Category Archives: Technology

Reflections on New Realities and #NMC16

The Oculus is set up and ready to go. To prepare for this momentous occasion I attended a pre- NMC Summer Conference workshop on Virtual Reality and the Future of Learning. Maya Georgiva, from New York University, and Emory Criag, from College of New Rochelle, presented a thorough and engaging overview of the new realities that will influence the academic cyberinfrastructure. The workshop and the conference prompted a lot of thoughts and questions.  For instance…

What is the difference between augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality?

From Wikipedia “Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.”

My interpretation is that this reality occurs when digital information has a connection with physical space. For instance, portal information is only available when a player moves to coordinates in a real location.

Another example is Pranav Mistry’s Sixth Sense, where are camera picks up information in physical space and projects related digital information.

From Wikipedia: “Virtual reality or virtual realities (VR), also known as immersive multimedia or computer-simulated reality, is a computer technology that replicates an environment, real or imagined, and simulates a user’s physical presence and environment to allow for user interaction. “

Immersive is the key word, the majority of the sensory information has been created, most often digitally. The participant is surrounded by the virtual world, they experience very little from the physical space. Star Trek’s Holodeck would be considered an advanced version of vr.

For now we will need devices like the Oculus, so that we can be saved from aliens by a bunny, or be eaten by a T-Rex.

From Wikipedia “Mixed reality (MR), sometimes referred to as hybrid reality,[1] is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time.”

The top of the Wikipedia article suggests that MR should be merged with AR. Based on explanations or MR I could see  it as a subset of AR, although I may rethink this if we start thinking about MR as including the features to bring you back and forth between AR and VR, much like Microsoft’s preview here.

Charging Station

Getting Around is Getting Easier

Before the holiday break, Middlebury installed an ev charging station on Hillcrest Rd., near the Franklin Environmental Center. The station has two ports, and is part of the NRG EVGo network from Green Mountain Power.

The Mill Street charging station has also switched to the EVGo plan, moving away from ChargePoint.The stations are equidistant from my office in the Davis Library, meaning that my choice of charging station is determined by whether I feel like walking up or down the hill at a certain time of day. The extras capacity within walking distance does mean that I do not have to worry about whether there is a free station nearby.

Both EVGo and ChargePoint are needed, since the Planning Commission and some charging stations in Burlington that I use still require ChargePoint. the swipe cards are easy enough to store with credit-card sizes and keychain options.

18 months into the lease it is becoming easier to have an ev (my kids call her “Evie”) in Vermont. Kudos and thanks to Middlebury for including this in the sustainability initiatives.

At the charging station

Frozen Voltage: Commuting in Vermont with an EV

During this time of year I enter night a bit further north every day during the commute. Daylight extends its stay, until I eventually arrive home without my headlights on. It is the toughest time of year to be driving late in the evening, then returning early in the morning.

I have been traveling the route between Williston and Middlebury for almost nine years. As of this February I will have gone south on Brownell to Route 16, then Silver St. to Bristol Rd. and back again a couple thousand times. The final 15-20 miles has changed a few times, changing the connection to Route 7 from River Rd. to Town Hill, currently I am picking up Route 17 by traveling from Hardscrabble Rd to Sawyer Rd. Most of the time I am going the opposite direction of traffic, but the occasional honey-wagon can stretch the 45 minute drive to over an hour.

Three cars have seen the majority of this routine. On the first day of the commute I was driving an emerald green 2001 Saturn SL. The car handled the travel well, and got very good gas mileage. There were a few times, mostly at night while the snow was falling, that the car would slide towards the edge of the road, and I felt that I would slip into a snowbank five miles from the nearest help. I wanted to make the commute safer, so I went looking for a heavier car and found a 2008 Mercedes R350 with 17,000 miles and at half the listed retail. The car was a tank that got me to and from work in some very crazy snow storms.

The crossover was too much car most of the year. Living in Vermont develops a respect for the environment, so while I felt safe in the winter I cringed at the impact of my behemoth on wheels. Gas prices were rising and the car was due for a major breakdown (the warranty was up), so it was time to make a change.

So why get an electric car?

I was visiting friends and colleagues on the west coast during the summer of 2014. One of them gave me a ride in his Nissan Leaf, and the first thing that struck me was the lack of noise. No rumble from the engine, only a high whir from the motor and the sound of the tires on the road. The car reduced noise as well as air pollution, and made it easier to listen to my a cappella tracks in my iTunes library.

It was a shock the first time I stopped at an intersection, no noise or vibration, as if I had stalled the family stick-shift while I was learning to drive. This took some getting used to.

Regenerative braking uses the motor as a generator to return energy to the battery. It is an interesting feeling to know that I can return fuel to the tank by using the car. Try that with a gas-powered vehicle.

Gas prices were over $3.50 per gallon at the time I was looking to buy, at 20mpg it would cost $14 for the round trip each day. It currently costs about $2.80 to recharge the car battery from 0, giving it a range of about 100 miles. Even with prices for gas at about $2.50 at the time I am writing this, I am still saving about 75%. 

Armed with a good environmental feeling and some budget relief, I headed into the fall feeling lighter.

Reading the range

Reading the range

I became more aware of my energy use. Everytime I turned on the radio or fan I would wonder how much of the battery capacity I was using. It turned out that I could travel to and from Middlebury and still have about 20% capacity. This felt like a good cushion.

The next challenge was whether there would be enough time between when I arrived home until I left for work again the next morning to charge the car. I was able to go two days without an extra charge, which was easily accommodated by using the charging station at the Addison County Regional Planning Commission while getting lunch at Green Peppers.

Then winter arrived.

There are a few things that impact the EV during the winter. Heavier tires mean that the car has to move more weight, and the battery has a reduced ability to produce charge when it is cold. Just turning on the heat drops the range by 15% in the dashboard.

At the charging station

At the charging station

When the temperature drops between 32° and 0°F, I’ve noticed that the range drops by about 40%. When it drops below 0°F to -15°F I notice that the range is cut in half.

Knowing that the charge is severely reduced means that it will have to be charged in Middlebury every day. The closest charging station is Mill St., which has four chargers near the entrance to a commuter lot. On most days the half-mile walk to the Davis Family Library would be pleasant, but it becomes nasty when you discover the wind whipping across the lawn in front of Twilight and down Weybridge St. as you climb out of Frog Hollow. Your breath starts to burn on the coldest days before you reach Storrs Ave. Luckily these days are rare, even in Vermont, and I have compassionate colleagues who take pity on me and give me a lift on the worst days.

The ride, itself, is comfortable and feels secure. The battery takes up a lot of area along the floorboard and sits in the center of the car, reducing the sliding pendulum effect when front or rear tires hit a slick spot. It weighs about 1,000 pounds more than the Saturn did, helping it to hug the available pavement. The car can be started while plugged in, meaning you can warm it up without using up the range.

Recommendation

I would recommend the Nissan Leaf, even for winter driving, with a few caveats.

We are a three car family, I would not have purchased the Leaf it was going to be my only car. The range on the battery means that I would have to stop 3-4 times between my house and Boston, MA, and that assumes that there are enough charging stations along the route. Our Honda Pilot or CRV would be better suited for road trips and the severest of weather conditions.

The technology is changing rapidly. There are rumors that Nissan has a 250 mile battery, Tesla is getting close to 300 and is looking to expand to 400 miles. New Leafs have a solar panel on the rear spoiler to charge some features of the car. Leasing is a better option during this stage in the technology’s development.

There are home-chargers that will hook up to a 220v outlet, similar to what you plug your dryer into. The dealer quoted us about $1200, but we found a GE model for about $750 that is working just fine.

I will keep posting about my experience with the electric car on Facebook and Twitter, and if I generate enough content will pull it all together for a future post. Until then, I am going to continue to enjoy my less-distorted music two hours a day, five times a week, as the scenery changes from white to green.

Middlebury College Web Makeover

In 2 years, 295 people participated in a project that changed the way Middlebury interracted with the web.

http://sites.middlebury.edu/webredo/

http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/technology/web/thanks

Project Manager: Joe Antonioli

Designers: White Whale Web Services: Jason Pontius, Tonya Langford, Janie Porche, Donald Tetto, Alex Romanovich

Developers: Ian McBride, Adam Franco, Travis Stafford

Server and Network Set Up: Adam Franco, Howie McCausland, Mark Pyfrom

Workshops: Benjamin Molberger, Cynthia Slater

Monster Menus Developers Amherst College: Dan Wilga, David Hamilton, Anita Rao, Victor Quinn, James Resse

Coordination Group: Joseph Antonioli, Mary Backus, David Donahue, Timothy Etchells, Pamela Fogg, Ryan Kellett, Ian McBride, Amy McGill, W. McKenna, Jason Mittell, Jamie Northrup, Jeffrey Rehbach, Michael Roy, Timothy Spears

MIIS Coordinators: Kristen Byers, Lynn McDonald, Amy McGillPresentation SupportBob Cole, Adam Dobucki, David Kloepfer, Ben Molberger, Scott Witt

Project Managers: Joseph Antonioli, Mary Backus, Liane Barrera, Carey Bass, James Beauchemin, Doreen Bernier, Virginia Bukowski, Bryan Carson, Thomas Cutter, Stephen Diehl, Timothy Etchells, Pamela Fogg, Adam Franco, Jessica Isler, Richard Jenkins, Robert Keren, Jeffrey Lahaie, Michael Lynch, Carrie Macfarlane, Ian McBride, Barbara Merz, Benjamin Molberger, Christopher Norris, Margaret Paine, Carol Peddie, Joy Pile, Jeffrey Rehbach, Michael Roy, Sheldon Sax, Elin Waagen, Joseph Watson, Elizabeth Whitaker-Freitas, Mark Zelis

Design/IA Group: Joseph Antonioli, Kristen Byers, Rhoads Cannon, Bryan Carson, Alex Chapin, Timothy Etchells, Pamela Fogg, Elizabeth Lloyd, Ian McBride, Amy McGill, Andrew Ngeow, Jamie Northrup, Jeffrey Rehbach, Michael Roy, Robyn Whyte, Mark Zelis

Requirements Group: Joseph Antonioli, Lisa Ayers, Mary Backus, Doreen Bernier, Renee Brown, Timothy Etchells, Tamara Hilmes, Ryan Kellett, Elizabeth Lloyd, Lynn McDonald, Amy McGill, Jason Mittell, Amy Morsman, Christopher Norris, Jamie Northrup, Margaret Paine, Jeffrey Rehbach, Michael Roy, Sheldon Sax, Pooja Shahani, Jaichandra Shankar, Susan Simmons, Elin Waagen

Platform Group: Joseph Antonioli, Kristen Byers, Bryan Carson, Alex Chapin, Thomas Cutter, Adam Franco, Ian McBride, Christopher Norris, Jeffrey Rehbach, Mack Roark, Michael Schuster, Travis Stafford

Stakeholders Group: Douglas Adams, Scott Atherton, Lisa Ayers, Elizabeth Boudah, John Byrne, Susan Campbell, Laura Carotenuto, Jeffrey Cason, Michael Collier, Thomas Corbin, Ann Crumb, Norman Cushman, David Donahue, Kim Downs, Kathleen Foley-Giorgio, Margaret Groves, Karen Guttentag, Derek Hammel, Jennifer Herrera, Tracy Himmel Isham, F. Huth, Kaye-Lani Laughna, Sandra LeGault, Elizabeth Lloyd, C. Macan, Patricia Manley, Barbara Marlow, Patricia McCaffrey, Michelle McCauley, Amy McGill, Bradley Nadeau, Jamie Northrup, Margaret Paine, Douglas Perkins, Jeffrey Rehbach, Elizabeth Robinson, Elizabeth Ross, Jaichandra Shankar, Allison Stanger, Charlotte Tate, Cindy Wemette, Janet Wiseman

MIIS Web Strategy Team: E. Arrocha, Alicia Brent, Robert Cole, Nina Dutra, Ann Flower, Regina Garner, Jennifer Hambleton-Holguin, Robert Horgan, Linae Ishii-Devine, Lynn McDonald, Amy McGill, Rafael Ochoa, Angela Quesenberry, Shawna Routh, Anne-Marie Steiger, Patricia Szasz, Jason Warburg

LIS Website Team: James Beauchemin, Doreen Bernier, Jessica Isler, Carrie Macfarlane, Ian McBride, Barbara Merz, Elin Waagen, Elizabeth Whitaker-Freitaswww.middlebury.edu

Content Editors: Douglas Adams, Jeanne Albert, Joseph Antonioli, Adriana Arroyo Abad, Scott Atherton, Janis Audet, Lisa Ayers, Katherine Ayres, Mary Backus, Vickie Backus, Martha Baldwin, Charlene Barrett, Carey Bass, Megan Battey, James Beauchemin, Melissa Beckwith, Ann Benson, Doreen Bernier, Mary Bertolini, Bonnie Betourney, Thomas Beyer, Catherine Bilodeau, Keith Bishop, Tania Bolduc, Sandra Bonomo, Linda Booska, Elizabeth Boudah, Lucas Braun, JoAnn Brewer, Renee Brown, Charlene Bryant, Jeff Buettner, Susan Burch, Cheryl Burnham, Diane Burnham, Margaret Burns, Cory Buxton, Jeffrey Byers, Nelson Caldwell, Taunia Cantin, Noreen Cargill, Oliver Carling, Karen Carpenter, Bryan Carson, Carole Cavanaugh, Nicole Chance, Alex Chapin, Raymond Coish, Marcia Collaer, Colleen Converse, Jonathan Cormier, Deborah Cousino, Allison Carroll, Derrick Cram, Terence Crouch, Jyoti Daniere, Alison Darrow, Luke Dauner, Carolann Davis, Penny Deacon, Franklin Dean-Farrar, Matthew Dickerson, Stephen Diehl, Ann Dolber, David Dolginow, Patricia Dougherty, Francisca Drexel, Susan Driscoll, Ophelia Eglene, Cathy Ekstrom, John Elder, Rachel Eldredge, Brenda Ellis, Christina Ellison, Timothy Etchells, Alexa Euler, Eileen Brunetto, Miguel Fernandez, Margaret Fischel, Brenda Fizur, Adam Franco, Dale Freundlich, Daniel Frostman, Theresa Funk, Daniel Gaiotti, Randall Ganiban, Lisa Gates, Kara Gennarelli, Deanna Gilbert, Jennifer Goetz, Rebecca Gooch, Gloria Gottlieb, Karin Hall-Kolts, Peter Hamlin, Derek Hammel, Elizabeth Hammel, Karin Hanta, Anne Harlan, Chester Harvey, Jennifer Herrera, Mario Higa, Tamara Hilmes, Tracy Himmel Isham, Lisa Hoff, Amy Holbrook, Arabella Holzapfel, Julie Hoyenski, Mary Hurlie, Jessica Isler, John Janikis, Richard Jenkins, Daphne Jensen, Carrie Johnson, Michael Katz, Ryan Kellett, Robert Keren, Stephen Kiel, Connie Kim, Yookyung Kim, Donald Kjelleren, Blair Kloman, Carolyn Kooi, Jeffrey Lahaie, Linda Larocque, Kaye-Lani Laughna, Matthew Laux, Sandra LeGault, Susan Levine, Jean Lin, Jodi Litchfield, Elizabeth Lloyd, Michael Lynch, Carrie Macfarlane, Dennis Manalo, Rachel Manning, Justin Martin, Meghan Mason, Judith Mayer, William Mayers, Barbara McBride, Ian McBride, Monica McCabe, Janine McDonald, Donna McDurfee, Ellen McKay, Michael McLaughlin, Emily McNamara, Ximena Mejia, Barbara Merz, Jason Mittell, Benjamin Molberger, Stephanie Monasky, Timothy Mosehauer, Kevin Moss, Ethan Murphy, Bradley Nadeau, William Nash, Naomi Neff, Jolene Newton, Andrew Ngeow, Melissa Nicklaw, Corinna Noelke, John Nordmeyer, Christopher Norris, Jamie Northrup, Pamela Norton, Jennifer Nuceder, Judith Olinick, Michael Olinick, Margaret Paine, Kathleen Parent, Nicole Parker, Nicole Patterson, Douglas Perkins, Susan Perkins, Kevin Peters, Kenneth Pierce, Joy Pile, Janine Podraza, Jennifer Ponder, Hans Raum, Sarah Ray, Mary Reed, Jeffrey Rehbach, Russell Reilly, Yunfei Ren, Lisa Reynolds, Carol Rifelj, Susan Ritter, Mack Roark, Pathik Root, Amy Rose, Elizabeth Ross, Danielle Rougeau, Alice Rouleau, Carrie Roy, Michael Roy, Lynn Saunders, Sheldon Sax, Daniel Scharstein, Linda Schiffer, Sheila Schwaneflugel, Katie Scott, Shane Scranton, Jaichandra Shankar, Shawna Shapiro, Joanna Shipley, Susan Simmons, Terry Simpkins, Ruchi Singh, Bobby Smith, Marcella Smith, Donna Stark, John Stokes, Tiffany Stowe, Edmund Sullivan, Anna Sun, Catherine Tester, Stacey Thebodo, Jaime Thiesen, Fawn Torrey, Joseph Toth, Elin Waagen, Susan Walker, Joseph Watson, Susan Watson, Andrew Wentink, Elizabeth Whitaker-Freitas, Robyn Whyte, Madeleine Winterfalcon, Jonathan Wischhusen, Janet Wiseman, Deborah Young, Helen Young, Mark Zelis, Muchadei Zvoma

www.miis.edu Content Editors: Tsuneo Akaha, Joseph Antonioli, E. Arrocha, Joan Baczewski, Amer Barghouth, Carly Reci, Alicia Brent, Kristen Byers, Kelley Calvert, Rachel Christopherson, Kelly Cole, Seamus Dorrian, Anna Dudney, Nina Dutra, Ann Flower, Jennifer Hambleton-Holguin, Robert Horgan, Linae Ishii-Devine, Renee Jourdenais, Francesca Lichauco, Hsin-Tai Lin, Priscilla Lorenzo, Florence Lu, Devin Lueddeke, Naoko Matsuo, Ian McBride, Lynn McDonald, Amy McGill, Keegan McGrath, Leonid Naboyshchikov, Melissa Nguyen, Rafael Ochoa, Angela Quesenberry, Seth Raphael, Shawna Routh, Elias Shakkour, Fabian Sievert, Clayton Snyder, Kathleen Sparaco, Sarah Springer, Anne-Marie Steiger, Patricia Szasz, Christie Tam, Carolyn Taylor, Toni Thomas, Daria Ushakova, Pamela Ventura, Rebecca Walters

The Contemporary A Cappella Society Web Site 2008

Migrated http://www.casa.org from Joomla to Drupal.

Project Manager and Developer: Joe Antonioli

Stakeholders Group: Joe Antonioli, Alli Brooks, Dave Brown, Stefanie Chase, Christopher Diaz, Matt Emery, Bill Hare, Julia Hoffman, Tim Jones, Amy Malkoff, Amanda Newman, Deke Sharon, Dave Sperandio, Ben Stevens, Chris Tess