Wii and MAX/MSP

I got the WiiMote to use the aka.wiiremote object in MAX/MSP. It poorly plays the MIDI keyboard object. The Y controls volume, X the pitch, Z does nothing. When I get a more correlative interaction I will post a video as well as the code.

Link to aka objects

Interactions

List of 5 Interactions:

1) Nintendo Wii: I'll give this one an eight. Its innovative and novel but has not reached its potential yet.

2) Work's Web Database Three. While not the worst thing I have dealt with it is up their. Buttons don't work, things are missing, views change the information available, its slow, things are oddly located, and you cannot sort.

3) My Cell Phone Its a Cingular Razr. I give it a five. It functions and that is about it. The flash I could care less about. I turned most of it off. I like the feel of it. Its nice and sleek and fits in my pocket. I hate the address book with a deep hearted passion. I like the fact that you can resign the buttons, so I can use it quickly and well.

4) Silly Emergency Switch Oddly six. I bought this at Radio Shack. It has a red plastic cap cover to a STSP switch with a red LED in it. The red cap pushes up nicely with a thumb. It makes a satisfying click when it is up or down. It feels sturdy and you feel you are removing the safety. The switch itself is a little hard to throw back do to the cap but easy to move the first time. It too nicely clicks. There is something about the idea and the "big red button" that makes this oddly satisfying.

5) Big Water Color Brush I needed to pick something that is not digital. This is a seven. It is a great brush. It has a thick but light weight handle and feels like you are painting. The size and weight allow it to be quick. The bristles are nice a soft. It holds water very well.

Readings 3

"Designing Mindful Interaction: The Category of Performative Object"
by Kristina Niedderer

I am not very exposed to industrial design so I found parts of the article interesting. The cups might make some one do a specific task but they are not quite interactive, perhaps the term she uses performative is much better. I would not be as broad in the assumption that these objects are completely new. I just think they were not defined. I found that article extremely clinical in nature. I disagree that objects are not socially orientated. I think those designs are integrated into products but they are few and far between. Oddly I never heard the term mindfulness as an educator I guess that is a difference of Australia and the US. I do agree that a object can force a behavior by itself. Life would be very boring if we had to learn everything before using it. This idea of self-mindfulness has been proven by many a cognitive psychologist. I have one problem with the social cups. They do not guarantee social interaction. They only guarantee that people will up their cups together. I think the article provided some food for thought when designing an object.

"Good Design in the Digital Age"
by Richard Buchanan

Nota Bene: Not this article. In fact the design is quite nightmarish.
Onward...Short sweet and nothing too new. Good digital design must include the designing "user experience." I think that we must aware of other cultures and how they view and experience objects.

"The Art of Interaction: Interactivity, Performity, and Computers"
by David Z. Saltz

*response will be posted tonight*

Readings 2

"Interaction as an Aesthetic Event"
by Lev Manovich

I will start by saying I like Lev Monovich's writings. Mind you I do not always agree but I find the rather informative. Most people do not think about how interfaces changed when the "Digital Revolution" happened in the 1990s. I do agree that we experience interfaces. I remember fighting with DOS and a Commodore Superpet. There was no interface and little experience. I disagree that Mac OSX changed the PC. Apples design did and still does push competitors to design product. I think that Mac OSX did start a new trend in GUIs but you cannot deny the power of the previous Mac OS's and Windows. With the discussion of cellphones one has to be aware of how "behind the times" (for a lack of a better expression) the United States is. While our phones have these bells and whistles that create an experience it pales in comparison to the phones of Europe which in turn pale in comparison to the phones of Asia. I often wonder if the everyday person is aware of such interactions. Maybe when the first get the phone but I wonder how long it lasts. I wonder want his comments to the iPhone would be but the article predates it. It definitely reinforces this ideal.

"A History of the Interface in Interactive Art"
by Söke Dinkla

The opening statement bothers me. I have not heard the word "interactive" and television together since the attempt of WebTV. Though I guess one can call the "voting" shows a form of interactivity. I have read Digital Art by Christiane Paul and New Media by Lev Manovich it is interesting to see all the different takes on the history of interactive art. I wonder if the author is reading too much into the artists intent by viewing the technology used. I would have liked seen some of the artists statement reflecting the artists views. I think it is interesting that video games were not mentioned. Since they play an important role but this article primarily focused on art installation.

"Art and Interaction"
by Noël Carrol

This is another article on aesthetics and interactions. It tries to prove that interaction aesthetics are not as related as most people have written. People seek to define what is art this author seeks to set prove the older definitions wrong. While this is important thing to do you risk proving your own theory wrong since art cannot be defined in the first place (in my opinion). I also disagree with most post -modern ideals about art. I do not consider much of it art. When people ask how can I define one thing as art as another I say because I am the audience.

Readings

"Can Anything be an Aesthetic Object"
by Robert L. Zimmerman

I find most discussions of aesthetics an exercise in mental masturbation. This article did not dissuade me from the notion. Thought the author had many good points he lacked in many. I did not like the fact that he spent most of the article disproving other peoples points rather that proving his own. One is hard spent defining the term Digital Art it is going to be harder to define an aesthetic object. It did state that aesthetics is an amalgam of experience and traits of an object. This I believe but when one starts to define something and is personal and different to everyone one quickly should notice that it is undefinable. The author also concentrated too much on Western traditional fine arts.

"Everyday Aesthetics"
by Yuriko Saito

I liked this article better than the first. Though not as well written I think it spoke more true. It discussed Japanese and Western aesthetics and the differences between them. It also discussed how we miss aesthetic objects through habituation. I found it interesting that rather than defining aesthetics the author discussed how something can be aesthetic. It is an important factor to remember in designing that other cultures will view things very differently than you intend them to.