18
Dec 08Update
A lot has happened in the last week. I got some new LEDs (the big ones in the pic). They are some crazy ones from china, and they are really really bright. I was able to backlight (It was dim) an LCD with only 6 of them. But they are 8mm, and 100ma, so they take up more space and use 4X more power. But I think these will work well to replace the backlight on my MultiTouch table.
Just after getting the LEDs, I had to pack up and go 3,000mi away. I’m in Arizona now for a few weeks seeing family. I didn’t remember how hard it is to get work done when you are constantly surrounded by people you never see. I guess I was just hoping I would have more time to work and read.
I just started reading a new book (for my self), The Inmates Are Running the Asylum. So far it is quite good, Alan Cooper does a great job explaining how many of the typical approaches to software design lead to poorly designed products. I always feel a little weird reading things I agree with so much, especially when I have said many similar things before. It is great to have support for what I have been thinking, but I also feel like maybe I would learn more if it was something I didn’t agree with already.
I just updated my website with a new look and to include some newer work that had been left out. The layout is still super simple but I really like how it looks/works. I did this because I just finished applying to grad school, and I had to include a link to my portfolio. But I realized all my work I had on the portfolio part was a year old. I was planing on updating it over break, but I needed to have it up incase they looked it over. So now I’m trying to create some videos to showcase the work, but with so many people all around all the time it isn’t easy.
During the summer, I was building my multitouch table out of an LCD screen. I took the back off the lcd screen (backlight and all) so I could place a camera below it to see my hand as I touched the LCD (LCD screens are transparent ). The problem was that the screen does not give off its own light so I had to make a light below (and below the camera 19in away)to shine through the LCD, and illuminate it.