November 2008
18 posts
4 tags
It’s Not the End of Print, but...
Last week, PC Magazine announced that January 2009 will mark its last printed edition. They will be an all-digital publication in February. I don’t find this move at all surprising and expect to see most magazines make this transition in the next two years or so. It makes sense that computer-related magazines will be the first to do so. They were the first magazines to begin using the web, and...
4 tags
Wind Generated Power
A couple weeks ago, I posted Graham Curry’s visualization about the potential of wind energy in West Virginia. This is another of his visualizations narrating the generation and distribution of electricity. It depicts the mechanics within a wind generator, explaining how wind is transformed into electricity, and then illustrates the movement of that electricity to the locations at which it will be...
5 tags
From the Department of Redundancy Department
One of the few things I like about Microsoft Word is its commenting feature. I like the way it expands the width of the page to add a column for the comments so that they can be directly across from the text they refer to. I like the color-coded boxes that contain the comments and the dashed lines that connect them to the content. It is a well-implemented feature, and dare I say it, very...
3 tags
From Plain Old Search to Research Tool
It’s not very often that Google makes changes to their search user interface, but yesterday they introduced a handful of significant, new features. As described in their official announcement:
Today we’re launching SearchWiki, a way for you to customize search by re-ranking, deleting, adding, and commenting on search results. With just a single click you can move the results you like to the top or...
3 tags
Designed for Mobility
When we hear “mobility” mentioned in a design context these days, everyone immediately thinks of mobile phones. Designing for mobility tends to equate to miniaturization. Make it fit in a pocket. Make it wearable. Make it light and slim, yet durable and feature rich.
Tonight I was thinking about designing for mobility at the other end of the spectrum. There are some things that just can’t be made...
4 tags
To Do: Get a To Do List
Of all the useful applications I’ve installed on my iPhone, one would think I would have a to do list by now. Its absence was, after all, one of my few complaints about the iPhone when I first got it, and I did expect that to be one of my first purchases. However, those that I have read about thus far require their own desktop application to sync with—often at additional cost.
Since I upgraded my...
1 tag
Horton Entend un Zou!
You are likely well aware of Amazon’s unrelenting enthusiasm in making recommendations based on your previous purchases. Occasionally, they even recommend something I’m interested in. A couple days ago, they made a mistake that they really ought to fix in their algorithms.
I have young children, and I’ve purchased many a Dr. Seuss book. However, I have never purchased any book written in French!
...
1 tag
Wrap Rage Revisited
Two weeks ago, I pointed out Amazon’s new Frustration-Free Packaging initiative. It’s a fantastic idea, and Engadget reported today that BestBuy, Sony, and Microsoft are all jumping on the bandwagon. Here’s hoping that this is the beginning of a long-running trend.
Elsewhere on the web, Core77 ran down a list of tools designed to open plastic clamshells quickly and painlessly.
The Orlando...
2 tags
Wind Potential in West Virginia
Graham Curry has spent all semester researching the current and future use of wind energy in West Virginia and has created a fine set of data visualizations. In this one, he shows the regions of the state that have the highest wind speeds and plots the location of existing and planned wind farms, as well as the locations of the coal factories that currently produce 99% of the state’s power. The...
2 tags
World Usability Day
Happy World Usability Day! This year’s theme is transportation. I just took the Global Transport Challenge advertised on the site. After entering the distance I travel in an average day for each mode of transportation I use, I was scored with a travel carbon footprint of 9.7 Kilograms (21.4 pounds). Along with that, I was given a link to compare my footprint to other people around the world.
So...
3 tags
About that iCar
Thomas L. Friedman wrote a poignant piece in his New York Times column about the U.S. auto industry and its current financial troubles. He frames the issue very well with this response:
“We have to subsidize Detroit so that it will innovate? What business were you people in other than innovation?”
I recommend reading the article for yourself, but I want to address his final suggestion.
Lastly,...
2 tags
Obesity & Economics
Emily Frye has been working on a health and fitness related Service Design project for her masters degree. It is no surprise, then, that she has been dealing with data about obesity in West Virginia in my class. Her time series is a comparison between the percentage of the population that qualifies as obese in both the state of West Virginia and the United States as a whole, personal income, again...
2 tags
TP Torque Two
I did receive a couple responses to last week’s post and figured I ought to follow up.
Martin Polley, a technical writer and interaction designer out of Israel, pointed out that the direction the paper will be most efficiently torn, and thus should be hung, depends on where exactly the dispenser is mounted in regards to the toilet. He was enterprising enough to illustrate his point with photos....
2 tags
Active Advertising
I’ve picked up a few new iPhone apps in the past week, all of them free. There seems to be a lot of quality, free applications, many of which I would be willing to pay for. One in particular specifically caught my attention. Griffin’s iTalk is a simple audio recording application which I have been using to quickly capture thoughts and ideas. This works much better than typing something in. I can...
1 tag
Overclocked
This past Sunday, we started Daylight Savings Time. All of my clocks had to be set back one hour. This is becoming less and less a chore. My watch automatically sets itself every night by radio signal. My computer sets itself everyday from a time server. My phone sets itself from the cell signal. My set top boxes set their clocks from the cable signal.
I had to set my alarm clock and the clock in...
1 tag
Blog of the Week: IDEO Labs
There are a lot of design blogs out there. The majority of them are the blogs of individuals like myself who feel the need to personally contribute to the ongoing global discussion. A few of them are published by firms. This is a perfect vehicle for self-promotion, both within the design community and in the public-facing media. IDEO, one of the premiere design firms in the world, has been...
1 tag
Yes We Can
For a day of such historic significance, please pardon the detour from this blog’s subject matter.
Today we elected our first African-American president and one of our youngest. The country has high hopes for him. He has been an inspiration—certainly for blacks and the younger population—but it took more than just they to elect him. I pray that he is able to carry the momentum into his...
2 tags
Wrap Rage
Upon visiting Amazon’s front page today, I was shown a message from Amazon about their new initiative, “Frustration-Free Packaging”. We’ve all been there. It’s Christmas morning and the children are crying because they want to play with the new toy but it’s taking an hour to get it out of the box. How many times have you cut yourself trying to open blister packs? And think of all the cardboard,...
