Archive for the 'UX Interaction Design' Category
Interactive public art meets childhood toy
File 2009’s SMSslingshot under “fun stuff that gets people interacting with each other”. Interesting project, although for texting, I would have gone with a QWERTY keyboard over an old school triple-click key pad. Or better yet, use the familiar phone in your pocket to “load” the sligshot. This reminds me of a hybrid of Graffiti [...]
Read More..>>Sync your files across multiple computers seamlessly
For many years I have emailed files to myself, copied them to thumb drives, and cobbled together my own FTP syncing scripts. All very complicated and error prone. Enter 3rd-party syncing services – easy as pie to use, magically work in the background, and they come in pretty colors. There are a ton out there, [...]
Read More..>>Push email is a harbinger of the productivity apocalypse of 2012
OK, so maybe it isn’t REALLY the end of the world. But the following article echoes the sentiment that the number and speed of modern communication channels reduce focus and enable procrastination.
Researchers at Loughborough University found that it took an average of 64 seconds for a person to recover their train of thought after [...]
Complete iPhone 3GS voice control command set
As of this date of this posting, here is the full list of the iPhone 3GS Voice Control commands available. Hopefully as this is adopted, they will roll out more – like finding a contact’s info or initiating an email by speaking the name.
Start Voice Control:Press and hold the Home button or your headset middle [...]
Reason’s why Android is poised to overthrow the iPhone
One reason: Great apps that can monkey with gut level settings! Yes, iPhone jailbreaking enables that sort of thing, but for Android, these apps are encouraged.
http://code.google.com/android/adc/gallery_winners.html
And [...]
Time, Inc.’s tablet digital magazine concept
Tablet, digital magazine, news reader, call it what you will.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/02/video-time-tablet-magazine/
Read More..>>Jibbigo real-time translator iPhone app
The Babelfish is here and it only costs $24! Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA have created an iPhone 3GS app that can convert spoken English to Spanish and back in (almost) real-time. It has a vocabulary of around 40,000 words and also provides written text translation, which is editable and adaptable. This [...]
Read More..>>Several programs to turn your iPhone into a thumbdrive.
The following is a quick review of several iPhone apps and/or desktop software that use the extra space on your iPhone as a thumbdrive.
My task – to transfer a large amount of data from one work Mac to a PC at home. FTP was out of the question as that would have taken days. And [...]
Volkswagen’s socially responsible initiative
Volkswagen has sponsored some fun interactive public art projects, with a socially responsible angle. They call it The Fun Theory. It states that if you make the mundane things fun, people will be more apt to do it – like if the stairs make music, people will take them over the escalator or if the [...]
Read More..>>PhotoSketch transforms stick-figure drawings into photographs
Wow, this is cool. Combining a multitude of technologies, this group of Chinese students has put together one of the coolest ideas in a long time. The utility is somewhat vague although I can see this useful for creating storyboards. Either way, the technology is amazing. I am with Mashable on this one = mind [...]
Read More..>>Dropbox comes to the iphone app store
Dropbox now has an iphone app!
http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/09/29/dropbox-for-iphone-hits-the-app-store/
Yes, I am easily excited, but seriously I love this service enough to want more. Use this referral link and we both get an extra 250MB of space https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTE1MTMxMDM5
Microsoft research lab mice
Microsoft labbing it up with some new multitouch takes on the old computer mouse. What’s going to win in the future? Probably not a mouse at all, but the videos are still fun to watch.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/05/microsoft-research-shows-off-multitouch-mouse-prototypes/
Citizen journalism gets a new pen
Little Brother is watching…Everywhere…Live…for iPhone…
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/21/qik-for-iphone-3gs-update-removes-wifi-only-restriction-3g-s/
Microsoft tablet early demo may scoop Apple
Is MS beating Apple to the punch here? A Kindle-killer and iTablet scoop in one machine! Not bad, if the interaction and platform can hold up to actual usage. This demo seems like an early proof-of-concept, but perhaps they are indeed getting close to a surprise release. A surprise release from Microsoft would in itself [...]
Read More..>>Nokia gives the netbook a go
Nokia unveiled their hybrid netbook today. Smartphone + laptop = Apptop? It will be interesting to see how all the interactions coalesce between the OS, Ovi Gadgets, and all your other mobile devices. Will they play nicely? Unlike most netbooks, this is running a full-blown Windows 7 OS and has a beefier hardware [...]
Read More..>>10 Reasons Apple May Reject Your iPhone Application Submission
Apparently even the most experienced developers can get snagged by some of the nuances around the Apple Application Approval Committee (AAAC!):
1. Cannot duplicate the functionality of a built-in app
2. Cannot collect personal data without permission
3. Must notify the user on internet connection failures
4. Cannot facilitate a checkout, transaction, or purchase
5. Unfiltered internet access must be [...]
Great Motion Graphics Projection
Super cool site-specific projection that really takes advantage of the ‘canvas’ of the Hamburg Kunsthalle building.
555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.
Read More..>>Push is the new Pull
Push based data may be getting traction for small sensors, appliances, and other devices. IBM celebrates 10 years of their MQTT protocol’s birth and launched the site http://asmarterplanet.com/ to promote the adoption of sensor networks that comprise “The Internet of Things“.
As the BBC explained recently, MQTT (which stands for Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is “a [...]
IDEO’s Human Centered Design Kit
Ideo has developed a toolkit for HCD for “communities of need” (read: 3rd world or impoverished populations). Pretty cool stuff that is an applicable methodology for designing solutions to problems in any context.
Human-Centered Design is a process used for decades to create new solutions for companies and organizations. Human-Centered Design can help you enhance the [...]
Galápagos syndrome affects Japanese cellphone market
Interesting history of why Japanese cell phone makers have not sold their super-advanced phones outside of Japan. It is largely due to technical incompatibility as they have adopted the ‘walled garden’ approach to networks.
Indeed, Japanese makers thought they had positioned themselves to dominate the age of digital data. But Japanese cellphone makers were a [...]
The Mobile Landscape in Japan
Great article that talks not just about the technology, but the motivations and cultural trends of techno-savvy Japanese mobile users.
Nico Nico Douga (smile video) has never had the spontaneous, guy-with-a-webcam, videoblog style that sparked YouTube’s global success. Instead, most videos are taken from other media, uploaded through content partnerships, or are mash-ups and original content [...]
Future Ramifications of the iPhone 3.0 / 3GS (and last year’s G1 / Android)
The real-time use of the camera, GPS, and directional compass is poised to provide a whole new set of sensors that can be used to provide additional information or points of upsell in almost every context. I also see a greater onslaught of serious industry-specialized tools coming down the pipe…
Augmented reality is already here [...]
Data Visualization of Apple App Store Activity.
Below is a great data visualization of App Store activity from the recent Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference.
At Apple’s recent WWDC developer conference, 20,000 of the most popular iPhone apps were showcased on a pulsating wall of 30 Cinema Displays. Whenever someone downloaded a particular app, its icon pulsed light outwards creating a mesmerising display.
All the [...]
Controller-free Gaming for XBox 360
Interface-free interface! Facial recognition to log in, body position and motion tracking to play. You are the controller. I can see the beginnings of this being simplified games, but the future ramifications are fantastic. Making this work well under various lighting conditions, environments, and clothing choices would be a major challenge as well. The [...]
Read More..>>Moblin Netbook OS Optimized for Social Networks
The main dashboard for this netbook OS is centered around productivity and social communications.
Moblin 2.0 Netbook Beta Introduction
from:http://moblin.org/documentation/moblin-netbook-intro