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Continue reading Automated shoulder surfing makes it easier to steal passwords, isn’t very tubular, brah (video)

Automated shoulder surfing makes it easier to steal passwords, isn’t very tubular, brah (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For those unaware, a USB video class describes a device that’s capable of streaming video — you know, things like webcams, camcorders, TV tuners and even still-image cameras. For the longest time, you needed to rely on your machine to do the grunt work associated with encoding video, but new extensions to the USB video class 1.1 have enabled those very devices to support H.264. In other words, H.264 encoding can now be offloaded to the device itself, and furthermore, the compression provides more bandwidth for additional USB devices. We’re told that the H.264 Payload specification is compatible with drivers based upon the USB-IF’s UVC 1.0 and 1.1 specifications and relies on proper support of the MJPG and/or Stream Based payload format, and if you’re an engineer looking to integrate, the goods you need are stocked away in the source link below.

Continue reading USB-IF releases extensions to USB video class 1.1, offloading compression is a go

USB-IF releases extensions to USB video class 1.1, offloading compression is a go originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With Google’s fleet of Chromebooks making their way to market, Mozilla Labs has decided to release a similarly browser-based desktop interface, known as the Webian Shell. As of now, the prototype app consists of a screen-encompassing web browser, which essentially replaces your desktop interface. There’s an address bar running across the top of the screen, a clock in the bottom right corner, and a tab button for all your web apps. Developed as part of the company’s Mozilla Chromeless project, the tool was written entirely in HTML, CSS and JavaScript and, unlike Chrome OS, is designed to run on top of existing operating systems, rather than replace them. For now, the Shell is still in an early phase of development, looks pretty spartan and can’t control a system’s hardware. Mozilla, however, says it has plans to incorporate multiple home screens, split screen views and an on-screen keyboard, among other features. Windows, Linux and Mac OS X users can download the Shell now, from the source link. Otherwise, you can just head past the break to see a brief demo video.

Continue reading Mozilla’s Webian Shell interface will cloak your OS in a browser (video)

Mozilla’s Webian Shell interface will cloak your OS in a browser (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Released April, Apple's iPad 2 is faster and skinnier than its predecessor. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

One year after the iPad’s release, third-party apps have improved dramatically in usability, according to an interface scientist.

Jakob Nielsen, often hailed as “king of usability,” published results this week on a follow-up study examining iPad app interfaces. He found that iPad apps today are considerably “less wacky” and therefore easier to use than they were last year.

“We really came quite a long way in a year, and a year is a short amount of time,” Nielsen told Wired.com in a phone interview. “If we think back to when the web came out … there were five years when the web got worse before it started getting better.”

For software makers, interface design can be a tricky thing, because digital experiences are purely subjective. The ultimate question: What do customers want? For instance, where do they want this button, or what do they want to happen when selecting this menu? Software makers often must poll groups of testers before releasing their apps to the public to determine the most user-friendly design.

On the iPad, it can be especially challenging to nail usability, because multitouch gestures are invisible, and it’s up to the user to figure out which gestures do what. Compare that to the desktop PCs we’ve grown accustomed to, which deal with physical keyboard and mice, mouse pointers, windows and icons — usability is a bit more clear-cut in this environment.

The initial issue with the iPad, Nielsen pointed out last year, was that before the original iPad was released, Apple didn’t give developers iPads to test their apps on. Apple only allowed a select group of programmers access to iPads to test their apps in an isolated room with blacked-out windows at Apple headquarters, meaning they couldn’t do any user testing prior to the iPad’s release. Therefore, the earliest iPad apps were coded in the dark.

As a result, user interfaces in the initial batch of iPad apps were all over the map, with little consistency among the various apps. Apps would behave differently when we swiped or pinched, and some apps used complex interactions such as running three fingers diagonally across the screen, Nielsen said.

Today, iPad apps have become more simple and user-friendly, Nielsen said. He found that magazine apps, for example, would display a cover with the top stories, and tapping on a top story would bring you straight to the content, rather than make you turn to the table of contents and flip to the article manually. His study also found that more apps included Back buttons and broader use of search.

“For the average user, technology is a means to an end,” Nielsen said. “People want to jump in and get results. If I see a cover with three interesting [stories], I want to tap and read right away.”

To conduct his study, Nielsen recruited 16 iPad customers with two months of experience using their iPads. Nielsen’s team watched the test subjects as they launched and interacted with 26 different apps and six websites.

See Also:

• iPad Developers Code Their Apps in the Dark
• 10 Apps You Should Download for iPad 2
• Adobe Shows Three Amazing iPad Apps for Photoshop

Google’s already indicated that tablets and smartphones won’t be sharing the same Android build until Ice Cream Sandwich in Q4, though interestingly enough, it turns out that the tablet-friendly Honeycomb actually has Gingerbread’s interface quietly tucked underneath. According to modder Graffix0214, all you need for making the jump is one simple tweak in a system file: assuming you already have root access, use your preferred method — Pocketables recommends the LCDDensity for Root app — to change the LCD density value to 170 or higher to emulate a smaller, denser display. After a reboot, you should then see some Gingerbread love as demoed by Graffix0214’s video after the break; and likewise, set the value to 160 or lower to roll back. It sure is nice to have an option, eh?

Continue reading Android Honeycomb has hidden Gingerbread interface, enabled by higher LCD density

Android Honeycomb has hidden Gingerbread interface, enabled by higher LCD density originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 04:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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