Getting Ready
The multi-touch tables are back in Denver after a successful run in Atlanta. (There’s a summative evaluation of them that I’ll turn into a separate post which speaks to the user experience (a success!) as opposed to the hardware (they worked!))
Turns out that the problem with bespoke solutions (and believe me, these are bespoke, although easily reproducible) is that they’re very finicky in setup. Little things like the metal frames that hold the mirrors were each produced individually so each mirror and the projector angles all need to be tweaked and fine-tuned. The electrical setup has been different in each venue, the lighting is different, the museum schedule is different, whine, whine, whine. There’s also that unholy terror of realizing that I’ll get to see them every day and invariably nitpick at whatever’s not absolutely perfect.
So, yeah, a time-suck, but golly, they’re still cool. And, every time I touch one I have that “holy crap, it works” moment. Which, honestly, is kind of fun.