The underlying problem was that we shifted from making something we knew people wanted, to making an ill-defined product that we hoped people wanted.

Take a look at the whole post.

In his latest incarnation the lack of control is physical: Dr. Mann can literally not remove his Eye Tap camera without special tools, and thus is powerless to stop it from snapping the picture of any hapless bystander he sees. The note from a medical doctor explaining the device further presses the idea of nameless and remote authority figures that holds the actual power. As always, the unwitting antagonists here are not random passersby; they are low-level employees at institutions that engage in their own unsolicited picture taking, either through ubiquitous security cameras hidden by “ceiling domes of wine-dark opacity” or more directly, as was the case when Mann insisted that the TSA allow him to go through airport security with his full cyborg-styled gear that he claimed was necessary “for medical reasons.” (As with the McDonald’s incident, that confrontation ultimately resulted in Mann being “assaulted” when agents forcibly removed his gear.) In setting up confrontations with the rank-and-file, Mann very effectively acts as a mirror. In effect he’s saying “Oh, you can’t stop taking my picture because those are the rules? That’s funny, I can’t help but take your picture for the same reason!”

Dr. Mann is quite experienced at playing the press, and even before the days of viral cat videos he knew how to tell a story that would spread far and wide. Unfortunately, I feel both this latest work and his previous run-in with the TSA lost their deeper themes in transmission. Mann’s previous confrontation was largely interpreted in press reports and online-discussion either as an example of TSA bullying or a case of medical augmentations becoming outlawed. Judging by the initial reactions, it appears his latest stunt is again being interpreted primarily as an example of a hate crime against a new protected class, the cyborg. While transhumanism (and the critique of it) has always been a secondary theme of Mann’s work, it’s disappointing that he has chosen to highlight this over what I see as the deeper and more interesting theme of empowerment. It also seems that Mann is recycling his previous works without saying a whole lot that is new. The world has changed a great deal from 1994 when he did his Wearable Wireless Webcam, and the idea of security cameras as a threat seem trite in today’s world of online profiles, social networking and ubiquitous cellphone cameras. I, for one, hope the next time I read about Steve Mann in another altercation my initial reaction won’t be “oh no, not again” but rather “oh, that’s interesting!”

What may be the world’s first cybernetic hate crime unfolds in French McDonald’s

[Migrated from Google+]

[Migrated from Google+]

PaperTweet3d: Augmented Reality T-shirts from squidder on Vimeo.

Sunglasses company Rodenstock presented Informance, a “design study for the spectacles of the future” at this year’s OPTI trade fair in Munich. Made in conjunction with UK-based Cambridge Consultants, these are a pair of sunglasses with a 160 x 120 pixel head-up-display embedded in the glasses. The design looks similar to the prism-in-glasses approach that MicroOptical (now Myvu) did about 10 years ago.

One of the big problems with the old in-glasses-style MicroOpticals was that the field-of-view was small enough that you really needed a custom fit to put the display in the right location, and even then it was hard to use when walking or running. MicroOptical’s display was at the center rather than the edge of the glasses, which may make a difference — given that Rodenstock intends athletes to use this to see heart-rate, time, etc., I certainly hope so.

(via NewScientistTech via engadget via Fairyshaman)

Powercast (formerly Firefly Power Technologies, and spin-off based on University of Pittsburgh research) made a splash at CES this year with their dime-sized receiver that harvests RF energy from a nearby wall-wart transmitter. Based on their patent and related tech from PITT, the technology looks pretty darned simple (so simple I’m surprised there’s not prior art, but then this isn’t my field). It’s basically just an antenna with a bunch of taps, each tap consisting of an inductor to resonate with the desired RF frequency and a rectifying diode to turn the energy into DC. That DC voltage is integrated across a series of capacitors, and stored in another capacitor.

I’ve not seen any detailed specs on how efficiency drops off with range from the transmitter, though a Businesses 2.0 write-up claims their range is only about 3 feet, with voltages too small for laptops but good enough for small devices. Their tech has also been tested for recharging wireless sensors at the Pittsburgh Zoo, and Philips is apparently coming out with a wirelessly-powered lightstick using the technology later this year.

Arcade Reality is a cute little Augmented Reality game for the Palm Treo cellphone. Video is displayed from the phone’s camera, and monsters are (randomly) pinned to points in the real world. Move your cellphone around to center them in the screen, then blast them with your lasers. (Thanks to Stig for showing off the game…)