userinterface
Latest
HD video: iPhone on-screen effects
That definitive interface gallery we did? Awesome if you want to find your way around the iPhone -- but it doesn't really do much to show off the fit and polish of the UI. So we compiled a group of our favorite bits of UI elegance on the new device; be sure to download in HD for the full experience.[MP4] Download in 720p HD (77MB)[MP4] Download in wide VGA (30MB)[AVI] Download in 720p HD (77MB)[AVI] Download in wide VGA (31MB)
iPhone Experience: The keyboard
We've got our iPhones. Now it's time to see what these puppies can do. This is the first in a series of posts intended to explore the iPhone's features. This time, it's about the keyboard.With the iPhone, Apple eschewes the "real" keyboard of some other smart phones, and offers virtual replacement. It shows up when needed, and disappears when it's not. It's available in both landscape and portrait orientation, depending on what you're doing. Let's look at an example of each.First of all, the iPhone's response to your keystrokes is immediate. The "Notes" application (as well as a few others) requires you to use the keyboard in portrait mode. Create a new note and the keyboard emerges, taking over the lower half of the screen. By default, letters are displayed with a QWERTY layout, as well as a backspace button, shift, and spacebar. An additional button swaps letters for numbers and symbols (for punctuation, etc.). Click any key and it immediately "grows" from underneath your finger to confirm your selection. The problem for me, at least, is that I don't always see the letter I expect.Typing on this thing in portrait mode with 100% accuracy requires the hands of a adolescent girl. When typing a 27-letter phrase ("This little piggy went to market," if you must know), I made 5 "errors." That's not a whole lot, but it's enough to be kind of annoying.Apple must have predicted that people with adult-sized fingers would have trouble, so they've built in a helpful feature. As you type, the iPhone takes a guess at which word you're after, and places it on the screen just below the cursor. To accept the guess, simply hit the spacebar. While this is handy for avoiding errors in portrait mode, it's a real speed booster while in landscape.This is where things change. Typing in landscape mode - say, while using Safari - is much easier. Because it's got more real estate, the keyboard is wider and the keys are larger. I was able to type my test phrase with no errors and as quickly as I could find the necessary keys. Speaking of Safari, the keyboard acquires a handy ".com" button while you're on the net. It's also more comfortable to type in landscape. Your hands quickly learn how to position the iPhone so that it's secure in your grip while leaving your thumbs free to type away. I wish there was some why to flip all applications on their sides, just so I could make use of that nice, wide keyboard.If anything is at fault here, it's my massive Meat Mittens, not Apple's software. However, I would imagine that a number of users have hands like mine. For us, "slow and deliberate" is the name of the game.
Finally, no more loot click hunting
There's one little mostly unseen note in the 2.1 patch notes that has quietly been making players' lives easier for the past few weeks. Hidden way down inside the "User Interface" section, we find this: "Active corpses or objects (ones with loot on them) now can be selected and looted, even if they are underneath another corpse that does not have loot on it."We've all been in that situation before 2.1, where we were fighting, and had to deal with adds that died in almost exactly the same place, and then had to slowly move your looting cursor over the whole area, looking for that tiny little section in which it went from black and white to color, just so you could look that few silver and bit of trash from it. Nowadays, in these enlightened 2.1 times, we can simply loot at will, and life is good.Of course, it's not perfect-- I still can't target anything through walls, and that's a known bug. But it is very nice to see that one simple sentence in the patch notes, and know that I never again have to hunt around for a tiny point of contact just to loot a piece of junk.
Why you won't be buying an iPhone-like iPod anytime soon
Since the iPhone's introduction in January, the requests and baiting rumors for a touch-screen iPod that looks and acts like an iPhone - sans the actual phone - have sounded from every corner of the web. The world is inarguably intrigued by this new UI Apple developed for their highly anticipated gadget, and many are waiting with bated breath and credit card in hand, believing the iPod will naturally gain these touchy-feely features any day now. The only problem is: there's no way in Cupertino that's going to happen. At least, not anytime soon. Put yourself in Apple's shoes: you've just smashed one out of the park with the iPod. You spent a few years working on it, polishing it, developing generation after generation of updates that instantly make the previous version look old 'n busted. After a slow start, you eventually take the DMP (Digital Media Player) market by storm, beating out a few major companies at their own game. Six years and a ton of 3rd party accessories later, you are the king of this particular domain, with what appears to be nary a formidable challenger in sight. Next: imagine that, after introducing the iPod and giving it that nudge it needed to skyrocket in popularity, you embark on another project, spending at least four and a half years developing a killer mobile phone + DMP + internet device the likes the world has never seen. A gadget so cool and anticipated that it is not only shaking up the mobile phone market, but it single-handedly drowns out the entirety of CES during the week of its introduction. A key factor here, oh reader who is momentarily in Apple's shoes, is that the mobile phone market currently speaks in the mouth-watering language of 'billions,' while Apple's iPod sales - impressive as they may be - are playing in the kiddie pool at 'millions.' Whether you want a mobile phone packed into your iPod or not, you can't ignore the fact that the mobile phone market makes iPod sales look like the Zune's on a good day.
Dual-heading and WoW: a how-to guide
There's been many a time when I have been tempted by the lure of a larger monitor. I just never seem to have enough room on the screen in WoW, between all my toolbars and chat windows and party member icons and such. The actual window into the world seems to get more crowded the more I play. Now, since I am ultimately a geek, what would be better for me than one big monitor? Two monitors. Yessir, I've been planning to dual-head my system for a while now, and when Bill wrote WoW Insider asking for help on this, I jumped at the chance. I know it's been a long time coming Bill, but here it is. First, some caveats. I run a nVidia graphics card, so these steps are using their drivers and control panel. I don't have access to an ATI card since they are not allowed within 100 yards of my house, so I cannot give any advice with that side of things. However, the setup within World of Warcraft should pretty much be the same. For the purpose of this article I set up my system using two 18-inch monitors: a Samsung and a Sony, so it doesn't matter what brand of monitor you use. Being left-handed I configured the left-hand monitor as my main game space, and the right-hand monitor as my toolbar/bag/chat window space. Also, in order to complete this dual-heading setup within WoW you'll need to download CT Mod 2. I used the CT_Viewport feature within the mod to configure the play space within the game. There might very well be some other options out there, but this seemed the simplest since I already had the mod running on my system.
New LG phone patent apps reveal touchy feely future
We're still not totally sold on the "trust us, you don't need a physical keypad" angle that LG and Apple are taking as of late, but it seems that LG's betting we will be with a pair of patent apps filed this month. The first, aptly-named "Mobile communication terminal having multiple displays and a data processing method thereof," essentially describes a handset consisting of two touch displays that can be operated in a variety of configurations. We've seen phones like this before so we're not too sure what new tech LG is bringing to the table here, but hey, if a top-5 manufacturer wants to starting churning them out, we're all for it. The second patent, "Mobile terminal providing graphic user interface and method of providing graphic user interface using the same," suggests a touchscreen UI involving the use of dynamic icons (picture the items on your phone's menus moving around the screen randomly -- no frustration factor there!) that react in interesting ways to user's choices. Any firmware update for our KE850 on that one, LG?[Via Unwired View]Read - Dual-display phoneRead - Animated touch UI
IP Innovation sues Apple over violating obscure GUI patent
Apparently, just about every graphical user interface that Apple churns out was patented and put on lock down years decades ago, as now a patent holding firm (IP Innovation) has filed a much-delayed lawsuit against the Cupertino-based outfit over its use of an OS interface. The patent in question dates back to 1984 via references in a 1991 filing by Xerox, which actually linked to GUI concepts drafted in the 1970s on the company's Alto workstations. Amazingly, the folks involved have just got around to slapping a lawsuit on Apple for selling OS X with "workspaces provided by an object-based user interface that appear to share windows and other display objects." The incredibly vague wording could realistically be used to target nearly every major OS that we've seen, and considering that Apple and Xerox already went a round in the legal ring back in 1989 over similar issues, this one certainly seems to lack substance. As expected, the $20 million claim was filed in the patent troll haven that is Marshall, Texas, and while we haven't heard word from an Apple spokesperson regarding the matter, we'd say there's a more pressing matter on the table for Jobs & Co. right now anyway.
Steam to be streamlined, offer Guest Passes with new update
Steam's winter update -- due next week -- will roll out a few significant changes for Valve's digital distribution service. At the top of the list are 'Guest Passes,' essentially free trials that Steam game owners can extend to their friends (or strangers). Unfortunately, Guest Passes will be limited to select games, the first being Day of Defeat: Source.The update will also see improvements to the user interface, including a 'Favorites' tab for easy access to your choice games. In addition, support for background client updates will be added. Oh, and now the GUI will be viewable in five different colors! Now that's an update worth mentioning.[Via press release]
Better Know an Interface Element: The minimap
Today I would like to take a look at WoW's UI -- not any of those newfangled mods, but the default UI, the one that Blizzard wrote. We'll start at the top-right corner: everybody, say hi to the minimap!As far as I've been able to determine, the minimap hasn't changed since I've started playing the game (circa patch 1.4 or so) -- until now! Yes, as I'm sure you've all noticed by this point, patch 2.0.1 introduced a new minimap button, one to open the world map (it's the one in the top-left corner of the minimap pic to the right, all looking like the Atlas button). I was rather confused about this for quite some time, until I realized that they had to take the world map button off the micro-buttons at the bottom of the screen to make room for one for the new LFG interface. But the micro-buttons are a topic for another post.
Curse Gaming site revamp
The new patch is coming this Tuesday to a realm near you, and when you run off to find updated versions of your latest addons, you may be in for a surprise -- because favorite addon site Curse Gaming has undergone a complete redesign. (If you're trying to find the addon section of the site from the main page, it's a big purple button on the right.) Their addons section looks quite a bit different and no longer sorts addons by familiar categories -- instead, there appears to be one giant list of addons, which is searchable by labels attached to the addon. For better or for worse, the new layout is going to take some getting used to -- and I can only again encourage everyone to go and download addon updates in advance of Tuesday's patch!
OLPC XO user interface demo vid hits the web
While we saw the OLPC XO-1's OS emulation earlier this week, not everyone (including us) took the time to set up the necessary software needed in order to run it. Luckily, we've just gotten a better glimpse (via an online video on the next page) at how the XO's software actually runs. Although Linux-based, the XO-1's operating system appears to have been very much simplified, with menu bars and icons being kept to a bare minimum. Most notably, the entire desktop interface is entirely pictographic, with no title bar menus and very little in the way of pull down commands, which probably makes it easier to teach kids who may still be learning how to read. The YouTube video shows some of the various standard applications that come with the XO-1: Firefox, an unnamed instant messaging program, a variant of Abiword (word processing), and an application called eToys that looks like a combination of traditional computer games (such as Chinese Checkers) combined with something resembling the children's art program Kid Pix. One quick caveat to you soon-to-be-XO-1-toting Libyan kids: we will so pwn you at Chinese Checkers.[Via Slashdot]
Blue Eye rocks a scanner with a gesture-based interface
Sure, it's by no means the first gesture-based interface that we've seen, but the combination of a scanner with a Minority Report-esque setup comprise this invention, which its Dutch inventors are calling the "Blue Eye." From what we can tell based on the Eindhoven University of Technology's video, Blue Eye is a glass table and a camera mounted overhead all rolled into a slick touch-based UI. Once an object is placed on the table and you push a button, the camera takes a quick snapshot of that object, cropping out the background. Further, you can take pictures of an object in various orientations to create a simple animation right on the table -- ok, so it's not that crazy powerful even compared to the PS3 demo at E3, but go watch that hypnotic video of theirs already and groove to the hip background music.[Via NewScientist]
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?
Mac DevCenter: palettes or sidebars?
Following a dilemma that Gus Mueller faced when designing the UI for his latest release of VoodooPad 3, Mac DevCenter has posted a request for feedback on this most heated of UI topics: palettes or sidebars? Preferences can easily sway in either direction, and I personally miss the old-school functionality of Mail's pre-Tiger drawer (yay for column widths that don't have to be constantly re-adjusted), though I will concede that the drawer look is old and ugly by today's slick UI standards of palettes and sidebars.But what do you TUAW readers think? Do you prefer palettes, like in Photoshop, OmniOutliner, iWeb and Pages, or do you prefer the sidebar UI of Tiger's Mail, ecto and NetNewsWire's subscriptions panel (though it's interesting to note that NNW also uses a drawer for its site catalog)? Sound off.
GmailUI Extension for Thunderbird
If Gmail's UI floats your boat but you prefer using a desktop email client for 'no waiting for a refresh' feel, Ken Mixter has developed a Thunderbird extension just for you. The GmailUI extension brings many of the shortcuts and search expressions of Gmail to Mozilla's Thunderbird client. Keyboard shortcuts like J and K for moving up and down through messages, as well as search expressions such as 'subject:' and 'from:' can now be a part of your Thunderbird experience. Ken even went so far as to include Gmail's 'archive' functionality and (oddly) a quick calculation function, right from within Thunderbird's search box.The extension appears to be completely free, and Ken is accepting feedback and suggestions at his site. Head over to Mozilla's addons site to grab the extension, or check out Ken's site for a lot more details of everything GmailUI is capable of.[via Gmail.pro]
Unlikely Revolution Interface #14: der Nintendo RS
Due to popular demand, we've changed the title of this ongoing series from "Possible" to "Unlikely" Revolution Interfaces. Let's face it, like the revmote mockups before this, nobody's gotten close. The latest entrant comes from Deutschland, home of weißwurst, bier, and Nintendo interface leaks. You see, this guy's got this friend who translates stuff for Nintendo, and he sent this picture off... same old story, shiny new interface: the bottom says "Super Smash Bros: Ultimate Fight Play now"; the Virtual Console lists an assortment of classic Ninty games, and the title is the mockup artist's preferred choice, Nintendo RS. Why don't we rate these attempts using a scale of 1 to 10 for believability, and compare the scores to the final product. I'd say this one has a bit more polish than many of its predecessors, but still lacks the fit and finish, not to mention usability (why are the system settings displayed on the main screen), of a professional attempt: 4/10. [Thanks, Someone]
