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“Evaluating Usability Throughout Design and Development” – Joseph Dumas & Janice Redish
Joseph Dumas & Janice Redish analyze the potential benefits of combining various evaluation methods as complementary tools for usability testing in the context of usability engineering.
defining: Ubiquitous Computing
In 1991, Mark Weiser defined ubiquitous computing (which he also calls "embodied virtuality", as opposed to virtual reality) as invisible and indistinguishable from the "fabric of everyday life"; that is, from human behavior. Which is to say that ubiquitous computing aims at providing humane tools with which beings can continue dealing with their world in very much the same behavioral ways.
Armando Guiller
Armando Guiller is a mechanical engineer by training, and a growing artist by passion, and has won numerous honorary awards. His sculptural work has the ability to communicate with scientists, engineers and artists, as it involves craft, mathematical precision, and highly conceptual and philosophical investigations into spatial and perspectival associations. He uses both industrial (metal) and natural (wood) materials, which he treats himself with heavy machinery.
TSL230R Light to Frequency Converter
This is a first try at using TSL230R to measure HRV (Heart Rate Variability) levels. It will be used as part of a larger project to collect users' heart rates and translate this data onto a mobile (potentially wearable) screen as a non-verbal messaging system that reveals a somewhat hidden state of 'being'.
“An Interview with Don Norman.” – Howard Rheingold
Norman stressed the importance of understanding the logic behind the act of designing, which includes considerations for the human factor. In this interview he sets ground rules for 'good design' and focuses on the idea that design should be inherently 'humane'; which is to say that technological tools need to be thought of with a user-centered approach. "Cultivate Sensitivity to Design" explains how experimenting (observing, testing, etc.) helps designers reach a place of "empathy" for the user and simplifies complex products or systems in accordance to audience feedback.