Ubiquitous computing – it’s here
Ubiquitous computing, the age of computing that’s embedded into life and that’s contextual — including systems that bring to the fore information that’s needed, while they push un-usable or un-needed info into the periphery of attention — is, um, here:
Imagine that you’re out drinking at a nice neighborhood bar. You have some drinks and so you decide to take a cab home. Now imagine that, through the magic of the iPhone 3G’s GPS receiver, you can keep the cab company informed as to your whereabouts (don’t know if this part is working yet) but also the service pings the cabs for updates on its location. Neato.
The interface is not uber-sexy and iPhone-like. But for this kind of sweet sweet functionality, it’s a winner for sure. It even works on the Touch (for when you’re at a very high-tech bar with wifi, I guess. Or at home.).
[Hat tip to Cameron; a man I owe a drink for sure.]