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the fifth screen

In his post 'The fourth screen and counting' Wayne Hodgins links to a great ad by Nokia on the evolution of screens, not just how they have evolved technologically but to the way in which they contribute to how we see in, and how we interact with, our world. The ad shows how screens have evolved from the cinematic screen through to the mobile technologies we see today. Wayne goes on to postulate what screens of the future might be like. Immediately I started thinking of 3d / holographic technologies but there is a whole lot more to it than just that. In another post from Wayne, linked to in the previously mentioned article, he discusses senses and the use of bi-directional feedback. If you want to see a really interesting human/computer interaction (HCI), check out Microsoft's Surface. If you want to see what some great innovators in education are doing by mashing up the technologies available to them, check out this fantastic use of interactive whiteboards and virtual worlds. At the recent ECTEL 2008 Conference, there was a fantastic keynote address by Kristina Hook entitled "Mind, mouse and body: designing engaging technologies". Supposedly ECTEL are publishing the video of this and if and when it becomes available, I encourage anyone to take the time to view this speech. We need to get away from the paradigm of fingertips and eyeballs when interacting with computers. Kristina Hook works on projects that engage 'the body'. Have a look at the phenomenal success of the Nintendo Wii for an example of a much more interesting HCI. I am really looking forward to what the next generations of interfaces may look, feel, sound, smell or taste like! Cheers, Jerry

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