One of the most freeing things that I’ve done in the past weeks has been to leave the work laptop away from my apartment. Aside from not needing to do work when home (work/life balance), its also given me a chance to make better on this idea of living mobile (mainly).
Since doing this, I’ve had this unction or urge to really see mobile devices and augmented reality play a bigger part in how I use computing and internet facilities when at home. For example, I was just laying down on my ottoman with my N97 in one hand browsing the web. My mobile was in the forgeground view and an empty wall was in the background. Instantly, I thought that it would be cool if I could have used a combination of my mobile web browser and digital camera to retreive digital notes and bookmarks as they were left on my wall (or saved to my mobile device). I’d move the mobile around like a magnifying glass, and then using the touchscreen would tap on those items that I wanted to retreive.
Its a weird idea, but was enough to have me pull out my keyboard and blog this.
You see, realizing that my mobile is my only computer as had me assessing what is needed and what would be useful in terms of computing.
I like the idea of watching TV, but why can’t my mobile play the role of the TV receiver, downloading and recommending programs from various networks and web services (Amazon, iTunes, etc.) and then stream those as I’m ready to watch them.
Or my mobile playing the role of a more active alarm clock – not only asking me if I want to set an alarm in the AM (as it does now), but also popping up my weather widget to let me know what the weather will be when I awake (since I’m more likely to set clothes out, than to change my mind).
Or see that same wall, the one said above with the digital stickies, having a place where it tells me about my recent walks and bike rides. And then offers to share my course or riding data with local walking and/or riding groups.
I guess what I’m saying is that in seeing my internet and content use more through this mobile lens, I’m starting to look for information to connect for me in ways that are relevant, accessible, and rightly use local data for bettering my life and the lives of those around me.
I’m going back to lay down and see life as I was just doing – getting informed, entertained, and connecting with people, places, and things. But, as I look at the blank walls in my apartment – and the wall with the whiteboards on them of data that’s not quite digital or behaviorial in many cases – I wonder what computing will look like in 5 or 10 years, when for some people their mobile or mobile-like computer will be doing these things and more, with nary a thought of when things weren’t like this.
blog.arjw 