I came across Rich Gold‘s name when I decided to take proper stock of this ubiquitous computing thing maybe three or four years ago. Rich Gold, who I never knew personally, relished in being multi-discplinary, it appears. He describes the multiple hats he wore — engineer, (“pseudo”) scientist, artist, designer. It’s…

Some scenes of the particular strategies for maintaining a sense of comfort, ownership of space and a spirit of home-is-where-the-shoes-can-be-removed. What are the ways that comfort can be maintained even when in uncomfortable, cramped, public, awkward spaces?

Nicolas and I gave a talk serendipitously organized at SK Telecom’s Technology Innovation and Planning group. The purpose was introductory. I had met the group’s leader, Jong Chae Oh at a workshop organized by the Institute for the Future’s Mike Liebhold. It was an opportunity for sharing process, methodology and so…

Found in Insa-dong district of Seoul, in a combination bookshop / cafe / newsstand. Bruce Sterling commented the other day that Seoul was one of the quietest cities he has experienced. I had not “heard” the city that way, but after talking about this point I realized that it was indeed quiet. Not forest and trees qu…

I could say over design, but zealous sounds more purposeful.

Jan Chipchase’s recent image provocation on slowness had me thinking about what sorts of things can be slowed down and why one would want to slow them down. He shows an image of an automated espresso maker delivering a deliciously thick and gooey latte. I’ve noticed that the automatic coffee machine here is paced as…

Struck with a heavy irony last night as I was responding to an inquiry about Blogjects, Smart Dust, Smart Technology as might be realized in the year 2030 that Smart Dust has been variously pitched as a something for the battlefield (remotely track enemy troop movements, etc), on the one hand, and the cornfield (mea…

What are the boundaries of interfaces for our digital lives? Our fingers? How can the gestures we use to interact with our devices extend to create new sorts of interaction rituals and interactive experiences that go beyond the digit interface? From simple switches found in old trucks, to the 19 tactile buttons on t…

Mobile devices suffer from a variety of design requirements that have created some pretty interesting challenges. One is power. How do you get small, portable, powerful technologies to run for a reasonable amount of time without weighting them down with car battery-sized power cells? I’ve hit this problem in all kin…