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February 27, 2006
UCD Diaries
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~mb2811/UCD_Diaries2.ppt
Posted by mb2811 at 11:04 PM
February 26, 2006
The New TxtSt FlowChart
Posted by mb2811 at 07:26 AM
Still Working on Tiger/Line Data
I posted this to the school list:
Subject: Test My Mobile App! (Sample: 721 broadway m : 11 west 53 st m)
I'm still working out my mobile application but one of the component
gives individuals walking and subway directions in manhattan and the
boroughs. If you need directions in the city, test my app out at the
same time!
The system will give you walking + subway directions in new york. Right
now it does _not_ ignore one ways so it may send you half a block out of
your way. It does takes into account weekend and rush hour subway
schedules. It will not know if the L train is on fire :)
Here's how it works:
1) send a text to subway@txtst.com (txtst is 8-9-87-8, easy to type)
2) format your message like this:
[origin] [first letter of borough] : [destination] [first letter of borough]
(every borough is the first letter of the borough name except the bronx
which is bx)
For example, to get from school to the moma you would do:
721 broadway m : 11 west 53 st m
To get from my old apartment in brooklyn to school:
260 12th st b : 721 broadway m
Easy. You will get anywhere between one and three text messages back
depending on the length of the directions. I try to keep everything
down to one text but if I exceed the 140 character limit I split up the
messages.
Send me an email if you get the wrong directions and i'll fix whatever
is wrong.
Thanks!
Posted by mb2811 at 05:40 AM
February 22, 2006
Watch out pixar. Or it's slightly inferior competitor, pixaro. Yeah pixaro won't know what hit them.
I haven't posted in a week or so, head down with all my projects and forgetting to document. I got engaged to Miss Wallack, that was last weekend. Should be good.
In 3D I haven't been putting in enough time but when I do get around to it it's pretty fun and gets easier the more you do it. The green guy up there moves around with keyboard commands.
My UbiComp project has sent me down the path of Tiger/Line files, .RT* extensions and Dijkstra's Algorithm. Let's not forget ogr2ogr and postGIS, all things I need to remember how to do later. I have ordered two mapping books and gotten in touch with a comp sci professor here at NYU who may be able to help me. Also feeling out what GIS related things I can do this summer. We shall see.
Posted by mb2811 at 10:42 PM
February 14, 2006
Urban Directions and Personal Trajectories
(Hostname not up, haven't decided yet)
What it will do
This project will give users subway and walking directions through the city of New York. As individuals follow the given the directions, they will have the option of downloading and sharing (uploading) stories about the places they pass. An accompanying website will let users edit and share their stories as well as see a history of their paths through the city.
Where the data will come from
Writing my own stuff to find paths through the city. I have geocoded subway stops, the rest of the addresses will be translated with the yahoo geocoder.
Grammar
help@ [no args] -> user is send back a help page
subway@ [from : to] -> user is sent back subway directions from -> to if both can be geocoded. directions relative to time of day and day of week request sent. otherwise error i sent back. user is also sent back website login directions. See image below for borough codes.
walking@ [ from : to] -> see subway@
story@ [optional address] -> if address is sent, find a story close to that address. Otherwise send a story on the last requested parh.
tell@ [optional address] -> same as story@ except in the opposite direction. Rich content can be sent. User is sent back their login to the website.
Diagram
This diagram covers all the bases, not exhaustive for all paths. If the image is cut off, you can find it here.
Posted by mb2811 at 05:49 AM
February 13, 2006
Research Plan & Shadowing Assignment
For this week, David and I put together our research plan and completed the shadowing assignment. Since it was difficult for us to shadow a recycling process, we decided to interview an individual about recycling and go through the motions as if they were throwing out their trash and recycling.
Links:
Research Plan
Liza and Matt Recycling
Posted by mb2811 at 06:46 PM
February 06, 2006
Observation Assignment
The writeup for my observation assignment: pdf Link
Posted by mb2811 at 07:49 PM
February 05, 2006
User Center Design Research Topic: Recycling
Recycling. It's a fundamental part of life in many parts of the world., But in the United States, recycling isn't as *important* as it should be or could be. Why is this? Is it inconvenient? Is there too much confusion about what can be recycled. Do recyclable materials take up too much space? Perhaps its one of these; perhaps its all of these. Our goal is to determine users' recycling habits — or lack thereof — and propose an improved system to enhance users' habits, and increase recycling.
Target users:
Urban dwellers (New York City, that is!), both single and married, young and old. The key here is to make it as easy and convenient as possible to recycle as much as possible.
Team members:
Mike Bukhin and David Shulman
Posted by mb2811 at 04:38 PM
February 02, 2006
LocalProjects
I've been doing a local projects internship this semester. Local projects is run by Jake, an ITP alum.
For the first couple of weeks i've mostly been doing PostGres and PHP work but there is a plan to work on a personal SMS project which overlaps with my ubiquitous computing class and the local projects internship.
On the side i've been working with Matt and Dennis on a path based project using SMS but we've run into some problems balancing lowest common denominator clients with a rich user experience.
When I talked to Jake about where I was at with the project he gave me a brand new perspective. He said there is a huge chasm between what is possible (technology, where I dwell) and what humans can handle. That gap is bridged by good design, the area I want to start living in. The technology doesn't make any sense to anyone, nor should it for its own sake. I need a new vernacular for the point I am trying to make, to help people connect with each other and connect with the idea. The 'self reporting' points people SMS in are that much more powerful if they are called 'stories'. Not 'send us a point' but 'send us a story'. How do I do that with paths?
If I can come up with something, I have all these resources at my disposal. Jake gave me a few weeks to get a strong idea together and if I don't have anything by then I will start working and see what I can evolve through iterative design. My other classes will inform this process. I also want to get into building wire frames and user scenarios. With a user's perspective, I can build more usable things.
Posted by mb2811 at 10:23 PM
February 01, 2006
Lapop in Texas
My powerbook is in texas, getting repaired so I can up my memory to a gig and a half. I'm having serious withdrawal. I obsessively refresh the repair scree and now see that my laptop has moved on to step 2, 'service'.
I really do everything on that computer. Come back soon. Please.
Posted by mb2811 at 09:31 PM