The latest issue of FreshMeat is up.

Earlier this year I was asked to show consumers a new home electronics device that was being developed. We went to people’s homes with this…box. A big, ugly, weird-looking box. It was the result of clever engineers working with off-the-shelf parts to create an artifact that could be experienced. In other words, it really worked.

It turned out to be the best possible prototype for the research. We explained to consumers that this was something they’d see in the future, but it wouldn’t look like this box. The box was so obviously a prototype that people easily understood that and framed their comments appropriately, offering up their needs and desires for this future technology.