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What Can We Do Differently With Ubicomp?
In my recent ponderings on how to move ubicomp from theory and philosophy into practice, I found it necessary to ask (re-ask, really--it's not like this is the first time) what exactly we might want to accomplish with ubicomp implementations. I will spare you my journey of convoluted mental ramblings, which scare even me sometimes, and present my current conclusions in the form of some questions which I believe address some real human-computer interaction challenges:
- We don't want to give up our online access to information and community, but how can we avoid becoming a slave to our computer screens?
- How can we deliver and present information differently and more effectively?
- How can we filter the ever-increasing flood of information we are trying to process on a daily basis?
- How do we use technology--including but not limited to computers--to better interact with our environment?
To answer each of these questions could fill a volume of writing on its own. However, I will summarize my answers to the questions in the form of 4 principles for ubicomp research and development. I propose these principles as a work in progress and as a basis for discussion.
Four Working Principles Of Ubicomp
- We will make the network and information come to us and follow us arround, not the opposite.
- We will layer the interfaces onto our environment and blur the line between information and things.
- We will use location-awareness and techniques like collaborative filtering to make information personally, physically and temporally relevant.
- We will use a variety of technologies to make things and our environment more aware and able to sense and communicate with us.
Although these principles do not exactly coincide with any particular list of known principles in the field of ubicomp, they are based on literature from known experts and not just naively springing from my head. I expect that someday we will have a relatively-agreed-upon set of working principles. Until then, I reserve the right to modify the content and number of the principles. Finally, I will also point out that the modifer "working" in "working principles has two meanings: a work in progress, but also that I am more interesting in the practical aspects of rolling up our sleeves and getting ubicomp systems constructed.
rk
Human-Computer Interfaces In The Iron Man Movie
I just saw the Iron Movie which, as expected, was replete with high-tech gadgetry and special effects. I also noticed that it specifically contained many examples of technology that embodied Human Computer Interfaces (HCI) concepts and themes, and I wanted to capture my observations and thoughts while the movie is (sort of) still fresh in my mind.
I myself have only seen the movie once, and if/when you see it you will notice that it has action pretty much from start to finish. So I apologize in advance if I don't get the details of the human-computer bits exactly right, or even if I saw one thing and imagined something different in my head. The items I will discuss were rather fleeting and subdued compared to the shots of high-tech armor and explosions they were wedged between. But they were cool in their own right and worthy of consideration.
Spoiler Disclaimer: I won't be discussing anything that is particularly revealing and certainly won't give away any significant parts of the plot, but I will include this disclaimer anyway.
Computers Are Ubiquitous
It should come as no surprise, in a movie featuring the comic character of Iron Man, that computers occur everywhere from bunkers and planes to his labs, home and of course his high-tech armor. HCI is not synonymous with ubiquitous computing, nor does it require it. However, they go tend to go hand-in-hand, since, the more computers become ubiquitous or pervasive in a person's environment, the more important is the requirement for intuitive, natural and effective interfaces.
Interfaces are overlaid on the environment
There were a few examples of this in Iron Man:
- The security access keypad to Tony Stark's personal lab appears on demand on the pane of glass next to the door.
- At one point in his lab Tony invokes a control keypad which appears on a black glass surface.
- Probably the best example is in his bedroom. When the (ahem) guest awakes in his bedroom, displays again materialize on the glass of the windows overlooking his beach view. It is hard to recall what they displayed, but they contained information relevant to the home, daily routine and environment.
- Last but not least, heads-up displays appear inside the helmet of the armor.
Icon Interfaces
In at least one case, the virtual overlaid control interface consists of icons rather than having the standard qwerty keyboard. There is a reason that fast food places have keyboards with specialized, iconic keys. It's not because the workers are not intelligent enough to think about the corresponding words. Rather it's not particularly efficient to have to think about them or worse to have to type them in. If an icon can simply, naturally, and effectively communicate an idea or command, then why require anything more?
Smart Home Control
Tony's home is controlled by an intelligent software assistant in the form of a virtual butler which accepts voice commands. Although it appears a bit too intelligent at times, this form of HCI has been developed and produced for years for smart home applications and will continue to be refined over time.
Anticipating user needs
Tony's software assistant also anticipates his needs and offers suggested courses of action it can take on Tony's behalf. It would desirable for any worthy software assistant to reduce the burden on it user by anticipating user actions and offering options, or even automatically performing actions which need no intervention or approval.
Mobile Agents
Rather than develop new programming for the armor, Tony downloads the home/lab butler program into the armor. Presumably it actually creates a copy since it makes little sense to leave the home unattended. But for Tony, the effect is that the software agent he is familiar with, and his probably extensive customized preferences and usage profile, seamlessly travel with him.
Ambient Information
In addition to whatever else the displays in the bedroom were conveying, they were also communicating information about the ambient environment including weather and surf conditions.
Intelligent Robotic Assistants
Tony Stark uses robotic assistants which are intelligent in the sense that they respond to his verbal commands and nonverbal cues. However, these robots are not android in their physical design, something which would not only require more suspension of belief but would also not be necessary or desirable for their dedicated purpose.
In the movie, Tony's robo-assistants mostly serve to provide comic relief. However, to casually dismiss them with this superficial analysis would be to ignore a couple of more subtle points they illustrate about human-computer interactions:
- The comic element of the robots stem from their failure in some cases to follow Tony's commands. This is precisely what we should expect in an intelligent artificial assistant. A software agent with a level of programming sophistication sufficient for exhibiting useful assistive behavior would necessarily need to work with incomplete and fuzzy information, and is further interacting with an imprecise and fuzzy (by computer standards) human being. So it is occasionally going to make mistakes in the same way that a human assistant would sometimes (or frequently, depending on the human) make mistakes.
- We see an example where the human being is probably exhibiting anthropomorphism (the attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman entities) toward the robot. We hear Tony delivering fairly extended and human-like communication to a robot. Yet we have no other indication that the robot is comprehending more than the basic elements of the speech, or that it's behavior is really anything more naive and imperfect responses to the situation. Humans are well known to be capable of attributing intelligence and even feelings to inanimate objects, even those which lack intelligence by any standards. On one hand, this says more about the human than the agent, but on the other hand it serves as a sort of metric by which to judge the behavior of the agent. It has achieved some level of success if it invokes anthropomorphism in the human.
As you can see, the Iron Movie movie demonstrated a variety of human-computer interface concepts. It is not the first movie to include such concepts (Minority Report comes to mind), but I believe it does a fair job and in closing I will leave you with a thought: was this a conscious effort on the filmmakers part, or are these ideas starting to entrench themselves as memes in our subconscious?
rk
Photo Disclaimer: The photos are most just blog candy as it was not possible to to find actual shots of the displays I discussed.
Why Ubiquitous Computing?
Now that we've discussed a bit about what ubiquitous computing is, a legitimate question is: why should we care? Why should we be concerned about ubiquitous computing? My response to that is we should care because:
1. To a degree, it is already here--computers are already becoming ubiquitous,
and
2. Others are already planning our ubicomp future, so we may want to start paying attention.
Let me elaborate.
Computing Is Already Becoming Ubiquitous
Many devices and objects with computing built in are already here, and more will come. To support this claim and make it more tangible, I conducted some research in my own home. Basically what I did was just go through my house and inventory things which had some kind of microprocessor in them. This is what I found:
- Home office: 13 processors
- Kitchen: 7 processors
- Master Bedroom: 10 processors
- Family Room: 10 processors
- Master Bathroom: 2 processors
- Kid Bedroom 1: 7 processors
- Kid Bedroom 2: 7 processors
- Rec Room: 4 processors
- Dining room: 1 processor
- Bathroom 2: 2 processors
- Spare Bedroom: 3 processors
- Garage: 3 processors
Oh, and we shouldn't forget to count our two cars--each contains multiple processors for things like:
- ignition control
- ABS
- alarm
- stereo
- climate control
So that adds another 10 processors for a total of at least 80 processors around our house! Yes, we are fairly digital and have been accumulating stuff for many years, but we are far from abnormal and upcoming generations show signs of easily surpassing us in accumulation of digital gadgetry.
Others Are Planning Your Ubicomp Future
One of the more developed forms of ubicomp comes in the form of location-aware systems for proximity marketing. Proximity marketing is basically a system which detects your presence by sensing your Bluetooth phone (typically) when you pass nearby, and then attempts to send some form of marketing message or media to your phone. This is already happening in different places and different events, and these are no longer prototypes. There are several companies with commercial products and services for implementing proximity marketing. They would very much like to push even more marketing and advertisements at more people in more places.
In some ways it won't be much different from the barrage of advertisement pushed at us via our radios and TV sets which we have tolerated for decades. But wouldn't you want to have a say in how, where and what is pushed at you, especially if it can now find you as you walk the city streets, or roam the shopping malls? To be fair, most of the companies involved in this field are sensitive to the privacy concerns and provide a form of opt-in (or out). But the potential for abuse and media overload is very real.
In addition to these specific commercial applications, and unknown to the average person, (even most techie types) work in academic institutions has been going on for many years to develop more advanced and pervasive forms of ubicomp. Multiple conferences now exist which are dedicated to the fields of and related to ubicomp.
One might argue that this is a sign that ubicomp is a misguided concept. However, just because something spends years in R and D with no noticeable public impact or visibility does not mean you can dismiss it. Bluetooth was hyped, then arguably stumbled, but it eventually "stuck" as hyped and predicted and growth of bluetooth devices shows little signs of slowing. HDTV is taking forever--literally decades--to get developed, standardized, and gain widespread usage, but it too will soon be "ubiquitous".
At this point in time, there is a sufficient mix of available technology, decreasing hardware cost, and sufficient applications to drive ubicomp to its tipping point. Further, ubicomp is not an all-or-nothing proposition. It can emerge in different guises and ultimately only requires computing elements to be ubiquitous, which I don't think anyone could argue has not been happening for some time.
rk
What Is Ubiquitous Computing?
Wikipedia defines “ubiquitous computing” as “... a model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities.”
Taken literally, ubiquitous computing means “computing everywhere”. It is that, but it's much more than that.
Ubiquitous computing is also known by its shorter form of “ubicomp” and additionally, there are other terms used to describe this concept such as “pervasive computing”, “ambient intelligence”, “proximity systems”, and “location aware” computing. It would be easy to assume this is simply the work of academics or market folk trying to push their individual brands.
But, in fact, it is more that just a matter of personal naming preference. The variety of different terms reflects the multi-faceted nature of what can be done, and what it means, to have computing everywhere. Consider this list of some of the facets or aspects of ubicomp:
- Computing is ubiquitous, so it's available everywhere.
- Computing is pervasive so it essentially becomes impossible to avoid.
- In ubicomp, the computer is not something in the environment that interacts with a human—it is the environment interacting with a human.
- The computing infrastructure is aware of your location or proximity, and makes use of that information.
- Since the computing is integrated in the environment, the human may not even be aware that it is doing something.
- As a result of all of the above, the environment embodies an emergent sense of awareness, in other words: “ambient intelligence”.
Ubiquitous computing has the potential to:
- employ computation in ways we haven't thought of before,
- change our perspective on how we interact with our environment as well as computers,
- use information to impact our lives in new ways, possibly far beyond what the Internet does today,
- and forever change our notions of security, privacy, and community.
That's the party line anyway, and while I think most parties involved in the field believe the above to ultimately be true, it is still very speculative and the actual evolutionary path of ubicomp is less than obvious.
One of my new goals in life, then--if you'll pardon a little drama--is to help make ubicomp more real by exploring the technical aspects of ubicomp and practical applications. There has been a lot of academic research in the field, but, at least to my mind, the "killer" applications, or at least implementations, remain to be realized.
Until next time,
rk
Entrepreneuring: Executing To Completion
I recently read this post: How to Make a Successful Business over at One Year Goal .com. In it, he refers to the problem of "never-finish-itis", the act of continually switching to new projects and never finishing previous ones--a problem which resonates very strongly with me. The post concludes with the advice: "Pick a venture, any venture, and finish launching it. Then repeat. Success will find you sooner than you think." It is valuable advice indeed, and co-incidently, I have been thinking on this subject a lot lately, and would like to share my own meditations. I will refer to projects in general, which includes, but is certainly not limited to, starting a new entrepreneurial venture.
Over the past couple of years I made good progress toward productivity and Getting Things Done (GTD) goals; however this particular issue remained unresolved. Therefore, if I accomplish any resolution this year, it will hopefully be mastering the ability to focus and drive (my own) projects to satisfactory completion. I am going to focus specifically on the endgame--finishing a project--as opposed to starting them or finding time to work on entrepreneurial projects. I will relate to my own situation so that you will believe that I feel your pain, and that I am not just preaching something that happens to come easy to me. It doesn't.
The Obstacles
1. Not having a clear goal for completion. Clearly, if you don't establish a concrete definition for when a project is completed, you will never know when you get there or what's left to do to get there.
2. Attention of focus. I have spent much of my career multitasking work items and being successful doing so. There are many productivity gurus now proclaiming the evils of multitasking and I agree with their points, but I would also argue that it works in some domains. I would also have to agree that it can make you fail miserably at other times, such as when, say, entrepreneuring your own startup.
Garret LoPorto has a book entitled The Da Vinci Method - Break Out & Express Your Fire. In this book LoPorto discusses the connections between creativity and ADHD, and offers plausible behaviorial motivations for attentive "disorders" and why they may not be such. Let me say up front that I am very skeptical of diagnoses and justifications for ADD/ADHD behavior. I have read more than one book justifying or even celebrating a lack of focus and/or commitment. Based on my experience, both academic and as a parent, I believe it is usually just an excuse for lack of discipline. To be clear, I am not saying that attention focus is not a problem, and I believe there are real causations for attention problems, genetic, evolutionary or otherwise. And after reflecting on my own personal history, I am also somewhat obligated to agree, from my excruciating boredom in the classroom as a child to my multitasking, completion-challenged track record as an entrepreneur. What I do not buy is that ADD/ADHD is a clear-cut disorder that one can simply medicate, or worse that it is an excuse for antisocial or unproductive behavior. I view it as another dimension of behavior that is more or less of a problem depending on the individual. In my case, I have worked to overcome the problem in some ways, but I have room for improvement.
3. The Bigger, Better Thing. This is what happens when you are midway through a project, and then come up with another wonderful idea which you just know will be insanely greater than the current one, make you more money, and change the world. So you soon lose interest in the current project and spend all your time thinking about the new one. Of course, the excitement wears off a bit after you think about it enough and even if it doesn't, it is destined to become the next project you abort partway through. Sometimes, you don't have a new project but simply become disillusioned with the current project because you peceive it as risky, lacking a value proposition or lacking revenue potential.
4. The Illusion: The next problem with completion is the illusion of anything ever being complete. There is more to this than being a perfectionist. Although I generally strive to do quality work, I am not what you would generally consider a compulsive perfectionist. Anyone who has ever seen my messy desktop can attest to that. Still, I find it hard to let go of something--with my name on it--that is not a well-rounded, complete package of goodness. The irony is that few things are ever really complete, so the effort is misguided at best. This concept seems to be at odds with #1, or even the whole idea of getting something done. I will explain shortly.
The Solutions
1. First of all, define a clear, achievable goal for completion. And it is extremely important to set a date for completion. A whole book can be written (maybe it has) on how setting a concrete date will drive you to completion. In my corporate career, project timelines are usually clearly set and driven by business or customer deadlines, which partially explains why I don't have the same problems in that environment vs. my personal entrepreneurial projects. With my own projects, if I even bother to set a date, I am only disappointing myself if I don't make the date.
2. Defer, or ignore completely, the Bigger, Better Thing. If it really seems like a good idea, then write it down and resolve to not work on it until you successfully complete the current one (there's another motivator for you). Or, you can chose to ignore it because a) it will not turn out to be bigger and better and b) you don't need a bigger and better idea--you need to be successfully at something now. I can't tell you the number of other people's business ideas I've seen that seemed incredibly lame and stupid and yet somehow they managed to make more money with their idea than I did with my brilliant idea that I never finished.
3. Do some research before you start. There are cases where a project is really not worth pursuing because it doesn't have a viable market or niche. This is a topic outside the scope of this article, but it can be easily solved by doing a little research upfront. Check out possible competitors. Use tools like the Google keyword tool to find out if anyone is interested in your subject. But don't spend too much time on it and suffer analysis paralysis--just do some ballpark research, and then dive in and start doing something.
4. Use the 75% completion principle. I recently had an epiphany--or perhaps more accurately, co-opted one--when reading Brian Armstrong's book: Breaking Free. Brian explains the technique more eloquently, and I highly recommend reading the book in general. But basically, the technique is to set a goal and milestone for 75% completion of the project. This amounts to psyching yourself out such that you actually achieve a good-enough version of your project before your innate tendency to drop off has time to fully kick in. For example, if you are building a new website, you should set a milestone that has you going live with 75% of what you wanted to do, because that 75% is more than good enough to put online. And it is probably infinitely better than one you never put online. You can see a different form of this principle in the popular Web 2.0 approach of calling every website a "beta". You can always create a new project targeted at making improvements.
rk
Introduction To Bluetooth Profiles
One of the goals of Bluetooth was to create a standard technology that worked the same across a wide variety of consumer devices, likely coming from a wide variety of manufacturers. Furthermore, it is important that a device from one manufacturer is able to interoperate—that is, connect and communicate--with another Bluetooth device from another unrelated manufacturer. Without such standardization, companies would start developing and promoting their own Bluetooth standards which would create connection problems, delay or prevent adoption of Bluetooth, and generally cause confusion. To help ensure standardization and interoperability, the Bluetooth consortium not only defined the wireless radio standard, but also carefully defined standards for different applications of Bluetooth, which they named “profiles”.
Like most new technologies, the Bluetooth specification has gone through a few revisions already, including 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, and the currently available version, 2.0. Version 1.1 is still common on devices that are readily available, and is a good reference version for discussing the major Bluetooth profiles. (Version 1.2 is also relatively common and has similar functions as 1.1),. Version 1.1 has 13 profiles defined as follows:
Generic Access Profile (GAP): This profile which defines how two Bluetooth devices discover and establish communications with each other. The GAP profile does not define specific application functions for the user, but rather it is a base profile that defines the modes and procedures that all the other profiles use.
Service Discovery Application Profile (SDAP): As the name implies, this profiles allows Bluetooth devices to query the services available on other Bluetooth devices.
Cordless Telephony Profile (CTP): Defines how a Bluetooth device can be used as a cordless phone.
Intercom Profile: Defines how two Bluetooth phones can connect with each other directly without the use of the public telephone network.
Serial Port Profile (SPP): Defines how two Bluetooth devices can communicate with each other by using virtual serial ports. Using this profile, Bluetooth communication can be treated as just another serial communication.
Headset Profile (HS or HSP): The HSP describes how a Bluetooth wireless headset should communicate with another device, typically a Bluetooth phone but it could also be a PC or Personal Digital Assistance (PDA).
Dial-Up Networking Profile (DNP or DUN): Defines how a Bluetooth device can connect to a Bluetooth-enabled modem or mobile phone. The most common scenario is accessing the Internet from a laptop by dialing up on a mobile phone, wirelessly instead of through a cable from the laptop to the phone. It is based on the SPP.
Fax Profile (FP): Defines how a Bluetooth device can connect to a Bluetooth-enabled fax device, such as a fax machine or a fax-enabled mobile phone.
LAN Access Profile (LAP): Defines how a Bluetooth-enabled device can connect to a computer network.
Generic Object Exchange Profile (GOEP): Defines a set of protocols that applications use for exchanging objects.
Object Push Profile (OPP): OPP is used to send and receive objects and files between Bluetooth devices. OPP typically only supports certain types of objects—commonly this includes electronic business cards and media like photos, wallpaper and ringtones. It is called “Push” because the sender initiates the communication with the intention of “pushing” a file to the receiver. This is different a “pull” system like a Web browser where the receiver (you and the browser) “pull” or request a file from the sender (Web server).
File Transfer Profile (FTP): This profile works together with the GOEP and is another way to transfer files between two Bluetooth devices.
Synchronization Profile (SP): This works like Microsoft ActiveSync—it is used together with GOEP to synchronize calendar and address information between two Bluetooth devices, such as a laptop and mobile phone.
There are a couple of other commonly used profiles:
- Hands-Free Profile (HFP): HFP allows you to talk on your Bluetooth mobile from inside your car, leaving your hands free to operate the car (where it is legal to do so, of course). HFP requires a hands-free kit or cradle inside the car to provide a different speaker and microphone to conduct the conversation through instead of using the phones speaker and microphone. It is also possible to get specialized car stereos that have this built in.
- Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP): These profiles usually work together in Bluetooth wireless stereo headphones. The A2DP profile provides higher quality sound than the Headset Profile as well as providing stereo sound instead of mono sound.
New profiles have been developed and others are in the works, but the above list covers the major profiles. Actually, at this point in time, the average consumer will get by with awareness of only a few of them: Headset, Object Push, and Hands-Free. As more Bluetooth products and applications are released, other profiles will come into popular use as driven by the consumer market.
Bluetooth For Ungeeks
What is Bluetooth?
Bluetooth is a technology for wirelessly connecting devices over short distances, including cell phones, headsets, computers, handheld computers (PDAs like a Palm Pilot), keyboards, mice, cameras, and a list of other devices which is growing all the time. Bluetooth is commonly used to connect two device to communicate with each other, such as a cell phone and wireless headset. But it also allows communication between several devices in a small wireless network.
No introduction on Bluetooth would be complete without the obligatory mention of how it got its name, so here goes: Bluetooth was named after King Harald Blatand who ruled Denmark in the 10th century. My Norwegian is not very good, but apparently Blatand means "bluetooth" in English. Blatand was famous (at least in Scandinavia) for bringing together warring tribes in the areas of what is now Denmark, Sweden and Norway. In a similar way, Bluetooth the technology was created to bring together or unite many different device technologies. And maybe to bring together warring "mobile phone" companies since the primary members of the Bluetooth consortium included the big cell phone companies such as Ericsson, Nokia and Motorola as well as computer companies such as IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Toshiba. Curiously, no-one seems to want to mention how Harald got the name "Bluetooth" in the first place, leaving me to speculate on dental hygiene issues best left unsaid after all.
In order to use Bluetooth for its various applications I will discuss shortly, a device such as your cell phone must have a special Bluetooth chip inside. Fortunately, because Bluetooth is a low-cost technology we are seeing more products being released which support Bluetooth. Your Bluetooth-enabled coffee pot cannot be far off in the future. (Actually, maybe that's not so crazy--I could check the level of coffee in the coffee pot from my desk). Bluetooth supports a number of different services, also called "profiles". For example, the service that is used to make a phone call using a Bluetooth wireless headset and a cell phone is called the "Hands Free Profile". Some devices like the headset are special purpose and only support one or two profiles, because that's all that makes sense. Currently, even cell phones don't support all the available services, but that will change over time and all phones will be expected to support the common services.
Benefits Of Bluetooth
- Eliminate cables: The most obvious benefit of Bluetooth is to eliminate the one or more set of wires that seem to come with every consumer device or gadget you might think of connecting to a computer. Bluetooth allows you to free yourself from headset and headphones wires, as well as eliminate tangling and unsightly cables on your desktop which connect devices like your mouse and keyboard to your computer.
- Low cost: The cost is lower than for other wireless technologies, and similar to the cost for wired connections (you may have noticed: computer cables are not all that cheap). So for about the same cost it is often better to have the convenience of having no wires.
- Low power: Bluetooth can be "always on", but uses a variety of geeky electronic tricks to keep power consumption very low. I can go at least a week without charging my Bluetooth headset.
- Convenient and standard: For example, if you want to connect to a different device, you won't need a different cable or adapter. A Bluetooth-equipped device can talk to any other Bluetooth device as long as it supports the service you want to use. And these services will become more standard and common as time goes on.
- Security: Since wireless communication goes out over the air, there is always the possibility of someone "snooping" on your private (or perhaps then, not-so-private) communication. Bluetooth has security built into to its core to make it extremely difficult to listen in on your communication. For one thing, the radio signal hops around on 79 different frequencies, 1600 times a second making it very hard to track. Devices can also be "paired", where a user must enter a secret passkey, typically a 4-digit number like a pin number for your ATM card. Without the proper pin code, the connection is refused.
- Communicate through walls: Bluetooth operates at radio frequencies that can pass through walls and other obstructions. This is similar to WiFi, but infrared beaming, for example, cannot pass through walls. This could useful in your home, but is also important for places which may want to use Bluetooth for business applications.
Bluetooth Applications
I have already touched on some of the common applications, but here is a list of some of the many ways Bluetooth can be used:
- As mentioned previously, one of the most common application applications currently is using a Bluetooth heaset to talk through your cellphone, allowing very comfortable phone conversation without dangling wires or tangles, talking with your phones pressed against your heard cradled on your neck.
- Transfering pictures form your camera phone to your computer. This is more convenient than plugging into your computer and without the cost or hassle of sending pictures to your email account over your cell phone provider's netork.
- You can exchange also exchange pictures, as well as ringtones, wallpaper and songs with friends or family who have a bluetooth phone. You don't need a computer or even a cell phone connection to do this. Let's say you are a government agent being held prisoner in a secret fortress on a Carribbean island that doesn't have cell phone coverage, not even that Verizon guy who's almost everywhere. You could use Bluetooth to exchange ringtones with the prisoner in the room next to you. Although in that case they would probably take away your phone and maybe exchanging the latest ringtone is not your biggest concern in that case. Ok, so my analogy was not that great--maybe instead we should imagine that it's just you and your friend passing time on the subway by exchanging ringtones and wallpaper from the latest popular artists.
- Wirelessly connecting peripherals to your computer or laptop. Peripherals is the name for all those things you are obligated to connect to your computer to actually be able to do anything useful. A number of those devices now support wireless connection to your computer using our friend Bluetooth, including mice keyboards and printers. It may seem like no big deal at first to worry about removing the few feet or inches of cable to your computer, but once you've tried it, removing the clutter, tangles, and unsightliness oc cables makes for a more enjoyable user experience.
- Wireless stereo headphones. This one alone is enough to sell me on Bluetooth. I hate wrestling with headphone wires, especially when traveling. Also, when I want to listen to music at my desk, I have to hope the wires are long enough to reach from my chair to the back of the computer, and I get tired of explaining to my coworkers why I am sitting under my desk. I won't even go into those moments of physical comedy when you forget you have headphones on and try to move away from your desk.
- Wireless gaming. Bluetooth is now being used for wireless game system controllers such as the Nintendo Wii or to rock out wireless on Guitar Hero. Because if you are serious about pretending you are a rock star with a fake, plastic guitar, you may as well pretend you are a rock star with a wireless (fake, plastic) guitar.
- There are more applications for connecting devices wirelessly, and more coming in the future, including:
- Digital cameras, to download photos to your personal computer or even directly to a photo printer.
- Connecting to a Bluetooth enabled car for safer hands-free talking or listening.
- Connection to GPS devices.
- MP3 players. You should be able to download songs from all kinds of places and things, maybe even your refrigerator. Don't laugh--it may be coming.
Hopefully I've given you a good introduction on what Bluetooth is all about. In the near future, it is likely that Bluetooth usage for connecting wireless devices will be so common that people will wonder why we ever used wires.
What Is Proximity Marketing?
Wikipedia defines proximity marketing as"... the localized wireless distribution of advertising content associated with a particular place. "
Proximity
The first key point relates to localized distribution. The idea is that relevant information is pushed or offered to the consumer only when he/she is physically close (hence, "proximity") to the information source. Such an interaction implies movement into the target zone--therefore it makes sense that wireless devices, particularly cellphones, are the preferred device for proximity marketing.
A proximity marketing system must employ some technology which is capable of discovering users in the target zone. Currently, Bluetooth is the standard choice, but other options include WIFI, cell tower proximity, GPS and RFID. Although Bluetooth is not without some challenges, including lack of standardization in its profiles, the other technologies are presently lacking one or more key attributes needed for this kind of interaction. The details of this are a topic for another article.
Marketing
The second key point in proximity marketing is, naturally, "marketing". Although a variety of different types of applications and/or communication could be imagined for a proximity scenario, the term proximity marketing is specifically focused on the use of wireless proximity communication for the purpose of marketing or advertising a business or service. Current examples of relevant marketing applications include:
- A store in the proximity of the customer (or vice versa, I suppose) sends the customer a message regarding a special or coupon for the store.
- At a music event, a proximity marketing point is used to allow fans to receive ringtones, wallpaper or mp3s for their favorite band.
- For marketing at a conference: offering contact information and other promotional material.
Opting In
A third key concept, not explicitly stated, is the concept of "opt in". Advertising transmissions should only be received by individuals who elect to receive them. Although viewers got used to mass advertising related to television, the massive problem of email spam has made users hypersensitive to unwanted communication. This problem will be magnified on a cellphone where real estate is at an ultra-premium.
Some people will be adverse to marketing or advertisement of any kind. Of course, these are the same people who want free television, free bandwidth and free beer, if possible. However, I believe there is enough evidence to support the idea that most reasonable people don't mind marketing when it is of high quality, not terribly intrusive, and--most importantly--if it has a high relevance to their personal situations, needs and desires. One of the objections to mass advertising of any kind is that it frequently comes to the wrong consumer at the wrong time? How often do you actually buy a car compared to the thousands of times (per day maybe) you are hit with new car adverts? I won't even go into the issues surrounding feminine hygiene and male performance products. Done correctly, proximity marketing can be a win-win proposition for advertisers as well as consumers. Advertisers can get a much better response from consumers actually in the vicinity of a product or service, especially if they opt in. Consumers get advertisement that is much more likely to be relevant or convenient for them at that moment.