Penultimate Ubicomp Class

Some quick notes:

  • Final Project Presentations is next Wednesday.
    The project doesn't have to be completed by then,
    but the presentation should have enough describing

    • what the problem is
    • what your approach is (ie what you've done)
    • what your results are so far


    We have 80 minutes and we have 6 groups, so aim for
    about 10 minutes each plus a few minutes for questions.

  • For this coming Monday, rather than a reading assignment,
    the assignment is to do a coherent and lively 5-minute rant.
    You can even do interpretive dance or rap if you want.
    Bonus points if you make people laugh or start a fight.
    Here are some pointers that might help:


    • "Ubicomp will fail in 10 years because..."
    • "We should eliminate privacy because..."
    • "Ubicomp will succeed but b/c of (smart toys / sex / ...)"
    • "The metric for ubicomp should not be efficiency but (smiles per hour / hugs per hour / quality of life / ...)"
    • "Areas x, y, and z of ubicomp should be stopped b/c..."
    • "Lines of research x, y, and z are stupid b/c..."
    • "We should focus more on... (ex. third world computing)"
    • "Ubicomp will be the (worst / best) thing to happen to humanity because..."
    • "The biggest problem ubicomp has today is (programming / ethics / ...)"



  • Here are some links to some example rants by others:

    Bruce Sterling (Sci-Fi Author)
    Grand Challenges
    Argues for 911.net, Cradle.net, Punish.net, So/Ho Ubicomp, etc
    http://www.viridiandesign.org/notes/301-350/00324_911.net.html
    http://www.well.com/~doctorow/sterlingubicomp.txt
    (Two different talks, both funny)

    Stephen Doheny-Farina (Communication Prof)
    The Last Link: Default = Offline Or Why Ubicomp Scares Me
    Argues why ubicomp data should be "off" and "unknown" by default
    http://www.ibiblio.org/cmc/mag/1994/oct/last.html

    Bill Joy (Java guy)
    Why the Future Doesn't Need Us
    Self-replicating nanotech will turn us all into grey goo
    http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html

  • Last, here was the rap song about tangible UIs I mentioned.
    And you thought I was joking:

    http://grouplab.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/phidgets/gallery/TeddyPhidget.html


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