Tuesday, June 16. 2009Par-veillance
----- Via Pruned Tuesday, May 05. 2009Pachube: Building a Platform for Internet-Enabled EnvironmentsPachube was one of 5 Internet of Things services that we profiled in February. Pachube, (pronounced "PATCH-bay" according to the New York Times) lets you tag and share real time sensor data from objects, devices, buildings and environments both physical and virtual. In a recent monumental blog post by Tish Shute, Pachube founder, Usman Haque, explained that Pachube is about "environments" moreso than "sensors." In other words, Pachube aims to be responsive to and influence your environment - for example your home. This type of environmentally aware Internet technology will become increasingly important, so in this post we look at the business model of Pachube and an early product built on top of the service. One of the motivations behind Pachube was to "open up the production process of 'smart homes'," in order to provide an alternative to products by the likes of Microsoft and Apple. Usman Haque wants Pachube to be a platform for others to transition to the Internet of Things. Although, he doesn't yet know what types of applications built on the service will become important. On the Pachube site, as we explained in our earlier post, users can either input a feed or use one of the feeds available. The feeds come from devices, buildings, or interactive installations that are already connected to the internet or that send out SMS messages. Also supported are Second Life installations. Where's The Business Model?In an interview with Tish Shute's excellent UgoTrade site, Usman Haque said that "Pachube came about as a direct attempt to enable the production of dynamic, responsive, conversant 'environments'." However it's not all scientific endeavour - there is also a business model behind Pachube. Haque explained that there are 4 current facets: 1) Pro accounts with "a more sophisticated set of services", ala Flickr. 2) A set of tools and applications for medium scale manufacturers and developers who want to web-enable their offerings, who according to Haque "will be able to take advantage of the growing repository of Pachube.Apps and add-ons, and who want the convenience, security and economy that Pachube will be able to offer." 3) Involvement in large-scale urban infrastructure projects. 4) A "killer" business model, currently being kept under wraps! The service is far from finished. Upcoming features in Pachube will include a range of privacy options on feeds, the ability to create "aggregates" from collections of feeds, groups, and open environment-level tagging (so that anyone will be able to tag environments). Day of the Networked TriffidsAn early example of a product built on top of Pachube is one created by Usman Haque's company, Haque Design & Research, called Natural Fuse. It uses house plants, energy-monitoring sensors, and Pachube to create "a city-wide network of electronically-assisted plants that act as carbon-cycle circuit-breakers in much the same way as conventional electrical circuit-breakers do". If that sounds like Greek to you (it did to me), basically these "networked plants" enable people to "cooperate on their energy expenditure. Then, the plants thrive (and they can all use more energy); but if they don't the network starts to kill plants, thus diminishing the network's energy capacity." It doesn't sound too pleasant for the plants, but it is probably good for the environment. ConclusionWe've only scratched the surface of Pachube here. It's an ambitious new platform for sensor data - sorry, environments. Expect this kind of Internet service to be a key part of your urban environment in the not too distant future. You can keep track of progress via the Pachube community and of course their Twitter account. Also, read Tish Shute's blog post for more details about Pachube, and/or check out the slideshow below. ----- Via Read Write Web via Bruce Sterling's blog Related Links:Personal comment: Pachube, une plateforme "Internet of things & environment" lancée par Usman Haque. Qui n'est pas sans me faire penser un peu (un peu) à Rhizoreality.
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Architecture, Science & technology
at
09:41
Defined tags for this entry: architects, architecture, computing, design (environments), science & technology, ubiquitous
Monday, March 23. 2009The elements of networked urbanismA summary of what those of us who are thinking, writing and speaking about networked urbanism seem to be seeing: fourteen essential transformations that, between them, constitute a rough map of the terrain to be discovered. Not sure, in every case, I’ve got the phrasing just right, and will in any event expand on this shortly. Nevertheless: 1. From latent to explicit;
----- Monday, February 16. 2009The City Is Here: Table of contentsGoaded by Mike Kuniavsky’s publication last week of an outline to his forthcoming book, here’s a table of contents for The City Is Here For You To Use. It’s a little unusual, in that it takes the form of a skeletal argument, or maybe even an essay; I hope you enjoy it. Of course, you should also consider this an alpha version, subject to change. (If any of this whets your appetite, do consider pre-ordering the book here.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ----- Related Links:Personal comment:
Quelques notes à propos du prochain livre d'Adam Greenfield (The City Is Here For you To Use). L'auteur du livre Everyware y détaille les points qu'il souhaite aborder concernant une approche urbanistique qui tiendrait compte de l'"ubiquitous computing". Y sont présents de nombreux points qui nous tiennent à coeur par rapport à l'espace (urbain) contemporain, même si ici le focus est fait sur la question de l'"ubicomp".
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Architecture, Culture & society, Interaction design, Territory
at
09:43
Defined tags for this entry: architecture, culture & society, interaction design, territory, theory, thinkers, ubiquitous, urbanism
Thursday, January 29. 2009Your kitchen table as a gesture based input deviceTurn any flat surface in a gesture-based interface using 'Scratch it'. ----- Related Links:Personal comment:
On a déjà entendu parler de ce genre de recherche, sans vraiment encore voir un produit arriver sur le marché. La démarche est ici documentée sous forme d'une vidéo et d'un "paper" scientifique.
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Interaction design, Science & technology
at
09:54
Defined tags for this entry: interaction design, interface, research, science & technology, software, ubiquitous
Monday, December 08. 2008Rob van Kranenburg: The Internet of Things. A critique of ambient technology and the all-seeing network of RFIDOn October 28th Rob van Kranenburg’s book The Internet of Things A critique of ambient technology and the all-seeing network of RFID will be launched (5:00 pm, Waag Society, Amsterdam) A pdf download is already available at the Institute for Network Cultures website. The main point of Kranenburg’s essay is that:
Kranenburg makes a range of interesting points with regard to the internet of things that he would like to see discussed. I’ll highlight two of those here:
----- Via The Mobile City Related Links:Personal comment: Un autre livre, une autre ressources concernant l'"ubiquitous computing", l'"internet of things", etc. C'est un peu le nouveau "buzz word" ces temps dans l'univers des media arts/design. Une ressource à mettre toutefois en réserve en vue de Globale Surveillance.
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Territory
at
10:38
Defined tags for this entry: city, monitoring, surveillance, territory, theory, thinkers, ubiquitous
The Public Domain by James BoyleJames Boyle’s new book The Public Domain is now available. Boyle, a founding board member of Creative Commons, and current Chair of the CC Board, is a professor at Duke University School of Law and a seminal thinker in the field of information property rights and law. The following excerpt from James Boyle’s Preface to The Public Domain sets out issues that make this book a fundamental resource for understanding and advancing the smart mobby future of ideas:
----- Via Smart Mobs Related Links:Personal comment:
La question du "domaine public" abordée par un des fondateurs de Creative Commons. Même si ici le sujet paraît abordé d'un point de vue plutôt juridique (les oeuvres "tombées" dans le domaine public, les oeuvres libres de droits, la propriété intellectuelle, le copyright, etc.), c 'est une question qui nous intéresse depuis plusieurs années par rapport à l'espace public. L'extension de l'analyse du réel ("reality mining", tracking, monitoring, surveillance, etc.) mite et mine progressivement l'espace public. Celui-ci, analysé par des technologies souvent propriétaires produit des données dont on ne connait pas l'exploitation, par qui, pourquoi?
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Culture & society, Territory
at
10:13
Defined tags for this entry: books, culture & society, interferences, monitoring, surveillance, territory, theory, thinkers, ubiquitous
Thursday, November 13. 2008One Account to Rule Them AllA new service combines many ways of communicating.
By Erica Naone
Unifying communications tools is hardly a new idea. Over the years, several popular instant-messaging clients have been developed to let users from one network chat with those from others. And as cell-phone use has grown, companies like Grand Central (now owned by Google) and Ribbit (now owned by BT) have focused on bringing together multiple phone numbers. The idea has proved especially popular in the business world, with companies such as IBM building products that combine a variety of communications tools--voice mail, IM, Web conferencing--with business applications like Lotus Notes. VoxOx continues this trend but offers a more exhaustive list of services. It allows users to send e-mail and instant messages, send text messages, host video conferences, make phone calls, post messages to social networks, and even share files--all from the same place. Rebecca Swensen, a research analyst with IDC, says that the product is interesting and ambitious. She cautions that "they're still working out the kinks in terms of how to make it easy to use." Swensen also questions whether consumers will be willing to put in the effort required to configure a service like this. Although ultimately, the service might make one's life a little easier, she says, it's a fairly big commitment to start using a new service, and to get all contacts loaded in and sorted out. Michael Faught, chief financial officer with VoxOx, says that the service is, initially at least, aimed at younger users who "are confronted with this chaotic world of many kinds of communication tools." Faught sees social networks as compounding the problem and says that there's no simple, efficient solution. A preview release of VoxOx was launched last week and can be downloaded for free for both Windows and Mac computers. After signing up for an account, a user is given a free VoxOx phone number and configures the rest of the service by providing usernames and passwords for compatible IM, e-mail, and social-networking accounts. VoxOx pulls in these contacts, allowing the user to scroll through a composite list and select whom to talk to and how. In some ways, VoxOx functions like a powerful instant-messaging application. Whether messages are sent as texts, instant messages, or e-mails, the conversation pops up onscreen like an IM. A user gets two free hours of calling time within the United States and Canada when she signs up, and has the option to pay for more minutes or earn them by watching ads. VoxOx can afford to hand out phone numbers for free because it is owned by TelCentris, a communications company with existing infrastructure, says CEO Bryan Hertz. The center of the company's technology, Hertz adds, is a hub that includes support for a wide variety of communications protocols, which can be extended to include many more. "For every type of communications protocol that's an open standard, we either support it already or are integrating it into the platform," he says. Hertz believes that the real power of the service is its ability to unify different mediums--for example, when a VoxOx user creates a three-way conference call, adding one person on a mobile phone and another on a VoIP call. However, the company acknowledges that there are bugs to be worked out. Some users have reported problems making and receiving calls, while others have posted requests on the company's forums for support for Linux and Facebook Chat. Hertz says that the company is now focused on responding to this feedback and plans to introduce more features and support soon. The company also plans to launch a version of the application for business users in early 2009. Copyright Technology Review 2008. ----- Related Links:
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Science & technology
at
10:38
Defined tags for this entry: communication, culture & society, science & technology, social, ubiquitous
Tuesday, November 11. 20083rd Situated Technologies pamphlet out: Situated Advocacy
Download a free PDF here, or buy a printed copy from Lulu.com Advocacy is the act of arguing on behalf of a particular cause, idea or person, and addresses issues including self-advocacy, environmental protection, the rights of women, youth and minorities, social justice, the re-structured digital divide and political reform. Situated Technologies Pamphlets 3: Situated Advocacy considers how situated technologies have been—or might be—mobilized toward changing and/or influencing social or political policies, practices, and beliefs. What new forms of advocacy are enabled by contemporary location-based or context-aware media and information systems? How might they lend tactical support to the process of managing information flows and disseminating strategic knowledge that influences individual behavior or opinion, corporate conduct or public policy and law? [From Situated Technologies] Related Links:
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Culture & society, Interaction design, Territory
at
14:21
Defined tags for this entry: books, culture & society, interaction design, territory, theory, ubiquitous
Tuesday, November 04. 2008The Ambient Life
The Ambient Life from Buro Knapzak on Vimeo. What I notice in this movie is an ambient life doesn’t necessarily mean that people are interacting more with systems, but the other way around. Systems are interacting with me, my body and surroundings. At the same time the systems are interacting with each other, exchaning data… and from that point they can start interacting with other people. So in a way this means that my everyday (inter)actions will cause a ripple of interactions around me, mostly invisible for me. Will this result in a new kind of serendipity? Because my environment is being pushed in a direction because of my actions… changing every ‘regular’ flow. Or am I seeing things that aren’t there? Related Links:Personal comment: Quelle horreur! Fonctionnaliste et technologico-transcendant (monitoré!): raison supplémentaire pour proposer d'"autres" futurs... plus, comment ... ? Humanistes? poétiques? rugueux, complexes?
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fabric | rblgThis blog is the survey website of fabric | ch - studio for architecture, interaction and research. We curate and reblog articles, researches, writings, exhibitions and projects that we notice and find interesting during our everyday practice and readings. Most articles concern the intertwined fields of architecture, territory, art, interaction design, thinking and science. From time to time, we also publish documentation about our own work and research, immersed among these related resources and inspirations. This website is used by fabric | ch as archive, references and resources. It is shared with all those interested in the same topics as we are, in the hope that they will also find valuable references and content in it.
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