This assignment was to develop a concept around a two-screen, live event experience; specifically, using TV and computer via internet. Our group’s concept was a variety-style, Gong Show inspired show with binary voting from viewers to determine via aggregate whether a performance was Fly (a rousing success) or Pie (a miserable failure) which received a whipped cream pie in the face. (We’re a classy outfit here..) (more…)

after a couple of late nights, i have a proof-of-concept in the real-time cycling-related datalogging. the reasons behind the project are still getting sorted, but lately my interest in ubiquitous urban sensor networks has been piqued and this is a tentative exploration in that area. sensors don’t have to remain static as part of physical infrastructure…millions of people are carrying millions of sensors around with them daily. (more…)

i recently switched to Coda for web development. now, i don’t do much web dev any longer…mostly for myself (as evidenced my this latest overhaul of robertcarlsen.net – which amounts to theme hacking, really). i never had a problem with tabbing through several programs to get the job done, but i like Panic’s style.

the interface is clean and with keyboard shortcuts for each of the view modes. i do so wish for more info in the files panel….i’m used to comparing modification times and the sync features of full-fledged FTP clients.

anyway, it’s good software – and i’ve come to really appreciate good software lately after writing a lot of bad software myself.

The first web interface wireframes for Cloud Reader. Overall comments: too busy, too complicated for what is supposed to be a simple service. Good advice, back to the sketching. (more…)

Our first assignment was to redesign the front page of the New York State Motor Vehicle Services website. I’ve recently had to navigate it to update my driver’s license, and found it very frustrating to use. The front page is overwhelming in the number of links and choices initially presented.

In the spirit of John Maeda’s Laws of Simplicity, I used this as an experiment in asking “What can you add by taking something away?” – In particular, I was attempting to add some sanity through organization. My notes detailing the reorganization are below. (more…)

…sitting here looking for apartments 100 miles away. i suppose it could be worse – it could be 200 or 2000 miles away. regardless, weeks of filtering out all the noise in the available listings is taking it’s toll. understanding the situation in my neighborhood i fully expect brooklyn to be similar in that things can change from block to block…and without an intimate knowledge of the area i feel a bit blind.

relatively new tools such are google’s street view and various mashups have helped, but i still feel lost in all this. the difference in rental prices between philadelphia and new york also smart and are making it difficult to think objectively about where i want to live versus where i can afford to live….come on jackpot!

there has to be a better way….i’ll be giving the old methods a try tomorrow by <gasp> heading up there to ask to look at apartments in person…crazy, i know! wild times we live in…

i’m trying out the flock browser…since it seems that a large focus of my upcoming semester at ITP is going to be on the implications of the rise of the social web…i figure i might as well jump in whole heartedly.

i’m still reconciling privacy issues in the wake of the myspace generation but i’ll just have to treat my online identity in a similar fashion to my physical one. i’m accessible yet private and responsible for my actions. it seems as though the anonymity enjoyed as i’ve grown up with new telecommunication technologies has given way to the hyperpersonal…but most folks don’t seem to have come to terms with the inherent causality of this shift….

…take a deep breath…