46 seconds of Steve Job's wisdom-vision

via Gizmodo

New Version of Surface from Microsoft?

Next Gen Microsoft Surface 'Imminent'
Seamus Byrne, Gizmodo  11/11/10


Here is a quote from the Gizmodo article:

"Iain McDonald of agency Amnesia Razorfish, owned by Microsoft until late 2009 and now part of the Publicis Groupe, told Gizmodo the next generation Microsoft Surface will indeed be a flat surface concept, not the entire coffee table system with cameras and projectors living underneath. The new Surface will also have higher resolution cameras so that special codes will no longer be required to identify objects. And the new Surface will also be around $8,000 (whether this was USD or AUD wasn’t specified)." - Seamus Byrne


More to come...

iPad multi-touch gestures for iWork, page navigator tool, fast data entry & infographs, on-touch form creation, iPad wall.(Updated 1/30/10.)

Update 1/30/10
Know HTML & JavaScript?  Open source PhoneGap lets you create apps for the iPhone and other platforms. (Update: Including the iPad.)
Update 1/30/10
According to Brian Chen's Gadget Lab post, Apple recently made a change to enable the iPhone and iPad function as web phone:
"ICall, a voice-over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) calling company, said the latest revisions in Apple’s iPhone developer agreement and software development kit enable the iPhone to make phone calls over 3G data networks. ICall promptly released an update to its app today, adding the 3G support...Because the iPad includes a microphone and will run iPhone apps, that means the tablet will gain internet telephony, too." Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/iphone-voip/#ixzz0e5aErE6q

Interactions in Apple's iWork Applications for iPad


RELATED
Interesting iPad Interactions  -Craig Villamor
New Multi-touch Interactions on the Apple iPad - Craig Villamore & Luke Wroblewski
The iPad's Actually New UI and Gestures -Matt Buchanan, Gizmodo
-Multi-finger multi-touch
-Popovers
-Media Navigator
-"Long" touch and drag
-Layered UI elements
iPad.org Forum


ClarkeHopkinsClarke iPad Wall Concept for a Library

iTablet, iSlate? No! It's called the iPad. (Updated)

Update:  Wired's coverage of the iPad event.

I would have to take a week off from my regular day job to follow up on the iPad chatter, which is not possible. In the meantime, here are a few links for those of you who want to be on top of the iPad brouhaha:

Editorial:  Engadget on the Apple iPad -Nilay Patel
Would You Buy and iPad?  Wired Readers Weigh In -Priya Ganapati, Wired Gadget Lab
The iPad and publishers: a survey of early reaction -Mat Slocum, O'Reilly Radar
iPad Technical Specifications -Apple
iPad Design -Apple (you can access the iPad video from the iPad Design page)
The iPad and publishers: a survey of early reaction -Mat Slocum, O'Reilly Radar
15 reasons why the iPad is no game-changer -Davey Winder, DaniWeb
Apple iPad First Hands On -Gizmodo
Update 1/28/10 5:50 PM:
Checkmate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move -Mark Sigal, O'Reilly Radar

Apple Info
iPad Technical Specifications -Apple
iPad Design -Apple (you can access the iPad video from the iPad Design page)
iPad Features -Apple
Steve Wonsiak Talks iPad (Video) via TechCrunch
"I don't see it having a role in video editing or music production"- Steve Wonsiak

Hopefully the iPad would support basic video editing and music production, since I use digital video storytelling/social stories and music in my work with students who have autism or other complex special needs. Some of my students help to create content, and despite their limitations, can understand and use storyboarding in this process.

Comment:  There are quite a few jokes circulating around the web about the name of this new product.  For the males (I'm assuming) who named the iPad, I'll give you a hint.  Half of the population knows that "pad" is what we call an important feminine hygiene product.

Apple iSlate, iTablet , MacBook Touch: Will it support gesture interaction & haptic feedback?

Soldier Knows Best produces great tech-oriented videos. Here's his spin on all of the rumors about the possibility of the Apple iSlate.


I just inherited a 10 month-old Mac Book, installed Snow Leopard and upgraded to iLife 2009. I'm so used to touching the screen on my HP TouchSmart PC that I found myself touching my Mac Book screen from time to time, especially when I was editing video clips in iMovie. I think the latest version of iMovie was designed with touch/gesture interaction in mind!

From what I can tell, Snow Leopard and iLife 2009 will be able to support a range of touch interactions, if not gesture input as well.

Here are some rumors that have been conjured up and distributed on the web:

The Exhaustive Guide to Applet Tablet Rumors (Matt Buchanan, Gizmodo, 12/26/09)
Apple Expects to Sell 10 Million Tablets in First Year (Pete Cashmore, Mashable, 1/1/10)
iGuide Emerges as Another Potential Apple Tablet Name (Adam Ostrow, Mashable, 12/29/09)
The Tablet (John Gruber, Daring Fireball, 12/31/09)
"And so in answer to my central question, regarding why buy The Tablet if you already have an iPhone and a MacBook, my best guess is that ultimately, The Tablet is something you’ll buy instead of a MacBook."
Apple Owns iSlate.com Domain: The Mystery Deepens (Dan Nosowitz, Gismodo, 12/25/09)
What is the Ultimate Role of the Apple Tablet? (Arnold Kim, MacRumors, 12/31/09)

• 153+ comments to the above MacRumor post

iPad, iTablet, iSlate, or MacTab  (Cruz Miranda, 8/31/09)

Why am I excited about this?

I want to see if the iSlate would be good for collaborative educational games, assisted technology, augmentative communication, and alternative assessment for students who have multiple/severe disabilities.

That is a huge goal, so I'm going to start simple.  I am not giving up on Windows 7 multi-touch programming. I just have an urge to find out for myself what works, what doesn't, and what platform works best for specific "personas" and "scenarios".

I plan to make a little app for the iPhone/iPod Touch, based on a game I made several years ago, "Shoes Your Battles" for a game class. I think I'd like to make this game for the Apple iTablet!

The first version of Shoes Your Battles created with Game Maker, and the second version was in Flash, back in the days of ActionScript 2.0.  I started on third version, one that could be used as an advergame for people to play while shopping for shoes during shoe sales, but it never got past the planning stage.  

The idea for the third version came to me when I my elderly aunt came to visit from out-of-town and just had to go shoe shopping on the day after Thanksgiving.  It was extremely difficult to figure out what was on sale, how much it cost, after taking off the previous mark-downs and what was on sale that had a price that was not yet marked down.  

Adding to the confusion was the fact that there were few salespeople and herds of women.   It was madness.  There were pairs of shoes in the wrong boxes, boxes of shoes and no way to quickly find out the true prices!   We were in the shoe department for hours, and it wasn't as fun as you'd think. If you've been in a crowded women's shoe department to buy that special pair of shoes during a fantastic shoe sale, you'll know what I mean.

At any rate, I wanted my little "Shoes Your Battles" game to help with this dreadful scenario, by somehow incorporating a shoe shopping advisor and a means to figure out the REAL sales prices of those awesome, to-die-for shoes. Unfortunately, the technology wasn't where it needed to be at the time- I am always dreaming up things that are too d--- futuristic!

4 years later, we have iPhones and SmartPhones and 3G internet and RFID and ubiquitous WiFi and the Wii and more women who like to play games and...and... The time is ripe.

Apple better come up with the iSlate!

SOMEWHAT RELATED


Thinking about post-WIMP HCI
It is always important to re-visit wisdom from the past when thinking about new interfaces and means of technology-supported human interaction.  Here are a few resources from the field of Human-Computer Interaction found on the HCI Vistas website:
The Prism of User Experience  -A nice graphic metaphor to help the conceptualization process. (Denish Katre, 2007)
Journal of HCI Vistas: Multi-disciplinary Perspective of Usability and HCI
Personas as part of a user-centered innovation process Lene Nielsen, 1/08 HCI Vistas Vol-IV
10 Steps to Personas (Lene Nielsen, 7/07, HCI Vistas Vol-III)

Update on Interactive Mobile Phones: Sony Ericsson's Android Rachael; HTC Hero

Both Sony Ericsson and HTC have built upon Google's Android build to create new "user experiences" for mobile phones.



Sony Ericsson Rachael UI Video:


Related:
"Sony Ericsson "Rachael" Android XPERIA handset unveiled?"
(Paul Miller, engadget, 7/4/09)
Sony Ericsson's Android Rachael UI Makes Me Want to Ditch My iPhone
(Jesus Diaz, Gizmodo, 7/8/09)


"Make it Mine, Stay Close, Discover the Unexpected!" Personalization with HTC Hero Touch-enabled Smart Phone"



HTC recently launched the HTC Hero. I haven't had a chance to touch one, but it looks interesting enough to make a trip to my local mobile phone service provider and see how it works.

"HTC Hero launch event video featuring HTC Sense™ - an intuitive, seamless experience built upon three fundamental principles - make it mine, stay close, and discover the unexpected." -HTC

The two video clips below explain the rationale behind the HTC Hero and why the company thinks it is an important innovation:

PART I



PART II


A few quotes from the video:

"It begins with listening and observing people as they use their phone..."

"...there has been a fundamental shift in people's phone expectations..."

"People want to stay close with the important people in their lives, and have online information...Voice is key, but no longer enough...The SmartPhone is the New Phone, people no longer expect their Internet to be at their desks anymore. They expect it everywhere they are. The Internet is becoming the fundamental of the mobile phone. Access to web browsing, streaming media, and connected applications has taken off, and this is where Smartphone really excels. People really appreciate the experience..."

HTC Hero UI Video


Related:
HTC Debuts Hero, With Fresh Face for Android
(John Herman, Gizmodo, 6/24/09)
Google Android Info
"Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications that run on Android-powered devices."

Cross-posted on the Technology Supported Human-World Interaction blog.

Zune HD Preview via Gizmodo

Zune HD Video Hands On from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

I need to give this some thought....like the iPhone, the Zune has an accelerometer.

User Interface and Digital Cameras: Gizmodo's Detailed Visual Tour; PMA 2009

I just love it when someone takes the time to do a detailed review of a broad spectrum of user interfaces, with loads of comments and pics. Matt Buchanan, of Gizmodo, has done so in his recent post, Click: A Visual Tour of Camera Interfaces. Matt has a nice section dedicated to cameras with touchscreen user interfaces, with all of the touch-screen pictures in one spot. He liked the Sony camera touch screen UI the best.

I liked one of the comments to Matt's post:

"Yeah, but when will they come out with a UI that my grandmother can use on her own without calling me every d--- time she wants to know how to turn on the camera and take a picture?"
-someoneUKno

Someday.

More about cameras: PMA 2009