Very nice authoring tools - please make these open source!
Would like to have been able to annotate with some images or audio but look forward to next time. In general the authoring scenario works well in the street and accessing other authored bits was quite straight forward (and enjoyable). Finding the actual points of content using the map was a little frustrating without the device capability to indicate current position. MOre comments later...

For me UT is a new dimension to a city where I live. I think it gives me a sense of ownership of 'my' streets and a sense of sharing with other's of how I live in my streets. I imagine if I were a tourist or a stranger to the city I would be welcomed by the open doors of the urban tapestry. Audio base interaction would give best suit how I move in the city

Making threads
The act of making a thread/pocket was straightforward, however I did loose the network etc. Also got bogged down in system slowness (most of these access issues have already been raised, so will not repeat here). I really wanted to add sounds, images in addition to text to create multi-sensory threads.

The map
The ordinance survey map suggests that the city is fixed, static, a disruption of this user illusion occurs when you lay over or use this as an interface to information and experiences that are ephemeral/personal (chaotic, less fixed).

I found that i spent time just manually updating the map. An 'auto location' update would have useful. If you are in 'authroring mode' then having to manually update where discrupts flow. ther ability to keep moving in the city is essential. I sometimes lost connection when just crossing the road. I began to author in a stationary way , rather than authoring when moving.

Threads
I tried to create a story drawing from found texts (books I had in my bag), words/phrases from telephone boxes/walls etc.. As this is an authorng system/app I adopted the view that I would try out and sketch/play with different types of text. short sentences, words etc.

Threads by other people
I found the map was a limited way of viewing other threads, you may want to view threads based on 'where you are' or view threads based on 'what they are about' etc.

I found the experience of the trial very useful in helping me to understand what Urban Tapestries is all about--actually walking through the streets with the device in hand made it much clearer. But the prototype was really too buggy to be able to get a sense of what the final thing might feel like to use. I was able to author a couple of pockets fairly easily, but found it difficult to engage with other people's threads--the whole thing would need to be faster and smoother. It will clearly help to have filters in place so that you can find the kinds of threads by other people that will be most interesting to a particular user.

My overall impressions were tremendously positive - well done on getting so much done. The whole team should be really proud.

Still you want feedback that can be used to improve the system. Right?

I found the concept and behind UT fascinating - a way of reclaiming technology and empowering the individual. However, in order to properly empower the individual, the teechnology has to be as user friendly as posssible and therefore allow for a user with no tech 'know how'. So, standing in Russll Square, with the device crashing eevery two minuites became very frustrating.
Thats not to take anything away from the overall idea, which is wonderful - and the prospect of sharing and participating in a collective, inclusive history.

Usability
There are obvious problems created by the fact that this is a prototype. These can easily be solved and I am sure you know how.

I would emphasise simplicity above all else. Pick the one or two peices of functionality that are providing most value and optimise these. Ditch everything else.

Security
Wondering around with an iPAQ is mildly more worrying than my phone, both make me a little wary of strangers.

Fitting into the context of use

Whilst wandering my phone rang. How would this have influenced my experience had I been using the P800?

Navigating was a little difficult with my head looking down.

How did the device fit into social situations? What would have happened if I had been with a few friends. How could I use it to support conversation?

How can I navigate around threads? In some ways Urban Tapestries could become a victim of their own success. How can I find something that interests me? How can I navigate through all the threads that are out there?

The lack of GPS allowed me to write notes about places that I was far away from. This was good in some ways.

I wish I could write more, but I have to go. The overriding feeling is of how successful you have made the project.

Go have a beer and celebrate your success!

Despite the fact that I didn't manage to log on and author any entries, I still love the idea. As a result I cannot make any comments about the application. Except that it would be really useful to zoom out and make the map smaller.

If you were to have very many threads it may be useful to classify the type of entries, so that you can create your own theme - History, fantasy, factual etc... and follow the threads accordingly.

I'd love to have been able to add sound and pictures.
I think that just like with mobile phones, it could be a little dangerous to be walking around with a palm pilot, perhaps if it were given a cover, like a book sleeve, or a map sleeve.
Disguise it a little.

Other people's pockets intrigued me. Fun, zany or informative, or even downright lies. My favourites were places that revealed little moments in other people's lives. It made you look at the people around you and feel like you were only one or two links away....

How about a facility that would automatically give you pocket according to where you are...?

Following a single thread means often following a single personality. I like this.

Good luck

We developed a content idea, but unfortunately it was difficult to author using the handheld because:

* software slow to respond
* typing interface slow to use
* occasional crashes
* attempted to write pocket / thread, but it was not stored twice
* could not get into range in several locations

So that we could get involved in the authoring process, we decided to simulate the application by writing on post-it notes and attaching them to the map. This did enable us to develop and implement our content idea.

We very much enjoyed the process of developing a staged narrative, authoring on the (simulated) platform and collaborating to evolve the story. This creative task was engaging and we felt we had been encouraged to act as authors in a new and previously unexplored medium.

Looking at your questions, I would say that we had no problems accessing pockets and threads when the system was working and we were comfortable using the technology in the street. Finding our way around on the map was a bit difficult and it would make the application feel more solidly rooted in the physical space if that function was automated rather than manual. That would also remove the temptation to cheat! The thread that we created was part one of an ongoing story called "Observance" and in response to your question about what we would like to create on another day, it would be the next episode of the story.

We had problems with the hardware working so we used post it notes instead. This proved that the structure of information really works, we followed the same system. I really liked the concept of using threads, and being potentially able to instantly access them on the system beside everyone else's, and the idea of a family of pockets creating a themed tour of the area.

We developed an observance scenario that started off quite abstract but which lead us to some very interesting thoughts and conclusions that we thought might be fun for another user as well. We also used the geographic layout of the pockets within the theme of the observance. This was a lovely surprise to me as I had started off seeing this as more of a surveying type tool for recording and accessing data on the built environment. We worked together and shared our ideas, using the tool to capture our imagination and tell a story and make observations that were both abstract and literall.

The system, had it been working a bit faster, would be very easy to use and graphically clear. I think I would have preferred to see street names on the display for orientation.

We were the last slot of the day and the trial so after thinking, oh this'll be easy because lots of people will have gone before and we'll be able to read their stuff and also that the whole proceedure might have had the glitches ironed out, it was actually the opposite because none of the software was working properly and everything was very slow and chunky. So a bit frustrating. The pda kept crashing and only managed to get two entries uploaded. With regard to the whole concept, it felt liberating just wandering around creating a story, rather than having to get from a to b, or even simply taking a walk. It was quite nice to interact with the environment in that way. Didn't follow a thread because we tried to go to places where no-one had posted comments previously. The map was pretty good. I'd like to go out on different days in different moods and sometimes write biographical stuff, sometimes complete fantasy. I'm interested to see how this stuff reads once on the web, to get an idea of how the whole public authoring process works - curious to see if anything valuable and useful is produced at the end.

The whole experience was very positive even if the weather was rather cold and windy. One of the best aspects was to notice that you do actually have things to say
about the surroundings in Bloomsbury, on the other hand that might be due to the fact that I'm quite familiar with the area. It would be interesting to do the same kind of thing in another part of London which isn't as familiar and see what happens.
As our session was late in the day the palm pilots were quite tired and hence I managed to create only two pockets. It was enough to give a general idea of the writing process and the usage of the technology. Using the palm pilots on the street wasn't a problem apart from gloves this time of the year. Also the area is quite nice so there's a slighter chance of someone snatching the gadget (yours truly resides in the lovely borough of Hackney!).
Unfortunately I didn't have time to read other people's threads and pockets, again due to the tempremental nature of the palm pilots. I would imagine that stories vary a lot. Mine tend to be quite factual and based on my experiences of the particular spot. The map was good in showing where to move in case the palm pilot couldn't show the location straight away.

It would be really interesting to try this again in the spring or summer and when the technology is more reliable.

Very difficult to use application... it was clunky and mostly unresponsive. Didn't manage to input any content (unfortunately).

Enjoyed reading content created by other people. Made me think about what's happened throughout history... and behind the various walls.

Would like to have read about discourse between people that had passed through the same spaces, and experienced similar things.

When the machine worked it was really easy, would be helpful if the pocket name follows along from one thread to the next. I think most people will work on one pocket at the time, so saves a bit of typing. We had quite a few problems getting access to be able to author things which made the threads very few. Typing with the stylus on the keyboard was tricky with gloves on - kept slipping so many of the threads have an 'interesting' mix of english and some language that resembles welsh in spelling. Will make my threads seem just that bit stranger I guess... I guess the may information is entered may create some difficulty in getting a lot of input from those that are less up to speed with this kind of technology.

Did not follow any of the previous threads - the device was so slow in responding that we ended up focusing on trying to leave our own threads behind (how self-centererd is that??) ;-)

The map was good, difficult to give a fair idea of that though since I know my way around the area as I am around here just about every day. Would probably be a good idea to have at least the names of larger roads showing, for instance by pointing to them on the screen - as help if/when one gets lost.

We actually joked about using it so openly "good thing we're not in Hackney" - can imagine that there are places where the use of the devices will actually cause you to feel less at ease. having seen the p900 I think that will make it even more useful - especially for creative stories that may be based on something temporary that comes in your way as you walk around. Take a pic and make it part of the story and so on.

Did make a thread - about xmas lights and santa. Since it was dark when we did it all the lights that have been put up especially for christmas were very visible, made me wonder what santa makes out of that - and also about other things related to christmas that appeared as we walked along. Was good fun to think about something that is very different to what I usually think about as I walk around here on my way to see friends, to/from work and the gym.

I would have wanted to create two different pockets - one being a personal commentary on places in the area that have some special meaning to me. The other one being more a flow of thoughts and ideas on a theme that I found at the time (this one I did) - some serious, some corny and so on. The time it took to create threads made it impossible to do as much as I would have liked - mostly because the system was very slow and I had to restart the device several times, also it often was not able to access the information available.

As ssaid above - did not read any of the others.

Will definitely be back for more as things develop - I think this is a really exciting project as it is a way of making mental maps without doing the actual mapping. All very exciting to a social geopgrapher!!

Thanks - and good luck with the further development of this project.

Louisa