"Microsoft is Imagining a NUI Future". You can, too!

Microsoft is Imagining a NUI Future
Steve Clayton, Next at Microsoft Blog, 1/26/11


"Our research shows that the vast majority of people polled in both developed and emerging markets see great potential for NUI applications beyond entertainment. This is especially true in China and India, where 9 out of 10 respondents indicate they are likely to use NUI technology across a range of lifestyle areas – from work, education and healthcare, to social connections, entertainment and the environment. We believe that taking technology to the next billion can be aided by NUI – making technology more accessible and more intuitive to a wider audience". - Steve Clayton, Microsoft


The people at Microsoft don't own the concept!  I'm a member of the NUI Group (May, 2007) and SparkOn.  Both are on-line communities where you can find people who live and breathe NUI, learn about their work, and even share designs and code. If you are intrigued by NUI - as a designer, developer, or user, please join us.

Note: 
I've been an evangelist and cheerleader for the NUI cause for many years.  If you search this blog for "post-WIMP", "NUI", "multi-touch", "gesture", "off-the-desktop", "natural user interaction", "natural user interface", or even "DOOH", you'll be provided with an overwhelming number of posts that include videos, photographs, and links to NUI-related resources, including scholarly articles.  There is a small-but-growing number of people from many disciplines, quietly working on NUI-related projects.

RELATED
Microsoft Plans a Natural Interface Future Full of Gestures, Touchscreens, and Haptics
Kit Eaton, Fast Company, 1/26/112
Rethinking Computing (video)
Craig Mundie, Microsoft
Interactive Touch-Screen Technology, Participatory Design, and "Getting It" - Revised
Touch Screen Interaction in Public Spaces:  Room for Improvement, if "every surface is to be a computer".

State of Information Visualization, 2011 InfoVis in HTML5 "how-to", and more (Thanks to Robert Kosara)

Take a look at Robert' Kosara's recent post on his eagereyes blog:
 
The State of Information Visualization, 2011

In this post, Robert reviews of some of the important trends in information visualization in 2010, discusses the potential of HTML5 for creating information visualization experiences on the web, and makes a few predictions about the near future.  Robert is pretty sure that the world is ready for "truly interactive, browser-based visualization".  He notes that the Protovis Primers he shares on his website are quite popular.

Most of the following resources and links were taken from the eagereyes website:

Information Visualization, HTML5, and JavaScript Resources (more to come)
HTML5 and Visualization on the Web

Robert Kosara, eagereyes, 12/21/10

Canvas Tutorial (HTML element used to draw graphics using scripting)
HTML5 Canvas Cheat Sheet

Dive Into HTML5 Tutorial (canvas element)

HTML5 Games/Interactive Experiments  (Hakim El Hattab)

node.js: (How to run JavaScript on a server.)
JavaScript: The Key to In-Browser Visualization
Robert Kosara, eagereyes, 2/11/10
PROTOVIS
A Protovis Primer, Part 1
A Protovis Primer, Part 2
A Protovis Primer, Part 3
"Protovis is a very powerful visualization toolkit. Part of what makes it special is that it is written in JavaScript and runs in the browser without the need for any plugins. Its clever use of JavaScript's language features makes it very elegant, but it can also be confusing to people who are not familiar with functional programming concepts and the finer points of JavaScript." -Robert Kosara

The Year of InfoVis Theory

Robert Kosara, eagereyes, 3/10/10

Telling Stories with Data:  Using visualization to create narratives and engage audiences

VisWeek 2010

Embedding Information Visualization Within Visual Representation (pdf)

Caroline Ziemkiewicz and Robert Kosara

Thanks, Robert, for sharing these very useful resources!

Quick Post: Google Summer of Code Announced!

Here is the link:

Google Summer of Code

Close Encounter with "Best Buy On": Example of a multi-channel marketing approach using in-store digital media that includes an on-line magazine.

Over the next 9 months or so,  I'll be in the market for a computer, an iPad or something similar, a Kinect, and maybe a mid-size Internet-enabled HDTV.  As a consequence,  I turned in to  a Best Buy on my way home from work Friday to see what I could find.  I didn't want to spend much time at the store, since I'm the type of shopper who goes in, finds the desired item(s), and leaves.  


During this trip to Best Buy, my shopping habits were broken, at least temporarily.  I found myself wandering around, looking at the numerous displays of all sizes located about the store.  The displays distracted me from my intended mission.  Below is a slideshow of the pictures I snapped as I wandered about Best Buy:

As a result of the displays,  I spend more time in the store than I'd planned. I left the store empty-handed.  But that is OK, since I think that this strategy, in the long run, will have the power to entice me back to the store and leave knowing that I've made an informed purchase.


According to Gail Chiasson in her Daily DOOH post,"Best Buy's New In-Store Network", Best Buy established an internal advertising and editorial team in 2009, and officially launched a multichannel network called Best Buy On, which extends the in-store network of displays, to the online magazine, also called Best Buy On .   Best Buy On focuses on different theme each month. This month's theme featured all of the cool things that were unveiled at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. 


The bottom line with in-store DOOH is that customers are provided with with enhanced information about various products in each department, and this information is coordinated with the enhanced information they can access on-line.  Put together, this might lead to better sales,  and happier repeat customers in the long run.  


As I went about Best Buy,  I thought that it would be better if the in-store network of displays was less disjointed.  I also was puzzled by the somewhat inconvenient placement of some of the displays.  People who stand in the middle of an aisle to look at a screen block the view of the screen and the other items on display, and also block the paths of other shoppers!


Although I didn't spend a lot of time scrutinizing the content on all of the screens I encountered, what I did look at gave me the impression that there is need for improvement.  Pretty multimedia content might be attractive to the eye, but if it doesn't  meet the needs of customers in specific departments, it might not be effective.  


Here is a personal scenario:
My 80-year-old mother needs a new laptop and would also like to find an eReader that is suitable for someone her age.  She needs a new printer and is thinking about getting a digital camera.  She has some money to spend, but from what I can tell, she'd be a little confused by all of the flashing screens!  


I'm not sure what my mother would make of the displays, especially those that run animated comments about products from Facebook fans!


(Note:  I plan to go with my mom to Best Buy soon, and I'll share this experience on this blog in the future.)


Although there is room for improvement, the Best Buy On approach is a start.   I would like to see more touch-enabled displays as part the in-store network, given the fact that Best Buy sells touch-screen gadgets, tablets, and all-in-one PCs.   The large-screen touch-enabled displays could provide customers with an Amazon- like advisory feature.  This is something that would be very helpful to my mom and other non-geeks.


Best Buy also needs to get the Kinect demo up and running!


RELATED

FAR OUT 1/9/11 (Best Buy On video about products at CES)

What is Best Buy On?  (Description of on-line magazine)
Best Buy Addresses High-Tech Obsolescence
Shirley Brady, Brand Channel, 1/18/11
Buy Back Program from Best Buy Helps "Future-Proof" Today's CE Purchases
Jeremy Baier, Best Buy, 1/10/11
"Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn describes the consumer electronics retailer's just-launched Buy Back program as "a game-changer." The goal: to help customers embrace new technology with greater confidence."

MIT MediaLab's DepthJS: Now your web page can interact with the Microsoft Kinect using Javascript (Link to code, more)

MIT Media Lab's DepthJS website

Info from the DepthJS website:
"Navigating the web is only one application of the framework we built - that is, we envision all sorts of applications that run in the browser, from games to specific utilities for specific sites. The great part is that now web developers who specialize in Javascript can work with the Kinect without having to learn any special languages or code. We believe this will allow a new set of interactions beyond what we first developed."


DepthJS is open source under the AGPL license. Code: https://github.com/doug/depthjs

RELATED
Gestures that your TV Will Understand (Features information about PrimeSense)
Tom Simonite, MIT Technology Review, 1/21/11


Hackers Take the Kinect to New Levels
Timothy Carmody, MIT Technology Review 12/2/10


Microsoft Kinect: How the device can respond to your voice and gestures
Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review, January/February 2011






Comment:
I went to Best Buy today and almost bought a Kinect.  Unfortunately, the demo hadn't come in yet, so I decided to wait until I could give it a try.  I'm curious to experiment with what it can do. 

Quick Link: Bill Gerba's Updated Graphic of the Digital Signage Ecosystem, 2011

This might interest readers who are interested in digital signage and DOOH (Digital Out-of Home):


Bill Gerba is the author of Wirespring's Digital Signage Insider blog and his articles are worth taking the time to read.  I especially like the way he's conceptualized the world of digital signage.  He includes a graphic from 2008 and rolls out an updated version that shows how things have changed in the industry over the past few years. 


Visualizing How to Add Value to the Digital Signage Ecosystem
Bill Gerba, The Digital Insider, 1/21/11




As I read Bill's post, it occurred to me that the changes represented in the 2011 graphic are similar to those occurring in other technology-related areas.  Things are changing rapidly and it is not always easy to conceptualize things on the fly.  It is helpful to understand complexity through an ecosystems model, in my opinion.