Annotations and conversations

In a very small part of my graduate thesis, I imagined an interface where the cursor would be replaced by the hand to provide the concrete learner with more concrete conditions for experiences…I knew it was possible but never actually tried programming this behavior. This website is amazingly concrete. It replaces the cursor with an animated hand. While it is not exactly what I am envisioning for my interface, it is a great great start to designing conditions for more concrete experiences

but I’m not.

London v/s Denton.

Denton, of course.

I followed my brain, not my heart.

and I am glad that I did or I would have gone insane this week, lost all my hair, grown wrinkles and become 10x more paranoid than I already am.

So…Jonathan Baldwin has been really good at throwing useful applications my way to help make my life easier, more interesting, diverse and technologically caught up. It started with Twitter and we’re now…I mean I am not exploring Marsedit as a fast way of blogging (recommended by the dealer, of course).

Here I am, using Marsedit to blog about Marsedit. So far, I find it very user-friendly and easy to navigate…you know, it uses a schema I’m used to…the mac interface schema. * added after trying to upload an image: I wish I could resize the image in Marsedit itself. Going to Photoshop to make it 450px wide takes time…am I missing out on the resize functionality? *

But while I was reading about the application, I came across another application which I think was made for me. It is called Flextime and the tag line (again perfect for me) is ‘You’ve got loads of time. Spend it wisely.’ So I am running the trial version and hope to be satisfied enough to purchase it.

Below is how I hope Flextime will support me in task management tomorrow. Flextime, I hope you make me proud…I know you were made for me! I think It’s love at first sight…

I was catching up with my NPR: Technology and thought this one section titled ‘U.S Soldiers to Receive Lie-Screening Devices’ was interesting. Listen to the podcast here 

Here is an abstracted introductory version:

The U.S. Army will issue hand-held screening devices to soldiers in Afghanistan this month. The devices, which measure physiological data, will be used in questioning suspects in crisis situations, like roadside bombings, to help Army personnel determine whose account to trust.

Donald Krapohl, special assistant to the director at the Defense Academy for Credibility Assessment at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, helped develop the devices. He talks to Scott Simon about how they work.

Yes, in some ways this is great. I am not deeply aware of how it works but I do question the millions of variables in play when designing such a device. This screening device is currently only used in Iraq or Afghanistan by U.S. soldiers when questioning citizens during emergency situations. My first thought was that this device would create different responses in different people. I personally hate having a camera pointing at me and being asked to be natural…ok, maybe that’s not the best example but I wonder how transparently immediate this device is. How subtle is it? (I could find an image of it…) How does or does form affect response and behavior of the interviewee in a crisis situation? Can humans learn to control emotions and body language to defeat technology? I am also amazed by the ‘panopticon’ and wonder how this is affecting behavior.

I am glad that the device is not the only tool being used to reach a ‘verdict’…but

What was the user-testing part of the design process like?

When Danny Stillon, Director of Interaction Design at IDEO spoke at North Carolina State University, (I hope I am getting this next section right…it’s been a year) he mentioned how at IDEO, they carry user-testing in settings where the ‘tool’ would eventually be used with all the variables in place…as a way to user-test the extreme conditions.

I think that makes a lot of sense. 

If this screening device has a specific application, in a specific country, how did they test for extreme conditions? Was user-testing site specific? Was context simulated in the U.S.? Do simulated contexts provide for good data? For some reason, to me, simulated and contexts should not be in the same sentence.

Anyways, I am just wondering from a design perspective

and I thought this quote was funny  ”the closest thing to a lie detector is my mother…”