[Note: This item comes from friend Janos Gereben. DLH]

From: janosG
Date: October 31, 2007 9:47:03 AM PDT
To: Dewayne
Subject: Media X researchers to explore fusion between virtual, real worlds

http://mediax.stanford.edu

Media X researchers to explore fusion between virtual, real worlds

Seven multidisciplinary teams of researchers have been awarded Media X grants to explore “the fusion of virtual and physical worlds for advanced human communications.“

The yearlong grants, ranging from $10,000 to $35,000, support research projects that show how people use and share information and collaborate in virtual worlds. “The fusion of virtual and physical worlds for advanced communications represents a new field of interdisciplinary inquiry,“ said communication Professor Byron Reeves, co-founder of Media X and H-STAR (Human Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute).

According to Keith Devlin, co-founder of Media X and H-STAR, digitized virtual worlds have blossomed in recent years, enticing a wide variety of usersvia games, shared digital media and participatory social networks. Stanford`s Media X brings together academic researchers and industry partners to study interactive communications and technology by integrating the fields ofcommunication, engineering, humanities, law, medicine, business and design.

Media X Awards

Exploring the Virtual in the Physical and the Physical in the Virtual

Researchers: Diane Bailey, assistant professor of management science and engineering, and doctoral candidate Ingrid Erickson.

Objective: To explore the virtual-physical-social interplay by investigating how social experiences and interactions in physical places are augmented with layers of digital information and how those in virtual places are augmented with layers of physical information.

Virtual Sensor Networks

Researchers: Pat Hanrahan, professor of computer science and of electrical engineering; Vladlen Koltun, assistant professor of computer science; and Philip Levis, assistant professor of computer science and of electrical engineering.

Objective: To develop virtual sensornets, which will allow scientists to construct instruments for measuring what is happening in virtual worlds, allow users to control and monitor what is being recorded, and provide an elegant and simple privacy mechanism.

ShowMeTellMe: Multimodal Learning Experience Mediated by the Future Interactive Paper TextBook

Researchers: Kincho H. Law, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Renate Fruchter, research associate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and founding director of the Project-Based Learning Laboratory.

Objective: Using a scenario-based approach, the project will study the continuum between learners` dialogue and paper and pencil sketching to help develop a model of the future interactive paper textbook. For example, it willcapture questions and thoughts of the textbook`s users and communicate between the learner and instructor, expert or author.

Virtual Jurisdictions-A Joint Project of Stanford Law School and Second Life

Researchers: Lawrence Lessig, professor of law; Lauren Gelman, associate director of Stanford Law School`s Center for Internet and Society; and Dan Siciliano, executive director of Stanford Law School`s Program in Law, Economics and Business.

Objective: To learn how the use of the virtual world technology medium influences individual communication and interaction and how it influences the development of legal regimes to govern virtual communities.

The Pragmatics of Computer-Assisted Communication and Communication About Virtual Worlds

Researcher: John Perry, professor of philosophy.

Objective: To apply the reflexive/referential theory of meaning to address the differences that new modes of linguistic communication present and to understand the coordination between virtual worlds and objects in the actualworld that they may be taken to represent.

SPEED Limits

Researchers: Jeffrey T. Schnapp, professor of French and Italian, and director of the Stanford Humanities Laboratory (SHL); Jeff Aldrich, technology director of SHL; and Henrik Bennetsen, research director of SHL.

Objective: To develop a digital 3-D world that will host a reconstruction of an international exhibition of art, architecture or design to create and examine the fusion of virtual and real exhibits and the role that speed plays in modern life.

Learning in the Digital World: The Impact of Social Belief on the Neurophysiology of Memory

Researchers: Anthony Wagner, associate professor of psychology, and Byron Reeves, professor of communication.

Objective: To use the acquired equivalence paradigm to measure the extent to which learners are able to use the concept of memory-dependent logical inference as a basis for generalization, to study whether virtual contexts are optimal for learning and the expression of flexibly addressable knowledge.

Can Google-Powered Phones Connect with Carriers?
By AMOL SHARMA
WSJ
Google Inc. is close to unveiling its long-planned strategy to shake up the wireless market, people familiar with the matter say. The Web giant’s ambitious goal: to make applications and services as accessible on cellphones as they are on the Internet.

In a move likely to kick off an intense debate about the future shape of the cellphone industry, Google wants to make it easier for cellphone customers to get a variety of extra services on their phones — from maps to social-networking features to video-sharing. To get its way, however, the search giant will have to overcome resistance from wireless carriers and deal with potentially thorny security and privacy issues.

Google is trying to loosen the grip wireless carriers have over the software and services consumers can access on cellphones. Carriers have considerable clout, especially in the U.S., where they control distribution of phones to consumers through their retail stores.

Within the next two weeks, Google is expected to announce advanced software and services that would allow handset makers to bring Google-powered phones to market by the middle of next year, people familiar with the situation say. In recent months Google has approached several U.S. and foreign handset manufacturers about the idea of building phones tailored to Google software, with Taiwan’s HTC Corp. and South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. mentioned in the industry as potential contenders. Google is also seeking partnerships with wireless operators. In the U.S., it has the most traction with Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA, while in Europe it is pursuing relationships with France Télécom’s Orange SA and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.’s 3 U.K., people familiar with the matter say. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.

The Google-powered phones are expected to wrap together several Google applications — among them, its search engine, Google Maps, YouTube and Gmail email — that have already made their way onto some mobile devices. The most radical element of the plan, though, is Google’s push to make the phones’ software “open” right down to the operating system, the layer that controls applications and interacts with the hardware. That means independent software developers would get access to the tools they need to build additional phone features.

Developers could, for instance, more easily create services that take advantage of users’ Global Positioning System location, contact lists and Web-browsing habits. They also would be able to interact with Google Maps and other Google applications. The idea is that a range of new social networking, mapping and other services would emerge, just as they have on the open, mostly unfettered Web. Google, meanwhile, could gather user data to show targeted ads to cellphone users.

“The most likely scenario from a Google perspective is to build some, if you will, inspirational platform [applications]; but primarily focus on getting third parties to do it because that’s where the innovation will come from,” said Google CEO Eric Schmidt, speaking at the All Things Digital conference in May. He said that “the new model of these phones is going to be person-to-person” with people exchanging videos and other types of data.

While many software developers are likely to cheer Google’s open wireless platform, there are some potential risks for consumers. If Google isn’t careful, sensitive user information could end up in the wrong hands, leading to spamming, stalking or other invasions of privacy.

There is broad momentum already to make software development on mobile phones easier and more open. Apple Inc. initially limited the kinds of applications it allowed outside developers to make for its iPhone, but the company recently said it would release tools next year to broaden the range of features allowed. (Handset maker Nokia Corp. said its new Internet and multimedia platform, Ovi, is open to third-party applications.)

Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile operating system already gives software developers access to a range of tools to build programs for consumers, though the company does put all new services through a certification process to screen for programs that could hack into a customer’s phone or pose other risks.

Microsoft executives question what impact Google will have. “The idea that there are all these things software developers can’t do — it’s just not true,” said John O’Rourke, general manager of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile unit said. “It’s hard to imagine what huge breakthroughs [Google] is going to have.”

Google’s push comes as carriers are under pressure on other fronts to relax their hold on the wireless market. They face litigation over “locking” of phones, which prevents people from transferring devices from one provider to another.

Sprint Nextel Corp. agreed this month to unlock the phones of departing customers as part of a settlement in a California class-action lawsuit. Google and others, meanwhile, have criticized carriers for being a bottleneck on what software and services consumers can access.

Google helped push through controversial rules for a coming spectrum auction at the Federal Communications Commission that would result in a new cellular network open to all devices and software applications, even those not favored by an operator. Google has said it will probably bid for the frequencies.

For now, the company knows it has no choice but to work with operators to make its open platform successful. D.P. Venkatesh, CEO of mPortal Inc., which makes software for wireless operators, puts it this way: “There are a few things carriers control that will always keep them in charge at the end of the day.”

–Kevin J. Delaney, Cassell Bryan-Low and Jane Spencer contributed to this article.

Write to Amol Sharma at amol.sharma@wsj.com

[Note: This item is from friend Esme Vos of MuniWireless.com. DLH]

Top 50 Trends in Municipal Wireless

50-41: http://www.muniwireless.com/article/articleview/6555/1/23/

40-31: http://www.muniwireless.com/article/articleview/6558/1/23/

30-21: http://www.muniwireless.com/article/articleview/6559/1/23/

20-11: http://www.muniwireless.com/article/articleview/6563/1/23/

10-1: http://www.muniwireless.com/article/articleview/6566/1/23/

Verizon gives a glimpse of futuristic FiOS apps
Telephony Onlinee
By Carol Wilson

As its FiOS network nears the end of its fourth year, when it was projected to pass 7 million households, Verizon this week gave the media a glimpse of what has been going on behind the curtains to add new functionality to the system.

http://telephonyonline.com/fttp/technology/verizon_fios_applications_102607/

[Note: This item comes from reader Mike Cheponis. DLH]

From: Mike Cheponis
Date: October 29, 2007 7:49:48 AM PDT
To: Dewayne Hendricks
Subject: 3rd grader sends Apple her ideas for improving the iPod. Apple sends her a cease-and-desist notice.

http://cbs13.com/topstories/local_story_104012157.html

Apple Sends 3rd Grader Cease And Desist Letter
The company replied to the young girl after she sent them some ideas to make the iPod Nano better.
(CBS 13) Like any nine-year-old, Shea O’Gorman spends a lot of time listening to her iPod Nano. So much so, that when her third grade class started learning about writing letters she thought, who better to write to than the man whose company makes her iPod.

“I decided to write to Mr. Steven Jobs,” said Shea. Jobs is the president of Apple Computers.

“She just came home and said ‘mom I have some ideas about the iPod Nano,’ and said ‘I’m going to write Steven Jobs a letter’,” said Shea’s mother. “We were just very impressed and very proud of her.”

[snip]

[Note: This comment comes from reader Steve Stroh. DLH]

From: “Steve Stroh”
Date: October 30, 2007 11:15:50 AM PDT
To: “Dewayne Hendricks”
Subject: Re: [Dewayne-Net] Negroponte: Windows key to OLPC philosophy

Dewayne:

If Microsoft CAN create such a version of Windows to run on a OLPC device and is:

* “minimalist” – runs on modest hardware
* secure (enough to not require 3rd party anti-spyware, network security, and anti-virus utilities)
* reliable (enough so that power-off-resets aren’t required daily to maintain decent overall performance)
* takes full advantage of leading-edge OLPC features such as peer-to-peer Wi-Fi networking and hibernate-for-days power conservation
* Bundles in extensive full-feature apps such as what OLPC will ship on the system
* Low-cost enough not to cost more than a “reasonable” percentage of the entire system cost
* Binary compatibility with the vast majority of Windows apps currently available for Windows XP (if not, what’s the point of using Windows?)

Then I’d be interested – that’s the version of Windows that I want to use.

Thanks,
Steve

The Pirate Bay Sees a Future Without BitTorrent
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/177207571/

Why a new protocol? Well, the current BitTorrent protocol is developed and maintained by BitTorrent Inc. This company, founded by BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen, recently decided to close the source of some newer additions to the protocol which gives them too much power and influence according to The Pirate Bay.

Another reason for a new and improved protocol is the massive number of spammers and anti-piracy organizations that abuse the BitTorrent protocol, either to make money or to bust people who download infringing material. The new protocol will be designed with these potential problems in mind.

The protocol will most likely use the .p2p file extension compared to the .torrent extension BitTorrent uses right now. The good thing is that the .p2p files will be backwards compatible which should ensure a smooth transition from .torrent to .p2p files.

[snip]

Negroponte: Windows key to OLPC philosophy

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9590_22-6215837.html

While the news that Microsoft is developing a version of Windows for the so-called “$100 laptop” has caused some consternation, One Laptop Per Child Chairman Nicholas Negroponte has said the project could not promote openness if it blocked Windows.

Will Poole, Microsoft corporate vice president, told Reuters last week that the software giant is working on a stripped-down version of Windows XP to run on the ruggedized laptops destined for schoolchildren in developing countries. Poole was initially quoted as saying it could be ready in a few months, though Microsoft said that Poole was misquoted and that while the company is hopeful to get Windows onto the machine, much work remains.

[snip]

[Note: This comment comes from reader Steve Stroh. DLH]

From: “Steve Stroh”
Date: October 30, 2007 8:16:41 AM PDT
To: “Dewayne Hendricks”
Cc: “Ken DiPietro”
Subject: Re: [Dewayne-Net] re: Apple Sends 3rd Grader Cease And Desist Letter

Ken:

It’s beyond me why you keep harping on anyone who buys Apple products as being under the influence of a “cult of personality”. I know that I speak for many, in my DIRECT experience – NOT anecdotal, who care not one iota about “Chairman Jobs” and any other “aura” emanating from Cupertino. Rather, we’ve come to the decision to buy and use Apple products solely because we like using products that just WORK – reliably, unobtrusively, cooperatively – including the iPod, Apple laptops, and the many other products in the Apple ecosystem.

There is no company on the planet who isn’t “tainted” to some degree with fumbling their customer service once in a while and Apple certainly isn’t immune. But even when you buy the components and cobble yourself a computer system together and run Linux, you can still end up dealing with “tainted” companies – especially Chinese vendors whose labor practices, environmental practices, intellectual property practices, compatibility, reliability, and yes, customer support, leaves a LOT to be desired.

Thanks,
Steve

On 10/30/07, Dewayne Hendricks wrote:
[Note: This comment comes from reader Ken DiPietro. DLH]
From: ken
Date: October 30, 2007 1:29:30 AM PDT
To: Dewayne Hendricks
Subject: Re: [Dewayne-Net] Apple Sends 3rd Grader Cease And Desist
Letter

How anyone, in good conscience, can buy a product from a company that
treats their customers with such obvious disdain is completely beyond
me. I swear Steve Jobs could eat a baby on TV and some of his
customers would applaud his efforts at population control.
Alas, we have evolved into a society where we purchase our
personalized image based on a carefully researched marketing ploy
designed for people who just have to buy the latest shiny bobble.
“Yes, I’d like one McMansion, a Hummer, and a new i-thingy. Oh, and
could you supersize them please?”

[Note: An item over a month old, but I thought that it was relevant, given the post I just made on the OLPC deal with Uruguay. DLH]

Portables to power PC industry
By Mark Ward
Technology correspondent, BBC News website

The XO laptop may have been created to help children in developing nations, but its influence is likely to be felt far beyond the classroom.
The PC industry is going to be among the first to feel its impact in November 2007 when, for a week, the gadget goes on sale to almost anyone that wants one.

Before now, few have had a chance to test out the capabilities of the device and compare it to the portable computers – laptops, palmtops and notebooks – available in high street stores and online.

But the sheer amount of features crammed in to the device combined with its low price may mean questions start to be asked of PC makers who typically charge a premium for portability.

Willy Agatstein, general manager for Intel’s emerging markets platform group, said it was hard to compare PC-based laptops with devices such as the XO and Intel’s own Classmate gadget.

Mr Agatstein said the two educational laptops were developed for the “unique” purpose of serving children in those developing nations.

“There’s no one size fits all,” he said.

For both OLPC and Intel this has meant ditching many of the features expected in an average laptop sold in the US or Europe.

Some, he said, were simply not needed but others were left out because most of those who will get an XO or Classmate have little experience of other portable computers.
“What’s really different is the expectation of performance and the actual performance,” said Mr Agatstein.

What was appropriate to the ages and use patterns of school children people in developing nations, he said, would fall short for many road warriors who travel with a laptop.

If nothing else, he said, the keyboards would likely be too small as they are made to fit the small fingers of children rather than the chubby digits of their parents.

Pain and gain

Brian Gammage, a senior research analyst at Gartner, said the OLPC was likely to come under scrutiny from PC makers because it is being sold into exactly the portion of the market that they were all aiming at.

“If you look at this category of device and the cost implications involved then there’s no doubt that if it finds success in volume it might pull in customers that otherwise might have bought notebooks,” he said.

“That has to represent cannibalisation in an industry that’s always under pressure,” he said.

“The industry that sells us PCs is not healthy,” he said, “it continues to bump along on relatively low margins.”

Many firms, he added, have been looking to the sales of smaller, portable gadgets as a way to boost sales. Industry data shows that sales of laptops are by far the fastest growing segment of the market.
The PC industry was interested in laptops and other portables not solely because they can charge more for cramming components into smaller cases.

[snip]

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/7006316.stm

Published: 2007/09/27 07:43:41 GMT