“Off-camera, a hand. On-camera, a wife. A husband. A baby shower. Thumbs bubble up from the corner, punctuated by the occasional heart. Messages trickle in from family members distributed around the country. Then a presence, one you haven’t felt since high school disturbs your bliss. Your Facebook Live privacy settings were wrong — if only we still used Google Plus!”
Some real-life feedback on the use of live video streaming for personal events, as well as in educational and office situations.
Colin Ray joins us to discuss the evolution and potential future of computer input methods, and strange twists and turns through the landscape of game controllers – most notably the Steam controller.
In the words of Andrew: ENGELBART IS LOVE, ENGELBART IS LIFE. ENGELBART IS GENIUS. ENGELBART IS REMEMBERED FOR AN INPUT DEVICE HE DIDN’T EVEN INVENT. COLIN MADE HIS OWN STREET FIGHTER CONTROLLER DECAL. HOVER GESTURES. TOUCH GESTURES. LINE WOBBLER. ENGELBART. ENGELBART. ENGELBART.
In a very special episode of Interface, Chase tries not to be murdered by his too-smart house, Ian goes for days without electricity, and Andrew tapes a Kindle Fire HD™ to his refrigerator so he too can join the Internet of Things. Will our heroes survive when their toaster can set their kitchen on fire? Will their cloud-based bathtub scald them after a long day of work? Find out on this very special Interface!
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.