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Google Maps borrows Lens tech to highlight popular restaurant dishes
Google introduced big changes to Lens at its I/O conference last year by turning your phone's camera into a powerful search tool. With one of the key features, you could point your camera at a restaurant menu and it would highlight the most popular dishes and even translate menu items. Now, Google has made that feature much more useful in Google Maps by cleverly sourcing menu photos taken by restaurant customers, 9to5Google reported.
Google's 'show me the menu' search brings the most important restaurant info up first
No matter how good the food is, it seems like many restaurants hide the most important info (what's cooking, and how much does it cost?) under a slew of sub pages, outdated Flash interfaces or bizarre PDF scans of printed pages. Google Search users can now pull up those details even faster and in a standardized interface on the desktop or mobile devices, simply by starting their search with "show me the menu." Add in the name of the restaurant and the city it's located in, and you should see the menu right on Google's page complete with prices, where available. Search Engine Land points out that Allie Brown spotted the feature in testing a few weeks ago, although it's not entirely clear where Google is pulling its info from -- menu aggregators like AllMenus.com, HTML tags embedded in restaurant websites or maybe an extension of Zagat. Either way, it seems like a command worth filing away when Yelp, Foursquare and other local info services fall short.
EVE Online redesigns radial menu for Odyssey
In looking to trim down some of the menu bloat for EVE Online's Odyssey expansion, CCP Games is resurrecting and redesigning the radial menu to be a "silver bullet" for this issue. The updated radial menu will be connected to the underutilized left mouse button and is confined to eight segments that will change depending on what the user is clicking. The studio wrote up a blog post on the subject, promising that the redesign is intuitive and will result in faster access to relevant commands. Initially, the radial menu upgrade will be for ship flight only, although CCP is willing to expand its domain if players find it useful. This feature is currently available on the test server.
Canonical bringing HUD to Ubuntu 12.04, company's assault on menus continues
Canonical -- shepherd of the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu -- generally doesn't rock the boat with its LTS releases, but things are going to be different this time around. With 12.04LTS the company is taking its assault on contextual menus to the next level by launching HUD. Mark Shuttleworth's obsession with simplifying user interactions began with the controversial Unity UI in Ubuntu 10.10, and will continue with the Head-Up Display. "Menus require you to read a lot when you probably already know what you want," the distro's founder wrote, "HUD solves many of these issues." Those that have used the search feature in Apple's "Help" menus, or launcher apps like Quicksilver and Alfred, will immediately recognize the goal -- to keep a user's fingers on the keyboard, remove clutter and facilitate quick access to available actions. Listening to music and in the mood for The King? Invoke HUD, type the artist's name and you're presented with your Elvis catalog. It also uses "fuzzy matching" and will remember the actions you most commonly perform to further refine your experience. If you're having a hard time envisioning how HUD works, fear not; there is a three minute video demo awaiting your inspection after the break. Death to menus!
Chrono Trigger screenshots out, with touch controls and redone menus
Square Enix's Members site has posted a few screenshots of the long-awaited release of Chrono Trigger on iOS, and truth be told, they're a little disappointing. Don't worry -- the game is still there, and as one of the best console RPGs of all time, I'm still excited to play through it again on iOS. But those touch controls, like a lot of Square's games remade for this platform, look pretty tacked on. The original menus for the game were so gorgeous, I'm sorry to see they didn't make the jump to the touch-based version. I guess that's all right for this title -- better to just have it out, at this point, and maybe these touch-based menus, ugly as they are, make the game play that much better. But hopefully we're seeing the end of ports like this, where classic games just get an overlaid virtual joystick and big clear buttons for their menu options. It'd be nice to have a really great old RPG remade into a port where someone has actually thought about how to do the interface justice. Chrono Trigger is due out sometime "before the end of December," with price yet unknown. [via Joystiq]
The Plaza Hotel providing iPads for all guests
The Plaza Hotel in New York City is now providing all guests with iPads both in their rooms and in The Palm Court dining room, according to a report from Luxist. Started in January 2011, the program gives guests complete access to guest services like room service along with the ability to control room functions, such as lighting and AC, using Intelity's ICE (Interactive Customer Experience) software. In talking to Luxist, the hotel's general manager Shane Krige explained "[The Plaza] chose the iPad because it is a great piece of equipment that is here to stay and won't disappear tomorrow. It brings another five star element to the hotel." We previously reported on the popularity of iPads being implemented in restaurants, with owners of one steakhouse even crediting the iPad with playing a role in increasing their wine sales. I myself recently dined in a restaurant that brought an iPad to the table at the end of the meal with a survey installed on it. With political campaigns promising iPads, corporations giving them out as bonuses and even universities providing iPads to students, it was only a matter of time before the hotel industry dipped its toes into the world of the iPad. The Plaza Hotel claims to be the first in the world offering this type of service; I wonder who will be next? Click Read More to check out video of the iPad in use at The Plaza Hotel. iOS users can watch the video on Vimeo here.
A look at the updated UI for Final Fantasy XIV
The first major update for Final Fantasy XIV is tentatively dated for a little more than a week from now, and Square-Enix is beginning to discuss the specifics about what the new update will contain. With the most recent reveal centering around the user interface, players can get a look at the improvements coming to one of the game's least-loved features, and the updates range from smoothing off the rough edges of targeting and mouse interaction to the substantial improvement of more inventory space. The latter will be welcomed even by those not put out by the interface, as another 20 slots will be added to both the character's inventory and the retainer's inventory. Other updates include improvements to the chat client, ranging from keyboard shortcuts to the ability to create custom tabs for players. There's also a redesign of the current Attributes & Gear panel into two separate interfaces, with the Gear window having much improved functionality and the Attributes window providing a better rundown of information. Players can take a look at the preview for a full picture of how the UI will be altered to improve Final Fantasy XIV as well as a quick look at what some of the new windows will look like and how they can be customized.
Apple patent reveals scrollable menus, toolbars for OS X Lion
Apple has filed a patent featuring some concepts for scrollable menus and toolbars that could eventually be used in the next version of OS X, 10.7 Lion. The new patent covers all kinds of things, from extra UI elements in the OS X desktop to special iOS menus and features. But they all look like what you see above -- an almost Cover Flow-like scrollable interface that boils down a series of functions or menus into a set of icons. I like it -- while the drawback seems to be that you'd have to really know what's available in the menu and where to find it (because you only see one icon at a time, you'll basically have to just get used to knowing what the other options are), the menu seems like a great way to put a lot of functionality easily reachable in a very small space. There are a few different "menu shapes" to help with this, too, from just one icon rotating to the foreground, to an entire wheel of icons all with different features or choices on them. As with all Apple patents, we'll note that these are strictly concepts, and there's no guarantee that a feature like this will actually show up in OS X. But it's good to see that Apple is still playing around with even very traditional UI interfaces like menus. Always nice to see innovation even in the growing-ever-older desktop space.
iPad wine list boosts sales in high-end restaurants
When the iPad was originally announced (and, heck, when it was rumored), lots of us were dreaming up different ideas for how the iPad might revolutionize the way written content is consumed. There were books, of course, including comics, magazines and coursebooks. This is the first time, though, where I've seen a different kind of print medium successfully making the jump to digital: restaurant wine lists. One upscale restaurant in Atlanta, for example, has decided to take its very extensive wine list and bring it over to the iPad, as the New York Times reported. The restaurant uses iPad-specific software to display its wine list, along with information on each wine, including ratings, pricing and pairing suggestions. Like traditional menus, the iPads are handed out to diners. The result of the switch is pretty impressive: wine sales shot up 11% from the first day the iPad wine list was introduced. Similar experiences with iPad wine lists were noted at restaurants in New York City, London and Sydney. At least one company, Incentient, makes wine list software that several restaurants are using, while others are developing their own apps. [Chances are that FileMaker Go would work fine for most restaurants with modest wine lists. –Ed.] I wonder why a simple web app isn't used instead? Maybe it's hard to keep a solid Wi-Fi connection through all those bottles of vino. [via Cult of Mac]
TiVo Premiere patched to version 14.4 for better performance
Say hello to another software update for the TiVo Premiere, now up to version 14.4. TiVo reps tell ZatzNotFunny that it's still only running on one processor core, but reports indicate speed has been noticeably improved on the new HD menu system. Considering that's likely one of the main reasons for people to purchase the new boxes it's a very good sign for this "performance and stability" update, but don't get too excited, it could take a while before the phased rollout reaches your box. Anyone out there already living the 14.4 lifestyle want to report in on what it's like?
SecondBar puts your menu bar on a second monitor
The menu bar is a quintessential piece of the Mac "experience." On the left, it shows all of the menu items for the currently active application; on the right, it shows icons from various menu bar application programs: the date/time, WiFi status, MobileMe sync status, and many, many more. The whole idea is to make the menu items easy to find and easy to "hit" with a mouse, by being connected to the top of the screen (Fitts's law and all that). But what if you have two monitors? Suddenly the menu bar might be all the way over on the other side. Yes, I realize that complaining about using a Mac with two monitors might be the quintessential "first-world problem," but the more minor irritants you can remove from life, the better. SecondBar is an app which will extend your menu bar to a second monitor. I've been using it for a while and it works pretty well for what the author describes as an "alpha" build.
iPod 101: Make your iPod speak menu items
If you have a current generation iPod nano or classic, then you have the ability to access spoken menu items throughout the iPod. This is an accessibility feature that Apple built into the current iPod line, but I found that feature is handy while walking around, or driving, if you don't want to look at the iPod's screen.To enable this feature, dock your iPod with your computer and open iTunes. Click your iPod under the Devices list, and select the General tab. If your iPod supports this feature, you should see an "Enable spoken menus for accessibility" checkbox under the "Options" section. Click this checkbox and sync your iPod. Depending on how much music you're syncing, generating the spoken menus could take a few minutes. Once your iPod is finished syncing, you need to turn on spoken menus on the iPod. From the iPod menu, select Settings > General > Spoken Menus On/Off. When you roll over a song, menu item, or go into cover flow mode, the iPod will alert you with a spoken voice. Additional Notes: You can change the voice that is used for the spoken menus by going into System Preferences > Speech > Text to Speech > and selecting a new system voice on your Mac. You will need to resync your iPod after you change the voice. You should note that not all menu items will be spoken, and some titles of songs won't be spoken properly. This is inherit of the Mac OS X Text to Speech engine. This feature is not currently available on iPod touch or iPhone. Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and TUAW Tips sections.
Forum menus tweaked, cleaner and easier to browse
If you've visited the main page of the official forums lately, you'll notice that things are a little different -- they've replaced the simple links to class, realm, and battlegroup forums with a dynamic interface. All the forums that were there are still there, but the navigation to them is a little faster and less cluttered. It's not Flash or anything fancy, so it should work just fine across any number of widely used browsers.Something like this was probably inevitable, considering how much Blizzard's WoW forums have been multiplying -- there's one for every release, event, and topic Blizzard can think of. And considering they have only so many people running them, it means the threads further off the beaten path, especially realm threads, can run rampant with forum violations.Not that that's a problem -- what's in those threads can be pretty entertaining. But Blizzard moderates the forums for a reason, and the more threads they have, the harder time they'll have moderating them.
Hierarchical menus in the Leopard dock: 3 ways
Stacks is one of the selling points of Leopard, and many users love it. Many, but not all. If you'd like to use hierarchical menus in Leopard, try one of these three solutions.Quay 1.0 was released last week as shareware (here is our post about Quay). For €7, Quay provides custom-sorted hierarchical menus, re-sizable icons and a customizable dock icon. Undocumented APIs are not used, and Quay isn't a hack. If you only want to use one Quay Dock icon it is free, but you'll have to pay for the program to use two or more.Also available is freeware HierarchicalDock by Eternal Storms Software. To create a hierarchical menu, simply drag a folder onto the application's icon. You can opt to preview your files with Quick Look instead of icons, and sort items by last used date or creation date.Finally, check out OldFolder. It's free and open source, so you can fiddle around with it. Simply launch it and browse to the folder you'd like to use (support for multiple folders is possible, too).There you go. Three ways to go "old school" on your dock. Enjoy.
Second Life rated one of 3 worst HUDs by GamePro
GamePro just listed their '10 Best HUDs in Gaming' feature, with a final section entitled 'The 3 Worst HUDs', and Second Life is 3rd on that list, just behind Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, and X-Men: Legends. While they say "Looking at the gameplay involves a lot of guess work to figure out what's going on in the world", they could have, and should have been a lot more critical.Residents of SL know just how difficult it is to get around the interface as a newbie, and while I understand that's one of the major pieces Linden Lab is working on (I know someone who was recently hired to work on UI changes specifically), it's still an intimidating thing to look at, much less try to sort through when you're looking for just one simple command. I mean, look at that screenshot. Technically, those are just menus that have been torn out of the bar, and not the entire interface, but it still applies -- they're ugly, they're complicated, the choices are somewhat obtuse. So now that it's been officially noticed, what will LL have in store for us? How would you fix this?[Thanks, Mitch!]
iStat menus 1.2 monitors your Mac's innards
I'm definitely a big fan of iSlayer's iStat Pro widget. Whenever my older Powerbook acts a little weird, I can just pull up the Dashboard and tell at a glance what's going wrong ("Oh my, the CPU is running at 150 degrees again. Time to quit a few apps"). Now they've sent word that iStat menus, an even bigger and better stats program available to sit on the menubar, has hit version 1.2.New to this version is process monitoring, better temperature and fan support in G4 Powerbooks (like mine), and a disk activity graph that let's you monitor disk performance over time. For keeping an eye on what's happening under your Mac's hood, there's almost nothing better, and all the iStat stuff is free.Of course, if you do use one of their apps, make sure to send them some cash to help them keep up the good work. Always support good software, people. Just like NPR, if you don't support it, you'll lose it.
Taylannas' Menus That Talk vocalize what's for dinner
Auditory menus might be an old trick, but it's likely to make Taylannas some serious coin if implemented in any number of eateries. The Florida-based startup has announced plans to dole out "slim electronic tablets about the size and shape of a DVD case" that sport touchscreen displays, speak numerous languages, and can even have its buttons imprinted with Braille to help the blind wade through the interface. As the title implies, the menus will vocalize what's on the docket, as customers can select different segments (drinks, dinner entrees, desserts) to be read aloud. The obvious benefactors are those who are visually impaired, but even customers who are hard of hearing were taken into account as the Menus That Talk devices also have a "detachable hand-held earphone" that reportedly syncs with most modern hearings aids. Still, we have to wonder if restaurants that rely on a quiet, low-key atmosphere won't disable the volume functions or demand a built-in whisper mode in order to maintain sanity during the evening rush.[Thanks, Joe B.]
Unsanity's ClearDock and Menu Master go Universal
Hot on the heels of brining Universal status to their Application Enhancer, Unsanity has released UB versions of ClearDock (free) and Menu Master ($10). ClearDock, as you might glean from the name, is a one-trick pony that can strip the dock of its transparent background or allow you to adjust the background and the application triangle color to your liking. Menu Master is a slick utility for assigning, removing and rearranging shortcuts for menu items in any Mac OS X application. It also has a Menu Accelerator feature which allows you to "access menu items by name without using the mouse". Both applications have received feature additions and improvements, as well as bug fixes along with their UB updates.ClearDock again is free, while Menu Master has a demo available, and a license will run you $10. Both require the previously mentioned Application Enhancer in order to work their magic on your Mac.
