Top Bananas | Category Archives: User Interface

The Coming iPad Pro

Posted on June 9, 2015 by admin Posted in Business, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: The rumored iPad Pro is supposedly a bigger screen iPad with a 12-inch screen.

As sales of the iPad sink, it’s apparent that people don’t need to replace their iPads as often as they replace their smartphones. An iPad lasts far longer than two years and can probably go at least four or five years before needing to be replaced. So to give people a reason to upgrade their iPads, Apple announced two interesting features of the upcoming iOS 9, which will be available this fall (at the same time as the new iPhone and presumable the rumored iPad Pro).

First, iOS 9 now allows multitasking. On a small iPad mini, this doesn’t make any sense, but on a larger screen iPad (either the current iPad size or the rumored iPad Pro), multitasking with split screens will be handy for viewing more content at the same time. That feature right there will make the iPad Pro more attractive for businesses.

Second, iOS 9 will also allow the virtual keyboard to be turned into a trackpad when you press two fingers on the surface. This lets you smoothly position the cursor. Lift your fingers up and the virtual keyboard reappears again, ready for typing.

Both features of iOS 9 will likely be especially handy for the bigger iPad (as opposed to the iPad mini) and be attractive for business users as opposed to people who just want to play games. That means if Apple introduces an iPad Pro, they’ll likely sell more units and boost total iPad sales all over again.

Of course, the iPad Pro will likely run into the same situation as today’s iPad, namely that it will last at least four to five years before needing to be replaced. By then, Apple should have newer features that will make replacing an iPad more attractive.

The real market for the iPad isn’t just consumers who can be perfectly content with an original iPad that still browsers the Internet and plays games just fine. The real iPad market is now the business user who may be able to ditch their laptop completely and just rely on an iPad exclusively. Businesses users will likely upgrade more often so this should keep total iPad sales steady.

With iOS 9 coming out this fall, it’s easy to guess when the rumored iPad Pro will likely appear (the fall). Today’s iPads are great for work and play. Tomorrow’s iPad Pro will be geared more for work. With multitasking and a virtual touch pad, the future of the iPad is starting to look rosy all over again.

About the latest iOS 9 features for the iPad.

Google Cardboard

Posted on June 4, 2015 by admin Posted in User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Google Cardboard is an inexpensive cardboard kit designed to hold a smartphone so you can use it as a virtual reality headset.

When you look at virtual reality headsets like Microsoft HoloLens, you realize that they’re expensive. That’s why Google came up with Google Cardboard, a cheap cardboard kit that you can use to tuck your smartphone inside to hold to your face as a far less expensive and bulky virtual reality headset. The big advantage is that it makes virtual reality headsets affordable. The big drawback is that it still retains the disadvantages of virtual reality, namely that it requires you to block out the world around you to focus exclusively on seeing the virtual reality image.

For specialized uses such as training, this can be handy, but Google Cardboard is less convenient than Microsoft HoloLens because at least with HoloLens you can strap it around your head so you can keep your hands free. With Google Cardboard, you have to hold the device with one or both hands. Where Microsoft HoloLens lets you manipulate virtual objects with both of your hands, Google Cardboard limits you to simply viewing virtual reality images.

You won’t want to use Google Cardboard for training purposes since Microsoft HoloLens and other virtual reality headsets are more convenient, and you won’t want to use Google Cardboard for everyday use because of the time needed to assemble and disassemble it. That means the only real advantage of Google Cardboard is cost.

Rather than tuck your smartphone inside Google Cardboard, why not just aim your smartphone and look at the screen? That’s faster and simpler. Then when you’re done, tuck it back in your pocket or purse. That’s far easier than sticking your smartphone inside Google Cardboard. Just watch how Ferrari uses augmented reality (not virtual reality) to let you point an iPad at a Ferrari to see different colors or the inner workings of the car.

Now would your rather point an iPad at a car and see different images, or would you rather tuck your iPhone inside Google Cardboard, hold it to your face, then disassemble the whole thing when you’re done looking at the image a minute later?

Google Cardboard offers cost savings and that’s it. Microsoft HoloLens might be more expensive, but when you want to immerse yourself in a virtual reality world, its hands-free operation makes it superior to Google Cardboard. When you just want to peek at something, it’s far simpler to use your smartphone or tablet by itself rather than stuffing it inside Google Cardboard.

Google Cardboard is an interesting idea that fails in practical use. It might find a use still, but it won’t displace dedicated virtual reality headsets or the simplicity of just aiming a smartphone or tablet on its own. When examining technology, don’t get enamored by its features. Ask yourself how you would use it and then you’ll see its real value.

About Google Cardboard.

Force Touch and the Taptic Engine

Posted on June 3, 2015 by admin Posted in User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: The Taptic Engine is a way to give feedback to the user through touch. Force Touch is a way to let the user get feedback when touching an item that normally doesn’t provide tactile feedback.

The typical user interface relies on sight. Use any computer and you’ll see icons that you can click on to give the computer commands. Click the mouse or tap on a keyboard and you can feel when you give a command to the computer. Tactile feedback has been used for years to help you verify that you gave a command to the computer.

The problem is that user interfaces rely on sight. When you give a command to a computer through a mouse click or keyboard, tactile feedback tells you when you did something, but when the computer does something in return, you have to look and see what it did. The computer won’t use tactile feedback to let you know what it just did. If you don’t look, you’ll never see what the computer did.

For computers with large monitors, relying on sight alone is fine. However for wearable computers like the Apple Watch, the screen is too tiny to rely on sight alone. That’s why the Apple Watch contains the Taptic Engine that can tap your wrist and notify you when you receive a message. It might sound simple and trivial, but the Taptic Engine provides tactile feedback as a way to expand the user interface to a computer.

Instead of constantly having to glance at a screen to see if you got any messages, you can just strap an Apple Watch to your arm and feel when you get messages. This lets you keep your eyes off the screen and lets you perform other tasks without constantly glancing at a screen.

Force Touch is a different form of haptic technology. With a typical PC, you get tactile feedback from a mouse or keyboard. A mouse and keyboard can be big because they just sit on a desk most of the time. With mobile and wearable computers, space is at a premium. The smaller and thinner the device, the lighter and easier it is to carry around. Given a choice between carrying a heavy mobile phone or a light one, it’s obvious which one most people would choose.

The problem with mobile and wearable computers is that they don’t have room to provide mechanical feedback. A desktop PC keyboard is often larger and thicker than a laptop keyboard because the laptop keyboard needs to save space. By saving space, it also reduces the distance keys need to travel, which provides weaker tactile feedback. Given a choice between a desktop PC keyboard or a laptop keyboard, the desktop PC keyboard provides better tactile feedback almost every time because a desktop PC keyboard has more space to provide better tactile feedback.

Now consider the flat glass screen of a smartphone, tablet or wearable computer. There’s no tactile feedback other than the feel of your fingertips on a flat piece of glass. That’s why Force Touch lets give commands to a computer through the sensation of touch. Push lightly and you give one command. Push harder and you give a different command. Although the surface itself may be flat and immovable, haptic technology can fool your sense of touch into thinking you’re actually moving an item when you really aren’t.

The trackpad of the latest MacBook laptop uses haptic technology. A mechanical trackpad takes up space so you can press down on it to give commands. The MacBook trackpad physically never moves so it takes up less space. By providing haptic feedback, it gives the illusion that you’re pressing down on it. Thus you get the benefit of tactile feedback without the space required for mechanical devices or the eventual unreliability of mechanical devices.

Most user interfaces rely on sight. Occasionally you may hear a beep to alert you if you’re doing something wrong, but the sense of sight and sound are now being expanded to touch to provide a richer and more immersive user experience. The five human senses are:

Sight
Sound
Touch
Taste

Old user interfaces relied on sight and a little on sound. Force Touch and the Taptic Engine now add the sensation of touch to user interfaces. Most likely smell and taste will be specialized user interfaces for making virtual reality images seem more realistic, but for now, sight, sound, and touch are the new ways to communicate with a computer. Force Touch and the Taptic Engine are ways to bring the sensation of touch to user interfaces and make computers a little bit easier to use.

Virtual Reality vs. Augmented Reality

Posted on June 1, 2015 by admin Posted in User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Virtual reality involves strapping a device to your face. Augmented reality involves pointing a smartphone or tablet camera at an item to view an item.

Just because something is technologically advanced doesn’t mean it will necessarily be adopted. Technology is more than technical specifications but also emotional and psychological acceptance, and that’s where virtual reality falls flat on its face.

A virtual reality headset requires strapping a device to your face so you can see a virtual world while keeping your hands free. That’s important for virtual training sessions or specialized tasks where you don’t have to leave the room, such as performing long-distance virtual interaction with others. In isolated environments, the drawback of having a virtual reality headset strapped to your face won’t matter because nobody will see you.

Can you wear a virtual reality headset and walk around in public or even in an office? Probably not. That’s because the nature of a virtual reality headset strapped to your face immediately limits your interaction with others around you. Even if you’re wearing a virtual reality headset in an office, your co-workers are less likely to interact with you since your attention is isolated to the virtual reality image. There’s no reason to wear a virtual reality headset in public places, which limits virtual reality applications to specialized tasks where you don’t need to interact with anyone around you.

Think of the difference between Google Glass and the Apple Watch. Both are wearable computers, but Google Glass is wrapped around your face at all times whether you’re using it or not. The Apple Watch is out of sight until you need it. It’s not visible until you purposely make it noticeable.

Where virtual reality requires walking around with a virtual reality headset strapped to your face at all times, augmented reality is much different. It only appears when you want it to appear by aiming a smartphone or tablet camera at an item and seeing the augmented reality image appear. Watch the YouTube video below to see how augmented reality lets a museum exhibit come to life only when viewed through an augmented reality program.

With augmented reality, you can choose when to see it and when to deal with reality and the people around you. With virtual reality, you’re forced to ignore everything around you and walk around with a virtual reality headset wrapped around your face. Can you imagine riding a bus, airplane, or eating in a restaurant with a virtual reality headset strapped to your face like an alien face hugger?

Yet with augmented reality, you can look like a normal person and walk around in public. Only when you want to see it can you choose to view the augmented reality by aiming your smartphone or tablet camera at an item. Then you can put it away. Augmented reality gives you the choice of dealing with reality or seeing augmented reality. Virtual reality forces you to immerse yourself completely in its environment, which makes it handy for hands-free operation but only in a space where nobody minds being seen with a virtual reality headset clinging to their face.

It’s not a question of technology or usefulness. It’s a matter of practicality. Google Glass simply isn’t practical to wear all the time, especially when you don’t even need to use it. Apple Watch is practical to wear all the time and use it only when you need it.

In the same way, virtual reality is best for dedicated tasks where you’re in an isolated environment such as your home playing a virtual reality game. It’s not suitable for walking around in public on a regular basis. Augmented reality is best for everyday use, but if you need a more immersive environment, then augmented reality requires you to hold a camera up constantly, which can get tiring over time.

That means virtual reality and augmented reality are different with their own strengths and weaknesses. We’ll likely need both. For training soldiers, firefighters, or other specialized tasks, virtual reality is better. For roaming around in public, augmented reality is better.

So when you look at devices like Google Glass or Microsoft HoloLens, the technology may be fine, but the practical uses are far more limited. If you aren’t going to be using a wearable computer 100% of the time, there’s no need to have it visible and interfering with your appearance 100% of the time. Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens will find their niche purposes, but it’s never going to be a general purpose device that people use in their everyday world.

The Apple Watch is something people can use everyday because they can tuck it out of sight when they don’t need it and use it when they do need it. Augmented reality will likewise find greater acceptance in everyday use since you can choose to use it and tuck it out of sight when you don’t want to use it. Anyone going to constantly take Google Glass or a Microsoft HoloLens on and off during the day?

To learn more about Metaio, a company that Apple recently acquired for its augmented reality technology, click here.

IBM’s Enterprise Apps

Posted on May 31, 2015 by admin Posted in Business, Software, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: IBM has created apps for the enterprise that cover a wide range of industries and fields. By studying IBM’s apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, you can truly see the strengths and weaknesses of each device.

The smartphone, tablet, and wearable computer all have different purposes and uses. You can’t take a smartphone app and cram it in a wearable computer and expect it to work the same because the form factor of each device is different. This is a major failing with Microsoft’s Windows 10 plan of allowing you to write code once and run it on multiple devices. Technically that may be possible, but it will create a poor user experience on devices not optimized for its use.

For example, Microsoft Word lets you do mail merge where you can write a form letter and merge it with a database of names and addresses. For a desktop application, that’s fine, but if you port Microsoft Word to a smartphone or a wearable computer, will anyone really want or need to perform mail merge on a smartphone or wearable computer? The program may still run, but it’s no longer as useful because mail merge is a specific task for performing on a desktop or laptop PC, not on a smartphone or wearable computer.

That’s why IBM’s family of enterprise apps is so interesting to study because it shows you how different devices can work together and offer their own strengths. Rather than write one program and port that code to run on multiple devices, IBM likely customized their apps to run on each device. What will give a better user experience? A program optimized for the device it’s running on or a program designed for a different device but ported to another one?

One of IBM’s enterprise apps is called Hospital RN, which uses Apple’s iBeacon technology. Now a nurse can use an iPhone or Apple Watch to receive patient requests, changes in lab status, safety alerts, and prioritised task lists for immediate action disposition. By using technology to display patient information when they’re in that patient’s room, IBM’s Hospital RN app gives nurses relevant information they need right away so they can spend less time looking for information and more time caring for patients.

Another IBM enterprise app is called Incident Aware and lets first responders to a scene view the location of other first responders. For example, suppose there’s a shooting at a shopping mall. By looking at a smartphone or tablet, police can use GPS to track the location of other police officers so they can coordinate their movements towards the emergency. By viewing notifications on their Apple Watch, police can get the latest information without having to constantly pull out and look at their iPhone or iPad.

A wearable computer like the Apple Watch is best for interaction that requires only seconds, such as notifying the police that a target has moved or is no longer a threat. A smartphone can use its GPS to help track other first responder positions. A tablet can provide a bigger screen allowing police to coordinate their efforts and see a map of their environment so they can navigate to the problem right away.

Each device offers advantages that the other device lacks. That’s why customized apps, like IBM’s family of enterprise apps, can be so interesting to study. That’s also why Microsoft’s Windows 10 initiative to make it easy for programs to run on multiple devices isn’t the entire solution since each device needs software that takes advantage of its unique features, not ignores them.

IBM will likely continue developing unique and interesting apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. If you’re an app developer, study how IBM’s apps work. By learning how apps need to work for solving enterprise problems, there’s no better example than IBM’s family of enterprise apps.

About IBM’s Enterprise apps.

Augmented Reality and Metaio Creator

Posted on May 30, 2015 by admin Posted in Software, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Augmented reality is about viewing reality through a screen that displays additional information about what you’re looking at.

Apple recently acquired a company called Metaio, which focused on augmented reality. The clumsy way to use augmented reality is to force someone to wear a virtual reality headset to see altered versions of reality. The much simpler way to use augmented reality is to allow users to point a smartphone or tablet camera at an item and then see, on the screen, the augmented reality image. By removing the need to wear a virtual reality headset, smartphone and tablet augmented reality solutions allow the user to see augmented reality images when they want without the awkwardness of wearing a cumbersome virtual reality headset at all times.

One interesting product that Metaio used to offer was called Metaio Creator, which lets you create augmented reality images without any programming whatsoever. The idea is that you can drag and drop images, video, and audio over an image so it appears whenever a user views that particular item. In the YouTube video below, you can see how Ferrari used Metaio Creator to let users point at a Ferrari and change its color, view its internal workings, or change the wheel rims.

Such augmented reality tools can be particularly handy for stores. Imagine trying on clothes but seeing how that same outfit might look on you in different colors. Use augmented reality to go sight-seeing and point at an interesting landmark to see additional information about that item. Museums could use augmented reality to allow visitors to learn more about each exhibit. By making augmented reality easy to create, Metaio Creator brings the power of augmented reality to the masses.

Of course, you can’t get Mataio Creator any more since Apple bought the company and Metaio shut down their web site. However, this does show you what Apple will likely introduce sometime in the near future. By allowing anyone to easily create augmented reality images of their own, Apple will likely make augmented reality common for everyone to share. Augmented reality is coming to a smartphone and tablet soon. Just wait a few years and you’ll see it working right before your eyes.

About Metaio Creator.