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New and Improved Siri

Posted on May 21, 2018 by admin Posted in Software, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Siri has given clues as to upcoming improvements.

Every year at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference, they reveal new software updates, features, and sometimes even new products. This year, Apple’s focus seems to be on improving Siri, their voice assistant. The huge problem with Siri is that while it was the first voice assistant on the market, it’s no longer considered the best compared to Amazon’s Alexa. Even though Siri understands more languages, Alexa is considered more conversational.

So Apple will likely improve Siri’s capabilities because that’s one of the weakest features of HomePod. Perhaps what Apple should really consider is how many people rely on Siri through an iPhone, Macintosh, Apple Watch, or HomePod. Each use of Siri will likely be slightly different.

For example, Siri on HomePod will likely focus on getting news or controlling devices in a smart home. That’s slightly different from someone using Siri on an iPhone or a Macintosh. On an iPhone, someone might use Siri to get directions to a restaurant or park. On a Macintosh, someone might use Siri to retrieve contact data or to open a program. For Apple to improve Siri, they need to improve Siri’s understanding of context and the ability of Siri to respond intelligently to more types of questions.

HomePod has gotten rave reviews for audio quality but poor marks for Siri. By massively improving Siri, Apple can massively improve HomePod. Siri’s capabilities are holding HomePod back but not affecting iPhone sales. That brings up the question on whether people use Siri often or not.

Here’s the real question. How many people even use voice assistants? Out of those people who use them, what do they use them for? Voice assistants are a new form of user interface, but they represent hands-free computing. The key is how to take full advantage of hands-free computing.

Laptops helped free computing from the desk and desktop PCs helped free computers from mainframes locked in separate rooms. What will voice assistants free computers to do that they couldn’t do before? Until Apple answers this question, Siri may get better, but it still won’t be a must-have feature for anyone but HomePod owners.

What Are Smart Speakers For?

Posted on May 20, 2018 by admin Posted in Hardware, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Apple reportedly holds 6% share of the smart speaker market.

Amazon helped define the smart speaker market and Google and Apple followed. The basic idea behind a smart speaker is that it sits on the counter and lets you talk to it through a voice assistant like Alexa or Siri. The big question is what do most people use a smart speaker for?

One way to look at a smart speaker is to think of it was a two-way radio. With traditional radio, you can listen to weather and traffic reports, but if you miss a weather or traffic report, you can’t ask the radio to repeat that information again. If you tune in late, then you might miss a traffic or weather report. Radio is a broadcasting medium that’s one-way.

Smart speakers are like interactive radio. You can ask questions and get the information you want now, not later. Need a traffic report? Ask for it. Need a weather report? Ask for it. Want to listen to music? Ask for your favorite songs.

That’s the main appeal of a smart speaker as an intelligent, two-way radio. Ideally, smart speakers would be most useful in a car than at home. Hop in a car and ask for traffic reports, news, or music and you can get it. People spend far more time in their car than at home.

So you can see that the smart speaker concept is still in its infancy. Apple is promoting its HomePod as offering superior audio quality, and they’re right. The trouble is not everyone values superior audio quality. Amazon’s Echo is cheap and that makes it easy for people to buy one. Yet what will they do with one once they get it? Will they tire of it? Find it’s not as useful as they thought? At the very least, they’ll be out only a small amount of cash. Buying Apple’s HomePod and not finding it useful means losing a much greater amount of money.

The future of the smart speaker is to control a smart home. Because the smart home isn’t here yet, the full potential of the smart speaker is lost. This would be like having the first Facebook or Twitter account and having none of your friends available for you to connect with.

The smart speaker market is still shifting to find its niche. Right now, Amazon is dominating because of its low cost. Apple’s HomePod will only appeal to a small niche of Apple users who value superior audio quality. That means the smart home concept is still lagging and the full use of two-way radio hasn’t been explored yet.

Smart speakers are useful, but they haven’t found their “killer app” yet that makes people rush out and buy one for its features. tomorrow that will change but for today, smart speakers aren’t a must-have buy for anyone.

Target Using Augmented Reality for Makeup Purchases

Posted on May 17, 2018 by admin Posted in Software Leave a comment

What it is: Target has created an augmented reality app to let you experiment with different colors and types of makeup.

Putting on makeup can get cumbersome if you put on the wrong type of makeup, which you’ll then need to wipe off before trying another type of makeup. While it’s easier just to have a professional makeup artist help you determine what looks best on you, most women simply experiment to use what they like best.

Such a trial and error method can be time-consuming, which may keep most people from trying everything available. That’s why Target is using augmented reality to let people see how different colors and types of makeup will look on their own face without actually applying anything to their skin.

Target’s augmented reality app lets women play with different makeup options in a fast, simple, and accurate manner. Now people can see exactly how they look with different makeup options. This gives people more freedom to experiment until they find the right combination for them.

Augmented reality has progressed from games (Pokemon GO) to interesting applications such as Target’s latest makeup augmented reality app. Eventually, expect augmented reality to expand further into must-have applications that will cement augmented reality’s use for good in everyday use.

Augmented reality may seem like a luxury at the moment, but keep watching. Augmented reality will one day be a crucial part of technology much like the Internet. If Target can figure out a way to use augmented reality to help sell cosmetics, imagine what other industries can do with augmented reality in the near future.

Artist Switches to iPad and Apple Pencil

Posted on May 14, 2018 by admin Posted in Hardware, Software, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Professional artist Mark Ulriksen had switched to an iPad and the Apple Pencil.

For many people, the iPad can’t replace a laptop because it lacks a physical keyboard. While the addition of an external keyboard can remedy this problem, many people still prefer laptops. Yet the lack of a keyboard can actually be a benefit for people who don’t want or need a keyboard in the first place.

That’s why professional artist, Mark Ulrisken has been excited about his recent conversion to an iPad and the Apple Pencil. As a professional artist who has drawn covers for magazines such as The New Yorker, Mark doesn’t need a physical keyboard so much as he needs a versatile drawing surface that he can take wherever he goes. The iPad and the Apple Pencil meets his needs perfectly because the iPads acts like a portable canvas that he can store multiple pictures on and edit them as his convenience. That’s not nearly as simple to do with a pad of paper with drawings that might get damaged if you spill liquids on the pages.

“I’m technologically illiterate and I’m still trying to learn how to paint,” Mark said. “But I really wanted to eventually work digitally because it seems like that’s what the art buying public is looking for in the world of illustration these days, and I like the speed of it.”

What used to take him days to accomplish using traditional paper methods now takes him hours. That makes him more productive as well as giving him a canvas to let his creativity run wild. While most people may not be artists, you can se that the iPad’s form factor attracts a different audience than laptop users.

If you absolutely can’t live without a keyboard, you can either get a laptop or an external keyboard. For those who don’t care about a keyboard, the iPad is perfect without one. Even for those who do need a keyboard, the external keyboard can be a handy accessory if you’re constantly on the go and need something light and easy to carry.

The iPad is simply defining a new computing experience. Not everyone will need it just like not everyone needs a laptop, but for those who do, the iPad is simply irreplaceable.

iPads Save Construction Firm $1.8 Million Annually

Posted on May 11, 2018 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: The versatility of the iPad has helped a construction firm be more productive.

Dallas construction company Rogers-O’Brien started using iPads on sites for the last five years. Their director of applied technology, Todd Wynne, said, “Everyone on the operations staff gets an iPad that comes to work at Rogers O’Brien.” That means everyone working in the field uses an iPad despite the fact that office workers at the company rely exclusively on Windows PCs.

The iPads help manage the vast amounts of paperwork involved in a construction project, including keeping all involved working from the same up-to-date version of building plans. This “One Truth” method is estimated to save around 7 percent on costs for each project, due to a reduction in mistakes caused by using outdated documents.

Relying on paper cost an average of $10,000 per project in printing costs alone. In addition, traveling to an on-site trailer to check a reference wasted time, and so far the use of iPads to check on the spot is thought to have saved close to 55,000 hours of employee time.

The iPad replaces paper and provides updated information in the hands of anyone carrying around an iPad. Essentially you can think of the iPad as a versatile sheet of paper that can update itself with different information at any time.

Most people might not think of a construction firm using technology but any business can streamline their productivity better by using iPads intelligently. Just look for ways that paper is slowing down and clogging progress and you’ll find a way to improve efficiency by using iPads instead.

The big question is why does Rogers-O’Brien use iPads in the field but stick with Windows PCs in the office? Most likely they found that iPads were light and versatile enough in the field but they probably had been using Windows PCs for decades before the iPad showed up, so it makes little sense to throw out perfectly good computers just to switch to something else like the Macintosh. However, when faced with a new use for computers in the field, they found that the iPad offered the best and simplest solution, even compared to Windows computers that can double up as tablets.

How many dedicated Windows tablets can you find on the market? Most Windows PCs offer 2-in-1 features where they act as laptops and tablets, but out in the field, you don’t really need a laptop since a tablet is far more convenient. Given a choice between using a 2-in-1 device or an optimized tablet like the iPad, the iPad likely offered the simplest solution.

Windows may be fine as a desktop operating system, but it’s not optimized for tablet use like iOS is. Using a 2-in-1 device would essentially handicap workers in the field with features they didn’t need. That’s like driving an RV around when you just need a simple car to drive around town. An RV offers more features, but if you don’t need those features, then they just get in the way.

If a construction company can save money using iPads, imagine what any company could do that needs to eliminate paper and keep everyone up to date. By now, nobody is debating whether the iPad is useful or not. Now everyone is simply debating how much an iPad can help a company.

To read about how a construction firm saves money using iPads, click here.

Augmented and Virtual Reality in Education

Posted on May 10, 2018 by admin Posted in Education, Hardware, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Augmented and virtual reality offers a way to make education more interesting.

Most people have heard about augmented reality through Pokemon GO, but there’s more to augmented reality than just playing games. Besides training applications, augmented reality offers the chance to provide education to kids. With the declining cost of augmented reality, schools will one day be able to offer virtual field trips that would allow children to explore without physically traveling any where.

According to Forbes, “Goldman Sachs estimates that roughly $700 million will be invested in AR/VR applications in education by 2025, on simulations for everything from forklift operations to architecture to invasive surgery. Gartner projects that 60 percent of all higher education institutions in America will be using virtual reality in the classroom by 2021.”

Education is rapidly changing with technology. No longer is it enough to have a few PCs in the classroom. With every kid carrying a smartphone around, it’s easy for children to access data through screens and read a smartphone or tablet screen instead of a textbook that goes out of date rapidly. With augmented reality, kids can learn about history and art by seeing actual images through augmented reality. One huge problem with math is that it’s so abstract that most kids don’t care about it, so helping kids visualize how math could help them measure angles, distances, and heights through augmented reality might make geometry more interesting and relevant.

The possibilities are limited only by imagination. As technical limitations fall away, augmented reality will become a common educational tool much like a computer, whiteboard, or textbook. Just as PCs were often used more for gaming than for business or education, so will augmented reality be used more for gaming than practical purposes.

yet that doesn’t mean augmented reality won’t also be useful for business and education. The smartphone will become the gateway to augmented reality until smart glasses one day appear. Until then, every kid already has a smartphone that can be turned into an augmented reality viewer so the final step is just getting schools to adopt augmented reality as a common teaching tool.