Location-Enhanced Computing Applciations with Place Lab

Posted: June 30th, 2004 | Comments Off

Place Lab is a software base and a community-building activity that facilitates widespread adoption of low-cost, easy-to-use user positioning for location-enhanced computing applciations. Native code is available on multiple platforms (XP, WinCE, Linux, and OS X) , access via JNI is possible and some sort of framework is available to build location-ehanced application based WiFi positioning. I could not find the requirements, but It is the first WiFi auditing software that more or less correctly runs on my Dell. However, it fails to retrieve any information on the iPAQ 5550.


Skype sur la TSR

Posted: June 29th, 2004 | No Comments »

Skype présenté par Stéphane au public romand dans le 19h30 de la TSR.


Communities Visualizations

Posted: June 29th, 2004 | No Comments »

Nice visualization of collaborations and communities done at the MIT Sociable Media Group.


MOSIL Mini Camp in Lille

Posted: June 27th, 2004 | Comments Off

My notepad notes during the MObile Support for Integrated Learning (MOSIL) mini camp in Lille, France. Official outputs are available on the MOSIL BSCW repository.
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With the anti-terrorist plan "Vigipirate"

Posted: June 26th, 2004 | No Comments »

With the anti-terrorist plan “Vigipirate” still applied, trash cans in subway of Lille have been transformed into cartons.


Lille Mosil Mini Camp Preperation

Posted: June 26th, 2004 | Comments Off

A few notes written prior to the Lille mini camp on action/role taxonomies and workflow for modelling scripts for collaborative learning. A workshop part of the MObile Support for Integrated Learning (MOSIL) project.

Collaborative educational learning scripting for mobile technologies:
- We are looking for an asbtract description of CSCL scripts, especially those exploiting mobile technologies
- Increase effectiveness of collaborative learning by augmenting the frequency of types of interactions that produce knowledge
- Collaboration -> (conflic resolution, argumentation, negociation, mutual regulation, explantion) -> Learning
- A script defines a distributed cognitive system. Learning results from compensating the drawbacks of task distribution
- Script authomatically interpreted by the computer and generate a environment to carry out the activity with the computer

Dimensions of a script:
- Design Rationale (conflict, abstraction, complementarity)
- Degree of coercion (prompter, trained, instructed, induced)
- Degree of appropriation (internalisation, adoption)
- Degree of generalisability

To describe scripts we need:
- a reprensation of a sequence of activites and interactions, with a time structure
eg: [Phase_1 = Task Group Mode Timing]; [Task = input activity output]
- a representation of the social structure (individual, group, social). Social Planes = individual, group, class, community, world
- a represenation of dataflow

A phase is:
- taks the student has to perform
- composition of the group
- the way that the task is distributed within the group
- the mode of interaction (state or sequence diagram)
- the timing of the phase

And the the modelling (based on Patrick’s work) I presented as introduction:
- Phase diagram [page 1]
- Arguegraph modelling [page 1] [page 2]
- Maze modelling [page 1] [page 2]


Google Number Reached Critical Mass

Posted: June 22nd, 2004 | No Comments »

My Google number reached the critical mass of 1000. According to the official ranking (What’s Your Google Number), it means “you are getting some real attention”.


Desktop Life Hack II

Posted: June 19th, 2004 | No Comments »

Still part of life hack, tips and habits that help us to work more efficiently

At home my screens are normally filled as follow (from left to right)
- Instant messaging: with the moo, and msn constantly opened and icq, and yahoo! as background tasks
- Browser: firefox and occasionally IE
- Mailer: The Bat!
- Music player: winamp
- Current task: developing with eclipse (with cygwin), if not then browsing or writing (mail, blog post, notes, …)
- Media player: MS media player for the sometime needed HS background sound and movement
- Skype: peer-to-peer voice over IP software in background task


IM Quotes

Posted: June 19th, 2004 | No Comments »

This end of the week instant messaging quotes taken from my geeky discussions:

- EJB?? you do EJBs? I thought only monks in remote monastaries where doing EJBs…
- the only justification for EJB is distributed transactions (and i dont even know what that is …)
- dont mke me eat the elephant again.
- we should think about the canvas bots !
- Do you have to deal with ayatollahs?
- Software engineering is not a monolitic religion
- Haas makes football accessible
- no. it’s apple-expensive
- doesn’t bluetooth give cancer?
- too smart programming is dangerous you know
- Btw. I am working on win98 since the scanners only work with 98
- im not sure if rotten balls are my understanding of a win-situation


New Generation of Software Engineers

Posted: June 18th, 2004 | No Comments »

Previous generation of programmers and software engineers dreamt to become game developers, next generaton wants to become artists.