Want a portable color display that receives inputs from my smart objects and is as thin as cardboard? Watch the end of this video as it demonstrates how thin. From CES 2009:
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Aug 12th CTU Class Activities - Two sessions
Technology, tools and the risks associated with making predictions were among Tuesday's class discussion topics.
We tested our knowledge about entrepreneurs and demographics in the U.S., then looked at how our textbooks Technology's Promise and The Fortune Sellers organize and discuss trends and innovations.
At the end of each session, we examined a variety of free Second Life technologies. The early class studied aircraft and vehicles, learning to render and use their objects.
One aircraft worked beautifully for demonstration purposes, but did not cooperate for students. In the hour between classes, another student joined us and we studied cooperative movement in a UFO multi-person vehicle (depicted in this photo).
The last class discussed the course concepts, then looked at particle scripts, some devices that use them and the castle rezzer. Students received an additional staff with particles and an animation override on it. Check with Lyr Lobo to get her staff and a UFO vehicle.
For next week, grab your Technology's Promise book by William Halal and we will discuss Chapters 4 and 5. Focus greater attention on pp. 45-52 - Online Societies, pp. 53-56 - Virtual Reality and on the advances and trends listed on pp. 57-62, 66 and 72-78. Note how this content compares to the results from our technological forecasting activity during the residency. We will also weave more Second Life concepts into our activities.
See you in Second Life!
We tested our knowledge about entrepreneurs and demographics in the U.S., then looked at how our textbooks Technology's Promise and The Fortune Sellers organize and discuss trends and innovations.
At the end of each session, we examined a variety of free Second Life technologies. The early class studied aircraft and vehicles, learning to render and use their objects.
One aircraft worked beautifully for demonstration purposes, but did not cooperate for students. In the hour between classes, another student joined us and we studied cooperative movement in a UFO multi-person vehicle (depicted in this photo).
The last class discussed the course concepts, then looked at particle scripts, some devices that use them and the castle rezzer. Students received an additional staff with particles and an animation override on it. Check with Lyr Lobo to get her staff and a UFO vehicle.
For next week, grab your Technology's Promise book by William Halal and we will discuss Chapters 4 and 5. Focus greater attention on pp. 45-52 - Online Societies, pp. 53-56 - Virtual Reality and on the advances and trends listed on pp. 57-62, 66 and 72-78. Note how this content compares to the results from our technological forecasting activity during the residency. We will also weave more Second Life concepts into our activities.
See you in Second Life!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Talking cash registers - a socio-technical tale
Around 1980-81, my high tech supermarket installed talking cash registers at the checkout stands. The store sold a wide selection of grocery and pharmacy products and at first, the introduction of new technology was just like stepping into the Space age.
That is, until we noticed that a computerized voice was announcing everything that we purchased by name, size, quantity and price. To help us hear over the sounds of people shopping, the voice was loud and could be heard in nearby checkout lanes.
Photo courtesy of Kanesue
I noticed that I started shopping in the wee hours of the morning to get privacy, and when others would loom near, I'd make snappy comments about my purchases.
Breaking a hundred-dollar bill by buying a pack of gum no longer seemed like a good idea. While the voice was very polite, shoppers reacted as if someone had hollered over a loudspeaker. "She's leaving the building with $97.25 in change!"
How people feel about technology and the tasks that they are performing influences their widespread adoption and use. For cool new technologies to be successful, we need to identify and understand their social implications and how they will impact growth and innovation.
That is, until we noticed that a computerized voice was announcing everything that we purchased by name, size, quantity and price. To help us hear over the sounds of people shopping, the voice was loud and could be heard in nearby checkout lanes.
I noticed that I started shopping in the wee hours of the morning to get privacy, and when others would loom near, I'd make snappy comments about my purchases.
Breaking a hundred-dollar bill by buying a pack of gum no longer seemed like a good idea. While the voice was very polite, shoppers reacted as if someone had hollered over a loudspeaker. "She's leaving the building with $97.25 in change!"
How people feel about technology and the tasks that they are performing influences their widespread adoption and use. For cool new technologies to be successful, we need to identify and understand their social implications and how they will impact growth and innovation.
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