Kitchen counter. Meet future.
Could this be the way that we interact with our food in the future? Considering the increasing popularity of intelligent computing surfaces this might not be that far from the truth. Perhaps the better question we might have to ask ourselves is "do we want this to the truth"?
On one hand, it represents some potentially revolutionary methods in which to engage with the food and cooking. The areas that we typically use to prepare our food could take a step further from their utilitarian role that we have come to know and it could be tied into the wealth of information present on the Internet. Imagine, place a pepper on your cutting board and in an instant your presented with vital knowledge on the quality of it, how to prepare and cook it - this could potentially save your life. Designed in an intelligent fashion this could also decrease the levels of appreciation that many consumers are faced with when tasked with cooking. This of all reasons I think might be the most important.
On the other hand, this technological interconnection between food and Internet could be evidence of a lacking connection between food and humans. There is a lot to be taken from the proverbial statement "be mindful of the past". Compared to our ancestors, there is shockingly large disconnect between people's understanding of the most basic elements of food. The knowledge of food, food production and preparation is scarce among many north Americans and it's a scary to think that there is such a dependence of technology in order to grasp something that keeps us alive. So what sort of future do we want between our food and our technology?
In the end, as time progresses, I think it's inevitable that food and technology will become interconnected - there is no denying that. In fact, rather than turning a blind eye to it I think we should embrace it and ensure that we use it to enable people to learn as much about food as possible. However, even as we face the future of food and technology with open arms, I still believe that something as simple as food and cooking should be taught to our younger generations hands on. They need to ensure that they learn about the diverse and bountiful world of food both online and off.
History of Icons
A quick informative history lesson on the icons that we've become so familiar with but probably know so little on. My favourite probably has to be the story of the Bluetooth icon. Check it out.
Designing for the iPad
This article came through the ol' inter office mail today and I was immediately intrigued. It lays a great critical eye to the all the glitz and glamor of the newly launched iPad that should give a sobering set of rules to an potential design looking to dive into it's interface. The article was written by iA, a two office production of 7 people that have made some impressively large and well designed sites. If you don't read the article, at least take a look into the work they've done at this company. That should give some credence to them.
Intel’s Intelligent Home
Intel put together a very elegant concept for a energy dashboard that works off of the processors they manufacture. The micro site includes overview documentation as well as a demo and video of the system in action. It's crazy to think that something as significant and commonplace as our energy monitoring has been restricted to a metal monstrosity with a spinning arrow at the back of our homes. Even worse, as an apartment dweller I don't even know where I look to view my energy consumption levels. The only transparency I get on that matter is through my monthly bills - and no one really wants to look at that on a regular basis. Hopefully we see more innovations on energy monitoring soon, and hopefully we see it available at the consumer level even sooner.
Into the Infractor
infractor - interactive, collaborative multitouch application from siwamat on Vimeo.
How do turn a wet, dreary day into a good one? Read about installations! Well, if you're a big interaction dork that is. And it's a good thing I'm not the only dork, otherwise this little electronic number would have never been invented - The Infractor.
The Infractor was the creation of the Interface Design students at Potsdam University of Applied Sciences. The piece is an interactive table that visualizes content from the NY Times database (apparently they have an API). Using a variety of small physical objects the user is able to search and filter the results of the NY Times all in real time. At first glance I assumed that they were working on a Microsoft Surface table, but it turns out the table was designed and created by the students at the same university.
It's interesting as I have seen pieces quite similar to this in the past which have been touted as the future of interactivity. Now, say conceptual devices like this did indeed become our future interfaces. Each time I've witnessed a variation on it the same question comes to mind each time: how flexible are these shapes? The interface definitiely seems to have a near endless level of flexibility but what about these fixed, physical shapes? Tangible as they may be, is it really a boon to technology to have all these accompanying parts? Would hand interaction be any worse, or better? I guess it depends largely on it's application.
Microsoft’s Courier Interface
Gizmodo provided a little more in depth coverage of the oft rumored tablet PC concept from Microsoft. Though I wonder how wide spread the need for this sort of interface would be, I do believe that it could have some great potential for creative professionals. To met this is less a "pc" but more like a digital sketch book. As a general consumer I don't think I would want to interact with a device the way they are proposing - considering I'd used to standard applications like a web browser, email and games. Yet, as a digital creative professional I would love to be able to take some of the prototyping, quick sketches, doodles etc. that I generate on a daily basis on paper and transfer it to a digital medium. It may not be as fast, but it should would organize things better than the giant pile currently sitting beside me. Check it out.
First world, 8th place
Though my Canadian mother land has the honor of calling itself a first world nation, according to the Internet World Stats it looks as though we're trailing in the broadband world race. Yet another beautifully illustrated infographic I discovered demonstrates Canada huffing and puffing along at 8th place Canada in the world race of broadband average data speeds. To make matters worse we pay some of the highest costs (in USD) to achieve this ranking. We pay an average of $6.50 compared to first place holder Japan who pays a paltry $0.27. Currently, Japan, Korea and Finland hold first, second and third place respectively and by quite a margin too. They're also doing so at a significantly lower cost. That's pretty impressive. I knew we lagged behind somewhat but not this badly. The penetration rate is also fairly low in Canada.
To some it may be surprising that US lags even further behind, but I remember reading an article that indicates a lot of reasoning for this is that people in the US are still sticking with dial up. Especially in rural areas.
View it here.
Obscura Digital
Once again my RSS feeds have tipped me off to yet another thought provoking company: Obscura Digital.
Founded in 2000, Obscura Digital specializes in large scale interactive installations that range from ones the size of a pool table (as seen below) to interactivelight shows that cover entire auditorium ceilings . Think that's impressive? It appears the scalability of their work comes from a proprietary software package that they created themselves. Talk about starting from the ground up.
Perusing through their 'about' section it appears as though this company is doing quite well for themselves. They remain a privately held company of 33 employees with offices in San Francisco New York and Tokyo with more coming throughout Europe and the Middle East.
The pool table piece is impressive enough on its own. But if I've wet your appetite for them any more I recommend checking out their other projects.
ESL Bulbs
Here is a video on a very promising technology setting out to replace the current lighting champions we find screwed in our homes: incandescent and compact fluorescent. Furthermore, it demonstrates several advantages over the more recent LED light bulbs.
Developed under the name of the Vu1 this Electron Stimulated Luminescence (ESL) light can last up to 6,000 hours, about three to four times the lifespan of incandescents and comparable to CFLs. They produce 50 percent less heat than incandescents and have no mercury unlike CFLs. ESL bulbs would also be garbage disposal and cost around $20 when it hits the market.
On the side of practicality, the ESL bulbs appear to recreate an very natural form of light. I haven't seen a single alternative to incandescents that can create as nice a lighting effect. It also turns on instantly and is fully dimmable.
Digital Confetti
This interactive art installation, made by the Rockwell Group, was featured at the Metropolitan Home Magazine's "Design 100" party. It is an annual celebration honoring 100 of the most noteworthy personalities, places and things in the field of innovative design.
In order to interact with the piece users waved hand held sticks at a central globe which would create explosions of confetti on the digitally rendered surface. It appears to have created a really playful conversation piece for all the party goers to enjoy. Be sure to check out the site as it contains documentation on how they built the piece as well.