Everywhere" support, with an automotive connection system designed to work effectively in vehicles.

About HDMI Version Numbers (from the HDMI website)

"HDMI version numbers are used by manufacturers to identify a set of features. To help you shop for the features you want in a cable, the HDMI licensing authority has created standardized names for certain key features. Here are a few:

• Deep Color refers to monitors that can display a greater number of colors than traditional TVs, billions or trillions of colors rather than millions.
• x.v.Color refers to an expanded, "wider" color gamut that includes colors not traditionally available in TVs. The x.v.Color space incorporates a much larger portion of the visible color spectrum than the older RGB color model.
• Standard and High Speed refer to two grades of HDMI cable, tested to different performance metrics. A Standard cable can transmit a 1080i signal for 15 meters (49 feet) or more, while a High Speed HDMI cable can transmit a 1080p signal for at least 7.5 meters (25 feet)."

Podcasts about HDMI

The podcasts focus on HDMI 1.3, but also provides information about HDMI for the future

• An Insider's Guide to HDMI, Part 1
• An Insider's Guide to HDMI, Part 2

The podcasts feature interviews with Jeff Park and Steve Venuti from HDMI Licensing, via  Dolby Labs "Dolby cast".  Topics covered include HD devices, HDMI feature sets, capabilities, and HDMI versions.  The podcast also touches upon previous problems with firmware deployment, as well as wireless HD, which is not part of the HDMI specifications.

ENGADGET

HDMI 1.4 spec getting freshened up in preparation for broadcast 3D

Richard Lawler, 12/23/09

According to Lawler,  the various companies are working towards standards, but we're not there yet. More information about HDMI 1.4 will be available at 2010 CES, held January 7-10 in Las Vegas.

-Photo of 3D video camera courtesy of Engadget.

SOMEWHAT RELATED

Wireless HD

The following is a direct quote from the Wireless HD website:

"Broadcom Corporation, Intel Corporation, LG Electronics Inc., NEC Corporation,Panasonic Corporation, Philips Electronics, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD, SiBEAM, Inc., Sony Corporation and Toshiba Corporation, have joined together to form the WirelessHD Consortium, an industry-led effort to define a worldwide standard specification for the next generation wireless digital network interface specification for consumer electronics and personal computing products. The WirelessHD specification has been available since January 2008 and includes the following attributes:

• High interoperability supported by major CE device and technology manufacturers
• Highest quality HD video, audio and data transmission, scalable to future high-definition A/V formats
• High-speed wireless, multi-gigabit technology in the unlicensed 60 GHz band
• Smart antenna technology for reliable non-line-of-sight operation
• Secure communications with DTCP and HDCP over WirelessHD technology
• Device control for simple operation of consumer electronics products using the basic remote control that ships with the TV
• Error protection, framing and timing control techniques for a quality consumer experience
• Low power options for mobile devices"

Dolby Labs Podcasts

Dolby 3D

Cross-posted on The World Is My Interface blog.

Touch, Multi-Touch & Gesture Responsive Web & Related Applications (helpful if you have a touch screen or IWB!)

I regularly share information about applications that work well on touch, multi-touch, and/or gesture-based screens.  Over the past few months, there have been updates and new developments that I'm still exploring. (Some of this information might be "old" news, but for many, it will be "new".)

Here's what I have to share today!

Be sure to explore the activities from the Kids section of the National Gallery of Art website, located at the end of this post.

MULTI-TOUCH FIREFOX

Sneak Peek on Multi-touch Events   Felipe Gomes, Felipe's Blog

Multi-touch on Firefox from Felipe on Vimeo.

Code Snippets from Felipe's Demo (Includes tracking divs, drawing canvas, image resizing, image crop, & pong) Mozilla Wiki
Bringing Multi-touch to Firefox and the Web
Christopher Blizzard, Mozilla Hacks

COOL IRIS
I have a hunch that someone out there is working on a multi-touch version of Cool Iris. Until I can find out the details, take a look at the videos below:


Cool Iris Overview on Google Chrome


 Here is a short video of what Cool Iris looks like on an iPhone:



Cool Iris Links
Cool Iris and iPhone
Cool Iris and Developers
Cool Iris Blog
Cool Iris Media/Press


About Cool Iris:   "Cooliris, Inc. was founded in January 2006 with a simple mantra: "Think beyond the browser". We focus on creating products that make discovering and enjoying the Web more exciting, efficient, and personal.Our core products include Cooliris (formerly PicLens), which transforms your browser into an interactive, full-screen "cinematic" experience for web media, and CoolPreviews, which lets you preview links instantly. Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, our team consists of seasoned developers, entrepreneurs, and Stanford computer engineers. Each of us is passionate about serving our users without compromise and seeing that our products deliver the best experience."


BUMPTOP
Bumptop Gets Multi-touch Support on Windows 7


Bumptop Website
You can download Bumptop from the Bumptop website.  Here's the description:
"BumpTop is a fun, intuitive 3D desktop that keeps you organized and makes you more productive.  Like a real desk, but better.  Now with awesome mouse and multi-touch gestures!"
Anand Agarawala's Ted Talk

"Anand Agarawala presents BumpTop, a user interface that takes the usual desktop metaphor to a glorious, 3-D extreme, transforming file navigation into a freewheeling playground of crumpled documents and clipping-covered "walls.""

Discussion about Bumptop on the TED website

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART KIDS
I've been compiling a list of websites that offer good touch-interaction.  One site that is good for children- and children at heart- is the National Gallery of Art's Kids pages.  There are a few entries that I had fun playing with students on the new SMARTboards at one of my schools:

FACES AND PLACES - LANDSCAPE




"FACES & PLACES encourages children of all ages to create portraits and landscape paintings in the style of American naive artists. By combining visual elements borrowed from more than 100 works in the National Gallery's permanent collection, this two-part interactive activity offers an overview of American folk art of the 18th and 19th centuries.(Shockwave, 6 MB)."


This one is so fun!  You can select different characters and make them dance, run, jump, or even fall.  You can design the landscape and add buildings, trees, and animals, and even change the sky pattern.  Press "go", and your character will travel around the panorama you've created.


DUTCH DOLL HOUSE


Dutch Dollhouse  (Shockwave, 4.6 MB)
"Mix and match colorful characters, create decorative objects, and explore the kitchen, living quarters, artist's studio, and courtyard of this interactive 17th-century Dutch House."


NGA KIDS JUNGLE



"Create a tropical jungle filled with tigers, monkeys, and other exotic creatures. Inspired by the art of Henri Rousseau, NGAkids Jungle is an interactive art activity for kids of all ages. (Shockwave, 930k)"


What I liked about the Jungle application is that each item can be easily customized.  On the SMARTBoard, as well as on my HP TouchSmart PC, it is very easy for a student who has limited fine-motor control to create beautiful pictures.


FLOW

"Flow is a motion painting machine for children of all ages. Enjoy watching the changing patterns and colors as you mix pictures on two overlapping layers. Choose  designs from four sets of menu icons, or add to the flow by clicking the pencil tool to create your own designs."


This application is a favorite of some of the students I work with who enjoy watching things spin. (You don't have to have an autism spectrum disorder to enjoy playing with Flow!)

National Gallery of Art Student and Teacher Online Resources

DYI multi-touch...

If you follow this blog, you know I like to share what people are doing with multi-touch and related natural user interfaces/interaction. In this post, I'd like to share an article about two students who decided to build and market a multi-touch table- the article below explains the story in-depth, and video shows the nuts and bolts.


Enterprising roomates build multi-touch LCD, market their business to West Coast*
Walter Valencia, Collegiate Times 12/1/09

According to the above article, Aaron Bitler and Brady Simpson they were inspired by CNN's Magic Wall during the 2008 election.  Bitler and Simpson learned more about natural user interface/interaction during a presentation in a business class that featured a video about the Microsoft Surface table and natural user interface technologies.  They formed a company, 3M8,  to build and market mutli-touch display/tables.

Vision x32 from Aaron Bitler on Vimeo.

From what I can tell, it looks like Bitler and Simpson relied on the DYI information and support from the NUI-group website to carry out their ideas. Bitler and Simpson met with representatives of 22Miles, a company located in San Jose that provides interactive solutions, including multi-touch, for web, mobile, and touch screen implementations.

I'll post more about 22Miles in an upcoming post.

Until then, take a look at 22Miles' promo video, featuring a huge 3D interactive multi-touch heart:

A few things from LM3Labs

I just noticed an interactive section of Lm3labs' website that demonstrates a range of interesting pictures that provide a nice overview of the company's work within the retail sector.  Lm3labs has offices in France and Japan.

The company, run by Nicolas Loeillot, is also involved in non-retail projects, such as museum exhibits, focusing on "touch-less" interactivity.  I've included a few pictures and videos below.

Microsoft's Photosynth on Lm3lab's touch-less Ubiq'window:

Photosynth + Ubiq'window Interactive Screen
by ubiqwindow

Demo of video-guide on a Ubiq'window:

Ubiq'window Demo in the US from Nicolas Loeillot on Vimeo.

Pictures of Lm3Lab's installations at Toshiba:
 





Somewhat Related
Nicolas Loeillot's Photos

Flowing Data's Best Visualizations of 2009 (Nathan Yau): "It was a huge year for data"

"Data has been declared sexy, and the rise of the data scientist is here."  -Nathan Yau, Flowing Data
I started following Nathan Yau's Flowing Data blog nearly 2 years ago, when I was in Robert Kosara's information visualization/visual communication class at UNC-C.  What a great blog!  


Here is the short list- visit Flowing Data for the pics and details:
Honorable Mention:  MTV VMA Tweet Tracker
Honorable Mention:  Crisis of Credit Visualized (animation)
5.  Microsoft's Photosynth
4. New York Times' The Jobless Rate for People Like You
3. Open Street Map: A Year of Edits
2. Stanford University's  Protovis
1. Ben Fry's On the Origin of Species: The Preservation of Favored Traces


RELATED
Ben Fry's Origin of the Species: The Preservation of Favored Traces

Protovis
NYT's Jobless Rate for People Like You
Photosynth Website (Christmas lights featured on main page today 12/25/09  "Mintz Family Christmas")

Open Street Map
Crisis of Credit, Visualized
MTV MTA Tweet Tracker


SOMEWHAT RELATED
Dr. Kosara's EagerEyes site is a great resource to follow- I especially like his link to the History of Visual Communication website.
The Three Sexy Skills of Data Geeks (Michael E. Driscoll Dataspora Blog, 5/27/09)
Michael Driscoll's Book Recommendation:
The Elements of Statistical Learning:  Data Mining, Inference, and Prediction, Second Edition

Stanford University Viz Group


NOTICE
I'm gathering information about good examples of user-friendly multi-user interactive information visualization applications, preferably on multi-touch or gesture-based systems. Leave a comment and a link if you can point me in the right direction!

About Digital Out of Home

"Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is a dynamic, fragmented, and rapidly evolving space. It's one of the fastest growing media channels, with year-over-year growth pegged in the double digits through at least 2011....as with many emerging media channels, DOOH is a bit of a gray area in terms of what type of agency should own strategy, planning, and buying. A traditional agency because TV spots can be repurposed? The OOH shop because it's just a digital version of a billboard? The interactive shop because it's digital, often interactive, and highly measurable? Or will a new class of DOOH specialty shops emerge to deliver services explicitly for the channel? This lack of clarity creates uncertainty and
hesitation in advertisers."
-Jeremy Lockhorn, ClickZ  7/13/09 Digital Out-of-Home Landscape Brief (pdf)


This is an industry that is beginning to take off, just as internet-based advertising and web-design/user experience did during the 1990's. The number of players, and potential players, is growing.


For more information, resources, and links, see the rest of the post:  What is DOOH and Why Should We Care?
(The World Is My Interface)

More tech news I missed while I was out holiday shopping!

While I was shopping:
Via Boy Genius, 12/23/09: Apple tablet definitely coming in 7" size?
Via Andrew Lyle, Neowin.Net 12/23/09: Apple to Demo 7" tablet in January?
Via Dan Frommer, The Business Insider, 12/23/09: Apple to Demo Tablet in January, Asks Developers to Get Apps Ready
"We assume tablets -- or at least multi-touch screen technology -- will eventually penetrate more Apple product lines, including portable Macs and maybe even desktop Macs."
Via Neil Hughes, Apple Insider, 12/23/09: Piper:  75% Chance of Apple Jan. Even, 50% likelihood of tablet
"Numerous reports this week have claimed that Apple is in talks with CBS and Disney in an attempt to offer a subscription plan for TV shows. Sources have said that both companies are currently considering an offer from Apple that would provide them $2 to $4 per month for a subscriber to a broadcast network like CBS or ABC, and $1 to $2 per month for subscribers to a basic cable network."
Via Neil Hughes, AppleInsider 12/9/09: Tablet rumors:  February production start, 10-inch LCD Screen

MORE TOUCHSCREEN ALL-IN-ONES and LAPTOP/TABLETS
Packard-Bell's Viseo 200 Touch Edition Monitor






Packard-Bell's EasyNote Butterfly Touch Edition

The laptop has a screen size of 11.6 inches, and a 1366 x 768 screen resolution, running Windows 7 Home Premioum. Includes WiFi, microphone, VGA webcam, and has options for 3G, Bluetooth, a card reader, and HDMI i/o.
Via Electonista, 12/23/09: Lenovo netbooks surface with Pine Trail, multi-touch
Via Electronista, 12/23/09: 500,000 Nooks by March, New Orders due February
I was at Barnes & Noble yesterday and came across a touch-screen kiosk where customers could find out more about the Nook and put in their orders. There was a notice that said that the Nook would not be available until February.  It must have generated some interest, since I noticed people surfing the information on the kiosk during the time I was there.

The Nook

Via Electronista, 12/22/09: OLPC teases $75 tablet features, images: OLPC X0-3 may get camera, wireless power According to Electronista, the tablet uses a Pixel Qi display.
See my blog post for more information about the display: Mary Lou Jepsen, Inventor of Pixel Qi Technology, Discusses Screen Technologies & Multi-touch Tablets


Via Electronista, 12/10/09:  Dell Streak tablet due at CES? Dell Android tablet may debutSOMEWHAT RELATED
I was reading a review from Engadget about Lenovo's Pine Trail tablet, and found one of the comments amusing.  Manufacturers need to listen to the people, but often, they don't. Apparently the prototype had a glossy screen, which is something that might enhance the picture, but for some, has drawbacks.
Here is a comment by someone who calls himself "Old fogie late bloomer":
"God... listen, manufacturers... I don't want to see my hands reflected in my screen, I don't want to see my fat gut reflected in my screen, I don't want to see my (admittedly handsome) face reflected in the screen, I don't want to see the people behind me reflected in my screen; all I want to see is what the screen is displaying!  GO BACK TO MATTE!" 

Google Nexus One SmartPhone News (what I missed while I was holiday shopping...)

If you don't know this by now:

Via Chris Ziegler, Engadget 12/23/09
"Exlusive: Nexus One full specs detailed, invite-only retail sales starting January 5th?"
 (Here you will find all of the specs.)


Via Ross Miller, Engadget:12/22/09
Google Nexus One stands with iPhone and Hero, interface gets a 5-minute walkthrough

Atreblatrebla's You Tube Video: Nexus One Google Phone HTC Android 2.1 Preview FR


Via Ross Miller, Engadget 12/22/09
Another Google Nexus One Sighting, this time a wee bit more clear

This article is a good read - it discusses business models in the tech industry, something that has puzzled me for a while.

Via Michael Gartenberg, Engadget 12/15/09
Entelligence:  A Google hone could be the death of Android
"Without a doubt, the big buzz since the weekend has been over the "Google Phone," an HTC-built device called the Nexus One handed out to Google employees last week in what Google describes as a "mobile lab." Confirmed to be running Android 2.1, the Nexus One has once again raised the idea of Google selling unlocked devices directly to consumers. (Google has been selling unlocked HTC Android phones for some time, but only to developers.)"   -


Comment
I thought about getting a "Droid", since my family is locked into Verizon.  That's why I never got an iPhone - but the Droid's sharp edges didn't feel very comfortable in my hand.  After reading Creative Applications.Net's "15 Best and Must Have iPhone Apps of 2009", I want Santa to bring a few sleigh-fulls of iPhones to Verizon.

At the bookstore yesterday, I was pleased to see that there were all kinds of books about developing iPhone apps and games in the computer section!

I think I know why.
Barnes & Noble and the iPhone friended each other!


According to Jennifer R. Bergen's ZDNET article about the Barnes & Noble iPhone app, "the coolest part of the app is that it allows you to use your camera to take a photo of a CD, book, or DVD cover, and then immediately receive product details, editorial reviews, and customer ratings, as well as find and reserve a copy."  


Bergen goes on to further discuss the eReader app, which "offers iPhone/iPod touch users, as well as BlackBerry smartphone, and PC and Mac users, the ability to have instant access to more than 750,000 eBook titles. If you want to pay an extra $9.99, you can get hundreds of new eBook releases and eBook bestsellers. The app also allows you to modify the type, size, and font and annotate and bookmark text."

Multi-touch Linux on a Stantum SlatePC & more

-Stephane Chatty, Benjamin Tissoires; Video by G. Tabart


Information from the YouTube video:
"This video, shot by ENAC's Interactive Computing Laboratory, demonstrates how one can use out-of-the-box Linux applications with multitouch displays, using the lab's kernel drivers and modified X.org evdev driver. See http://lii-enac.fr/en/projects/shareit/xorg.html for technical details. This work was done during project ShareIT, carried out with Thales Avionics, IntuiLab and Stantum, and sponsored by Aerospace Valley. The ShareIT project explores the use of multitouch interaction for future commercial aircraft cockpits."


The multi-touch software shown in the video was created by IntuiLab.  The Slate PC multi-touch hardware was built by Stantum.  Later in the video, the software is shown running on a MERL DiamondTouch


RELATED
Project ShartIT, ENAC:

ENAC Interactive Computing Laboratory, University of Toulouse, France


Multitouch Interaction: Some Background (from ENAC)


List & Description of some multi-touch devices (from ENAC)


IntuiLab Showroom Pictures


Stantum: Notes from Guillame:
"Key to the expansion of multi-touch is finding the killer app."