Web Technology Guide

The one thing that surprised me about the release of the iPad was that Apple didn’t supply those cheap nasty white headphones they do with all their other products! I own an iPod Touch as well as iPhone so I already have two pairs of white headphones collecting dust on a shelf in my spare room. The sound quality is terrible and the first thing I’ve always done is buy a new pair so that I can appreciate the quality of playback offered by Apple’s devices. At least with the iPad I could start afresh and I won’t be collecting more junk.

So how would you go about finding the best headphones for the iPad? I really think it comes down to what type of user you are. I’d class you as one of three types. Firstly there’s the serious user. I’m talking about someone who is maybe using the iPad in a professional sense such as a DJ, music producer or film maker. They need the absolute best quality audio playback possible from the device so you’d be looking to get some studio monitoring headphones. This would usually set you back up to $200 and beyond but the playback will be crystal clear. You’d hear things with these headphones you wouldn’t with a little set up ear buds.

Ear buds would be ideal if you’re what I’d call a casual listener. This is type of person who uses their iPad for watching TV shows, YouTube videos and listening to music online. The sound quality you get is good enough for this type of use. The saving compared to studio monitoring headphones can be a small fortune as you can pick up ear buds for $10 these days. If you decide to go for this type of headphone I’d recommend sticking to well known brands such as Sony, AKG or Sennheiser. At least if you stick to the big companies you know you’ll be getting a decent quality piece of technology. You will also get a guarantee from the manufacturer for the first year or so of use. Ear buds don’t last too long so this is a great feature.

Finally we have the traveller. For this time of use, you must get noise cancellation headphones. If you’ve tried to use any media device on a plane you’ll know that the noise of the engines can quite frequently drown out whatever you’re trying to listen to. You’ve no chance with little ear buds and you’d end up damaging your hearing with studio monitoring headphones! Noise cancellation headphones will block out the background noise and let you listen to your iPad at a volume that won’t damage your ears.

In some cases, the technology may not even by visible to the user. With the emergence of embedded computing, the forms of persuasive technology will likely become more diverse, “invisible”, and better integrated into everyday life.

The web, which is so prominent today, will be just one of many forms of persuasive technology within another 20 years or more. The uses for persuasive technology also will expand in the coming decade, extending far beyond the primary applications we see today, such as advertising, marketing, and sales. At work, persuasive technology might be used to motivate teams to set goals and meet deadlines.

At home, it could encourage kids to develop better study habits. In civic life, it could persuade people to vote on Election Day. Wherever the need for persuasion exists I believe that interactive technology can play a significant role.

Advantages over Traditional Media: Interactivity

Traditional media, from bumper stickers to radio spots, from print ads to television commercials, have long been used to influence people to change their attitudes and behaviors. What’s different about computer and persuasion the answer? In a word is interactivity.

As a general rule, persuasion techniques are most effective when they are interactive, when persuaders adjust their influence tactics as the situation evolves. Skilled salespeople know this and adjust their pitches according to feedback from the prospect.

Persuasive technologies can adjust what they do based on user inputs, needs and situations. An interactive program to help someone quit smoking can tailor its approach to how much the personal smokes (physical addiction) abd address the often powerful psychological issues (psychological addiction) that compel the person to smoke.

Over time, as the person reports progress or failures, the system can use its knowledge about the smoker’s demographic variables as well as physical and psychological addiction issues to make suggestions (such as interactive scenarios), or provide the right kind of encouragement to help the person quit.

Traditional media cannot easily deliver such a tailored program. Today computer technology is being designed to apply traditional human techniques of interactive persuasion, to extend the reach of humans as interactive persuaders. This new new territory, both for computing technology and for human beings.