Apr 17
I love Wikipedia, but too often the articles are just not that easy to read. It’s not that my English isn’t good enough. My English good. There is Simple English Wikipedia, but it doesn’t cover as many topics and it’s not as thorough.
Mar 13
Yesterday, Google’s desktop search page got a redesign. Now it looks the same as Google’s mobile and tablet search pages—bigger titles and, notably, no more underline for linked text. Did you notice? And if you did, which do you prefer?
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Feb 27
Volvo Brags About New In-Car Experience Using a Large Touchscreen in the Dash
Posted in: Today's ChiliVolvo is a car company that has built its reputation around on safety for the most part. The company is talking a bit about its new in-car experience and that experience revolves around a big touchscreen. I happen to think this is a bad idea for safety.
While touchscreens look cool and modern, anyone who has driven in a vehicle where the physical buttons have been replaced with touch will tell you that touch is not as easy to use while driving as old-fashioned buttons and knobs. With a touch system, you have to take your eyes off the road and look at what you are pressing.
Stealing a page from Tesla, Volvo is using a big tablet-like touchscreen in the center console to replace the buttons and switches we are used to. The screen is in portrait mode and each section has its own theme with navigation at the top. While the new UI certainly makes for a clean look, usability might suffer.
Perhaps Volvo has figured out how to make its system easy to use without constantly looking at it, we will have to wait and see.
Nov 17
Because of its size and form, Google Glass has a limited – albeit seemingly capable – user interface: touch gestures, head gestures and voice commands. Even though Glass’ display is visible at all times, there are times when it would be impractical, insensitive or downright impossible to interact with it. That’s why researcher Brandyn White came up with three alternative ways of controlling Glass.
The first method is via eye tracking, i.e. triggering commands just by looking at a particular spot. Brandyn achieved this using a modified webcam, a 3D printed case and a custom software. As Brandyn notes, future versions of Glass may have eye-tracking built-in so this hack may be rendered obsolete. But even if that happened Brandyn says he doesn’t want this to be used in public, probably because it’s distracting and can also be offensive if used when you’re with other people.
Brandyn also made a browser-based control interface for Glass with the help of a JavaScript-based platform called WearScript. As silly as it sounds, this interface will probably let you control Glass even if you’re not wearing it.
Finally, Brandyn used a MaKey MaKey and WearScript to enable alternative touch controls for Glass. For instance, he wired MaKey MaKey to his clothes so that he could control Glass just by touching his sleeves. He also used two bananas to play Super Mario Bros. on a NES emulator.
You should check out Brandyn’s full article about his hacks on his website. Brandyn and his colleague Andrew Miller also made a couple of Google Glass hacks designed to help the blind become aware of their surroundings.
[via Mike Elgan via The Future of Things]
Jul 19
Today, Android published a helpful blog post offering up a list of design tips for developers slaving away over new app icons, encouraging them to use shadows, textures, and micro detail. We’re watching Android grow up into its own distinct visual identity—independent even from Google mothership.
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Jul 18
For three decades, most of us have interacted with computers in exactly the same way: We point with a mouse (or a finger!), click, and watch the screen. In one way, it’s the most outdated element of human computer interaction around. But in another, it’s the thing that’s shaped every operating system and device designed since its invention. We’re starting to leave it behind, though. Here’s what’s coming next.
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Jul 18
BBC teams up with British universities to research new TV interfaces and systems
Posted in: Today's Chili
When the BBC asked “Where next?” most of us assumed that online-only programming and all-HD channels would be the extent of the broadcaster’s ambition. Not so, now that the corporation has signed a deal with six British universities to research new ways that TV can be created, distributed and navigated. Buzzwords like “content” and “audience focused innovation” seem to mask an initiative to develop a new IP broadcasting system, work on user interfaces beyond gestures and research into how elderly, young and disabled viewers can get around 999-channel TV guides. The project will initially last for four years, by which time we’re hoping that the BBC can just beam episodes of Doctor Who straight into our brains — that’s not too much to ask, is it?
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Science, HD, Alt
Source: BBC
Jun 24
One of the wonderful things about getting your first iPhone was the sheer self-sufficient simplicity of the thing—here was a device that served as a map, mp3 player, notebook, phone, and anything else you might need, all crunched into a beautiful little package. But if this year’s WWDC was any indication, that era of autonomous Apple devices is nearing an end.
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May 20
Mar 22
Apple’s iOS Is Looking Seriously Stale, But It’s Still the Platform to Beat
Posted in: Today's Chili
The look and feel of iOS has remained largely unchanged since its unveiling in June 2007, which has led some to decry that the platform is stale, or worse, that Apple isn’t innovating as quickly as its competitors. While that’s …
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