Innovation - Lecture 8 - 3-11-11

This lecture started by talking about how mobile phones have evolved over time. The example given was one of the very first mobile phones to 2007 when the smartphone was introduced, to where we are now, for example, the iPhone, which is multi-touch, and has a bigger area to use the phone on rather than the small screen and small keyboard on previous phones, and the iPhone has the technology to move whenever you turn it around. A picture of a iPhone that had been taken apart, was also shown. It's astonishing to see all the parts that make up this amazing piece of technology. You wouldn't think them tiny, tiny screws could make up the technological advancement of the decade.

iPhone 3G taken apart

This is not the actual photo shown, but you can get my point.

The lecture then moved onto a photograph of a iPad that had been taken apart, and a talk about what the iPad can do, and various articles about how the iPad is going to kill creativity and the publishing industry. I agree with this to an extent, that the iPad will kill traditional publishing, but I also think that the iPad will bring along a new way of working and publishing books etc. 

The question was asked 'do you read a book, or does the book read you?' The iPad saves and sends information about how you interact with it, whereas the Kindle uses Whispersync which sends information about what books you read, when you read, what books do you start and don't finish etc. They give us insights into the ways people consume interactive multimedia.

This is the same with Facebook, which uses a Personal Data Request form, and keeps varies categories of information on you, e.g. all your statuses, passwords, e-mails etc.

The iPad 2 has a front-facing camera which can see you. It also has a motion sensor, GPS (so it knows where you are), and a light sensor (it can tell where you are, e.g. under the duvet reading etc.) The apps from the iPad also send information about how you use the app, what time are you most likely to use it etc.

Overall, this means that you are not tracked by device now, but individually (e.g. by your account).

I'm not quite sure how to take this information, it really disturbs me to think that while you are sat at your laptop, or iPad or whatever, someone could be watching what you are doing, and what you are doing on this device, is being sent to someone else. However, on the other side, I suppose it does help the makers etc. a lot, due to the fact they can tell what's popular and what isn't etc. But having said this, I think I am more towards the disturbed side of the argument.