Paper Reading # 4: Gestalt: Integrated Support for Implementation and Analysis in Machine Learning

Reference Information: Gestalt: Integrated Support for Implementation and Analysis in Machine Learning by Kayur Patel, Naomi Bancroft, Steven M. Drucker, James Fogarty, Andrew J. Ko, and James Landay.
UIST 2010 New York, New York. 

Author Bios: Kayur Patel is working on a PhD in Computer Science at Washington University.

Naomi Bancroft works for Google. She recently graduated from Washington University.

Steven M. Drucker is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research.

James Fogarty holds the position of Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Washington University.

Andrew J. Ko is also an Assistant Professor at Washington University in the Information School.

James Landay is a Professor at Washington University who previously worked for Intel. 


Summary

• Hypothesis: By using Gestalt, a development environment, developers will find it easier to apply machine learning.
• Methods: Eight participants were recruited to test Gestalt by using a baseline similar to MATLAB along with Gestalt to find and debug errors. 
• Results: The participants preferred Gestalt and were able to more effectively locate errors with Gestalt.
• Contents: The paper begins with a brief description of the machine learning process. Then it goes on to describe what Gestalt is. Through implementation and analysis, programmers can manage classified pipelines and visualize computed data, respectively. The combination of Gestalt's features allows it to serve as a general-purpose tool for developers.

Discussion
I liked the concept of a development environment that aids in the incorporation of machine learning. Although I don't really have any experience in that field, I think such a development environment would still be an effective tool for the general programming population. Developers often have to deal with demands on a tight timetable, and something like Gestalt can help them meet those demands in a timely manner. The work in this paper can pave the way for such environments.

Paper Reading # 3: Pen + Touch = New Tools

Reference Information: Pen + Touch = New Tools by Ken Hinckley, Koji Yatani, Michel Pahud, Nicole Coddington, Jenny Rodenhouse, Andy Wilson, Hrvoje Benko, and Bill Buxton.
UIST 2010 New York, New York. 

Author Bios: Ken Hinckley is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research who received his PhD from the University of Virginia.

Koji Yatani is working on his PhD at the University of Toronto.

Michel Pahud earned his PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He is under the employ of Microsoft Research.

Nicole Coddington received her Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication from the University of Florida and currently works for HTC as a senior interaction designer.

Jenny Roddenhouse earned a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from Syracuse University. She is now a Microsoft experience designer.

Andy Wilson received his Bachelor's from Cornell University and went on to earn both his Master's and PhD from the MIT Media Lab. He is a senior researcher for Microsoft.

Hrvoje Benko earned his PhD from Columbia University and is a researcher at Microsoft Research.

Bill Buxton holds a Bachelor's degree in Music from Queen's University. He is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research.

Summary

• Hypothesis: It was proposed that unimodal pen, unimodal touch, and the new features resulting from the combination of pen and touch would enhance user experience by incorporating natural tendencies. 
• Methods: Initially, a design study was conducted that evaluated how the eight participants worked with a pen and paper notebook. After the design study, another study involving eleven participants was conducted to test the techniques derived from the results of the design study.
• Results: From the design study, the researchers observed that the participants generally had clearly defined roles for pen and touch. The following testing showed that the testers adapted quickly to unimodal pen/touch. Although they had to be told some of the functions of combining pen and touch, it was not difficult for them to learn those functions.
• Contents: The designs of a prototype Microsoft Surface application, Manual Deskterity, is described in this paper. A study with pen and paper provided insight into behaviors involving the use of touch and pen. Afterward, testing of the demo application was conducted. It was stressed that the pen would be for writing, touch would be for manipulation, and the combination of the two would yield new possibilities. These included stapling, cutting (as with an X-acto  knife), creating carbon copies, and brushing (where the user can make a brushing tool out of whatever is on the page).

Discussion
So, of course I found this to be very similar to the previous reading. The difference in focus is clear, though. This paper was more conceptual since it did not seem to produce anything definite, which was stated a couple times by the authors. Although I don't think their hypothesis was truly justified, the results of the studies did not refute it. Overall, people are used to having pens solely for writing and using touch for manipulation. Thus, it comes as no surprise that applying that concept to Manual Deskterity would only be logical and naturally accepted. I see this as an improvement to current tablet software, but outside the artistic community, I am not sure how much use such a product would garner.

Paper Reading # 2: Hands-On Math: A page-based multi-touch and pen desktop for technical work and problem solving

Reference Information: Hands-On Math: A page-based multi-touch and pen desktop for technical work and problem solving by Robert Zeleznik, Andrew Bragdon, Ferdi Adeputra, and Hsu-Sheng Ko.
UIST 2010 New York, New York. 

Author Bios: After receiving both his Bachelor's and Master's in Computer Science (both from Brown University), Robert Zeleznik became a research director at Brown University.

Andrew Bragdon also completed his Bachelor's and Master's in Computer Science (as well as a Bachelor's in Economics) at Brown. He is now a PhD student at Brown.

Ferdi Adeputra is an analyst for Goldman Sachs. He is studying Applied Mathematics and Computer Science at Brown.

Hsu-Sheng Ko is a researcher at Brown University.

Summary

• Hypothesis: Learning and working with math will become more efficient with the use of CAS tools in an environment very similar to that of pen and paper.
• Methods: The authors of this work put participants (9 undergraduate students) through trial runs of the Hands-On Math system. The goal was to discover the right direction to head in development, so they explored many functions including page manipulation, multi-step derivation, graphing, and web clipping. Widgets, gesture recognition, and palm detection were also tested. 
• Results: The nine participants had mixed reviews on some of the features, such as paper folding and TAP (touch-activated pen) gestures. However, they also expressed an overall positive outlook on the potential of the Hands-On Math system.
• Contents: The majority of this paper details the aspects of the Hands-On Math system, followed by the pilot evaluation conducted by the authors. At the time, the system could not handle anything beyond high school math. Folding in the system, unlike actual paper, serves to create more space on the same page. As for gestures, there are the under-the-rock menus and TAP gestures. An example of an under-the-rock menu would be a trash icon appearing after dragging away a page. PalmPrints was created for this system to allow access to specific commands that are activated with the palm (shown below).

Discussion
I would have to concur with the consensus of the participants that there is great potential for this system. With that said, it seems that the goals of the authors were met. However, I think that the number of participants could have been much more. It was expressed that several directions were to be tested in order to better develop the system, but the lacking size of participants contributes to my doubts in the accuracy of their initial evaluation. Still, a fully functional version would have a great impact with both students and professionals who work heavily with math. It may be possible to adapt such a system to aid programmers. I know there are those who prefer writing out pseudo-code on paper, so it will be useful if pseudo-code jotted down on the writing pad could be converted, at least partially, to actual computer language using the built-in SDK's. From there, the converted code can be uploaded onto a computer where the programmer can fill in any gaps. This would also hopefully keep handwriting from degrading too much.

On a side note, the issues with physical dexterity reminded me of the cumbersome control schemes RTS beginners employ. Eventually, they find out about hotkeys.

Paper Reading # 1: Imaginary Interfaces: Spatial Interaction with Empty Hands and without Visual Feedback

Reference Information: Imaginary Interfaces: Spatial Interaction with Empty Hands and without Visual Feedback by Sean Gustafson, Daniel Bierwirth, and Patrick Baudisch.
UIST 2010 New York, New York. 

Author Bios: Sean Gustafson studied computer science in Canada, earning Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Computer Science from the University of Manitoba. Currently, he is a PhD student at the HCI lab of the Hasso-Plattner Institute.

Daniel Bierwirth holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Media from Bauhaus University and a Master's degree in IT-Systems Engineering from the Hasso-Plattner Institute. He is a co-founder of Matt Hatting and Company UG and the Agentur Richard GbR.

Patrick Baudisch is the chair of the HCI lab at the Hasso-Plattner Institute. He earned his PhD in Computer Science from Darmstadt University of Technology.

Summary

• Hypothesis: Users of Imaginary Interfaces can interact spatially with an acceptable degree of effectiveness using only their imagination.
• Methods: The authors conducted three studies to test users' abilities to interact spatially using Imaginary Interfaces. The first study focused on simple drawings. In the second study, users drew a simple design and then pointed to specified locations on the drawing. Lastly, the third study investigated the accuracy of using coordinates based on finger (index and thumb) lengths.
• Results: It was shown in the first study what short-term memory (referred to as visuospatial memory by the authors) was sufficient enough to handle simple shapes using Imaginary Interfaces. In the second study, interference with the visuospatial memory was caused by having the user to physically turn. Although this caused higher errors, the errors were minimized by the use of one hand as a frame of reference. The third study demonstrated the increasing errors as users had to point further away from the coordinate hand.
• Contents: Gustafso, Bierwirth, and Baudisch wanted to test a system that completely minimized mobile spatial interaction. They explained that while many devices are already ultra-portable due to their tiny screen sizes, that portability was still limited by a screen. They posited that having no screen would lead to ideal on-the-go spatial interaction.

Discussion
I was quite surprised when I read the premise of this paper. Even with such gaming equipment as the Wii, Xbox Kinect, and Playstation Move, I didn't make the connection that similar technology was already being developed for more practical, mobile applications. I have to say, though, that relying on imagination for spatial interactions definitely has its limitations, at least initially.

Imaginary Interfaces is obviously still in its infancy, but I still found this paper fascinating. Besides some English errors (understandably, they're based in Germany), it was hard to stop reading. The user studies seemed well thought out and, for the most part, proved their hypotheses. At the rate they are going, I'd say a public release of this technology will come much sooner than the world expects.

One thing about Imaginary Interfaces that really intrigued me was the fact that it implemented the natural gestures that people make in everyday conversations. I think people will have little to no problem integrating such a device into their daily life. Who knows, maybe this would lead to better memory retention and expanded imaginative capabilities.

Paper/Book Reading # 0: On Computers

Reference Information: On Plants supposedly by Aristotle (edited by Jonathan Barnes).

Author Bio: Aristotle is well known as a Greek philosopher of ancient times. He wrote on many subjects, ranging from poetry to biology.

Summary

• Hypothesis: Plants have at least part of a soul. 
• Methods: The author observes the nature of various plants and compares them to animals and people. 
• Results: The paper did not produce anything conclusive, per se, but it served as a thorough analysis on several plants. 
• Contents: Through his observations, the author is able to describe in great detail the features and workings of a wide variety of vegetation in an attempt to show that plants exhibit signs of a soul. 

Discussion
Despite the depth of detail presented in this work, I believe it fails to end conclusively. The writing is rather remarkable and very informative for Aristotle's time. However, I find that much of the information is now either common knowledge, debunked, or rectified.  I also thought the writing to be quite repetitive, but it was probably much more interesting back then.

While reading the various comparisons made between each type of plant, I thought of how that paralleled not necessarily today's computers, but rather the programs housed within. Each program was literally made for a purpose. Some may be as mundane as a temporary data storage, while others (like Adobe Photoshop) are vastly complex and serve as multimedia creation and editing tools. The capabilities of these programs far exceed the abilities of, not only animals, but humans (which is why we create these programs in the first place). Thus, computer programs can be likened to living creatures. In fact, the idea of computers/programs having a soul has often been explored. In the popular video game series Halo, for example, the AI's have a personality of their own, leading one to assume they have a soul. I would very much want to witness the birth of such an AI, but I do not know if humanity will even come close to that technological advancement (at least within my lifetime).

Introduction # -1

E-mail: xandrix@tamu.edu

Class of 2011 (5th year senior >->)

Why am I taking CSCE 436? 

Aside from fulfilling an elective requirement, this course seems like it will help me better understand people.

What experience do I bring to this class? 

I've been an avid computer/video gamer for much of my life. I understand the factors that make a great game. Additionally, I've had quite a bit of time in leadership positions since freshman year. Being a member of the Corps of Cadets and serving as treasurer for a couple student organizations has helped me develop my leadership style along with my ability to work with others (also, my social awkwardness, though still very present, has diminished slightly). Working well with others is essential to my survival in this class.

What do I expect to be doing in 10 years? 

I see myself either serving in the Canadian Forces (as probably a Signals Officer) or working on some amazing computer game. 

What do I think will be the next biggest technological advancement in computer science? 

That is a tough question...  I haven't read too much about recent developments, so I really don't have an idea at the moment. Perhaps it will soon become possible for complete thought interaction between humans and computers. 

If you could travel back in time, who would you like to meet and why? 

I would like to meet Jesus simply because He is my Lord and Savior.

What are my favorite shoes and why? 

I never really cared much about what kind of shoes I wear. However, I would say that my senior boots are my most cherished footwear. Not only did they have a hefty price, but the process of getting to that point of putting them on and then wearing them proudly on campus is something that just cannot be matched. 

If I could be fluent in any foreign language that I'm not already fluent in, which one would it be and why? 

It would be Russian because of the Red Alert series of Command and Conquer.

Interesting fact?

I was in the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band. It was awesome.