SchoolTool connects schools
Tom Hoffman and I spoke about SchoolTool at the Rhode Island Mini Maker Faire. This system helps remotely-located schools share data with national governmental ministries of education, through Ubuntu and SMS.
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Chad Hagen: Nonsense Infographics
As a graphic designer, I spend a fair amount of time visualizing information, massaging data into optimum readability and aesthetic appeal. Minneapolis designer Chad Hagen does all of this to stunning affect, sans the data. And while my design teachers would kick me for saying so, honestly, with infographics this handsome, who needs meaning? [via […]
Wearable metadata
Patty Maes of the Fluid Interfaces Group at the MIT Media Lab introduces what may be the must have gadget in the not so far future. The SixthSense prototype is comprised of a pocket projector, a mirror and a camera. The hardware components are coupled in a pendant like mobile wearable device. Both the projector […]
UUorld – mapping data in four dimensions
This is a lot of fun, and apparently a little educational. UUorld takes data, overlays it on a map, and lets you rotate, zoom, and watch the data unfold over time: UUorld (pronounced “world”) provides an immersive mapping environment, high-quality data, and critical analysis tools. Great explanations are unfortunately scarce, but UUorld makes them easier […]
Migratory birds
Goldenrod Foundation has created this nifty animated map to show how migratory birds use Plymouth Beach in Massachusetts. Check out their interactive map showing the migratory path of some of the birds that pass through Plymouth. It is fairly amazing to see that the birds seem to fly to specific regions and towns in far […]
Cellphones help save you and the earth
Looking for a better reason to have that high powered phone on your hip? How about saving the world, or saving yourself? The applications are designed to change people’s behavior for the better, said Sunny Consolvo, one of UbiFit’s creators. In a three-month field experiment, people using UbiFit with the background display kept up their […]
HOW TO – Make a “Net data meter”
Antique voltmeter displays current air quality from the web – By Tom Igoe… One thing that disappoints me about computers is how little character they possess. Antique instruments of information display, like Victorian pendulum clocks, barometers, and compasses, and Babbage’s calculating engines, have a presence that modern computers lack. I dig the look of the […]
