Kicker Touchscreen Conference Phone (front)

Kicker Touchscreen Conference Phone (front)
Originally uploaded by Kicker Studio

I am a fan of the work by Kicker Studios. I especially enjoy reading their blog that gives great details about how product design is done. I always come away from the blog with something new.

In the case of the touch-screen conference phone, the designers focused on their own needs, since they spend a chunk of time in conference calls. To get a closer look at the design process behind this phone, see the blog post, " Product Concept: Touch Screen Conference Phone".

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I learned that Twitter was hacked, just after I blogged about privacy & security & emerging technologies..

After reading a few things about emerging technologies and concerns about privacy and security, I posted the following to my Technology-Supported Human-World Interaction blog.

Pervasive Computing, DOOH, Intelligent Buildings, Programmable Nano Sensors, Privacy & Security & Ethics.. hmmm

Right after that, I learned that Twitter was hacked. Here is the TechCrunch article:

In Our Inbox: Hundreds Of Confidential Twitter Documents

"Here’s a dilemma: The guy (”Hacker Croll”) who claims to have accessed hundreds of confidential corporate and personal documents of Twitter and Twitter employees, is releasing those documents publicly and sent them to us earlier today. The zip file contained 310 documents, ranging from executive meeting notes, partner agreements and financial projections to the meal preferences, calendars and phone logs of various Twitter employee".

I think issues related to privacy, security, ethics, and emerging/social technologies need to be discussed more extensively among academicians, industry leaders, students, and the general public. We don't know what we don't know.

Mobile Gesture Design at Nokia: Gesture Interaction Around the World

From the Nokia Conversations YouTube Channel:


The video explains it all.

(Fritz Desir, thanks for the link!)

Multi-touch Virtual Poker?!

Andrew Milner, of Perth, Australia, recently developed the Hold'Em 1000 Virtual Poker Table. The system provide video streaming of all players, and tracks every player action. Take a look at the video:


I don't play poker, so I don't really know if it would be more exciting to play the virtual version of the game. I don't have the $20,000.00 on hand to find out, but I am sure that this table would be well-received at high-end club that serves the rich, trendy, and famous.

For more information, visit videopokertable.net.

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"Wake Up Your Feelings" ad campaign for the HP TouchSmart PC: Harnessing interactive digital story-telling.

I am not sure if this is an ad campaign for the HP TouchSmart PC, or just a pitch that was entered into the New York Festivals competition. It won a Silver and a Bronze.

This is the scoop from XM Asia Pacific (RGM Connect) about the campaign:

"Our clients came to us for a campaign to launch the HP TouchSmart Desktop PC, the first-ever touch-screen computer for the home that is sleek and stylish as it is powerful. Targeting style-conscious young aults who are fully immersed in the digital lifestyle, we created an emotional pull that focused on the product’s core USP (i.e. the touch-screen) by spinning the big idea/line/message “Wake Up Your Feelings” into a fun and interactive story in which our feelings (in the form of cute personalisable characters) had fallen into slumber as a result of neglect due to our busy lifestyles – and only through the power of touch could we wake them up again to get our feelings back. The result was a wonderful world of whimsical animation that was magical to behold and brought the campaign messaging to life."

Since I'm a school psychologist in my "day" job, I appreciate interactive applications that help people understand and communicate feelings. It would be nice if this concept could be transformed for use in school counseling and social skills/coping skills intervention groups!

You can access the video from the Motion Graphics website, or click on the picture below to link to the video and additional information. The concept is great, and the video is worth watching.

Mun Hoe Tung was responsible for the animation and art direction of the campaign.

Screenshots:



Just think of how fun it would be to manipulate the items on the screen!

Ben 10 Alien Force Game Creator from Cartoon Network: Social Game Creation Online for Kids!

I meant to post something about Cartoon Networks on-line Ben 10 Alien Force Game Creator. For many children, it is the middle of summer, and on rainy days, wouldn't it be fun to create a game? To create a game, a sign-up is required, but the application is free.

Here is a screenshot of the on-line Game Creator tutorial:


There is an easy-to-understand "help" section that accompanies Game Creator.

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“HP’s collaboration with Cartoon Network on the Toon Creator Awards is a joint effort to leverage each other’s strengths—HP’s leadership in personal computing and Cartoon Network’s expertise with kids’ entertainment,” commented Ajay Mohan, the VP of marketing for the Personal Systems Group at Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific. “We aim to enhance the experience for young kids and their families by inspiring creativity, promoting self-expression and evoking imagination through technology in a fun and exciting way.” (WorldScreen.com, 7/2/09, Kristin Brzoznoski)

Link:
Cartoon Network - Measure your animation skills against other animators


I played some of the on-line games on the Cartoon Network website, and the first thing I thought was that the games should be optimized for touch-screen interaction. If Hewlett-Packard has partnered with the Cartoon Network, perhaps they might facilitate this process sometime in the future.