Hidden webcam: the reluctance to be observed

Observed on one of my student’s laptop. He told me that he “did not want to be observed” (nor he wanted his laptop to be controlled from elsewhere). Which is why he he put a (French) stamp (“easy to remove”, he told me) on the camera.

Why do I blog this? This is an interesting example of these little signs of how users try to reclaim a form of control on digital technology. Even if the laptop has a LED that indicates whether the webcam is working on not, this user prefers to have a better control on this device.

Sugar-spoon interface

A fascinating interface design seen yesterday in Lausanne. Although the aesthetical quality of this is a bit weird, I am fascinated by the way the physical metaphor is employed here.

Computer-readable stickers?

Seen yesterday in London. I like the evocative and colorful visual, especially on this phone booth. They look like sifteo-turned-into-stickers.

ENDCOMMERCIAL® / Reading the City

ENDCOMMERCIAL® / Reading the City is a book that Chris Woebken recommended few weeks ago via a quick exchange of 140-character messages. It’s a fascinating object that is perhaps 102% in line with my interests (urban artifacts, classification, aesthetics).

This book is basically a compilation of pictures photographed by Florian Böhm, Luca Pizzaroni, Wolfgang Scheppe and published by Hatje Cantz Publishers. It is based on a exhibit located in Berlin back in 2002 and features an extensive exploration of New York City. The authors took this environment as a sort of generic city from which they could highlight certain aspects. Which was definitely the purpose of the authors, as they say, “it is about the represented not the representation” and their inspiration lies both in “scientific and ethnological photography and Claude Levi-Strauss” and “the device itself: the product line of electronic consumer goods. Digital cameras by japanese makers. Nikon, Canon, Sony“.

Why do I blog this? What I found interesting in this work is that it’s definitely more than a simple visual encyclopedia:

“ I hope it can change your sensibility for your surrounding, a change in perception of the ordinary, a shifted view on something that has become invisible by its omnipresence. The images are arranges in a way that they have an effect on you, wake you up, make you see things for example reveal social and economic patterns that shape the modern urban enviroment, understand things in their context.“

The way they sorted the picture is also interesting. Based on an inductive approach, they sorted the different themes and they created various “periodic tables” to define similarities and categories:

“WS: The quality of the diagrams is that of a taxonomy. A taxonomical order systemizes phenomenons due to analogies and similarities judging elements of their appearance. while analyzing and researching our archive we found similarities, types of figures, strange coincidences. after identifying these they were transformed in themes and subjects for new shootings and field researches. new material was collected to verify or falsify categories of the taxonomy.

FB: The Diagram was extracted from the material after screening and structuring the image archives into themes, not the other way around. In this way it is rather an empiric investigation with a result that could have not been anticipated fully in the beginning. The material reveals many aspects, sociological, political, economic, urbanistic etc… But we didn’t plan for it to be anything.“

As a final word, one of the best quote from the author about this work is certainly: “it is impossible to walk down the street without seeing social qualities in objects“. This is clearly what this book depicts.

Repurposed shutter

Why do I blog this? Giving lectures here and there about user experience, it’s good to have such kind of examples to show the tendency people have to repurpose standard artifacts for other needs.

From Back to the Future 2 to a WIPO patent

It took 20 years to (finally) see a patent for self-lacing shoes. The Nike prop from Back to the Future 2 has indeed been shown in 1989 (with a non-automatic lacing version released as a collector in 2008).

People interested in rather low-tech solution can also have a look at this arduino-based version with utterly swell strapped micro-controllers and motors to a pair of Jordans.

Why do I blog this? Of course this is old news for the interwebs, but I find it interesting to collect examples of product featured in speculative movies that find their way to real artifact or intermediary artifacts such as patent. It’s a good way to trace the evolution of product ideas from a Los Angeles studio to a huge server farm at the World Intellectual Property Organization near my apartment in Geneva. The fact that it took 20 years to see this move is intriguing too.

Ubiquitous QR codes

Why do I blog this? I’m not sure “Ubiquitous computing” was supposed to mean this kind of QR code pervasive presence, but hey…

Skeumorphed display

Such frames never ceases to fascinates me.

iPhone headset proxemics

Although it’s hard to see on this picture taken in Marseille last week, it represents the maximum distance between two persons using the same iPhone headset.

Collaborative usage of music if you want and headset proxemics.

Why do I blog this? Collecting behavior like this leads me to wonder about a new book project about categorizing such habits/practices… Besides, I am fascinated by the use of audio/sound interactions (as “non-optical augmented reality”, collaborative practices, etc.).

Map practice: temporary with chalk

A chalk map found on a wall in Paris last Monday. An interesting example of a temporary object employed for specific purposes.