In a modern office, present day. We see a silhouette from behind; in front, a computer monitor. The gentle clatter of a keyboard, the “bwooooop” of messages being sent back and forth. The cadence of messages slowly picks up until they’re being sent as quickly as if they were speaking. The camera pushes in and we can see the screen: a cacophony of images, text, full-screen effects filling the screen as message bubbles shoot in front the sides, from above, shrink and grow and shake and expand. One shoots lasers out, only to replaced immediately by confetti.
Finally, the fateful message comes up: “I g2g.” The TYPIST cringes instinctively at the abbreviation, but nevertheless sends another message of understanding. The green status indicator next to the friend’s name blinks to a hollow gray circle, the name italicized. All that remains is the static, froze log of the chaotic communication that filled it just a moment before.
The TYPIST looks down and picks up a cell phone. A green icon indicates another message. Another potential for intense, exhausting conversations filled with meta-contextual conversation and multi-channel communication. The TYPIST sighs.
TYPIST:
Well, at least it’s not Snapchat.
The camera pans around the TYPIST’s face and we finally see that it’s one of the hosts — Ian Fuchs.
Today on Interface, a special guest host: Chase Meusel! We sit down and have a conversation about the nerdiest accessories you can get this season. Do you need a $500 wrist mounted computer that reminds you stand up once an hour? Get your sweet reviews here! I should probably type the word “wearable” here so you can find it later with search.
You may have noticed that lately, Chase has been absent from the podcast. Fortunately, we’ve tracked down (at least some of) the problem, and found it to be mostly scheduling conflicts. This got us wondering, is there a better way to handle scheduling, calendars, and productivity?
This week, Andrew and Ian dive into the current, messy state of calendars and scheduling, and highlight some products, services, and ideas that might make it better in the future.
It’s easy for a usability designer to get beaten down and depressed by all the bad interactions in the world. Doors with terrible affordances, unclear signs, and software that gets in the way more than it helps you. Today, Ian and Andrew talk about all the good things out there — interactions where a designer took the time to sit down, examine the problem, and create a solution that actually helps people out. There’s a lot of good out there!
Andrew just got back from four weeks of traveling and a move and all he wants to do is sit down and watch some TV. But where can he find the first season of Veronica Mars? This week — we try to figure out how to fix TV (if it’s even broken at all).
This week, Chris and Ian recount their history with Apple, the products and experiences that shaped their love of the company, and some of Apple’s more memorable moments.
I always enjoy sharing my opinions on technology with friends and family. Even more so, when someone in public asks me about a device, accessory, app, etc. I always enjoy answering their questions and helping them understand or find something to fit their life. In the last month, the device that’s sparked lots of questions from friends, family, and strangers alike is my Google Glass (check out my initial impressions of the device).
In the times I’ve taken Glass out in public, I’ve also received a handful of questions about how it works, what it does, and the like. Since Google Glass is extremely new, and relatively rare to see out and about, it seemed only fair to address some of the more common questions that I’ve been asked.
We all know (and if you don’t, SHAME!) of Sonny Dickson. He’s the guy that leaked several dozen photos of the new iPhones and iPads this past fall (with near perfect accuracy, I might add). Not only is Sonny a super sleuth when it comes to connections in Apple’s production line, he’s also been kind enough to get us, at MacTrast, into the Google Glass Explorer program.
After getting invited to join the program, we thought it would be fair to share with all of you, what Google Glass is all about. Today, we’ll take a look at what comes in the box, and I’ll give a few of my initial impressions.
Before I get to that, though, I will remind all of you that Google Glass is currently in a sort of quasi-open beta program. Those allowed early access to the product are selected on a invitation basis, and have only seven (7) days from receiving their invite to order their Glass. I would venture to guess that there are between 10,000 and 20,000 explorers out there right now, but I could be way off (Google didn’t seem to have any real solid numbers publicly available), and that number is growing as Google is in the midst of opening their second string of invites.
I’ve been a paying Verizon customer for over almost 3 years now (after a brief stint with AT&T after college). My cellphone contract is the longest standing commitment I’ve had with any company for any thing (aside from my bank accounts). On top of having the experience of being a customer, I also had the privilege of working for a Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer as one of my first jobs out of college. Regardless of what money I give Verizon or what experience I have with the company, one things if for sure… THEY ARE TRYING TO SCREW ME .
When I signed on to have Verizon as my wireless provider, my account looked something like this.
700 Min + Unlimited texting: $80.00
Moto Droid (mine): $9.99 + $30 unlimited data
Moto Droid (my wife): $9.99 + $30 unlimited data
Basic phone (home phone) $9.99
Total bill – $170+taxes and fees.
Around year later, we picked up iPhones (when Verizon finally offered it) for our daily phones, and maintained the same basic phone as our home phone… but our bill went virtually unchanged. We were able to use our iPhones as much as we wanted for texting and surfing the net. On top of that, our 700 minutes included the unlimited nights and weekends + unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling, so we were using – at most – 150 minutes/month (if I used my phone for work related things).
When “Big Red” decided they were going to jump on the bandwagon of tiered data (no more unlimited – pay more to use more), I gave it a moment of consideration. With the tiered data plan, I could keep my bill unchanged, but instead of paying the $30 for each smartphone to have unlimited data, each phone would be limited to 2GB/month (that’s what you get for $30). Verizon even sweetened the pot by offering customers who jumped to tiered data a double-up on their data. For only $30/line/month, we could pull 4GB of data each (totaling 8GB of data available/month – granted it wasn’t shared).
This didn’t sound like a bad deal… but when I could have unlimited data for $30/month, why would I choose to switch to something that gives me less for the same cost? Then Verizon started policing usage by “legacy” data plan users. If you were on an unlimited data plan, Verizon could “optimize” their network, by limiting your bandwidth, to allow more consistent speeds for those on tiered data plans. This was a huge difference from AT&T’s data throttling, as Verizon would only do this when necessary (like when a specific tower is experiencing higher-than-normal traffic – like at a baseball game or concert). The potential for Verizon to cripple my iPhones ability to surf the web scared me a little, and I began to think more about the tiered data plans.
A discussion with my wife reminded me that the best deal is the one that gives you the most for the least… stick with unlimited. And we did. Then the news broke – Verizon was dumping their 11-month-old tiered data plan options, and switching to a “more affordable” shared data model – Share Everything. You already share minutes and texts with everyone in your plan, why not share your data too?
because is f***ing expensive.
Verizon’s new Share Everything plans sound really good – when pitched in commercials & by reps. Verizon will tell you the new Share Everything plan features a couple “attractive” features.
Unlimited minutes, shared across all your devices
You can have up to 10 devices on your plan – a decent jump from the previous limit of 5!
You no longer have to pay extra to use tethering/mobile hotspot on your smartphone ($20 value)
Verizon also boasts that you get unlimited texting with the ShareEverything (SE) plan, but most people already had unlimited texting bundled in with their minute plans – especially if they’re using a smartphone or have kids (the target audience of the new SE plans). While Verizon highlights the unlimited texting as another great perk, I don’t see it as a real gain.
Lets take a look at the cost of the new Share Everything plans. To start with, you choose your devices. Smartphones ring in at $40/month each – which is the same as what I’m paying now. Basic phones roll in at $30/month each, so a $20 increase/month from the current basic line cost. Verizon also throws in hotspots/jetpacks/air cards/etc. for $20/month, and tablets for $10/month. Where this gets interesting is that you no longer pay for the overall minute plan in the same sense. You now choose your shared data level, and are left with your total. The lowest offering is $50 for 1GB of shared data. Whether you have 1 smartphone or 6, the data remains a shared bucket across all devices. Lets look at what I would get for the same dollar amount I pay now:
My iPhone: $40
My wife’s iPhone $40
Basic Phone: $30
Unlimited Talk & Text + 2GB data: $60
Total bill – $170+taxes and fees.
Are they for real? 2GB of SHARED DATA! Had I jumped to tiered data when it was a per line addition, I could have 2GB for myself, my wife could have 2GB for herself, and we’d pay the same. Better yet, with Verizon’s double data deal, we could have have 4GB each for the same cost. How is this a good deal? Who does this work for?
This is a good deal for someone. It has to be… but who? People who have several lines, constant wifi access for all devices, and spend a lot of time talking on the phone (to non-Verizon customers, during the day). Seems like that really narrows the scope a bit, right? Lets say – just for fun, that I ultimately ditch that basic phone and get a tablet instead. I could move that $30 basic phone down to a $10 tablet price, save myself $20/month? Fancy that, I can get 4GB MORE of data (a total of 6GB for $80) for that extra $20 and keep my bill the same. It starts to look a little better here, but I’ve given up a line that can be used to talk or text. I’m no longer getting one of those “great features” of Share Everything on one of my lines.
Something that doesn’t make sense to me here is this:
Mobile phone plans started out offering 50 minutes, no texting and you got billed for roaming (you know, calling outside of the town your phone number was native to). It was expensive ($60 for 1 line, 50 minutes).
A few years later, plans featured larger minute offerings for the same price – or less (500 minutes for $60).
Skip ahead a few more years, and plans could include text messaging – again, more for about the same price (US Cellular, AT&T, and Verizon offered 500 minutes + unlimited texting for ~$65).
In 2009(ish) – more minutes, unlimited texting, unlimited data, slightly more costly, but a load more capability (1 line with 500 min, unlimited text, and unlimited data = $90).
Jump to 2012 – unlimited minutes (which is a useless notion), unlimited texting, and less data… for more money! Ridiculous.
The mobile industry is screwing over customers more now than ever before. Is there a good solution – not really. I’m still holding onto my unlimited data plan. Verizon says that when you upgrade (and sign a new 2-year contract – which means a subsidized phone cost), all customers on unlimited data are forced to change to a tiered data (for individuals) or shared data (for families) plan. The only way around it is to pay for the phone at full-retail price. My hopes of a $200 iPhone are lost, and I assume I’ll be shelling out $650/iPhone in a month or 2 when Apple drops “the new iPhone” onto the market.
At this point, it’s a lose-lose – but if they’re going to attempt to screw me around every corner, this is my tiny way of giving them the finger and taking advantage of being a long-standing customer.
We are in a very rapidly changing time, and experiencing technology that becomes outdated in an instant. Social media rules the mobile world, and mobile is taking over the way we work, learn, communicate, and document our life. Yesterday’s new social network is tomorrows “old news.”
It seems that every day, a new social platform emerges. Some of these zone in on niche markets – others take on the likes of Facebook and Twitter – while some start in 1 target group and explode into the other. Instagram, for example, was introduced as a way for photographers & fans of analog photography to share and create photographs akin to the days of Poloroid instant develop photos, and will soon be under the wing of the “Big F” – and where that will go, nobody knows.
One social network, launched in November of 2010, has truly caught me by surprise. A social network that combines the ideas of Facebook status, Twitter micro-blogging, photo sharing, and location tagging called “Path” I had seen the occasional post on Twitter with a link back to someone’s “Path”, but never gave it much thought. A few weeks ago, I decided to give Path a try, and to my surprise, the app is so much fun to use. Path isn’t just another tired social platform. The whole principal behind Path isn’t to share news and links, or to create a network of all your friends. Instead, Path is about sharing your journal, or “path”, of your life on the go. The apps home screen shows a stream of all your friends current paths. Path informs you when your someone has looked at your moment or gone to your profile. It notifies you (if enabled) when your connections post to their Path or leaves you an emoticon (akin to liking a Facebook post). Path isn’t about what happened or what will happen – its about the NOW – and about sharing as you are out-and-about!
What makes Path most interesting to me is that it has such a visually and aesthetically pleasing interface, and it’s one of the smartest social networks I’ve ever experienced. Path learns from your post habits. When you launch Path in a new neighborhood, it automatically posts the your location has changed to whatever city/village/area you are in. I went to a White Sox game with my wife, for example, and as I got to my seat, I launched Path – and there it was “Ian : In Bridgeport, Chicago”. Of course, I can then hone in on where exactly I am, and upload a photo. In a matter of seconds, I can tap the (+) button in the bottom corner, tap the camera icon, snap a picture, choose my location – U.S. Cellular Field, tag my wife under “I’m with” and click done. The smooth and inviting interface makes sharing fun and enjoyable.
Path has a number of other excellent features. I suggest that if you’re looking for that social space that’s personal, semi-private, and beautifully designed, then you check out Path [app store link]. I hope other social networks can take note of Path’s unique and seamless UI, and *smart* updating, it could truly change the social networking game.
