Jason Hong's Confabulations

Finally, an explanation for why I keep seeing "Free Public Wifi" in more and more places. ...Windows XP and friends are designed to pretend to be certain kinds of WiFi networks that you might have connected to in the past (a so-called AdHoc or peer-to-peer WiFi network). AdHoc networks aren't that common, but the point is that if you ever tried to connect to one with your WinXP laptop, later on it will broadcast to the world that it is that network. Then other laptops will see that network, and some will try to connect, and they are then "infected" with this broadcasting "virus." It's not a traditional computer virus of course, just a set of behaviors that spread virally. The most widely spread early names will continue to spread even more because of the nature of this system. Ever see a network called "Free Public WiFi" but when you connect, it didn't work? Congratulations, you are now part of the problem.... http://www.kpao.org/2008

Apparently, an interview with Business Week reveals that CMU's very own Johnny Lee is now the leader of a cult! :) Congratulations Johnny! Over the past 12 months, a series of quirky but compelling videos uploaded to Google's (GOOG) YouTube have been delighting hackers, designers, and tech tinkerers worldwide. The videos, which feature modifications of Nintendo's (NTDOY) popular Wii console to create everything from mind-boggling 3D images to interactive whiteboards, have earned their creator a cultlike following and inspired countless other experiments. Article

This is an interesting article showing various visualizations of four different HCI conferences: CHI, UIST, InfoViz, and AVI. There is certainly an element of belly gazing going on here, but I also think it's interesting what kinds of conclusions can be drawn from the different visualizations. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a789632485~db=all~order=page The authors also present some strategies for producing key publications: Have the right idea at the right time Collaborate with other senior researchers Supervise a good number of (good) students Publish in the right conferences

"The Human-Computer Interaction Institute is well represented among the nominees for the second annual YouTube Awards. http://www.youtube.com/ytawards07 . The video of Prof. Randy Pausch’s Sept. 18 lecture, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” has been nominated for Most Inspirational. PhD student Johnny Chung Lee and his “Head Tracking for Desktop VR” video are nominated in the Instructional Video category. Winners will be chosen based on popular voting. Individuals can vote once a day in each of the 12 YouTube categories through March 19. "