Jan Chipchase seems to be the "it" guy1 of user experience these days. He lives in Tokyo, works at Nokia, and plays this kind of swashbuckling, Indiana-Jones-ish role in researching mobile technologies in developing cultures. He keeps an intriguing blog called Future Perfect, where he documents UX-related nuggets from the shantytowns of Lagos, the markets of Accra, the Singapore airport, and so on. This week's NYT Sunday mag has an article about him -- "Can the Cellphone End World Poverty" -- which, aside from having a somewhat puzzling title, provides an interesting perspective on the field of UX in general.
My own person Jan Chipchase experience: Walking through a back alley in Bombay, from my trip there to deliver design training to GE engineers.
First, what's the title all about?
It's called "Can the Cellphone End World Poverty," but it's really a profile of a researcher rather than an economic analysis of the effect of mobile technologies. And Jan's research -- if his blog and conference keynotes are any indication -- focuses on the ways in which people in developing cultures *use* and *adapt* the technology, ...
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15 Apr 08 · filed under: ixd, mobile, urban · 
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Sometimes, the crappy lens on my Motorola v220 produces interesting effects. Recently, it has started compressing the depth of field, and at the same time, arbitrarily fuzzing out objects. When directed at buildings in full late-afternoon light, it actually makes things look like they're in an aquarium.
06 Oct 05 · filed under: flickr, mobile, san francisco, visual · (0) ·
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After a chill afternoon at China Beach, we checked out some burgers at Bill's Place, which made me think about all of the good burgers to be found in San Francisco:
Bill's Place (pictured) grinds its own, and names its burger platters after local celebrities. Extra credit for the chandeliers and non-mayo cole slaw. On the downside, it's unjustifiably pricey. $10 for a burger? Maybe at Zuni, but it seems weird to pay this much at a diner.
If you're interested in diner-style ambiance more than good-tasting burgers, you can check out Joe's Cable Car. I really wish that the burgers tasted good there, but the reality is that they don't. For fake retro ambiance, high tourist quotient and really mediocre burgers, Mel's is your place. There are at least three very unconvenient Mel's locations, if you're Mission/Lower-Haight based.
Slow Club has (or used to have) a good yuppie burger -- sprouts and fancy aioli, on some kind of Euro roll. Being from the Midwest, I dislike froofy interpretations of burgers, but in weaker moments I have been known to order this burger. And ...
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27 Sep 05 · filed under: mobile, reviews, san francisco · (0) ·
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I took after watching Me & You & Everyone We Know at the Lumiere. I was riding down Polk Street, the sky seemed nice and sunny, but there was a little bite in the air. A half hour later, the city was enshrouded in fog. Ahh, summer.
03 Jul 05 · filed under: mobile, san francisco, visual · (0) ·
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This kitten was in the window of the record store on my block. Another sign of a pleasant turnaround on 14th Street. Ten years ago, it was Naps 2 (a housing project bar with a friendly sort of vibe), and dog crap everywhere. Now, it's a bustling with DIY fare, cool records, a bike shop owned by friends of mine, and an art gallery.
UPDATE Feb 2006: Six months after the record shop opened, it closed. So did the art gallery. Now there's a little clothing boutique there. I miss Naps #2.
UPDATE June 2006: Needles and Pens also left. My little street is quiet again. Oh well.
01 Jul 05 · filed under: mobile, san francisco, visual · (0) ·
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