Comments on: Dreaming of a sensor-filled world

By: Rich H

Rich H — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:05:25 +0000

I concur with Jefferey B. The more aggregated info the more use which could be made.

I don’t believe we should worry too much about privacy issues arisingout of this, as the data could be posted annonymously.

Or if one was to use it for say route planning taking current or forecast weather / traffic into play this too could be done withou the service needing to know exactly who you are.

However there are other ways of such services knowing more about you (eg this person paid for that info).

Then of course in terms of privacy it’s probably already too late. It’s only when governments or companies misuse or loose your personal info we have issue!

By: Jeffery B

Jeffery B — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:50:34 +0000

We need more sensors. Sensors that measure
compass direction, temperature, barometrics,
rf noise, light. These would allow a mobile
to become part of the physical web, much
like a human senses these variables and is
a physical being because of it.

By: AG

AG — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:55:21 +0000

You know, Charlie, I’m really worried about how casually people seem to be assuming that any useful or interesting “context” can be derived from the sensor data we’ll have access to in the near term.

Happytalk aside, this is the definition of a hard problem – see my comments here http://speedbird.wordpress.com/2008/08/25/more-songs-about-context-and-mood/ – and unless we take the richness of this challenge quite a bit more seriously we only risk stranding people in unacceptably bad outcomes.

Beyond the difficulty involved, Dourish makes the very good point that context is an achievement – a state of being that arises out of the shared performance and understanding of two or more parties. That is, there’s a very deep question about whether “context” in the sense that the technology community understands it can be captured in an object at all.

I’d argue that we’re better off being parsimonious about the kinds of inferences and assumptions we’re comfortable making from sensor data, and that only by embracing such parsimony will we be able to design lastingly meaningful services.

By: ARJWright

ARJWright — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:28:33 +0000

Oren’s comment is similar to the one that I was going to post. Having a sensor framework in place allows the UI to take different approaches depending on context, and it becomes something that eventually allows for more intelligent system interplay with users.

Will people be afraid as they see mobiles doing and recording more, reacting more to them then they are doing passively; possibly. And at the same time done in ways that will enhance usage it will be welcomed and encouraged.

How can Nokia as the big-co lead part-time and hobbyist developers towards thinking in the mindset of context, moreso than function? THat will be the hardest challenge.

By: Oren Levine

Oren Levine — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:07:41 +0000

Remember that sensors and context are not just about the Internet and services. Motion and other environmental sensors can, for example, be used to design new mobile user interfaces that can make devices more accessible to older customers, or customers with disabilities.

By: Raimo van der Klein

Raimo van der Klein — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:04 +0000

Fear? Don’t worry about fear.

Seek relevance. Think usecases. Fill up the live world with information. Link information to any object..

Oh yeahh.. keep a close eye on ZCAPES!

By: Jonathan Greene

Jonathan Greene — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:43:38 +0000

Location, presence and the media captured and shared can create richer foundations for sharing experiences either passively or even in real time!

Context is key – hoping we see a much stronger reality with the physical web or the web of things as some call it soon!