More on Toshiba showing blogs to consumers

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dan Gillmor <dan () gillmor com>
Date: January 9, 2006 11:27:30 AM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: More on Toshiba showing blogs to consumers

This fits into the category of “every object can tell a story.” But it’s
hardly a new idea — remember the infamous “CueCat” scanner? — and it  
doesn’t
sound all that difficult in any event.

Consider what Marc Smith at Microsoft Research was doing more than three
years ago as part of their ongoing “Aura” project. As I recounted in my
book:

>   Using what is essentially off-the-shelf technology, he’s equipped  
> a handheld
> computer with a wireless Internet connection and a bar-code scanner  
> that he
> uses to scan products in stores. His computer then connects to a  
> server that
> collects data from Google and other sources, and shows him the  
> results on the
> handheld screen.
>
>   Suddenly, far more than the price is available. Data about the  
> product, and
> its maker, is available in a far wider information ecosystem. Was a  
> shirt made
> by slave labor? Did the can of processed food come from a company  
> with a
> record of poisoning streams in its factories’ backyards? Did the  
> company have
> a reputation for being good to employees and the environment? Smith  
> likes to
> show a supermarket scan he once did of a cereal box. The top item  
> in Google
> reveals that the maker had at one point recalled the product because a
> significant ingredient wasn’t on the label. That might be interesting
> information to someone hyper-allergic to that ingredient. If every  
> object can
> tell a story, Smith said, “One of the more profound stories is ‘If  
> you eat me
> I will kill you.’”




-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org
To manage your subscription, go to
 http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/