Technology
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Background: With the introduction of DVDs, it first became possible for a movie to contain user-selectable arrangements of scenes. This was a rarely used feature, but it did have a few interesting applications, such as a feature on the Memento DVD that allowed the movie to be watched in reverse order from normal (i.e., in…
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Background: An emoji overview: Fig 1: Current Apple emoji skin tones. Available tones vary by emoji font designer (e.g., Google, Microsoft). Emoji people were originally only available with a light skin tone. Recently, more skin tone options have been added (Fig 1). However, they are just a recoloring of the original emoji, and thus may not have realistic…
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One weird application of the “invisible fence” dog collar that’s setting the world of Internet comments on fire! And possibly also setting people on fire, depending on the amperage involved.
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Background: The staggering degree of stupidity and general mean-spiritedness of Internet comments is a well known and undeniable phenomenon. But what can be done to prevent the anonymity of the Internet from causing people to write inhumanly monstrous things in Internet comment sections? Fig 1: Even if your web site is about historical Danish model…
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The issue: Sometimes, it’s difficult to avoid being distracted by the wide variety of enticing modern entertainment options. It’s always possible to physically unplug your Internet router and turn off your phone, but most people aren’t going to do that on a regular basis. Proposal: An individual could purchase a set of wireless buttons that…
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Background: We previously focused on adding a sense of danger to a computer game by adding new consequence for failure. (Specifically, adding an increasingly-onerous delay to the player respawn timer.) In this follow-up idea, we suggest two motivating premises: If a player has no consequences for failure, then they will not as keenly feel…
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Background: Camouflage is a useful tool for hiding something in a distracting pattern that it blends into. Most frequently, camouflage is used to hide a person (for example, a hunter or soldier) in an environment where they would prefer not to be spotted. Fig 1: Traditional forest camouflage, used to hide from snakes, owls, and…
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Background: Nearly all modern cell phones have the same touch-screen form factor. Except for a few buttons of low importance (e.g. volume adjustment, power, camera shutter), all interaction is done through the screen itself. The issue: This style of interaction makes use of only one finger, and leaves the remaining four fingers with nothing to…
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Background: Our current alphabet is derived from an ancient system of representational icons. These icons were once pictures of actual objects, but have been simplified to an easier-to-write form over the millennia. For example, according to the inerrant source of knowledge known as Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenician_alphabet): The letter “Q” used to be one of these: This…
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Background: Back in the ancient days before iPhones, people would store files in a hierarchical fashion in “folders” or “directories” on their computers. The issue: Sometimes, despite relatively descriptive folder names, it is not clear what a folder / directory actually is. For example, on Mac OS X, a casual user may be flummoxed by…
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Background: Phone woes: when you use text or call someone, there’s no way to differentiate between the following scenarios: Low priority (not time-sensitive): “Let’s chat, if you have time.” Medium priority (time-sensitive): “I just showed up at the crowded convention center, but I can’t find you.” High priority (important and time-sensitive): “Your car is about to…
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