On this day in 1873: Susan B Anthony was fined $100 for voting. She said, “I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty”
Yep
(via sorveharth)
“The other key disruptor is empathy. Probably every company would say they try to understand their customer — and that they’ve done the market research to prove it! — but what I’m talking about in this context is a bit more subtle, it’s a combination of respect and emotional intelligence (i.e. the ability to recognize and relate to the feelings of another person) that enables you to create truly amazing user experiences. (Instagram is a good example of a company that soared ahead of its competition with a better designed, empathy-driven product.) I just don’t think it’s possible to build an amazing product or app or whatever without being able to empathize with and understand the person who is supposed to be using it. On some fundamental level great design is able to get into the mindset of a user and anticipate, guide, and delight. None of that is possible without empathy.”
Generosity, empathy, and disruption | peter.roj.as (via Heather Rasley)
This is why I’m skeptical of things like UX research and A/B testing. Either you, as the person building a product, have the passion and empathy to create something that people will truly love, or you don’t. No amount of research will lead you to something that people embrace in the way they embrace something like Instagram, and in my experience things that are the product of research can often end up feeling functional but a bit hollow.
(via buzz)
So true in many ways
(via emergentfutures)
Paul Higgins: My first thought was “shark”
Spanish Government Deploys Robotic Fish to Monitor Maritime Pollution
Currently the port relies on divers to monitor water quality, which is a lengthy process costing €100,000 per year. The divers take water samples from hundreds of points in the port, then send them off for analysis, with the results taking weeks to return. By contrast, the SHOAL robots would continuously monitor the water, letting the port respond immediately to the causes of pollution, such as a leaking boat or industrial spillage, and work to mitigate its effects.
The SHOAL fish are one and a half metres long, comparable to the size and shape of a tuna, but their neon-yellow plastic shell means they are unlikely to be mistaken for the real thing. A range of onboard chemical sensors detect lead, copper and other pollutants, along with measuring water salinity.
They are driven by a dual-hinged tail capable of making tight turns that would be impossible with a propeller-driven robot. They are also less noisy, reducing the impact on marine life.
The robots are battery powered and capable of running for 8 hours between charges. At the moment the researchers have to recover them by boat, but their plan is that the fish will return to a charging station by themselves.
Working in a group, the fish can cover a 1 kilometre-square region of water, down to a depth of 30 metres. They communicate with each other and a nearby base-station using very low-frequency sound waves, which can penetrate the water more easily than radio waves. However, this means the fish have a low data transmission rate and can only send short, predefined messages. “It’s a good solution, but it requires thinking carefully about what data to transmit and how to use that data,” says Kristi Morgansen, a roboticist at the University of Washington, who was not involved in the research.
Robotic fish shoal sniffs out pollution in harbours - environment - 22 May 2012 - New Scientist
via joshbyard:
Cool
Joi Ito’s Near-Perfect Explanation of the Next 100 Years
“One hundred years from now, the role of science and technology will be about becoming part of nature rather than trying to control it.”
Full Story: Technology Review
Yessss
The general audience (Taken with instagram)
Magnetic wall (Taken with instagram)
Wui Wei (Taken with instagram)
This or that (Taken with instagram)
A Fistful of Style: A Thrifter’s Manifesto Vol 1: Rethinking Retail
I’m like you!
I am a second hand shopper. A thrifter. I almost never buy retail. I grew up in thrift stores. Second hand isn’t just an option for me, it’s the only option.
Around the time clothes started determining your social status I was faced with a choice. I could chase my peers acceptance through…
