The multi-touch driven computer screen
Wow! The multi-touch driven computer screen is real, not just a movie special effect! See the video
Fast Company has an interesting article on the people behind it and how it works.
Best of 2006
The usual "best of ..." articles are being published.
I thought these were worth noting:
Do we make things too complicated? Keeping things simple.
Yesterday I went shopping for a new phone for my home. Requirements: functional, not ugly, cordless, easy to use digital answering machine, reasonable price, reasonable battery life.
Before I went I read internet reviews and product specifications.
And I took the principal user (my wife) with me.
Once I identified the phones that met our overall requirements, the user made her decision based on 2 factors: simplicity of use and whether the numbers and buttons were big enough.
So Law 1 of John Maeda's Laws of Simplicity made sense to me: The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
Australian Census 2006
It's Census night tonight.
It will be the first time Australians have a choice to complete their forms online by eCensus.
We'll see how accurate the Population Clock is.
Wonderful
These videos are joyous: Pink and this ad for Tango (which is a parody of the Sony Bravia ad).(via Doc Searls)
Technology in the old media
It seems strange but I like reading about technology in the old media. But the old media (especially the Australian Financial Review which has 2 good local technology writers in particular)is often reluctant to give online access.
So when I realised that The New York Times has given open access to Walt Mossberg's excellent Personal Technology columns I thought I'd link to the Australian old media:
Oh, is that all?
Visual information analysis
Information aesthetics gives visual representations of data ranging from social networks to google searches, and it is Australian! (via loobylu).
Technology and personal relationships
I love this performance by Australian musical comedy group Tripod (via Scobleizer).
Using technology for learning
Wil Richardson has written an article (pdf) that shows how new interactive technology tools (from blogging and RSS to videos and podcasts) can be used for learning and sharing not just reading.
Internet, libraries and education
As I've mentioned elsewhere my teenage son and his friends are frequent users of MSN instant text messaging.
But rather than panic I'd like to think that they're just exploring.
So I've been comforted by these recent posts about teenagers exploring the internet and learning in their own way:
In Monitoring your children online? Gotham Gal says that you have to give the kids the information, then trust them rather than snoop on them:
My thoughts on this matter are no different than sex, drugs and rock and roll. Have an open dialog with your kids about what are the do's and don'ts of online behavior. Know who you are talking to. Do you recognize that IM address? What type of conversations are you having? Don't decide to meet with someone you meet on line no matter what. The basic essentials.
In What a difference a decade makes and DJ BrentBoy The Shifted Librarian compares how her son uses the internet today for VOIP compared with her efforts 10 years ago.
In The Read/Write Web Dog and Pony Show Will Richardson talks about a parent computer education night, safety and blogging and IM.
Finally in another successful DDR night Walking Paper discusses a video gaming night (including a dance game) at the library and its results.
Subscribe in a reader
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
