interface
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Google's sign-in and sign-up pages have a new look
After teasing it for the past couple of weeks, Google is rolling out a new sign-in page with a slightly cleaner design.
The iRig Pre 2 is a high-quality audio interface for your smartphone or camera
IK Multimedia has introduced the iRig Pre 2, a pocket-sized microphone preamp that lets podcasters, musicians and videographers use high-end XLR mics to record, stream, or perform.
Someone bought the new Chromecast and told Reddit all about it
A Redditor managed to buy a Chromecast with Google TV dongle before it was officially announced.
Microsoft's new Xbox UI stretches across One, Series X, PC and mobile
A new Xbox experience will connect the Xbox One, PC, mobile apps and -- once it launches in November -- the Xbox Series X.
Computer mouse co-inventor William English dies at 91
William English, who helped invent the mouse and define computer interfaces, has died at 91.
The PS5's dashboard will have ‘a whole new visual language’
The PlayStation 5 was finally unveiled last week and whatever you make of the design, we can probably agree that it’s something of a departure from the console’s previous iterations. Now, PlayStation’s head of UX design has said we can expect the same for its user interface.
Facebook finally lets desktop users opt-in to dark mode
Facebook is finally letting desktop users opt-in to dark mode. Facebook told TechCrunch that "starting today, the majority of people on Facebook will have access to the new desktop design." This includes dark mode, which can be toggled on and off via the Settings drop down menu.
Xbox One gets another simplified dashboard redesign
Microsoft revealed last month it's been working on a whole host of changes for the February 2020 Xbox One Update, and now they're finally rolling out. The biggest change is yet another new Home interface -- so if you've got downloads set to install automatically you'll notice things are different as soon as it hits. Twists have been removed to make room for dedicated rows for Xbox Game Pass, Mixer, Xbox Community and Microsoft Store, and you'll be able to add or remove rows however you wish. Over in My Games & Apps, meanwhile, things have also been pared back for easier navigation.
MIDI 2.0 overhauls the music interface for the first time in 35 years
About 35 years after the MIDI 1.0 Detailed Specification was established, instrument manufacturers voted unanimously on January 18th to adopt the new MIDI 2.0 spec. So what's changing for audio interfaces? The "biggest advance in music technology in decades" brings two-way communication, among many other new features while remaining backwards compatible with the old spec. Companies like Roland, Native Instruments, Korg and Yamaha are part of the MIDI Manufacturers Association behind the update, and we've already seen Roland's A-88MKII keyboard that will be ready for the spec when it goes on sale in March.
Google demos Stadia UI and lists several missing launch features
In a run-up to the November 19th Stadia launch, Google did a Reddit AMA showing how game casting will work for the streaming service. Stadia Director of Product Andrey Doronichev and publisher lead Beri Lee also revealed all the things that will be missing at launch, and unfortunately, it's a laundry list. That include support for existing Chromecast Ultra devices (you'll need a firmware update that will be delivered after launch), family sharing, game-sharing features like Crowd Play and more.
Apple is testing a new web interface for Podcasts
It seems that the Apple Podcasts web interface is getting a makeover. The previous design, which mirrored the iTunes web interface binned in 2017, was a simple list of episodes, titles and descriptions -- no show notes or episode details. The new refresh is cleaner, with full descriptions and dedicated pages for each podcast episode.
MIT researchers create a robot houseplant that moves on its own
Despite our best intentions, keeping a houseplant alive can be a struggle for a lot of us. But that vague wave of sadness you feel when you end up unceremoniously dumping your potted pal in the bin is about to reach a new and slightly disturbing level, as researchers from MIT have found a way to use robotics to tap into plants' human-like characteristics.
Designing the technology of ‘Blade Runner 2049’
This article contains spoilers for 'Blade Runner 2049' There's a scene in Blade Runner 2049 that takes place in a morgue. K, an android "replicant" played by Ryan Gosling, waits patiently while a member of the Los Angeles Police Department inspects a skeleton. The technician sits at a machine with a dial, twisting it back and forth to move an overhead camera. There are two screens, positioned vertically, that show the bony remains with a light turquoise tinge. Only parts of the image are in focus, however. The rest is fuzzy and indistinct, as if someone smudged the lens and never bothered to wipe it clean. Before leaving the room, K asks if he can take a closer look. The blade runner -- someone whose task it is to hunt older replicants -- dances over the controls, hunting for a clue. As he zooms in, the screen changes in a circular motion, as if a series of lenses or projector slides are falling into place. Before long, K finds what he's looking for: A serial code, suggesting the skeleton was a replicant built by the now defunct Tyrell Corporation. Throughout the movie, K visits a laboratory where artificial memories are made; an LAPD facility where replicant code, or DNA, is stored on vast pieces of ticker tape; and a vault, deep inside the headquarters of a private company, that stores the results of replicant detection 'Voight-Kampff' tests. In each scene, technology or machinery is used as a plot device to push the larger narrative forward. Almost all of these screens were crafted, at least in part, by a company called Territory Studios.
iOS 11's Control Center buttons don't fully turn off Bluetooth or WiFi
If you've updated to Apple's new iOS 11, you might have played around with the new Control Center. You also might think that toggling Bluetooth and WiFi "off" in the Center might actually, you know, turn them off. Turns out, you'd be wrong. As noted over at Motherboard, hitting these buttons really only disconnects you from any WiFi or Bluetooth devices you might be connected to.
BMW thinks holograms are the future of interfaces
You can count on BMW to introduce fascinating concepts, and many even make it into production, such as its ConnectedDrive personal assistant app. Others, like the motorcycle that balances itself so well drivers don't need a helmet, are probably a few years off; Such is the uncertainty of showing off novel automotive designs that technology doesn't quite support yet. But that isn't stopping BMW from presenting another fun, who-knows-when-we'll-get-it tech ditty at the upcoming CES 2017: The HoloActive Touch, a virtual interface for cars.
The interfaces that bridge the human-machine divide
First it was toggle switches. And then keyboards, the mouse and other standard interface devices gave us control of computers and the digital world. From the tangible, to hands-free and beyond, the ways in which we control digital systems are expanding. We've collected just a few of the interesting products and concepts that are breaching the two-dimensional world of computing and merging it with our physical reality. [Image: Jinha Lee / MIT Media Lab]
EVE Evolved: Rebuilding EVE's corporation tools
The MMO genre is defined by the online interactions of thousands of players, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the single-shard sandbox of EVE Online. While it's possible to play EVE solo, it's the players who make most of the game's meaningful content, and it's only in your emergent interactions with other players that I think the game truly comes to life. Some time ago, I wrote about the importance of CCP supporting EVE's power players, the corporation owners, fleet commanders, and event organisers who give the rest of us something fun to do. Now it looks like CCP is starting to deliver that support, with developers currently looking at updating EVE's archaic corp management tools. CCP Punkturis recently asked corporation owners for a list of the most annoying "little things" they'd like to see fixed with the corporation management interface and was instead flooded with requests for big features and complete overhauls. Developers later confirmed on The o7 Show that at least one highly requested big feature is definitely on its way: CEOs will soon be able to switch off friendly-fire between corp members. The threat of corporate infiltrators attacking corp members has been a massive barrier preventing corps from recruiting new players, so its removal is good news for everyone (except spies). So now that corporation management is finally back on the drawing board, what other features do corp owners need? In this edition of EVE Evolved, I look at a few ideas for corporation tools and features that would make EVE a better place for everyone.
Smartglass interface turns any surface into a touchscreen using AR and fingertip heat
A developer called Metaio believes it can make a smartglass interface far more interesting than what Google has done thus far: one that can turn any surface into a touchscreen. Unlike Disney's REVEL or that Ubi Kinect app, which can do similar things, Metaio's technology tracks the heat of your fingertips using an infrared and a regular camera. When you do touch something, the system will complete the experience with augmented reality -- for instance, "clicking" Like on a physical magazine will show you an animation of the action through your smartglass. While the technology's far from coming to market, the company says it has a lot of potential applications. People can use it to play virtual board games, designers can use it to visualize their creations in 3D before making real-world versions and it can add digital content to toys, among many other possibilities. Sound interesting? If you're in Santa Clara, California, you can see the "Thermal Touch" prototype at the Augmented World Expo on May 27 to 29. Otherwise, head after the break for a video that demonstrates what the interface can do in the future.
Betty helps you conquer the console by translating English to Unix commands
If you've got a smartphone in your pocket, chances are you've got a digital assistant in there too (or you will very soon). For all her smarts, though, Siri can't help much when you hunker down in front of a UNIX shell, so former Google engineer Jeff Pickhardt set out to make the sort of digital assistant that could. "Her" name is Betty and (sadly) you can't verbally rattle off your Unix commands at her. No, she's all text-based, and more of an assistant than a transcriber anyway -- her raison d'etre is all about dutifully converting your typed whims from plain ol' English to the proper (and often arcane) command line syntax.
Experimental UI equips you with a virtual tape measure and other skeuomorphs
While companies like Apple are moving away wholesale from faux real-world objects, one designer wants to take the concept to its extreme. Chris Harrison from CMU's Future Interfaces Group thinks modern, "flat" software doesn't profit from our dexterity with real-world tools like cameras, markers or erasers. To prove it, he created TouchTools, which lets you manipulate tools on the screen just as you would in real life. By touching the display with a grabbing motion, for example, a realistic-looking tape measure appears, and if you grab the "tape," you can unsheathe it like the real McCoy. He claims that provides "fast and fluid mode switching" and doesn't force designers to shoehorn awkward toolbars. So far, it's only experimental, but the idea is to eventually make software more natural to use -- 2D interfaces be damned.
