What if Google were a UNIX shell…
Well, it’d be like this: www.goosh.org.
Once again, it’s the simple things…
Tags: Google, On the Web, Programming, UI, User InterfacePosts Tagged with User Interface
OLPC: Give one, get one, enjoy free WiFi and play SimCity
The One Laptop Per Child project (OLPC) XO laptop is on sale in the U.S. by way of their “Give One Get One” program. Sales kicked off on Monday (November 12th) and will be running until November 26th. As if getting your hands on the XO to kick the tires isn’t enough, T-Mobile is offering one year of complimentary WiFi access at their HotSpots for all donors. From the OLPC site:
This is the first time the revolutionary XO laptop has been made available to the general public. For a donation of $399, one XO laptop will be sent to empower a child in a developing nation and one will be sent to the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. $200 of your donation is tax-deductible (your $399 donation minus the fair market value of the XO laptop you will be receiving).
It was also announced last that Maxis (Electronic Arts) has donated the original SimCity game to the project, allowing for free distribution of the addictive classic which was originally developed for the Commodore 64.
Don Hopkins created a UNIX variant of the game in the past and has been advocating the use of SimCity for educational purposes for years. Hopkins commented on a Slashdot article earlier this year:
“The goal is to enable the open-source community to renovate SimCity and take it in new educational directions, by applying Seymour Papert’s ideas about constructionist education, Alan Kay’s ideas about interactive user interfaces and object-oriented programming, Ben Shneiderman’s ideas about direct manipulation and info visualization, and many exciting ideas about multiplayer games, blogging, storytelling, game mods, player created content, and lessons learned from World of WarCraft, The Sims, Spore, etc,”
The cause sounds noble. One way or the other games will make it to the OLPC. Let’s hope the educational angle triumphs.More about SimCity on the OLPC XO from Don Hopkins:
- SimCity for OLPC (One Laptop Per Child): Applying Papert’s Ideas About Constructionist Education and Teaching Kids to Program
- History and Future of OLPC SimCity/Micropolis
A multi-touch computing device for every budget.
Multi-touch devices seem to be popping up everywhere. Don’t be the last kid on your block to get yours. Don’t worry about the price—there’s something for everyone.
The Two Dollar Multi-touch Pad: $2.00 *
Manufacturer: You
Target Market: Subscribers to Make magazine
Pros: Icebreaker with huge nerds
Cons: It’s a Ziplock bag full of water and dye
Yes, for the lowest priced multi-touch device you have to roll up your sleeves. The $2 variant is cheap, but it’s not ready for prime time-nor is that the intention of its (far more clever than myself) creator Erling Ellingsen.
$2 Multi-Touch
* OK, the price is misleading, but even if you add the price of a Mac laptop, it still comes in as the second cheapest solution out there.
iPhone: $399
Manufacturer: Apple
Target Market: Everyone but people who use Microsoft Exchange
Pros: Portability, Price
Cons: Depends on your perspective
Let’s just not describe the iPhone. I’m pretty sure Apple has beat into your head what it is.
To clarify on the cons for Apple’s iPhone: there might be no cons whatsoever (ask anyone who would sit in front of an Apple store overnight to get a $79 OS X upgrade), it might have a few stumbling blocks (these people are referred to as ‘the general public’), or, it flat out sucks (Steve Ballmer).
Surface: $5,000 to $10,000
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Target Market: Consumer and Commercial (Everyone)
Pros: Leverages Microsoft’s developer ecosystem
Cons: It’s a big ass table
The Surface multi-touch computer is the product of years of R&D at Microsoft. Pricing is said to be between $5,000 and $10,000 - which, on the low end, doesn’t price it that much higher than a high-performance PC and monitor combination.
Surface’s form factor returns memories of the original sit-down Pac Man machines which have established beachheads in homes across America. Unfortunately, Microsoft isn’t envisioning Surface in your basement (whether you are or not). Combine the price with Microsoft’s developer community and expect to see Surface pop-up (I couldn’t say ’surface’) in a variety of venues. Hospitality industry first.
If you haven’t seen the Big Ass Table Surface parody, view Microsoft’s videos first and then get a laugh out of it (both are below).
Microsoft Surface: Imagine the Possibilities
Microsoft Surface Parody
Interactive Media Wall: Starting at $100,000
Manufacturer: Perceptive Pixel
Target Market: Affluent people like Steve Jobs (but not Steve Jobs)
Pros: Looks incredibly fluid
Cons: Prices Starting at $100,000
Perceptive Pixel is Jeff Han’s company which launched after the oooohs and aaaahs wound down following his NYU experiments and TED appearances hit the ‘net. The company’s first product, the Interactive Media Wall, is an 8 foot by 3 foot screened computing device. The single-page Perceptive Pixel site is curiously quiet about its first product. It does, however, have a great video showing more recent experimentations.
Definitely cool. Curiously being sold at Neiman Marcus. That’s right, it’s at Neiman’s. Details are less than inspiring. Could we get some indication of what kind of software it comes with? Are companies developing software for it? OS? And, I hate to ask, but can I step back a few paces and just watch a HD movie on it from the couch?
Tags: $2 multi touch, Apple, Erling Ellingsen, Hardware, Industrial Design, Interactive Media Wall, iPhone, Jeff Han, Microsoft, Microsoft Surface, multi touch, Pac Man, Perceptive Pixel, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, User Experience, User InterfaceSuperDrive Update 2.1 not so super
Since I downloaded SuperDrive Update 2.1 and ran it (on my MacBook Pro), whenever I restart my Mac, it still launches, telling me there are no devices requiring the firmware update. I know this, because I already updated it!
What the SuperDrive update doesn’t let me know is how to stop it from opening each time I restart my Mac. So, I hunt and pecked and found the answer. If you’re having the same issue, read on…
Removing SuperDrive Update 2.1 from a Mac’s startup sequence is easy:
- Go to
> System Preferences… - Under the System header, click the “Accounts” option
- Select the “Login Items” tab
- Select the SuperDrive Update 2.1 Application (so it is highlighted-not the textbox-just click on the name of the application so it is highlighted)
- Click the ” - ” button to delete the application from your startup sequence
- Close the Accounts window
That’s it - you should no longer be prompted by the firmware updater at startup.
Tags: Apple, Apple Support, Applications, Hardware, Operating Systems, os x, Usability, User Experience, User InterfaceXHTML/CSS - Get a job
Terralever is currently hiring for several positions at our Tempe, Arizona office. Here’s the job posting that was added to our career’s section today:
Terralever is on the lookout for a passionate, creative, standards compliant front end architect. We’re not going to bore you with the regular “must know CSS, XHTML, yada, yada”.The right candidate yearns for new learning experiences and has an exquisite passion and drive to be on the bleeding edge of technological revolutions. This candidate will have validation in life through amazing work and the W3C, a pixel-perfect attention to detail, an insatiable desire to be creative, and an ownership to their work that it’s the best. And a rockin’ iPod playlist doesn’t hurt.Terralever is located on Mill Avenue in the heart of downtown Tempe, offering our employees a hip, creative atmosphere. We have a team centric work environment which allows our staff to interact with all aspects of a project. We have amazing award-winning work for national brands, but we pride ourselves more for the extraordinary group of people that make it possible.If this sounds like you and a company you’d like to work for e-mail jobs@terralever.com with your resume and some sweet samples.
The original posting is located on the careers section on the Terralever web site along with additional job postings for the roles of Senior Interactive Designer, Flash Production Artist, Senior Interactive (Flash) Developer, Interactive Project Manager, and .NET Web Applications Developer.We’re also always looking for best-of-breed candidates in search marketing (SEO and PPC) and viral marketing.
Tags: AZ, CSS, Flash, HTML, Information Architecture, Jobs, Online Marketing, Pay per Click, Phoenix, Programming, RIA, Search, Tempe, Terralever, User Experience, User Interface, Viral Marketing, Visual Design, Web Applications, XHTML