Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  Background illumination (10 Jun 2004) It sells a frosted-glass orb, for example, that can change colour in line with a stockmarket index, and a glass brick that pulses and changes colour to indicate the weather. And in August it will launch the Dashboard, a desktop ornament with three large meters that resembles a retro-styled stereo. Each meter can be set to display one of a range of variables, from the pollen count to sports scores to the weight of traffic on a particular route. As with Ambient's other products, the meters are updated every few minutes over a national wireless network. Article URL: http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2724516 Read 42 more articles from Economist sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: Digital pen takes on mouse This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy