Disqus - Latest Comments for konstantino

Re: Hangouts: At First Glance

konstantino — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:09:28 -0000

Yup, the GTalk client always had it (from waay back when), GMail's chat (which is GTalk) has a buddy list in the sidebar, and GTalk on Android before it became Hangouts had a proper buddy list with online contacts listed at the top.

Re: Hangouts: At First Glance

konstantino — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:33:20 -0000

The other thing that's irking me is the unusable buddies list. Is seeing a grouped list of online contacts so much to ask?

Maybe we're beginning to see a paradigm shift in chat UIs though. Everyone has their phone next to them all the time, so maybe your online and offline status don't matter so much anymore. Nonetheless, the option to see contacts sorted by availability would be nice.

Re: What 3D Printing Means for The Future

konstantino — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:43:27 -0000

In fact, there are already plenty of people/studios who have slapped down a $40,000~ investment on a 3D printer and laser cutter and are breaking the bank filling orders for people.

Re: Using Games for Social Good

konstantino — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:23:21 -0000

Steve Paikin did an episode about gamification and learning through play on The Agenda, it might be worth checking out. http://ww3.tvo.org/video/18...

Re: Using Games for Social Good

konstantino — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:25:03 -0000

I think the point of gamification is that a task ceases to feel like work; instead you're self-motivated to reach whatever arbitrary milestones are offered for a given task. I don't think this means that work will start bleeding into everyday life (though for some, this is already the case). I also don't think that gamification immediately lends itself to work; what about those who have to take daily medication? Or people who want to learn a new language? We make those long-term activities more fun/engaging by rewarding them for reaching micro-milestones.

As for your Google Glass comment, I would look at that as a new form factor for mobile computing more than anything else. It's really not all that different from the black slab in your pocket, it's just that the inputs and outputs are more integrated with the rest of your every day interactions.

Re: Designing the Workplace

konstantino — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 18:17:25 -0000

My office has adopted the concept of 'fitness friday' -- every other Friday, we get up every hour and do a specified exercise/number of reps. It's good for employee morale too~

Re: Designing the Workplace

konstantino — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:40:56 -0000

Yo Erick! I dig the thinking behind this concept; I find myself regularly getting out of my seat at work to stretch or shake off bum-in-seat sickness for a little while. I'm sure most office workers can relate.

It would be interesting if our furniture and peripherals designed with this already in mind, automating the process more frequently without you even noticing. But I guess in practice, how would this actually work? For instance, I don't necessarily want the angle of my keyboard changing because I'm familiar with a single orientation (muscle memory).

I would definitely like my chair to give me a cushion-massage though.

Re: The “Skinny” on Active Design

konstantino — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:29:04 -0000

So I'll open by saying I don't think the contrast to video games is necessary. There's bounties full of research demonstrating that games (and the notion of play in general) are not only good for our brains, they're *how we learn to understand the world.* That's not something we should be neglecting or discouraging!

That said, looking at urban infrastructure as a tool to keep your citizens as active as possible is an interesting idea. Far too often is the individual's responsibility emphasized over the design of our surroundings.

In downtown Toronto, it actually *is* generally faster to get around by bike rather than car, but you see fewer bikers in the city because it's not the safest way to travel around here. The roads of the city in most cases are too narrow to install sufficient bike lanes (with island protection et al.), and of course we aren't about to sacrifice what little traffic flow we already maintain for autos. There's a proposal hanging around the internet about "elevated cycle lanes", which would circumvent this problem by moving the bikes *above* the traffic. Check it: http://elevatedcyclelanes.b...

Re: http://tinycartridge.com/post/685191293

konstantino — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:39:37 -0000

It actually looks like a hopeful end for Mega Man Zero 4. Zero descends to earth crashing down from Space on the fragments of a giant weapon/ship, but they don't show him actually land.

Re: Looking for a relationship? Telling Facebook may hurt your chances

konstantino — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:22:34 -0000

Nice post. I've never been a fan of the whole "announce you relationship status" on Facebook, it seems a little useless.