Jess' New Media Log

April Fool’s Pranks and Carrying Capacity

Jess — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:17:57 +0000

One of the goals in my Inform game is to right an April Fool’s day prank by switching salt which is in a sugar shaker and sugar which is in a salt shaker into their respective containers. I planned on doing this by giving the player a container called “Bowl”. When the condiments were put in their proper places the player receives a message of gratitude. However, I ran into a problem when I realized that the player could simply pour the sugar into the sugar shaker already filled with salt (and vice versa) and receive the same positive message. I did some brainstorming and then, Light bulb! I realized that if I alter the player’s and the container’s carrying capacity they would be forced to complete the task properly.

The code goes as follows:

The Breakroom is west of the Men’s bathroom.

The table is a supporter in the breakroom.

The saltshaker is on the table.
The saltshaker is an openable container.
The saltshaker contains sugar.
After examining saltshaker:
Say “The salt shaker stands ever unassumingly at the edge of the table. Oh, wait, its lid seems to be amiss.”
After closing the saltshaker:
Say “Hmm, that’s better.”

The sugarshaker is on the table.
The sugarshaker is an openable container.
The sugarshaker contains salt.
After examining the sugarshaker:
Say “The lid seems to be loose here as well, odd.”

The bowl is a container on the table.
After inserting the salt into the bowl:
Say “Ah, I see where this is going.”

The bowl is a container on the table.
After inserting the sugar into the bowl:
Say “Ah, I see where this is going.”

Instead of inserting sugar into the sugarshaker:
Say “Well played!”

After inserting salt into the saltshaker:
Say ” Karma will thank you, I’m certain.”

The carrying capacity of the player is 1.
The carrying capacity of sugarshaker is 1.
The carrying capacity of saltshaker is 1.
The carrying capacity of bowl is 1.

Now I just have to get Inform to recognize sugar and sugar shaker as separate entities.

Hunch

Jess — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:44:58 +0000

Caterina Fake, Co-founder of the popular photo sharing site, Flickr, is launching a new site called Hunch. The site hopes to help with decision making using decision trees in an expert system. Hunch also relies on personality assesments from users and user content.

One of the most exciting aspects of the site as pointed out by Fake :

“There is, of course, an API, which will launch with the full site, so you can, say, write a program that figures out how special you are, or a Facebook Nemesis finder.”

User fueled:

“You can create topics — which are the “Super Questions” — edit topics, add questions, edit questions, add results, edit results — the bulk of the decision asking apparatus is user-changeable.”

I signed up for a Beta test invite and will follow up when I get a chance to test the site out.

The Mimi Switch

Jess — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:58:01 +0000

The Mimi switch is a new technology that uses an infrared sensor via headphones that sense inner ear movements in causation of various facial movements. The sensor reacts according to a set of programmed rules based on what facial movement has occured. The main example given by its inventor, thus far, has been to control the play and pause functions of a music player when the user sticks out their tongue or blinks. However, the technology can be applied to switch on or off any compatible gadget and even measure how often its user is smiling or frowning to change to a happier or more melancholy song accordingly.

The invention and its uses are similar to the recent Okao Catch technology that measures how often a person is smiling. The system then gauges how big their smile is based on a number score (People not smiling get a zero and so on.) The Okao Catch system is hoped to be used to help androids decipher the mental wellbeing of medical patients.

3D(igital) Everywhere

Jess — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:40:22 +0000

Recently, when Dreamworks released its 3D trailer for Monsters VS Aliens on national television the US got a taste of what Europe may be enjoying full time by the end of this year via Sky TV. The TV boadcaster went on to add that the 2012 Olympics may very well be broadcast in 3D, as well.

In addition, yesterday, Topps launched their line of 3D trading cards with players that come to life when the cards are placed in front of any webcam. This all comes as Samsung, LG , Panasonic and many other leading companies promise 3D output devices of all kinds this year.

Galaxy Zoo: Crowdsourcing

Jess — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:52:14 +0000

Galaxy Zoo is a fascinating online project that is a mix of social media, citizen science and space exploration. The project’s goal is to document and classify Galaxies. People are an integral part of the project because computers are inaccurate in identifying subtle differences in galaxies and pattern recognition. The project’s website teaches basic Galaxy identification skills and then sends its users off into the great beyond to view and document previously taken images of space via robotic telescope.

In August 2007 the project announced having 80,000 (Now over 150,000) members that had analyzed and recorded over 10 million images of galaxies. The project has even lead to the discovery of unique space objects such as Hanny’s Voorwerp and has helped in the creation of over seven scientific papers about the collected data.

The project is a great example of a technique called crowdsourcing which is the act of assigning a task to a large group of people or community rather than an employee base to cut costs and achieve quicker results. Crowdsourcing is often powered by web 2.0 technology and contributes and enables a lot of the New Media world to exist. Crowdsourcing can be observed in several popular web-based companies and organizations such as Threadless, Wikipedia, 99designs and Zeros to Heroes Media.

Social Media Meets Clothing

Jess — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:41:54 +0000

New Media students at the University of Maine recently completed an intriguing social media project. The students created a device called the “Friend Finder”. The device can be programmed with its user’s desired physical as well as personality traits in a mate or friend. UMaine’s news release states, “Users enter their preferences and personality traits into a computer program and upload the information to a small, portable device. The user then plugs the device into a shirt or handbag wired with small LED lights incorporated into the design. When users with similar preferences come within 30 feet of each other, the clothing or bag lights up, making it easier to spot a potential match in a crowd.”

The students also mentioned that the device could be used at conferences to point out potential networking or business partners based on personality or skill set.

Here is a video demonstration of the wearable social Media:

@Twitter You’re a total Shapeshifter

Jess — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:20:39 +0000

This week in Michigan surgeons used Twitter to give online updates on a tumor removing procedure. The team of surgeons decided to send out ‘Tweets’ in order to educate MDs and to get out the word about their new Cancer treatments. Twitter has been made use of in many diverse and even surprising ways. Companies are now selling devices that Tweet you when your plants need to be watered.

This device tweets expectant fathers every time their baby kicks in the womb. Some people have even hacked their washing machines enabling them to send a message when the clothes in them are done washing. Twitter even has a part in home made security systems, pinging homeowners when motion detectors or cameras pick up movement.

Firefox 3.2 and Natural Language Commands

Jess — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:15:28 +0000

The newest version of Firefox promises to integrate Mozilla’s software application Ubiquity into the browser. This will allow the user to type simple natural language commands into the address bar and have them carried out. For example if I were to type “Share on Diigo” the current page would be automatically saved to my personal Diigo account. The included command list ranges from instantly pulling up a specific map by entering the word “Map” and the subsequent address to entering a simple “W’ and then a search term to look something up on Wikipedia.

Image Courtesy of Mozilla.

The commands are easily customizable with simple userscripts in what seems to be very similar to creating a user script for the Greasemonkey extension. Also, much like Greasemonkey the user can add on other user’s commands by subscribing to them.

Image courtesy of Mozilla.

Ubiquity is currently in Beta testing via Mozilla labs as a Firefox extension and more information on using and making Ubiquity commands can be found here.

New Alphanumeric Sliding Technology

Jess — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:21:52 +0000

It seems cell phone makers are trying to find innovative ways to adapt to the digital generation’s data entry preferences. As portable devices grow smaller, thinner , and have become infiltrated heavily with touch technology, data entry methods have struggled to keep up. In response to the often clumsy QWERTY keyboard integration the creator of the T9 alphanumeric system, Cliff Kushler, has created a new technology he is calling “Swype”. The new system would allow for text entering speed of up to 50 words per minute. Which is much more comparable to WPM on a full sized QWERTY keyboard.

Here is a demo of what the Swype interface will look like:
“>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmH0vwLu51c]

The user moves a finger or stylus to slide in the first letter. Then keeps their finger in constant contact with the on screen keyboard surface while continuing to enter the entire word by sliding to each letter. The finger or stylus is lifted off after the completion of each word. The program uses prediction technology to allow the user to be less precise in their letter selection. Innovations like these are making for a more comfortable and natural portable digital experience that is important for furthering new media integration into everyday life.

Second Life Reflection

Jess — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:40:46 +0000

As I first experienced Second Life I was reminded of our reading of “As We May Think” and how it lead to a class discussion on whether or not there is too much information to digest in this day and age. The sheer amount of possibilities within Second Life is utterly astounding and overwhelming. The user is instantly transported into a virtual world with possibilities, extreme modularity and space. The amount of space in Second Life can go on as far and wide as there are servers. It is a freeing feeling to imagine a life without thoughts of sparse land and limits. Each avatar can be edited down to the most minute details and appearances can range anywhere from the Girl Next Door to Menacing Space Alien and everything in between and beyond.

I was fascinated by the multicultural aspect of Second Life and loved that I could teleport to various country’s virtual representations, hear native’s of those countries speaking via microphones and get a feeling of places I have yet to visit. In addition I enjoyed being able to explore and interact with unique places that only exist within the fictional Second Life realm. These two concepts coexist and are really what makes the Second Life experience more coherent. You can descend into an entire parallel digital world and still keep one foot in the familiar. Whether it be in the form of a faint voice coming from a gamer’s headset saying, “I’m such a noob, what do I do now?”. Or even the way in which Second Life’s users feel the need to digitally create or purchase, with Lindens, an expensive car to drive around, regardless of the fact they can fly or teleport anywhere they desire.