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Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

1401 points alankay | 1 comments | 20 Jun 16 18:04 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source

This request originated via recent discussions on HN, and the forming of HARC! at YC Research. I'll be around for most of the day today (though the early evening).
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snowwrestler ◴[20 Jun 16 19:20 UTC] No.11940583[source]▶
I recall reading an article about 10 years ago describing a PARC research project in which networked computers with antennae were placed throughout a set of rooms, and the subject carried a small transmitter with them from room to room. As the computer in each room detected the transmitter, it triggered actions in each room. I think it was called "ambient computing."

Does this ring a bell for you? I have searched for this article recently and not been able to find it again.

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Natanael_L ◴[20 Jun 16 20:17 UTC] No.11941170[source]▶
Now that's geofencing, smart homes, etc... Apps like Tasker on Android can do some of it.
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alankay1 ◴[20 Jun 16 20:46 UTC] No.11941431[source]▶
You are thinking of something else ...
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1. Natanael_L ◴[20 Jun 16 21:54 UTC] No.11941890{3}[source]▶
This is only version accessible to most people today. Where the contextually driven actions are performed by your smartphone, not by the swarm of devices in your vicinity.

A few devices issuing orders, and a bunch of dumb devices taking orders.