Digital Attendance via Nokia N800 and Skype

I had the opportunity in the past week to test out the Nokia N800 at a conference presentation. My part in the experiment was to operate the physical device and configure it so a coworker from across the country could attend digitally.

The major difficulty during setup was with the protected wireless network that I was using and not with the device itself. The N800 worked very well in browsing the internet and operating Skype. Naturally, navigating the N800's operating system, clicking, and typing with the stylus makes tasks more cumbersome than their full-size counterparts. However, the portability and functionality of the N800 makes it a valuable tool in instances such as mine.

Yet, I noticed two significant areas for improvement in the N800's Skype interface. Speaker operations were one potential problem. I did not see a way to separate the audio input and output. For example, on my laptop, I can turn off my speakers, while leaving my microphone on. This allows only the presentation to flow to the distant attendee without the guests' sounds coming into the conference room. With the N800, the volume control engages both the microphone and the speakers at the same time. When I set the slider to zero, my guest could not hear anything through my microphone. To work around this problem, my coworker had to disable her microphone, while I turned the volume up. As desired, I could not hear her and she could hear the presentation.

Another glaring absence was video support for Skype calls through the N800. The device has a nice pop-out camera that seems designed specifically for conferencing, however it cannot be engaged through Skype at this time. Considering that this presentation featured slides, audio, and video, and various artwork components, the ability to see what was happening in the conference room could have made a significant difference in the guests' experience. It would also increase the overall sense of presence achieved.

Overall, I liked the N800, although it is not a perfect device. Its ability to run applications that are nearly identical to desktop versions is evidence of the advancements in mobile technology. My annoyance with the settings, navigation, and typing controls implies that more usability design needs to accompany the aforementioned technical achievements. Mobile devices are rapidly increasing their multimedia and application capabilities, which gives me the sense that they may soon become alternatives (or accessories) to laptops in circumstances that require ultraportability.

Note: Images are dramitizations and are not photos from the actual test session.

Free, Cross-OS Screen Recording | Jing

Back in June, a sleek screen recording application by the name of ScreenFlow caught my attention. On the heels of my fascination with the iPhone's Cycorder, I have become enamored with a new screen recording project, called Jing. It has been a good week for Educational Technology.

Jing was created by Tech Smith, who is also the maker of Camtasia - a Windows counterpart to ScreenFlow. Jing takes the form of a desktop application that allows users to capture screenshots and screen recordings, then save them as .swf files or host them on screencast.com.

The marvelous thing about Jing is how smooth and simple its interface is. The usability for this product is exceptional. There is almost no overhead involved in engaging a recording and saving its output. Nearly the entire amount of time spent on a recording is the duration of capture itself.

For its wonders, Jing does have a few drawbacks. Although I must mention them, they do not dampen my spirits about the product. First, recordings are limited to five minutes. It is worth noting however, that only on one occassion in my screen recording career have I ever created a video longer than five minutes. Thus, I do not see the time limit as much of an obstacle. Next, Jing puts "bookends" at the start and finish of each video, indicating that the software was used to create it. Fortunately, these are clean and unobtrusive. Furthermore, the original recording remains untouched by watermarks or overlays. Lastly, there is little opportunity to edit a recording once it is made. Since the files are output as .swf files, a workaround of converting/exporting would be needed to modify one's capture. This is essentially what identifies Jing as a simplified, efficiency version of a full-featured screen capturing program along the lines of Camtasia or ScreenFlow. All in all, these downsides do not hamper Jing's usefulness as a free alternative for screen recording, but can be better thought of as the price users pay for their capturing "freedom."

To demonstrate how simple and fast Jing is to use, I (ironically) put together a ScreenFlow video.

iPhone Video Recording Applications | Cycorder & videorecorder3g

Today, I conducted testing on the iPhone's two video recording applications. In contrast to my previous posts covering video streaming, these programs record directly to the iPhone's memory and must be transfered at a later time.

The two major players in this arena, Cycorder and videorecorder3g, take different approaches to handling video recording on the iPhone. As such, they can hardly be considered to be engaged in direct competition with one another. Nonetheless, I explored them both together to give an overview of the possibilities for video recording available on the iPhone.

For testing, I took two, thirty second videos, back to back. The first was with Cycorder and the second was with videorecorder3g. The conditions were not ideal for recording. The sun was coming directly into my camera and there was much ambient noise from the nearby street. However, take note that both recorders were subject to identical conditions. Further, each video captured a static image, text, and moving images. Below are the resulting videos that I obtained (they will open in a new window). Following them is a table that compares the two applications.

Cycorder

videorecorder3g

Clearly, in a head to head comparison, Cycorder utterly dominates videorecorder3g. But considering the vast difference between the two programs, it is not necessarily a side by side inspection that is appropriate. The file size of videorecorder3g's is significantly smaller than Cycorders, at an approximate ratio of one to ten. This would indicate that the videorecorder's niche is in offering highly compressed videos for the space-conscious user. Alas, with eight and sixteen gigabytes available on the iPhone (and increasing disk space into the future), I fail to recognize where videorecorder3g will find a home amongst the hoards of iPhone owners. The price tag is certainly not helping either when contrasted with Cycorder's unobtrusive "free" sponsorship strategy.

Now, I'll move on to Cycorder. I have to say that this is the video recording application that I have been anxiously awaiting. It makes the most ideal use of the iPhone as a video recording device that I can imagine. It's files may be ten times the size of videorecorder3g's, but I personally believe that they are greater than ten times higher in quality and usefulness. I also commend the creator for keeping the application "free," when he could easily charge users for licenses. I am at a loss to describe much more about Cycorder and feel that the video above truly demonstrates its merits without the need for further blathering. In the upcoming months, I will be seeing the comedian Sinbad, a Hall & Oates concert, and likely a college football game. On these occassions, I am eager to see what Cycorder can produce.

Fooshigwa version 1.2

A new version of Fooshigwa has been implemented online.  It fixed a few of the rough edges from the initial release and expanded some content.  Below is a list of the new features.

version 1.2

• loading progress bar added to main game
• better loading techniques implemented
• "reverse" gua questions implemented
• help menu updated
• help menu and music buttons updated to indicate whether on/off
• loading message added to help menu
• title screen modified

Thanks to those who provided feedback on the initial version.  I am still looking to make improvements, so do not hesitate to contact me if you have ideas on how to make the game better.

As always, I am also seeking to improve The Daily I Ching as a whole, so if you have any requests, be sure to let me know.

The Daily I Ching | Fooshigwa version 1.0

I am excited to announce that I have just released my latest Flash game creation - Fooshigwa. Fooshigwa is an interactive trainer for students of the I Ching. It is intended to be an engaging way to learn about the sixty-four gua and their manipulations, which is more commonly achieved through rote memorization.

Fooshigwa version 1.0 is available online at The Daily I Ching.

I am looking for user feedback regarding gameplay improvements, bug fixes, etc., so do not hesitate to contact me with your reactions. Thank you and enjoy!

The Reality of Virtual Reality

The Reality of Virtual Reality

by John M. Quick

Although one’s identities in alternative realities, such as dreams or digital games, are commonly discounted as senseless figments of the imagination, they contain as much “reality” as the physical world. Ultimately, an individual’s belief in existence is what causes him or her to exist in any world, be it physical, virtual, or otherwise.

To begin, it is necessary to define the realities that will be referred to in this essay. “Individual reality” describes the personal state of mind that each human knows as being real. It is the way a person perceives, experiences, and comprehends the universe at large. Individual realities share many similarities, such as recognizing this shape* as a “circle**.” However, each individual reality is also unique, for no two humans understand reality in wholly identical ways. In contrast, “external reality” is that which extends beyond human perception. It is the purest, most truthful, and not fully comprehensible reality that overreaches human understanding. Think of it as the universal view held by a shard of ice floating through outer space. External reality is essentially a place where nothing exists (including nothing itself). This paper will focus on individual realities and how they allow people to coexist in virtual and physical worlds.

In continuation, the vast majority of people would describe the dream world, that is the world one enters when experiencing a dream in his sleep, as “fake,” “fantasy,” or “not real.” Yet, often dreams have a significant emotional impact on people both during the event and after they awake. These effects can be both mental, such as a feeling of fright or joy, and physical, such as an increased heartbeat or tense muscles. Since dreams are capable of affecting people in the same way as the physical world, it is unjustifiable to discount them as purely phantasmal in terms of one’s individual reality. In the moment that a dream occurs, it is every bit as real to the person experiencing it as any other event in his life. Hence, the dream world can be recognized as its own unique reality (or alternatively, each dream could be thought of as ensuing in its own world). The key factor in reality is that one believes that it is real, not necessarily that it is real. In other words, something can be “real” in individual realities, even if it is not in external reality.

Similarly, digital games also affect people in the same manner as the physical world. Users often experience a wide range of emotions during play. Fear, anger, frustration, joy, and accomplishment are just a few of the numerous, common gaming-induced feelings. Akin to the aforementioned dream world, biophysical reactions accompany these emotions. Further evidence exists by examining the manner in which players interact with their virtual worlds. They create societies, cultures, and economic systems. Gamers control their avatars in the same manner as their physical counterparts to explore the laws and possibilities of the virtual world. These interactions are no more or less real than anything that transpires in the physical world. Again, the overarching necessity is that players believe in their virtual existence, whether before, during, or after they experience it. Judging by the emotional, physical, and social impact that games have upon players, it is reasonable to conclude that virtual worlds can, and are, incorporated into individual realities.

To summarize, in spite of the fact that virtual worlds may be described at large in the same way as dream worlds (i.e. not real), their impact upon players indicates that they are a very real part of individual realities. Players exhibit a robust range of emotions, biophysical reactions, and social constructs, all of which mirror those found in the physical world. Furthermore, the ways in which players interact with virtual worlds demonstrates that they believe in their virtual identities. This belief is what makes a virtual existence “real” in the realm of one’s individual reality.

*A "circle"

**This is yet another reality, that I would call "generally accepted reality."  It describes the portion of all individual realities that nearly every human shares in common.  Generally accepted reality will not be discussed in this essay.