In this BBC article titled 'Wi-fi set to re-wire social rules' Dr Jo Twist discusses some of the changes that soon may be coming into social life:
"Dr Jo Twist, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said once the net was ubiquitous like power and water, it had the potential to be "transformative".
The divide that separates people from their online lives will utterly disappear. Instead of leaving behind all those net-based friends and activities when you walk out of your front door, you will be able to take them with you.
The buddies you have on instant message networks, friends and family on e-mail, your eBay auctions, your avatars in online games, the TV shows you have stored on disk, your digital pictures, your blog - everything will be just a click away.
It could also kick off entirely new ways of living, working and playing. For instance, restaurant reviews could be geographically tagged so as soon as you approach a cafe or coffee shop, the views of recent diners could scroll up on your handheld gadget."
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Sensor devices keeping tabs
In another interesting post from Worldchanging, this time about the new generation of sensor devices that can assist people on tracking and keeping tabs on the changing environment around us:
"Sensor devices able to keep tabs on what's happening to the world around you will play an important role in the Bright Green Future. The rapidly-changing global (and local!) environment require us to pay closer attention to current and emerging conditions. More information doesn't always lead to better decision-making, but it's better to choose to discard information you have than to lament the information you don't. At the same time, collaborative, DIY technologies will also play an important role in the world we'd like to see. More participants doesn't just mean more of a chance to spot problems -- although that's true -- a greater number of participants offers a greater opportunity for diverse innovation."
Read post here
"Sensor devices able to keep tabs on what's happening to the world around you will play an important role in the Bright Green Future. The rapidly-changing global (and local!) environment require us to pay closer attention to current and emerging conditions. More information doesn't always lead to better decision-making, but it's better to choose to discard information you have than to lament the information you don't. At the same time, collaborative, DIY technologies will also play an important role in the world we'd like to see. More participants doesn't just mean more of a chance to spot problems -- although that's true -- a greater number of participants offers a greater opportunity for diverse innovation."
Read post here
Mourners to pay virtual respects
In a recent article from the BBC News:
"Webcams are being installed at a crematorium in Hull so people who are unable to travel to a funeral can pay their respects online.
Mourners will be given an access code so they can watch services at Chanterlands Crematorium in real time from anywhere in the world.
Hull City Council said the move was part of a refurbishment of the chapels designed to enhance services.
It said it got the idea after seeing people filming funerals on camcorders.
Mike Anderson from the council's bereavement services said: "There will be web-cams installed at each of the chapels and the people who actually want to watch will be issued with a code to access the service, obviously ensuring privacy and security."
Read full article
"Webcams are being installed at a crematorium in Hull so people who are unable to travel to a funeral can pay their respects online.
Mourners will be given an access code so they can watch services at Chanterlands Crematorium in real time from anywhere in the world.
Hull City Council said the move was part of a refurbishment of the chapels designed to enhance services.
It said it got the idea after seeing people filming funerals on camcorders.
Mike Anderson from the council's bereavement services said: "There will be web-cams installed at each of the chapels and the people who actually want to watch will be issued with a code to access the service, obviously ensuring privacy and security."
Read full article
Universities 'vital' to successful cities
In a post today from the Guardian newspaper:
"Successful cities need universities, according to a study on urban recovery published this week by the deputy prime minister, John Prescott.
The report, The State of the English Cities, compares high and low-performing urban areas and highlights the crucial factors of increasing the number of graduates in the workforce and the impact of innovation, reflected in patent applications.
London has increased the proportion of its working population with degrees at twice the average for England over the decade to 2001, notes the report by Michael Parkinson. Cambridge, Oxford, Reading and Bristol have also done better than the national average.
Prof Parkinson's research shows that towns like Mansfield, Grimsby and Hastings have lagged behind, as have Middlesbrough and Hull, even thought they have universities"
In that case, why aren't universities getting more funding??
Read full article
"Successful cities need universities, according to a study on urban recovery published this week by the deputy prime minister, John Prescott.
The report, The State of the English Cities, compares high and low-performing urban areas and highlights the crucial factors of increasing the number of graduates in the workforce and the impact of innovation, reflected in patent applications.
London has increased the proportion of its working population with degrees at twice the average for England over the decade to 2001, notes the report by Michael Parkinson. Cambridge, Oxford, Reading and Bristol have also done better than the national average.
Prof Parkinson's research shows that towns like Mansfield, Grimsby and Hastings have lagged behind, as have Middlesbrough and Hull, even thought they have universities"
In that case, why aren't universities getting more funding??
Read full article
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Mobilicio.us
m-trends.org has an interesting post on a new mash-up called 'mobilicio.us' which configures the delicious socical bookmarking site for mobile devices:
"Mobilicio.us is a "mashup" that combines the del.icio.us online bookmarking service with Google Mobile. This allows you to browse through "mobilized" versions of your del.icio.us bookmarks from your phone browser or other limited-display browsers."
"Mobilicio.us is a "mashup" that combines the del.icio.us online bookmarking service with Google Mobile. This allows you to browse through "mobilized" versions of your del.icio.us bookmarks from your phone browser or other limited-display browsers."
Risky websites get a billion visits a month
According to a new post on NewScientist.com:
"Web users make a billion visits every month to websites of dubious character, according to a survey enabled by "web crawling" software developed by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US.
The survey, carried out over the last 11 months, found that 5% of all internet traffic was linked to sites that upload unwanted software to a PC, send out spam or attempt to trick users into handing over sensitive information.
The web-crawling software is operated by SiteAdvisor, a company spun-off by computer security researchers from MIT. The company has also launched a web browser add-on that automatically checks the reputation of a site against its database and which can be downloaded as a free trial."
Mobility has always been a risky business....
"Web users make a billion visits every month to websites of dubious character, according to a survey enabled by "web crawling" software developed by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US.
The survey, carried out over the last 11 months, found that 5% of all internet traffic was linked to sites that upload unwanted software to a PC, send out spam or attempt to trick users into handing over sensitive information.
The web-crawling software is operated by SiteAdvisor, a company spun-off by computer security researchers from MIT. The company has also launched a web browser add-on that automatically checks the reputation of a site against its database and which can be downloaded as a free trial."
Mobility has always been a risky business....
Go Digital 6th March 2006
The winners of the Europrix Top Talent Festival, the future of online publishing and Pre-vu, the device which won the British Female Inventors and Innovators Award 2006.
Download here
Download here
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Top 50 Emergency Uses for Your Camera Phone
About has a list of top emergency uses for your cameraphone compiled by Paul Purcell, a security analyst and preparedness consultant : Just a few:
- Record parking spot locations
- Engine repairs. Send a pic to a mechanic who may talk you through a quick fix
- Child custodian. If you can't get to your kids at school or other function, relay a picture of the person who is coming to pick them up.
- ID your evac gear. Take a picture to prove ownership.
- Info on injured or hospitalized people
- ID the rescuer.
- If a rescuer is picking up your child or pet, photo the rescuer (and the child or pet) and the vehicle they used, their name tag, registration numbers on helicopters, vehicle tag numbers or names of boats.
- Hotel room number and location
- Property pics for retrieval companies. Some scenarios will see you unable to return home. Property photos will allow you to identify specific items you'd like retrieved.
Via Smartmobs
- Record parking spot locations
- Engine repairs. Send a pic to a mechanic who may talk you through a quick fix
- Child custodian. If you can't get to your kids at school or other function, relay a picture of the person who is coming to pick them up.
- ID your evac gear. Take a picture to prove ownership.
- Info on injured or hospitalized people
- ID the rescuer.
- If a rescuer is picking up your child or pet, photo the rescuer (and the child or pet) and the vehicle they used, their name tag, registration numbers on helicopters, vehicle tag numbers or names of boats.
- Hotel room number and location
- Property pics for retrieval companies. Some scenarios will see you unable to return home. Property photos will allow you to identify specific items you'd like retrieved.
Via Smartmobs
Games for learning
In the increasing cross-over between the physical and virtual realms, online gaming is becoming a 'space' where we can learn. A post from Worldchanging called 'Game Designer, Heal Thyself' by Alex Steffen discusses just this:
"Games can be tools for learning how to change the world: in virtual worlds we can design cities, overthrow dictatorships and run refugee camps, but many of the most popular games are still about adventure and combat. But what if we had games whose adventures were based not on violence, but healing?
"Picture an MMORPG just like the ones today, but everywhere you see combat, replace it with healing. A six-man encounter would be a surgical operation that required teamwork. Soloing would be a brilliant doctor doing drive-by diagnostics. Raids would be massive experimental treatments. Rather than spawning mobs, spawn ill people. Instead of weapons, have medicines. Instead of managing aggro, manage fever. Instead of armors, we have disinfectants. Quests would include tasks to find and gather new plants for pharmaceuticals, and bespoke missions to fix the sanitation in a remote village. Puzzles might involve finding the standing water where the mosquitoes are breeding."
Such games could be not only absorbing but instructive. All game worlds have political lessons embedded within them, and almost all play has an aspect of learning to it."
This brings me to a new game about strategies of cooperation, learning non-violent methods to solve the situation rather than the usual shoot 'em up - great idea!
In a post from Smartmobs:
"A Force More Powerful is what I call a real technology of cooperation:
Can a computer game teach how to fight real-world adversaries—dictators, military occupiers and corrupt rulers, using methods that have succeeded in actual conflicts—not with laser rays or AK47s, but with non-military strategies and nonviolent weapons? Such a game, A Force More Powerful (AFMP), is now available. A unique collaboration of experts on nonviolent conflict working with veteran game designers has developed a simulation game that teaches the strategy of nonviolent conflict. A dozen scenarios, inspired by recent history, include conflicts against dictators, occupiers, colonizers and corrupt regimes, as well as struggles to secure the political and human rights of ethnic and racial minorities and women.
A Force More Powerful is the first and only game to teach the waging of conflict using nonviolent methods. Destined for use by activists and leaders of nonviolent resistance and opposition movements, the game will also educate the media and general public on the potential of nonviolent action and serve as a simulation tool for academic studies of nonviolent resistance."
"Games can be tools for learning how to change the world: in virtual worlds we can design cities, overthrow dictatorships and run refugee camps, but many of the most popular games are still about adventure and combat. But what if we had games whose adventures were based not on violence, but healing?
"Picture an MMORPG just like the ones today, but everywhere you see combat, replace it with healing. A six-man encounter would be a surgical operation that required teamwork. Soloing would be a brilliant doctor doing drive-by diagnostics. Raids would be massive experimental treatments. Rather than spawning mobs, spawn ill people. Instead of weapons, have medicines. Instead of managing aggro, manage fever. Instead of armors, we have disinfectants. Quests would include tasks to find and gather new plants for pharmaceuticals, and bespoke missions to fix the sanitation in a remote village. Puzzles might involve finding the standing water where the mosquitoes are breeding."
Such games could be not only absorbing but instructive. All game worlds have political lessons embedded within them, and almost all play has an aspect of learning to it."
This brings me to a new game about strategies of cooperation, learning non-violent methods to solve the situation rather than the usual shoot 'em up - great idea!
In a post from Smartmobs:
"A Force More Powerful is what I call a real technology of cooperation:
Can a computer game teach how to fight real-world adversaries—dictators, military occupiers and corrupt rulers, using methods that have succeeded in actual conflicts—not with laser rays or AK47s, but with non-military strategies and nonviolent weapons? Such a game, A Force More Powerful (AFMP), is now available. A unique collaboration of experts on nonviolent conflict working with veteran game designers has developed a simulation game that teaches the strategy of nonviolent conflict. A dozen scenarios, inspired by recent history, include conflicts against dictators, occupiers, colonizers and corrupt regimes, as well as struggles to secure the political and human rights of ethnic and racial minorities and women.
A Force More Powerful is the first and only game to teach the waging of conflict using nonviolent methods. Destined for use by activists and leaders of nonviolent resistance and opposition movements, the game will also educate the media and general public on the potential of nonviolent action and serve as a simulation tool for academic studies of nonviolent resistance."
Friday, March 03, 2006
Carnival of the Mobilists # 17
Carnival of the Mobilists # 17 at Textually:
This weeks' Carnival of the Mobilists (nr. 17) is hosted by Emily Turrettini at textually.org: a chance to check out some of this weeks' best opinion and writing on mobile.
This weeks' Carnival of the Mobilists (nr. 17) is hosted by Emily Turrettini at textually.org: a chance to check out some of this weeks' best opinion and writing on mobile.
Google Maps UK London Tube Journey Planner
TubeJP is a great new Google Maps mashup for the tube subway network in London, UK. Enter your departure station and your destination and the tool will tell you the best route to take, via what stations and the specific zones you'll pass through. Reference the Google Map of the stations to determine how to follow the suggested route.
E-revolution forces Danes online
According to a recent BBC News post, Denmark is forcing its citizens online, making it one of the world's most advanced e-societies:
"Since the beginning of February, for instance, companies dealing with state institutions must submit their invoices electronically.
Around 15 million transactions that the state previously handled in paper are now managed electronically - with huge benefits.
"We have made savings in the public sector of around 100m euros (£68.5m)," says Claus Juhl, from the government's Digital Task Force."
Read article
"Since the beginning of February, for instance, companies dealing with state institutions must submit their invoices electronically.
Around 15 million transactions that the state previously handled in paper are now managed electronically - with huge benefits.
"We have made savings in the public sector of around 100m euros (£68.5m)," says Claus Juhl, from the government's Digital Task Force."
Read article
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Online amateurs crack Nazi codes
A recent BBC Online post talks of how grid-processing PCs helped to crack existing Nazi codes - the power of collaborative computing!
"The Enigma machine vexed Allied codebreakers for years
Three German ciphers unsolved since World War II are finally being cracked, helped by thousands of home computers.
The codes resisted the best efforts of the celebrated Allied cryptographers based at Bletchley Park during the war.
Now one has been solved by running code-breaking software on a "grid" of internet-linked home computers."
Read full article
"The Enigma machine vexed Allied codebreakers for years
Three German ciphers unsolved since World War II are finally being cracked, helped by thousands of home computers.
The codes resisted the best efforts of the celebrated Allied cryptographers based at Bletchley Park during the war.
Now one has been solved by running code-breaking software on a "grid" of internet-linked home computers."
Read full article
Personal Rapid Transit
In this post from Worldchanging by Jeremy Faludi he discusses some of the latest in rapid transit systems, including the proposed Skyweb express in the US:
"Wouldn't it be nice to have a bus waiting for you every time you walked up to a stop? And wouldn't it be nice if the bus just went to your destination, without stopping anywhere else in between? The main reason people drive is for convenience like this. But if public transportation were as cheap as a bus and as convenient as a cab on roads with no traffic, why would anyone bother driving anymore? That's the idea behind "Personal Rapid Transit", an idea that's been around for forty years, but is still struggling to see the light of day.
The basic idea is having an elevated track with personal-sized cars, only big enough for 2 to 4 people (and normally used for solo trips). Cars on the main track always go at full speed, with cars shunting off to side tracks for entry & exit at stations. These stations would be located a reasonably short distance from each other so users would never have to walk too far to get to a stop, and stations would always have empty cars waiting for the next user to arrive. This individualized service would be made possible by having all the vehicles automated--no human drivers in the system, just smart network-management software."
Read more
"Wouldn't it be nice to have a bus waiting for you every time you walked up to a stop? And wouldn't it be nice if the bus just went to your destination, without stopping anywhere else in between? The main reason people drive is for convenience like this. But if public transportation were as cheap as a bus and as convenient as a cab on roads with no traffic, why would anyone bother driving anymore? That's the idea behind "Personal Rapid Transit", an idea that's been around for forty years, but is still struggling to see the light of day.
The basic idea is having an elevated track with personal-sized cars, only big enough for 2 to 4 people (and normally used for solo trips). Cars on the main track always go at full speed, with cars shunting off to side tracks for entry & exit at stations. These stations would be located a reasonably short distance from each other so users would never have to walk too far to get to a stop, and stations would always have empty cars waiting for the next user to arrive. This individualized service would be made possible by having all the vehicles automated--no human drivers in the system, just smart network-management software."
Read more
RFID Captures Usage/Maintenance History of Surgical Knife
RFID in Japan posts that the KRD Corporation has "developed a system for managing surgical knives and other medical equipment using RFID tags.Tools for medical operation are RFID-tagged and and the system captures the histories (e.g., records of sharpening, disinfection, etc.) of the tools.Small (diameter: 6.5mm, thickness: 2mm; 13.56MHz) RFID tags are either embedded in or attached to surgical knives,clamps,scissors,etc".
Read more here
Via Smartmobs
Read more here
Via Smartmobs
Dublin Riot Story
In another great post from Smartmobs we have more news on the ad-hoc flashmob appearances, this time in Dublin:
"Eamonn points Smartmobs to Indymedia Ireland heading 'Flashmobs and Smartmobs. Are The Mobs Left Out Of The Dublin Riot Story'. Eamonn adds: "this is the first Irish Smartmob(s) and boy what a mess."
'Why pay Eoghan Harris when spin and opinion is free eh?' sez Wag. 'All power to the commenteers!'
... "this was definitely the first example of an ad-hoc flashmob of citizen journalists banding together with a decentralised diy publishing infrastructure, spontaneously, as live and with no pre-planning whatsoever and with no notice, flexing its muscles and absolutely wiping the floor with the methods of the traditional media".
... " this was also in my opinion - after having read through as much citizen-reporting as my eyes can handle - the first truly spontaneous 'smartmob' protest in Irish history".
more pictures and video on the 'anti-Orange riot' in Dublin."
"Eamonn points Smartmobs to Indymedia Ireland heading 'Flashmobs and Smartmobs. Are The Mobs Left Out Of The Dublin Riot Story'. Eamonn adds: "this is the first Irish Smartmob(s) and boy what a mess."
'Why pay Eoghan Harris when spin and opinion is free eh?' sez Wag. 'All power to the commenteers!'
... "this was definitely the first example of an ad-hoc flashmob of citizen journalists banding together with a decentralised diy publishing infrastructure, spontaneously, as live and with no pre-planning whatsoever and with no notice, flexing its muscles and absolutely wiping the floor with the methods of the traditional media".
... " this was also in my opinion - after having read through as much citizen-reporting as my eyes can handle - the first truly spontaneous 'smartmob' protest in Irish history".
more pictures and video on the 'anti-Orange riot' in Dublin."
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Live action urban game starts in London
This is an interesting post from textually.org on live action urban gaming:
Mind Candy, in conjunction with the Perplex City Academy, ran their first live action urban game" on Saturday with over 200 participants roaming Central London in a bid to complete a series of challenges and seize victory. [via ARGN].
"Using their mobile phones, players had to feed their answers and photographic evidence of their antics back to Base Camp via SMS and MMS messages, while the organisers sent out leaderboard updates, trivia questions and surprise tasks throughout the day.
With that, the players set off for the game zone, aiming to solve mind bending questions that took them from Chinatown to Centre Point.
Inspired by the flash mob phenomenon, the game seized upon the opportunity to create a spectacle. On each half-hour, six teams at a time were sent to Leicester Square, where they formed spontaneous choirs and performed a song of their choice. One group managed to find passers-by celebrating their birthdays, and promptly delivered a stirring serenade..."
Mind Candy, in conjunction with the Perplex City Academy, ran their first live action urban game" on Saturday with over 200 participants roaming Central London in a bid to complete a series of challenges and seize victory. [via ARGN].
"Using their mobile phones, players had to feed their answers and photographic evidence of their antics back to Base Camp via SMS and MMS messages, while the organisers sent out leaderboard updates, trivia questions and surprise tasks throughout the day.
With that, the players set off for the game zone, aiming to solve mind bending questions that took them from Chinatown to Centre Point.
Inspired by the flash mob phenomenon, the game seized upon the opportunity to create a spectacle. On each half-hour, six teams at a time were sent to Leicester Square, where they formed spontaneous choirs and performed a song of their choice. One group managed to find passers-by celebrating their birthdays, and promptly delivered a stirring serenade..."
Advertising 2.0
Thanks to m-trends for this interesting post on advertising trends:
'In a paper called Advertising 2.0, advertising specialist Paul Beelen (Chile) attempts to provide some answers (or at least clues)... but for now, he says, the best way to be prepared is to simply be aware of the fact that things are changing. Something has been set off, that is impossible to stopped. And it will force advertising to reinvent itself in quite a few ways.
"What’s the effect of an advertising campaign, in a world where every consumer has instant access to all hard data about any given product? How can we even reach these consumers in a media landscape that consists of millions of personal blogs, podcasts and time shifted television? What is the role of marketing when consumers are directly connected to almost anybody within the companies they buy from?" '
Download Advertising 2.0 white paper (pdf, 128 kb, 21 pages)
'In a paper called Advertising 2.0, advertising specialist Paul Beelen (Chile) attempts to provide some answers (or at least clues)... but for now, he says, the best way to be prepared is to simply be aware of the fact that things are changing. Something has been set off, that is impossible to stopped. And it will force advertising to reinvent itself in quite a few ways.
"What’s the effect of an advertising campaign, in a world where every consumer has instant access to all hard data about any given product? How can we even reach these consumers in a media landscape that consists of millions of personal blogs, podcasts and time shifted television? What is the role of marketing when consumers are directly connected to almost anybody within the companies they buy from?" '
Download Advertising 2.0 white paper (pdf, 128 kb, 21 pages)
The Future of the Blog
The Future of the Blog is a Business Week interview with well-known blogger Mena Trott:
'It's hard to imagine the world without blogs. The publishing technology has become a cultural and political force. One of the reasons for the rapid growth of the blogosphere is the existence of user-friendly blogging software such as Moveable Type. The program was designed with simplicity in mind by Mena Trott, a former graphic designer and early blogger (she launched dollarshort.org in early 2001), and her husband, Ben Trott, a programmer.'
'It's hard to imagine the world without blogs. The publishing technology has become a cultural and political force. One of the reasons for the rapid growth of the blogosphere is the existence of user-friendly blogging software such as Moveable Type. The program was designed with simplicity in mind by Mena Trott, a former graphic designer and early blogger (she launched dollarshort.org in early 2001), and her husband, Ben Trott, a programmer.'
Mobilities Journal - first issue OUT NOW
The Editors - John Urry, Mimi Sheller and Kevin Hannam, are very pleased to announce that the first issue of MOBILITIES is now out. Great!
Details here
Details here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)