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Technology

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Leopard 10.5 a disappointment on legacy hardware.

I'm no longer on the cutting edge of gadgets or software these days. I prefer the tried and true, and have less time to fool around with the inevitable issues that result from being an early adoptor. When Apple released Leopard (OS 10.5) I looked with interest but had no desire to upgrade nor did I need to buy a new Mac with it installed. But as luck would have it, when I started working for my current client a number of months ago I was given a license for both Textmate and MacOS 10.5. Textmate is great but I have found the operating system less so. Though it has provided a few key features that I find invaluable, the upgrade has overall been very painful. I don't believe it's wise to upgrade for those with non-intel Macs and I am probably alone in this assertion.

Here are some of the problems I have:

Speed. I have wanted to replace the safari icon with a spinning beach ball for a long time. It used to happen so frequently under 10.4 that at times safari was unusable for me. Since upgrading to 10.5 it happens everywhere. Forget about getting anything done why time machine is performing it's hourly back-up. Take the day off if spotlight starts indexing. Overall I've noticed a significant drop in performance.

Network. My wireless base station in my office hasn't been changed in over a year and yet since upgrading I have to enter and reenter the password over and over again. What used to be seaqmless is now a pain.

ICal. I use iCal notifications extensively. They have stopped working.

Spotlight. When I first started using my Powerbook after the upgrade, I was amazed at the improvement in speed I was experiencing when using spotlight. It was so fast I stopped using Quicksilver as my application launcher. But as it's index has increased it's speed has disappeared. Spotlight doesn't seem to adhere to the preferences I set - I tell it to ignore a volume - it indexes it anyway. Spotlight is now pretty much useless for but for the occasional search across my external drives.

Safari. Since when has a browser needed to take more processor cycles and more memory than photoshop. There are times when Safari has over 50% of cpu and a huge chunk of memory. The UI is suspect as well, why all the dialog boxes confirming every choice I make.

UI. The new icons are completely indistinguishable in list view. I'm constantly getting confused between finder windows and application windows because they all look the same. My click error rate has skyrocketed, it's not improving, and it drives me crazy.

Mail. These problems aren't new but they still persist. The spam label doesn't accurately state the the current number of spam message until you click on the label. While the speed of search has increased within mail.app it still lags far behind Gmail - a web app. on a remote server. Lastly, I've come to the conclusion that the Junk button is largely for show as it never seems to make a difference.

That's most of my laundry list of gripes. I should add that I am not entirely surprised that it doesn't perform as I had hoped. I am using hardware that is almost 3 years old and though as an ideal it would be great if each OS update increased in efficiency, this is seldom the case.

Caveat emptor.

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Radio Ace Vintage Radio Kit

This looks like some fun on a rainy Sunday if you like to built stuff. The Radiomann Kit is a German radio set that is complete with vacuum tubes, coils, antenna, capacitors and other components, allowing you to build your own replica of the original German Radiomann. From there all kinds of fun ensues, including building your own transmitter and listening to morse code transmissions. More interesting to me is that this is a fantastic way to teach/learm the fundamentals of electronic circuits and how radios work.

More details at the NPR shop.

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薄如書的筆記型電腦

Intel似乎每年都會跟一家設計公司簽約，而其目的是要他們用新的技術和不一樣視野來打造下一代的筆記型電腦。這次的作品包含以下元素，首先，機器必需要很時尚，也可連接到任何的無線網路，充滿最新最快的計算能力，另外，也要作的跟Motorola的Razr一樣薄才行。目前他們自家的工程師和波蘭的Ziba Design己經作好整合，準備迎接挑戰。而其開發產品的代碼是Intel mobile Metro Notebook，厚度僅有薄薄的0.7英吋。英特爾承諾在今年底原型機會進入生產階段。

更詳細的資訊請參考Businessweek的文章。

Ziba Design

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A Very Thin Notebook

It seems every year Intel contracts a design firm to build a notebook concept around their vision of the moment or new tech. in the works. This time around the "machine had to be fashionable, able to connect to all manner of wireless networks, and full of the latest, fastest computing capabilities. Oh yes, and make it as thin as Motorola's Razr. Its own engineers in conjunction with Ziba Design in Portland, Ore., rose to the challenge". The result is code-named the Intel mobile Metro notebook and it remarkably less than 0.7 inches thick. Intel promises that this particular prototype will enter manufacturing later in the year.

Read more on the Businessweek article.

Ziba Design

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The Amazing Wii Loop Machine

Very cool. Somewhat similar to our desired outcome in the now old smenms project. The Wii Loop Machine is a "a system for using the wireless Wii remote to sync, control, and manipulate loops in real time". Might be worth buying a Wii just for this.

Wii Loop Machine. Via tuaw.

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The Machine is Us

It's received plenty of exposure but a presentation as fine as this deserves more.

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Fish Table User Interface

Interesting fun concept - fish as files. I like the idea of a mobile phone functioning as an ID thereby allowing you to use the large screen UI and have access to data. Mobile phones are computers with only the interface getting in the way of us using them as such.

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Interface Space - Design Observer

Design Observer has produced a succinct article on how artists are exploring the relationships between the flat interfaces of the ubiquitous PC and real life/space. It's interesting to ponder how our daily immersion into this windowed environment affects our interaction with the world around us. I sometimes wish their was an 'escape key' or at least a 'command-z'.

You probably spend hours a day staring at this screen — working, playing, talking to friends, shopping. With so many creative people spending so much time on their computers it is no surprise that the computer interface itself has become source material for contemporary art. Daily immersion in a two-dimensional space has raised an intriguing question that many contemporary artists can’t resist: what is the physicality of the screen? The ubiquitous interface experience has created a symbiosis between the metaphorical space of the computer and the physical world.

Full Article. Via Core77

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'Flip Phone' - Mobile phone layout

You take a risk in changing a persons mental model of how an interface works. Nokia discovered this with some their interface experiments. This is an interesting idea though I wonder if the benefits would be enough for people to want to deal with learning a new behaviour.

The conventional mobile phone design has the keypad positioned below the LCD display screen. This orientation provides the user a clear view of the screen while a text message is being typed by using the thumb of the hand holding the mobile.

This design for a mobile phone comprises a single housing where the operating face is configured with the buttons of the keypad positioned above the LCD screen. This layout ensures that most of the handset rests in the palm of the hand for improved support and control.

More at IOL. Via Textually.

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AntiRSI

Other giving up using computers as my tool of choice, a choice which seems just about inconceivable, I am still looking at other ways of avoiding problems caused by RSI. This might be a idea if you use a Mac (I'm sure there are choices for PC's as well).

AntiRSI is a program for Mac OS X that helps prevent RSI (repetitive strain injury) and other computer related stress. It does so by forcing you to take regular breaks, yet without getting in the way. It also detects natural breaks so it won't force too many breaks on you.

AntiRSI. Found via Ruk.

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Remapping the Universe - multi-touch driven UI

In this video, Jeff Han and Phil Davidson demonstrate how a multi-touch driven computer screen will change the way we work and play.

It will be wonderful if these could be implemented in a public context. Subway area maps, local business directories could all benefit from such a large scale interface. That is if we weren't further restricted by the explosion of virus's and resultant lake of human contact.

These interfaces will never see wide spread use in office environments where you have to input and manipulate data for hours. It would be like when my old Chinese teacher use to have me write Chinese characters on the white board for an hour "to keep warm" - my arm felt like it was going to fall off.

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Nokia - A View of the Future

All user interfaces look great on film.

Nokia has released a number of short videos that explore how mobile phone design may change in the next three or four years. There is a video for each of the four categories, or put more simply different lifestyle, that Nokia focuses on.

More here.

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World Usability Day Posters

World Usability Day may have come and gone but the posters will last as a visual statement of what life might be like without it (it being usability). The examples are good but one only needs to look at almost any device today and see serious problems. I do think they work well.

The idea behind the 2006 campaign was to build an appreciation for usability by showing what life might be like without it. This was demonstated by visually removing or changing elements of everyday objects and consequently rendering them unusable.

More images from the posters after the jump.

Continue reading »

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Talkonaut

If you don't mind using your mobile to chat - I can hardly manage texting- then this could be a very handy way to keep in touch or perhaps pretend to still be at your desk when you are actually out having coffee. Talkonaut is a great looking mobile application that can be used with any Jabber account, including Google Talk. The best part is that while using Google talk all of your conversations are still archived for later viewing in your chats folder in Gmail. Talkonaut is a free download but requires a J2ME compliant device and a GPRS data plan.

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