Improve your joypad...

The 'Joypad' 'SixAxis' controller that comes with the first Sony PlayStation 3 models improved the L2 and R2 buttons from the 'Dual Shock2' PS2 controller. In fact, they turned from buttons into trigger-style controls as found in slot-car racing controllers - so instead of just moving inwards, they rotate slightly. This improves the control over how much pressure you apply, which then translates into better control over the speed, thrust, power etc in the game.

The more recently released 'Dual Shock III' controller adds vibration, and there are differing opinions as to whether or not the L2 and R2 buttons have changed: slightly softer/grippier plastic, or slightly rougher surface finish, slightly harder to press versus slightly easier to press. I'm not sure if manufacturing tolerances, different moulds or mould wear, account for the these differences in perception. They feel the same to me...

But the triggers do have one problem. They are convex (rounded outwards) rather than concave (dished inwards) and so it is quite easy for your fingers to slip off them, particularly when the trigger is used as the throttle/accelerator control in a driving game. Although the surface of the trigger is textured, this only partially helps.

So I was intrigued to hear about add-on accessories ('non-slip trigger enhancements' is how the manufacturer describes them!) for the PS3 controller that turn the convex surface into concave by adding little bits of extra plastic. The 'real triggers for PS3' just clip onto the existing trigger, and can be removed if required. The mechanical design is very good - once clipped on they are stable and it takes quite a bit of enthusiastic trigger pressing to cause them to come off in the middle of game play. Best of all, there's no glue and no drilling required, and once removed, the controller is as it was beforehand.

All in all, a bit of an unfair advantage!

The picture compares a PS3 'SixAxis' controller fitted the the 'Real triggers' on the left, with a plain PS3 'SixAxis' controller on the right.

The 'Real tiggers for PS3' are made by GioTeck. I got mine from Amazon.

Quotes that resonate with me. Number 1

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.”

-Albert Einstein

Beans and Sauce...

Baked beans enjoy huge popularity at UK mealtimes. And yes, the name IS slightly misleading - the beans are actually 'simmered' rather than 'baked'. The familiar dark cyan can has been part of my pantry/larder experience since my age was expressed in single figures, many years ago. But recently, something strange and mysterious has happened...

It is one of those things that you notice once, dismiss as insignificant, but then with each successive instance, you gradually promote it in terms of importance. I'm now at the point where I'm intrigued enough to see if anyone else has noticed it.

Noticed what? Well, when you have opened a tin/can of beans, you then empty the tin/can into a pan or into a microwavable container (usually a pyrex bowl) and then heat them up (but not boiling them, since this allegedly 'impairs' the flavour - actually I love the flavour of overly enthusiastically-boiled 'beans that have gone mushy', but that's another story). And it is here, at the point of emtying them out, that the change has occurred. Previously, the beans and the sauce were one, and could be emptied out merely by inverting the tin/can - but recently, the sauce and beans are separate, with the sauce on top, and the beans in a lump ('en masse') underneath. Vigorous shaking is now required in order to remove the beans from the nether end of the tin/can.

I've tried opening brand new tins/cans, as well as those nearer the 'sell by' date, and the effect seems to be consistent. Once homogeneous beans and sauce have been replaced with sauce over beans 'en masse'. Now I know this is not the end of civilisation as we know it (although it comes a close second!), but I'd still like to know why this momentous change has happened, hence this blog post!

Great Mind 2009

Sometimes, you are surprised by recognition from an unexpected source. It provides a very warm and welcome feeling when your efforts are rewarded, and I was recently the recipient of just such an acknowledgement.

It was from the Advertising Research Foundation, and I was given a certificate of distinction as part of their 'Great Mind 2009' award for my work on advertising technology at Real Time Content (my day job). You can read more about it on the Real Time Content blog.

What is interesting about the award is that my work is all about disruptive change. I work with a highly skilled and hugely knowledgeable team of colleagues (who should really all be mentioned on the 'Great Mind' award) on changing the way that media is created and delivered. We are making media that is flexible and malleable, rather than a fixed 'recording' that can only be played back. Instead, we want to make the media of the future something which can change in length, rating, presentation, style, and more.

Turning media into something that is not constrained to a single 'instance' turns it into a form that is more like a live performance, where what happens next is not pre-determined, but is controlled by the reaction of the audience. Adaptive media might be one way of describing it, and the word 'adaptive' is very significant...

The great advances in technology are often based on a generic version of more specific solutions. The wheel turns a lever, from a one-shot method of moving a heavy load forwards, into a continuous form. The computer is a general purpose information processing device that can be used whenever you want to manipulate data. Perhaps making media adaptive is another of these fundamental changes...