fR&Dy

New Cosmetics Concept - Bad Smell !?!

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:30:00 +0000

I was inspired by an American woman in Los Angeles, so eager to shop and buy X-Box to her children, that while hoarding Thanks Giving “Owner is crazy” sale period, decided to spray other customers, and prevent them form reaching to her precious box.

I hoped the X prefix was enough to tell her she should stay away from this particular kind of box, but I guess she wanted her kid’s dreams to come true, or perhaps her dreams - while finally getting some sleep while they kill zombies, or more accurately: zombie themselves to death.

So the invention is an old take on a deodorant - a repeller deo, smelling bad to force people away. One can use it against a creepy office courtship, get seats in a tube, or perhaps on an airplane (if one is less than 400 pounds).

Or just buy a PS3 or Wii.

Personalized Books Invention and the iPhone/iPad

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 08:35:00 +0100

Exactly 4 years ago, I wanted to create a personalized book for my kids, that will have a tailored story with their pictures instead of stock ones, as an insert in few key places.

I was inspired by personalized books that had the person name as a title, and wanted to take this further. This is also why I remember it was 4 years ago, I had a newborn then, a thing that tends to constantly remind you of ones existence, especially near ones birthday.

I even wrote a short story that fits that visual vision, took some demo pictures, and contacted an animating friend to create some drawings to match. Than approached the main barrier: the kid’s picture was than supposed to be “easily” integrated into the physical book: how one can “grab” a general picture, and insert into the book, so it will look nice, sustain page flipping and not wear and tear, looks awesome, and myriad of other issues.

I designed and played with few options, made a prototype birthday card with one technique, checked for patents by others, and experimented for a while.

But as the animator friend was busy, and me busy with the newborn, I let this baby slip away. And probably good that I did.

As today, I found an new iPad app, that actually makes this much easier. You grab the picture from the device camera, “insert” it digitally in key places, even use animations, and voila! Easy Peasy. I’m not sure but it may be that an ex-colleague’s partner is behind that.

So who said technology cannot change things. It does.

Well not to the degree that the mentioned newborn changes my life, but that’s another story.

User Experience Guideline - Justice, X-Ray and Fish

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:08:00 +0100

In technology, and especially consumer electronics: user experience, with variants on user interface, usability, Man-Machine-Interface, and many other names - is kind of a dark art, or perhaps a secret sauce (diversion: doesn’t the sauce implies the steak itself is rubbish?also, what intelligence agency trains the sauce agents? Those are few of my own questions).

Amongst many of the best practices, I’ve ran into apple’s HIG:

Balance any request for input by users with what you offer users in return.

I find this simple guidance very social, just and inspiring; not only for design, but also for any form of HHI (Human to Human interaction, perhaps a new (tm)).

One example, is “Why ask a lot of information if you are going to provide no value (or much less value) in return?”.

I have this issue with many of the UK bureaucratic form-oriented administrations.

Only recently NHS asked me to fill a form with many details, they already have in the computer just in front of the guy asking it. This form is than handed to X-Ray operator who filed it in his folder without giving it even the briefest glance, for yet someone else to retyped that information to the X-Ray lab computers, that used to be separate, but now are integrated with the main system records, so they have all those same details anyhow. This is even less than no value - it’s actually a negative value on the NHS employees waste of time and energy, me as customer, other waiting customers, and finally, me and all others again as tax payers.

The opposite is when you are going to provide a lot of value, make sure you balance your asks. A simple example for that, is authenticating users to their bank account. Users are more likely to accept being interrogated in such circumstances for their password, e-mail, date of birth, maiden name, or the name of their first dog (what about people that like hamsters or armadillos?).

A derived natural outcome, is the hand-in-hand approach - ask little and give little; and if there is interest ask more and give some more, and so on. This is better than asking upfront too much and scare the user, or give too much to an uninterested user.

I say, lure the fish (sorry the user, but he may be a bad poker player).

Talk is Pitch (or Cheap? Whatever)

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:01:00 +0100

This is an ideas, innovation, and invention blog - isn’t it the right time to invent something?

Often one wants to alter the pace of audio media, without distorting the pitch. Common use cases, are that you have some recorded material you want to listen to, on your PC, or on your iPod or smartphone, or other devices and either:

The narrator is too slow for you - you can speed it up, and still understand what you need to, or …
Yow want to slow it down, to fit your pace, or be able to write key points.

Some media players have controls that allow that, but their granularity is not very good. Even those that have good pacing (e.g. VLC for windows, for some reason Mac version does not) distort the audio so its pitch is higher for fast pace.

The invention is to alter the audio pace, maintaining the speaker authenticity of voice, to stay natural. Simple signal processing tend to make the distortion, but for human voice, whose characteristics are more predictable and narrower than generic sounds, a solution may be easier to implement. First solutions can do it in software, and than benefit from HW audio processing.

Usage scenario may include enjoying audiobooks, rewriting lectures, and later even making smooth audio transitions to fit video playback, so you can actually fast forward a movie while seeing it, understanding all, and the sound will be mostly natural.

Harry potter Octologoy (last book has 2 movies) in one cross atlantic flight?

Routine Phone Call - Part II

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:45:00 +0100

+++ Me: “You are probably right on that account. Mind if I ask, if you have any issues with relationships with animals?”

- Her: “Erm, that is not an issue for me. I really do not need to know about it. It’s your own business, Mr. Fridman”

+++ Me: “And what do you think about immigration in UK, racism or child abuse? ‘Sara’?”

- Her: “<Puzzled yet again> I really don’t understand the question, sir. I really have to go.”

+++ Me: “<Slowly> So, what did you call in the first place?”

- Her: <Mumble>

+++ Me: “You do know I never bought anything with ‘Lie and co.’, the coupon offer is bogus anyhow, and what the heck is ‘Exterior Modeling for my Inner House’ anyway?”

- Her: “I will not bother you again, Mr. Fridman”.

+++ Me: “Thank You, Sara! Have a nice day.”

</Mission Accomplished >

Not my finest hours, I know. And she is not to blame, for the most part.

But extreme circumstances demand extreme measures.

—-

With love to all my friends that have to cold call customers, I wish you less insane conversations with more balanced customers.

Routine Phone Call - Part I

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:33:00 +0100

<14:00, Baby and Wife are Sleeping, I’m Working, Phone Ringing>

Part I

- Her: “Hello, I’m <Heavy Indian Accent> ‘Sara’, calling from ‘Certain Lie’ (Credit to Satire TV Program) limited, following up your purchase from last year <Never Heard of Them>, you have just won 250 GBP coupon <If you buy goods worth 2,500,000 GBP that is>. Can you please confirm your name is <Pause> Mr. Fridman, and your address is ‘Whatever’?”

+++ Me: “Hello, Hmmm, ‘Sara’. How lovely of you to call!”

- Her: “<Astonishment> Sorry, I beg your pardon?”

+++ Me: “I’m really sorry, but I shall promptly be back with you. May I kindly ask you to wait just a wee bit, while I finish shagging my goat…”

- Her: “<Confused.com> Finish What?”

+++ Me: “Never mind. We both finished what we had to do. 250 GBP you say? I’m very excited and interested!”

- Her: “Oh Yes! <Regaining her breath> This is a special offer to our selected loyal customers <So nowadays buying 0 times accredit you to become loyal?>”.

+++ Me: “So just bare with me for a second. As always on 14:14 and 14 seconds, I just need to catch the falling baby, those eastern europeans from above floor are throwing down. Be right back!” <My baby woke up and cried, taking the phone near her room so she can hear a bit, smashing the window with the phone as well, puzzling my awaking wife in the process>

- Her: “<Patiently waiting, a sell is a sell> Mr. Fridman?”

+++ Me: “In the nick of time, yet again. Sorry for those disturbances today. So untypical <Just said few minutes ago it happens every day, but who listens>”

- Her: “I can call another time if it is more convenient to you <Try again: NEVER!>”.

<To Be Continued>

kaboom: Good lesson for everybody. Playgrounds are primarily...

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:45:44 +0100

kaboom:

Good lesson for everybody. Playgrounds are primarily built for kids. Let’s be safe out there.

Missing Attachment? A new protocol for Google+

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:03:36 +0100

Unlike Facebook, Google+ allows you to edit posts.

So when you share something and forget a link, the traditional E-Mail sequence (1) E-Mail without attachment (2) “You forgot the attachment!” (3) Sorry + Attach, can be modernized / socialized and keep the correspondence clean :

Post without the link
Get abused for that in the comments
Edit your post to add the attachment
The abusers delete their comments, to keep it nice, clean, and correct

This is one of the nice things Google Wave RIP used to have. Anyone said History support for Google+ posts?

As always, there is another handy option: POST THE DAMN LINK YOU PROMISED TO BEGIN WITH!

YAA - Yet Another App

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:43:00 +0100

So many apps, so little time. What can I do? Another App of course. Everyone has an application, and I must stand to my software architect heritage and have one.

The idea is to have an App which is basically you… A form of aggregated CV. It will have pictures, links, contacts, bio, patents, hobbies, whatever - packaged as an app.

What’s the usage? Nothing. Fun. Time wasting. Isn’t it what most apps do anyhow?

But pushing it (slightly), for IP (Idea People), their asset is their own ideas. They are the product. Goes along with an old sales pitch “sell yourself, than sell the product / service you offer”, but in this case the pitches collide to one.

So should you go to the App Store and download the new App Fridy now? Please don’t. It doesn’t exist. Will it? There is already an app for that…

Tree Climbing and Teflon Society

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:11:00 +0100

My daughter recently graduated her “Jump & Dance” sessions. It is a lovely way to support youngsters in their natural journey to explore their bodies, capabilities, movement, and rhythm.

As during the session, parents are outside (to strengthen independence), I had the time to think why “Jumping” needs to be taught at all. Brainstorming with another parent, we have speculated two reasons:

To encourage boys to join the course as well (more participants are required), not only girls - to whom dancing is naturally appealling
Kids their age, are regularly in very controlled environments - even while playing. Natural occasions to test your abilities, know your limits first-hand, and improve your skills, while having a fun at it: all gone. So basic skills indeed, require tutoring.

On the latter, Brian B shared an article, indicating playgrounds are destroying society. To the extent of the extreme de-risking done in such environments, I couldn’t agree more. Health & Safety rules, once ally to help industry employees in work environments, have creep to areas overpowering common sense. Moshe C further added a followap (follow up, sorry), where Giganta, his child dream slide, can no longer be played with by kids: too risky. See also Gever Tulley TED lecture or book, on risks your kids should practice intentionally.

Mud & Dirt, Trees & Bushes, Berries & Loquats, Failures & Conquers: friction with mother nature. Makes your skin tough, and your inner self at ease. I say: Go away, Teflon people! At the minimum, go and make some good pans.

So that was the foundation for this week new kids training, inspired also from Eng. practice of recursion: Playing to climb to a tree house, on top of a tree, which is itself inside a house.

Inside a protected facility (so parents will feel safe), on the top floor (first lesson in climbing = height sense), under a high ceiling (no open roof as rain may cause kids to become wet) there will be a big oak tree
Spare me the root causes why this may not pass the planning committees - we will plant seeds (spys) to help us bend them regulations
Under the trees, there would be trampoline areas, sand areas, pools, and rubbery pavements
A qualified nurse & doctor would have office nearby
A London 2012 Olympics medal wannabe team, consisting of long jumpers, high jumpers, pummel horse athletes, and parallel bars ones, will teach the kids how to climb, grab, jump, stand, hold, use ropes and ladders, and wear strange tight colour outfits while they do it - in a safe environment
For advanced people, a standard climbing wall will be on one side of the room. For the real advanced, a similar thing where the wall faces outwards.
A nice cafeteria will offer horrible coffee, to the waiting parents. Caveat: It will be located on a tree house, on the top of the oak tree.

Perhaps a better idea, maybe we just let our kids play outside for a while. Or enrol them to scouts.

Acumen - The Business Part (ner)

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:26:00 +0100

As Sir Alan’s Apprentice for 2011 is approaching its climax, and this time with a twist: choosing a business partner rather than an employee, I thought about some business training inspired from this particular show, and indeed from the standard UK, and US show predecessors.

Instead of a TV show (off): the idea is a real short practical business course, I will name Acumen (Advanced CoUrse for Marketing & ENtrepreneurship), teaching the masses, rather only 12-24 initial candidates, how to approach a new business setup.

It will include lessons performed as tasks, but instead of firing people, the group will continue in different setups and mixes, with the guidance of the course staff.

Some of the luxurious over-the-top prizes, as well as some of Sir Alan’s own friends lending themselves to get some publicity and advertisement in his show will obviously be missing. I do not necessarily consider this a downside.

The students will have lessons like:

Setup a “new” newspaper (perhaps replacing some of the latest closure of the News of the World)
Create a restaurant: theme, menu, décor, food, brand, and service.
Make a TV commercial for some of the hard-to-sell all-look-the-same classics (detergents, perfume, biscuit, beer)
Buy and negotiate 10 bizarre artefacts, perhaps grouped to serve a certain business type (e.g. hotel) as cheaply as possibly, within a budget (I’m using again the cliché of the cloche from one of the shows)
Start with 250$ worth of various merchandize, and apply selling and restocking with the profits to get the highest amount of profit and stock within a set period of time (say a couple of days).
Manufacturing a commodity product and selling in stools as street markets
Offering new products to big brands (e.g. Boots). In the past you had to get Sir Alan Connections for that, but nowadays many of the companies encourage contribution from others a-la crowdsourcing, and sometimes have such plans in house.

All those ideas directly appeared in the various shows, designed by highly sophisticated and creative (in their own minds of course, as well as in mine) TV writers - but the theme here is to take off the drama and take the real lesson bits. There are plenty. The tasks themselves are good to learn from. Obviously, the addition of a boardroom and feisty characters add a Va-Va-Voom, but for most of the people interested in business, there is quite a lot even without it.

Not long the day with special institutions to prepare one for a TV show apprentice candidature, costing lots of $$$, like those devised for University Applications, Work interviews, MBA, IQ tests, and everything.

PS #2

Q: Is there a place to get training how to be accepted to a company that provides training to help people to be accepted to companies?

A: Yes, it is the same one. Nice business model…

Innovate or Die, Hard

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:53:00 +0100

Companies are constantly reminded to Innovate or Die, hard - whether its because of the rapid pace of technology shifts, global competition, disruptive thinking, or what have you.

I decided to take this personally. Every day, I am looking for a refreshing new thought; every week, an invention of something: otherwise it should be spelled weak; every year, a new skill or reaching new levels of the existing ones. If I will not do that, it’s the beginning of my downfall. And I don’t want to be there without a street luge.

For years now, I carry my little brown book (never lost it, while I had lost numerous key chains, mobile phones, and wallets… tells one about my priorities I guess), and recently the booklet has become full (of s@#t, I know). So I need to start a new one (will be naturally called the green book, not because of the Royal Scandal, perhaps because of its cover). That was a trigger for starting this mini blog and spreading those into the open IPv4/6 air .

After all, ideas without collaboration, are like toilet papers without bums: They just can’t be fulfilled.