Ubiquitous Devices

It is hard for me to find ways in which we are constrained by ubiquitous mobile communication. We seem to be the furthest thing from constrained. To think of how far the world has come from the desktop computer is unbelievable. The idea that an individual can connect with another across the world instantaneously is surreal (of course in areas where service is available, and if your willing t pay ridiculously high phone bills).  As Campbell & Jin Park mentioned, it is the portability and wearability of the mobile phone that makes this possible.

I found the idea of an involuntary eavesdropper quite humorous because I could relate to it so well. I can’t count how many times I have been in a situation where I wish I hadn’t overheard a certain conversation (coincidentally on the days I forget my ear buds at the house).  I have never thought about the situation as an embarrassment for the listener, but it makes sense (Campbell & Park 2008).  There have been situations that I overhear certain things that can make a person very uncomfortable. One might ask why not just relocate, but sometimes that is not an option, for example on public transportation where space is scarce.

I found the idea of urban superorganisms in relation to the use of smartphones to be very interesting (Zambonelli 2012). As Dale mentioned, putting aside the science fiction feel, I can picture the future Zambonelli describes. With the overload of data being collected today, I don’t see why it cannot be used for more useful purposes, such as energy awareness as mentioned in the article.

The reading about ubiquitous apps by Gerard Goggin was also very interesting, more specifically the talk of the importance of the app and the origins. It is amazing what apps have done to the capabilities of today’s smartphone (Goggin 2011).  The functionalities of the smartphones are in a way limitless with the number of apps more that tripling in 2 years (Goggin 2011).