Dan W, Web App + Mobile Developer in London

Busch Gardens (Tampa) - 1960’s

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:13:24 +0000

Busch Gardens (Tampa) - 1960’s

Epcot - 1987

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:11:55 +0000

Epcot - 1987

SVA Dot Dot Dot Lectures: Jason Santa Maria (via Vimeo)

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:05:22 +0000

SVA Dot Dot Dot Lectures: Jason Santa Maria (via Vimeo)

Electronic Pop-up Book

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:24:59 +0000

Electronic Pop-up Book

Watches and Clocks

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:07:00 +0000

I’m fascinated with ubicomp, and how its patterns have been seen before. An example of an ubiquitous technology is time. Dedicated clocks & watches are disappearing, replaced by time displays on other objects such as mobile phones, microwaves and computers.

Here’s a few things I’ve learnt about clocks and watches, largely from the British Museum:

Originally more of a status symbol, worn around the neck, made of gold and highly decorated.
Became everyday utility as accuracy improved and clothing with pockets became common.
Progressed from gold to more plain designs with a glass screen.
Wristwatches originally for women and cyclists. Became common only in WWI when worn by men in the trenches.

Interesting form factors:

Alarm clock add-on for pocket watches
Clock disguised inside a fake book “Time and Its Practical Daily Use”
Electric master clocks in offices, train stations and hospitals which control slave clocks around the building (as personal watches not yet ubiquitous)

"So in short— lots of technical advancement in terms of allowing each side to amplify their..."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:19:59 +0000

“So in short— lots of technical advancement in terms of allowing each side to amplify their voice in the conversation. But “voice” is only one half of a conversation, there’s also listening. And the only “listening” technology I know of that Congress uses regularly and pays attention to is called “polling.””

- Listening in on Twitter

GPS-enabled puzzle box opens only at Île-de-Bréhat, France

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:43:00 +0000

GPS-enabled puzzle box opens only at Île-de-Bréhat, France

Office Ergonomics

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:14:12 +0000

Office Ergonomics

Grumble

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:34:56 +0000

RSI is not fun.

Leverage Top-Down Infrastructure to Support Bottom-up Platforms

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:53:04 +0000

Leverage Top-Down Infrastructure to Support Bottom-up Platforms:

I make a simple little foursquare+oyster RFID mashup. This is the title for a mini IBM article about it. Awesome.

surely he’s got better things to be doing? (via antimega)

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:59:21 +0100

surely he’s got better things to be doing? (via antimega)

hey, this is the uk. it is customary to lose crucial data in...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:21:28 +0100

hey, this is the uk. it is customary to lose crucial data in public transport

Comment on crucial scientific data by antimega

"People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you..."

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:18:33 +0100

“

People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are “The Advertisers” and they are laughing at you.

You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.

”

- Banksy (via alwayscapitalize)

"Luzhkov’s plan is to spray clouds with a chemical mist — made of cement powder, dry ice, or..."

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:25:26 +0100

“Luzhkov’s plan is to spray clouds with a chemical mist — made of cement powder, dry ice, or silver iodide — before they reach the city, causing the clouds to dump their snow loads on the surrounding suburbs. The advantages, he claims, are numerous: Moscow residents won’t have to contend with congested streets, the agricultural regions will receive more precipitation, and the whole project is considerably less expensive than the current cost of clearing Moscow’s streets.”

- Moscow Mayor’s Climate-Hacking Plot: a Winter Without Snow - controlling the weather is cheaper than clearing the streets?

This shouldn’t be the image of Hack Day

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:07:50 +0100

This shouldn’t be the image of Hack Day:

Simon Willison sums up the community sentiment around Yahoo having dancing “hack girls” at their Taiwan Hack Day last week.

"The bit of social I particularly care about is small groups, and my close friends and family, and I..."

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:55:55 +0100

“The bit of social I particularly care about is small groups, and my close friends and family, and I believe we’re still not designing well there. But that’s a story for another day.”

- Why social matters

"In his mind, every link “leaves the barn door open” and points “away from the product … to the..."

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:01:52 +0100

“In his mind, every link “leaves the barn door open” and points “away from the product … to the wide-open Web,” where nobody wants to pay for anything.”

- A Digital Magazine Without Links Is a CD-ROM

The City Car

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:45:31 +0100

The City Car

"The City of New York is improving the way it provides information and transparency to citizens. But..."

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:36:11 +0100

“The City of New York is improving the way it provides information and transparency to citizens. But delivering great information requires great tools. The NYC BigApps Competition will reward the developers of the most useful, inventive, appealing, effective, and commercially viable applications for delivering information from the City of New York’s NYC.gov Data Mine to interested users.”

- NYC BigApps

Laser Cut Papercraft RFID Radio

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:24:31 +0100

Laser Cut Papercraft RFID Radio