A wireless, real-time, social music performance system for mobile phones

The paper reports on the Cellmusic system: a real-time, wireless distributed composition and performance system designed for domestic mobile devices. During a performance, each mobile device communicates with others, and may create sonic events in a passive (non interactive) mode or may influence the output of other devices. Cellmusic distinguishes itself from other mobile phone performance environments in that it is intended for performance in ad hoc locations, with services and performances automatically and dynamically adapting to the number of devices within a given proximity. It is designed to run on a number of mobile phone platforms to allow as wider distribution as possible, again distinguishing itself from other mobile performance systems which primarily run on a single device. Rather than performances being orchestrated or managed, it is intended that users will access it and create a performance in the same manner that they use mobile phones for interacting socially at different times throughout the day. However, this does not preclude the system being used in a more traditional performance environment. This accessibility and portability make it an ideal platform for sonic artists who choose to explore a variety of physical environments (such as parks and other public spaces)

The Mobile Generation: Global Transformations at the Cellular Level

Every year we see a new dimension of the ongoing Digital Revolution, which is enabling an abundance of information to move faster, cheaper, in more intelligible forms, in more directions, and across borders of every kind. The exciting new dimension on which the Aspen Institute focused its 2006 Roundtable on Information Technology was mobility, which is making the Digital Revolution ubiquitous. As of this writing, there are over two billion wireless subscribers worldwide and that number is growing rapidly. People are constantly innovating in the use of mobile technologies to allow them to be more interconnected. Almost a half century ago, Ralph Lee Smith conjured up "The Wired Nation," foretelling a world of interactive communication to and from the home that seems commonplace in developed countries today. Now we have a "Wireless World" of communications potentially connecting two billion people to each other with interactive personal communications devices. Widespead adoption of wireless handsets, the increasing use of wireless internet, and the new, on-the-go content that characterizes the new generation of users are changing behaviors in social, political and economic spheres. The devices are easy to use, pervasive and personal. The affordable cell phone has the potential to break down the barriers of poverty and accessibility previously posed by other communications devices. An entire generation that is dependant on ubiquitous mobile technologies is changing the way it works, plays and thinks. Businesses, governments, educational institutions, religious and other organizations in turn are adapting to reach out to this mobile generation via wireless technologies -- from SMS-enabled vending machines in Finland to tech-savvy priests in India willing to conduct prayers transmitted via cell phones. Cellular devices are providing developing economies with opportunities unlike any others previously available. By opening the lines of communication, previously disenfranchised groups can have access to information relating to markets, economic opportunities, jobs, and weather to name just a few. When poor village farmers from Bangladesh can auction their crops on a craigslist-type service over the mobile phone, or government officials gain instantaneous information on contagious diseases via text message, the miracles of mobile connectivity move us from luxury to necessity. And we are only in the early stages of what the mobile electronic communications will mean for mankind. We are now "The Mobile Generation." Aspen Institute Roundtable on Information Technology. To explore the implications of these phenomena, the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program convened 27 leaders from business, academia, government and the non-profit sector to engage in three days of dialogue on related topics. Some are experts in information and communications technologies, others are leaders in the broader society affected by these innovations. Together, they examined the profound changes ahead as a result of the convergence of wireless technologies and the Internet. In the following report of the Roundtable meeting held August 1-4, 2006, J. D. Lasica, author of Darknet and co-founder of Ourmedia.org, deftly sets up, contextualizes, and captures the dialogue on the impact of the new mobility on economic models for businesses and governments, social services, economic development, and personal identity

M-health review: joining up healthcare in a wireless world

In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver health and social care. This trend is bound to continue as providers (whether public or private) strive to deliver better care to more people under conditions of severe budgetary constraint

TechNews digests: Jan - Nov 2006

TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month

The Rise of Apps Culture

Based on surveys, analyzes trends in adults' use of mobile software applications, including popular types of apps, number, frequency of use, source, and prevalence compared with other cell phone uses, by age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, and income

Bluetooth familiarity: methods of calculation, applications and limitations

We present an approach for utilising a mobile device’s Bluetooth sensor to automatically identify social interactions and relationships between individuals in the real world. We show that a high degree of accuracy is achievable in the automatic identification of mobile devices of familiar individuals. This has implications for mobile device security, social networking and in context aware information access on a mobile device

Wearable and mobile devices

Information and Communication Technologies, known as ICT, have undergone dramatic changes in the last 25 years. The 1980s was the decade of the Personal Computer (PC), which brought computing into the home and, in an educational setting, into the classroom. The 1990s gave us the World Wide Web (the Web), building on the infrastructure of the Internet, which has revolutionized the availability and delivery of information. In the midst of this information revolution, we are now confronted with a third wave of novel technologies (i.e., mobile and wearable computing), where computing devices already are becoming small enough so that we can carry them around at all times, and, in addition, they have the ability to interact with devices embedded in the environment. The development of wearable technology is perhaps a logical product of the convergence between the miniaturization of microchips (nanotechnology) and an increasing interest in pervasive computing, where mobility is the main objective. The miniaturization of computers is largely due to the decreasing size of semiconductors and switches; molecular manufacturing will allow for “not only molecular-scale switches but also nanoscale motors, pumps, pipes, machinery that could mimic skin” (Page, 2003, p. 2). This shift in the size of computers has obvious implications for the human-computer interaction introducing the next generation of interfaces. Neil Gershenfeld, the director of the Media Lab’s Physics and Media Group, argues, “The world is becoming the interface. Computers as distinguishable devices will disappear as the objects themselves become the means we use to interact with both the physical and the virtual worlds” (Page, 2003, p. 3). Ultimately, this will lead to a move away from desktop user interfaces and toward mobile interfaces and pervasive computing

MOBILE MARKETING FUTURE TRENDS

The present article proposes an introspection into the field of a new marketing specialization – mobile marketing. The concept mainly refers to all marketing activities related to the new communication channel – Short Message Service, Multimedia Messaging Service, and internet access from mobile phone. The article provides, at the same time, a marketing perspective about future trends of mobile marketing and mobile media, and also a technical perspective related to the future mobile communication technologies in the field – the LTE (Long Term Evolution) – cellular communication system optimized to support packet-switched data services to enable mobile broadband. The conclusions of the article focus on the relevance of mobile marketing, techniques efficiency related to brand promotion, changing consumers attitude and the development of such techniques imposed by the new mobile communication systemmobile marketing; long term evolution; broadband; brand awareness; consumer attitude