unified
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Netflix updates Xbox 360, PS3, Roku and Smart TV apps with unified interface
As much as we love Netflix, we've always found it a bit odd that the browsing experience is fragmented between platforms. Jumping between PS3, Xbox and Roku devices can be a jarring experience, each offering its own spin on the Netflix queue with an inconsistent distribution of the service's best features. Even Netflix is put off by the mixed ecosystem: which is why it's launching a new, unified television experience today. "About a year and half ago we took a step back to think about Netflix's television experience across devices," explains company director of innovation Chris Jaffe. "What we saw was a mismatch in how Netflix worked relative to how regular TV works, where you just turn it on and things are happening." Jaffe explained that compared to the active browsing experience of traditional channel surfing, Netflix seemed static. "We also looked at the devices and realized that while we've got a great experience on the PS3 and some smart TVs, we've got an Xbox 360 experience that's very different." Fixing these problems required the company to rethink its interface from the ground up. We met up with Netflix to see the results.
Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson team up on memory card standard
2009 may be the year when we finally see a unified memory format, that is, if Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson have their way. The "Universal Flash Storage specification" would see memory cards travel between cellular devices, digital cameras and other memory hungry devices without the need for adapters -- and it'll likely save us some coin, too. Some big name memory manufacturers are purportedly onboard, with names like Micron Technology Inc., Spansion LLC, STMicroelectronics NV, and Texas Instruments Inc., being bandied about. We look forward to that magical day, when our stacks of memory cards can be reduced to a stack of one type of card, ahhh... progress.
iChat Borderless mod
We're a little late picking up on this one, but that doesn't make it any less cool: a Backpack user I know only as 'myobie' has posted a small installer called iChat Borderless that modifies the appearance of iChat to give it a more updated, near-Unified look. Fortunately, it downloads as a simple disk image with an installer that does all the heavy lifting for you, and it should look good on Mac OS X 10.4, 10.3 and even 10.2. On my 10.4.9 system though, I get the borderless look, but brushed metal is still around, whereas iChat Borderless's screenshots clearly show the dark grey Unified look. Anyone else care to chime in?Personally, I still prefer the old iChat mod that Dave Caolo found last summer. Sadly, the post at MacThemes Forums where this mod apparently lived exists no longer. Still, if the Leopard delay means you're jonesing that much worse for an update to iChat's aging UI, iChat Borderless should tide you over. Thanks, Shain.
Aqua is dead, long live Aqua!
Apple seems to use iTunes as a test-bed for new user interface design styles, and iTunes 7 brings with it an almost complete overhaul the Aqua look we have all grown to love/hate/tolerate. While on the surface, the iTunes 7 interface may seem very similar to that of previous versions, there are a few very distinct differences that I think forebode greater system wide changes to come in 10.5 Leopard. Since the initial version 10.0, OS X has gone through a variety of system-wide interface changes while still keeping some very important aspects of the original Aqua UI. First we lost the pinstripes, then we got brushed metal, and most recently, we see the move with most applications to a "unified" interface. With iTunes 7, Aqua is gone for good. Glossy radio buttons, scroll bars, control buttons and track information windows are all gone; replaced by sleek utilitarian sand-blasted metal. I think this is the first significant peek we've had into the rumored complete redesign of the OS X UI for Leopard. I, for one, welcome this change. While the glossy days of old were an exciting way to draw new users–indeed, it was part of way I switched– it quickly became an eyesore for many; designers in particular. The introduction of the Graphite visual style fixed a lot of issues graphics professionals had with the bright colors of the interface clashing with their work, but everything was still not dandy. For pro and power users their Mac is not only a computer, it is the tool of their trade, and something they use day in and day out to get things done, and while no one wants to work in a badly designed, ugly UI, minimalist utilitarianism is sometimes the key to reducing distraction. Of course, much of this is personal opinion, but it is an opinion I know is shared by at least a small core group of Mac die hards. What's your take on the new interface? Is it just a fluke, or a hint at things to come?
