Month: September 2014

TED talks and other things.

Connor Osadczuk / / Inspiration, Workshops

University news first: in my first workshop for digital media we looked at digital magazines on an iPad and have been tasked with designing and interactive magazine for a subject of our choosing. (In typical fashion we chose technology and gadgetry, of course)
So in this interactive magazine we can utilise such things as scrolling text, embedded videos, hyperlinks, photo galleries, etc. So it should be pretty fun to design and compile into what will hopefully be a product that looks and works great. But we shall see.

On the subject of design, Moshe Safdie, an architect (among other things) gave a 5 minute TED talk about reinventing the apartment building to be a nicer place to live. It’s a good video and worth watching from a design standpoint; he explains why his designs work better than what is common at the moment and is generally an interesting watch anyway (as are most TED talks), so check it out.

Moshe Safdie: How to reinvent the apartment building

The first lecture of the year

Connor Osadczuk / / Ideas, Lecture Information

We had our first digital media lecture today.

This year, the module is split into 4 key skills areas:

  • User Oriented Design
  • Motion Graphics and Visual Effects
  • Digital Publication
  • Digital Interaction

And the aims are as follows:

  • Further develop skills from level 1
  • Introduction to new software
  • Creative and innovative thinking
  • “More tools in your toolbox”
  • The history of digital media

So far, so good!

It certainly looks to be an interesting year, I look forward especially to working on user oriented design and digital interaction. In fact, I actually already had an idea for digital interaction; and an app/system in general, so I hope this is relevant.

I remember having a conversation with my friend in sixth form about the inconvenience and wasted time of everyone involved  because of having to check in and out of school using a logbook at the reception desk when going to/from the school grounds. Every. Time. While I understand that safety of the students was absolute an priority and it was necessary for the faculty to know whether or not we were on school grounds in the event of an emergency, it was, as I previously said, an inconvenience for everyone involved.

The idea we had was this: an app for smartphones (which, at this point, pretty much everybody had), which could connect to a computer in the sixth form center by Bluetooth, NFC (Near-field communication), WiFi, etc. and in doing so, automatically log you in or out of a registry system on the computer saying whether or not you were on school grounds. As I said, this was just a discussion we had in passing once as we made our way into town during a free period, so I have no idea how feasible such the idea actually is in reality (Although I’m pretty confident it could be possible). But despite my lack of technical know-how, I do understand several outlying issues with the system:

  • Expenses (development of the app/system/etc.)
  • Unreliability of Bluetooth/NFC/WiFi, etc. signal
  • Not everybody has a smartphone
  • Not everybody has a phone with these features (at least, apps/NFC)
  • The system could be “tricked”; i.e: turning off your phone/the battery dying once logged into the system, and then leaving the grounds. This would have you registered as still in the school.

I still think it’s a good idea that could really become something with future technologies.
A (somewhat) similar idea takes place in the original PSX Metal Gear Solid: keycards for security doors will automatically open them when nearby provided you have them equipped due to the information using “the salts in your body” as a transmission medium. (NOTE: I AM PARAPHRASING: I have not played the game in a long time, but it is definitely mentioned that this is the reason)).
The card itself is called a PAN card (Personal Area Network) and has something to do with working alongside your body’s natural electrical field to activate electrical devices some distance away from the user.
Now, I know nothing about the salts in body being used as some sort of PAN system, but with some sleuthing online and google-fu, I’ve found a Thesis by Thomas Guthrie Zimmerman from  MIT circa 1995. It’s an interesting read: http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/29101/34289663.pdf

Nonetheless, the example stands true and it’s certainly the sort of application I’d like to see NFC technology develop into, you know, instead of using your phone for credit card purchases.

I look forward to my workshops.