"WAI-ARIA, the Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite, defines a way to make Web content and Web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. It especially helps with dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed with Ajax, HTML, JavaScript, and related technologies."

Apart from the general benefits of this - when dealing with government organisations, including local councils, they will most likely insist on compliance to this standard.

In using the ibCom onDemand application framework in combination with jQuery, a lot of the work is done for you - via inherent compliance, ARIA jQuery plugins and dyanmic control over the stylesheets.

http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/aria.php

Some quick words on how you can use this wonderful Google like calendar plugin with mydigitalspace onDemand.

http://mydsondemand.com/gettingstarted_jquery_fullcalendar

For applications where a no touch interaction with a system makes senses, eg food preparation, warehouse management etc - then the use of the a NUI (Natural User Interface) can be considered.

One version of this is the XBox Kinect controller which can be purchased for around $190.  This control has a USB interface and can be plugged into any Windows7 based PC.

You can the download the Kinect SDK, which includes the drivers for the Kinect - you then have a NUI controller for a Windows7 based application.

You can then using the sample c# code at http://mydsondemand.com/examples - which has the core routines to connect to the onDemand service - simply create an application say that uses the  endpoint methods to interact with the information.

OR write a simple design document and get a freelancer.com c# programmer to build it for you.

The age of integration and cross-mashing via layers of abstraction is here!

Get a backlight projector screen and can even have the image floating... Minority Report style.. :-)

Only minor issue is that the SDK, released a couple of months ago, is currently for personal and experimental use - but can at least put into the design process as  a potential resource.  We are currently talking to Microsoft about their road map to make it available for business use.

A good one for the klids

In doing some technology teaching at my daughters primary school, I discovered the Microsoft Research FUSE Labs fantastic "Kudo Game Labs".

It is free.

I have attached some information.

The link [http://fuse.microsoft.com/page/kodu.aspx] in the attached document, has a stack of information and also the Victorian Governments report on it's impact in the classroom.

I will let you know how I go with teaching it and how much a mess with their heads... :-)

1. See http://mydsondemand.com/gettingstarted_robotics for some thoughts on how you can mash telemetry and "robots" into mydigitalspace onDemand.

Vry useful for manufacturing type solutions - eg get direct information from a production line about orders complete or send a command to a warehouse system to pick an order based on a new customer order being placed or may be a supplier order to a supplier based on a "parts bin" getting to a certain level.

2. Also see http://pusher.com for how you can make your application real-time using Websockets "push" framework.  Great for messaging solutions - eg new order for in-field service person.