Doors7: Self-assembly Furniture gets Clued-Up and the Building of Fetish Objects

Looking at the next computer paradigm, Lars Erik Holmquist of the Viktoria Institute's Future Applications Lab in Sweden, asked: 'Ubiquitous Computing: Cargo Cult or Next Big Thing?', saying we are 'still far from the grand vision of supporting and augmenting human activities'.

He started his talk with a description of the Melanesian Cargo Cult, which involves making a totem airplane to attract the real planes sent from paradise by ancestors. He likened much work in technology to this building of fetish objects – things that appear but don't do. He commented that things are easy to make if they don't have to work or no one has to use them. But the situation was improving: there was less faith in technology and developers were thinking more about the human side. The art was balancing blue-sky work with feasibility.

Then he identified four areas that he sees as key to enhancing mobile connectivity - the focus of his lab and collaborations such as those under the 'Disappearing Computer' EU umbrella: networking infrastructure, miniaturisation, sensing and power.

He gave several examples of applying digital information in physical situations, the most immediately appealing of which was the example of context awareness to illustrate sensing. The Smart-Its are small digital devices that can be attached to anything. He showed how they could be used in flat-pack furniture: equipped with orientation sensing devices, pieces can indicate if they are being assembled correctly together.

Associated Link: Smart-Its

All change at the top for System Concepts
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 3 July 2009
 
Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

Life in UCD immortalised in fiction: you couldn't make it up
Source: UN, 2 July 2009
 
Sarah Herman's fictitious book on life in a user-centred design company has hit the shelves and The Guardian's book pages...

Interfaces Magazine - Issue 79: The Education Issue
Source: Interaction Group, 1 July 2009
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

Two new Behavioural research Tools from Noldus
Source: UN, 30 June 2009
 
Tool updates make on-site behavioural data collection easier.

Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
Source: MIT Technology Review, 29 June 2009
 
New software tracks a user's behavior by monitoring everyday sounds.

Top Six Don’ts for Usability Testing
Source: FutureNow Inc., 27 June 2009
 
Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

Usability: ‘Lovely software. But I can’t work it’
Source: FT.com, 26 June 2009
 
In a recent survey by Global Graphics, 77 per cent of office workers estimate they lose up to one hour a week because business software is difficult to use.

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Source: Dexo Design, 25 June 2009
 
How do you describe your job role? Here are the results of a recent 'Preferred UX/UI Title' Poll.

Most Doctors cite Usability as critical to Electronic Health Record Adoption
Source: TMCNet, 24 June 2009
 
It's all about 'meaningful use'.

Glossy monitors look good but can hurt
Source: QUT, 23 June 2009
 
A new advisory cites research which suggests high gloss monitors make users sit awkwardly.