one reason context is far away

Tags: Design
September 15, 2008 by Steven

Around here we rant a lot about context. Aside from just getting data services on and off phones, we want it all to be so seamless – practically ubicomp-level &ndash that mainstream consumers use mobile to improve their lives, instead of just talking and maybe texting.

Now check out this article.

It seems anything on the device could be used to find out about your secrets, so in the U.S. at least this is worthy of fear. Meaning, anything is worthy of fear.

This intrudes upon widespread use of, say, location services. Entirely aside from walled-garden mentality, there are several laws around release of location data so all the operators make you jump through a lot of hoops to get the information to your site or application.

Which means that hardly anyone does, except a few on-deck services and those who have the time and money. Most other information sharing from the device and network have the same issues. Those that have no legal restrictions end up having de facto privacy-based restrictions anyway.

This bugs me because I worry all sorts of neat innovative ideas will end up being stillborn, at least on this continent. One concept I throw out there a lot is using the mic (and maybe audio communications channel) to pick up and process ambient noises, and make contextual decisions based on sound level and type of sound. The GPS says you are on a busy street, but the sounds are quiet, clinking glasses, and page-turning maybe you are instead inside the bookstore coffee shop at that address.

I presume 90% of those reading this see the fear that the phone is listening to them, instead of the amazing opportunity for what it can do to be smarter about the environment.


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