Ringo: Holographic User Interface

See this and many other unusual and interesting user interfaces on Smashing Magazines blog "10 Futuristic User Interfaces."


Holographic Interface - round interface - Ringo from Ivan Tihienko on Vimeo.

faceAPI : 3-D Face Tracking

Reuters Polo Ralph Lauren to launch shopping by cell phone

Polo is the first luxury retailer to launch a mobile commerce site, hoping to stay ahead of a trend that is making its way from Asia to the United States, said David Lauren, senior vice president of advertising and son of designer and Chief Executive Ralph Lauren.

Using phones to buy items such as train tickets or products in vending machines is commonplace in Japan, but the trend has yet to catch on in the United States.

"We recognize that in America this is going after somebody who is more comfortable with technology," Lauren told Reuters. "The truth is that in other countries, it's becoming a part of their culture. The trend is coming, and as a fashion company it's very important to identify trends and get ahead of them."

While early adopters of new technologies are often young, Lauren said the move is not aimed at a specific age group.

"This is about someone who's interested in our brand and interested in technology, and wherever the two meet, that's what's appropriate," Lauren said.

Polo, with its higher-end customers, has used cautious inventory management to outperform other apparel makers that have been hurt by a deteriorating U.S. economy.

The apparel maker will begin placing special codes in print ads, mailings and store windows along with its sponsorship of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which begins later this month.

Shoppers can download special software to camera-phones to scan the codes and be directed to a phone-friendly version of a Ralph Lauren website, where they can shop, watch tennis videos and read company content.

Polo Ralph Lauren to launch shopping by cell phone - Yahoo! News

Vizualising the future of web browsing

Interesting look into the future and how we may be interacting with data and collaborating with others on the web -- from Mozilla Labs.

"What will browsing the web be like a decade from now? Leading design and UI company Adaptive Path offers one possible answer in a new concept video series called Aurora."

Aurora (Part 1) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

Via: Lifehacker

It’s the Software, Not You

So true... Why can't software be easier to use?

Maybe it's a laziness thing, or a cost-saving thing. After all, it's less effort to make the end user jump through a bunch of hoops than to make your own software more intelligent.

All of these thoughts go through my mind every time I see the standard Windows software-installation wizard, seven screens long.

You don't really need seven screens of options to install a program, do you? Why can't it assume that you want the standard setup and get on with it?

Surely 90 percent of the time, people, YES, want the program in their Start menus; YES, want the typical installation; NO, don't want icons on the desktop; YES, agree to the legalese. And to accommodate the weirdos who wants something different, provide one single Installation Options button. And then get on with it. One screen, not seven.

Why do software designers want their work to appear more complex instead of less? I just don't get why they don't get it.

So the next time you're frustrated by software complexity, take heart; much of the time, it's not you. It's them. It's designers who have something on their mind other than software intelligence.

From the Desk of David Pogue - It’s the Software, Not You

Macworld Video: A look at VirtualBox

A very good virtualization program for the Mac, developed by SUN, available for free as Open Source software.

Adobe launches Acrobat.com

Adobe has just launched Acrobat.com which is their response to Google Docs. It's good to see some solid competition going on among online "Office" applications, MS Office may be relegated to the back as more and more people adopt these inexpensive and free offerings.

The URL Is Dead, Long Live Search

This article makes a good argument for making websites search engine friendly and the importance of being findable on the net.

Of the 10 fastest rising search terms on Google last year, 7 were for searches where adding a ".com" would have brought the user to the correct site. These are called "navigational" searches -- searches done when the user already knows exactly where he or she wants to end up -- and they make up a surprising large number of total seaches.

According to Compete last fall, navigational searches make up about 17% of all searches on average, more on Yahoo! and Live than on Google. For well-known web sites, Compete found that about 9 out of the top 10 search terms for that site tend to be some sort of variation on the domain. Surprisingly, people actually often search for entire domain names rather than type them into their browser's address bar.

Either way, search over URL seems to be a trend we're likely to see more of. Advertising search boxes rather than .com names is already all the rage in Japan. Mac developer Cabel Sasser pointed out in March that search boxes with suggested terms are pretty much all you see on ads in Japan, but he wondered if search marketers and spammers might ruin that strategy in the US.

Researchers teach 'Second Life' avatar to think

"Edd Hifeng barely merits a second glance in 'Second Life.' A steel-gray robot with lanky limbs and linebacker shoulders, he looks like a typical avatar in the popular virtual world. But Edd is different.

His actions are animated not by a person at a keyboard but by a computer. Edd is a creation of artificial intelligence, or AI, by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who endowed him with a limited ability to converse and reason. It turns out 'Second Life' is more than a place where pixelated avatars chat, interact and fly about. It's also a frontier in AI research because it's a controllable environment where testing intelligent creations is easier."

Researchers teach 'Second Life' avatar to think - Yahoo! News

Innovation Without Permission

"The innovation-without-permission model also is being driven, said Rene, by the 'millennials' in the workforce. These twenty- and early-thirtysomethings have grown up with the tools to set up their own networks, write their own blogs, create their own widgets, etc. They've never had to ask for permission to do any of these things, and certainly don't want to now that they're in the workplace (especially when they may very well know more about Web 2.0 technology than many of the IT staffers).

'You can allow people to innovate within a certain framework--a domain of innovation--or you can take the other approach--let it appear no matter what it affects or does, and decide which will make it and which will not,' Rene told me."

Up for Discussion - Innovation Without Permission

The Best Tools for Visualization

"Visualization is a technique to graphically represent sets of data. When data is large or abstract, visualization can help make the data easier to read or understand. There are visualization tools for search, music, networks, online communities, and almost anything else you can think of. Whether you want a desktop application or a web-based tool, there are many specific tools are available on the web that let you visualize all kinds of data. Here are some of the best..."

The Best Tools for Visualization - ReadWriteWeb

Future apps for the iPhone and the possibilites that come with it

This post looks at the possibilities that come with new technologies such as the iPhone, how it can change our behaviour and the way we live our lives.

"With the new iPhone SDK, it's just a matter of time before we see a wave of new applications. We expect a lot of popular web 2.0 apps to offer an iPhone version. Native Twitter, Facebook and Flickr clients for iPhone will run faster than their in-browser versions and will take advantage of the impressive Apple UI libraries.

But there is an entirely new breed of applications also coming to iPhone. These apps simply would not be possible without a device like iPhone. The major theme of this new wave of apps will be blending of the physical and digital worlds, using iPhone as the bridge... "

12 Future Apps For Your iPhone - ReadWriteWeb

User Interfaces Rapidly Adjusting to Information Overload

Check-out the experimental interfaces on the following page.

People who in the next few years solve big problems in Information Overload are going to be very important, and some of them are going to be UI and UX (user experience) designers.

User Interfaces Rapidly Adjusting to Information Overload

Killer Apple Soundtrack :)

This is just plain fun and awesome!

For those of you that love all of the mac system sounds that beep and ping and knock during the day… There’s now a ’soundtrack’ available just for you. It’s called the ‘Apple Soundtrack’ and it was put together in GarageBand by Mike Solomon over at the cleverest. Watch the video below, or download the GarageBand zip or mp4 files to play with or throw onto your system/iPod/iPhone… Enjoy!

Hit play and enjoy :)

Web 2.0: Just say yes

IT execs who ignore Web 2.0 collaboration technologies could be hurting their company's bottom line.

That's the message from enterprise IT leaders and industry analysts who are convinced that Web 2.0 technologies are the real deal.

Web 2.0: Just say yes

Facebook vs. LinkedIn: Which is better for business?

ComputerWorld tests two top social networking sites with six business problems in this side-by-side comparison.

Facebook vs. LinkedIn: Which is better for business?

How the Barack Obama Campaign Uses Wikis to Organize Volunteers

Read it here...

Web 3.0: What Is It About?

Interesting article about what Web 3.0 is all about.

If web 2.0 could be summarized as interaction, web 3.0 must be about recommendation and personalization...

Web 3.0: What Is It About? - ReadWriteWeb

Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you've ever seen

Amazing presentation with a very creative way of showing statistics that anyone can understand.

You've never seen data presented like this... The Trendalyzer software (recently acquired by Google) turns complex global trends into lively animations, making decades of data pop.

Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs

Good breakdown of the key techniques used by the "presentation master" Steve Jobs.

"Our communications coach breaks down the ace presenter's latest Macworld keynote. The result? A 10-part framework you can use to wow your own audience"

BusinessWeek: Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs

Storming Omaha Beach (on a shoestring, with three actors)

"In this little youtube, three enterprising guys recreate the storming of Omaha Beach by filming themselves repeatedly running up the real Omaha Beach, climbing the bluffs, etc, and then cleverly composite the footage, accomplishing a scene as impressive as anything in Saving Private Ryan for a fraction of the cost: 'Due to the youtube interest in our little 'making of' vid , we have just heard they are going to repeat the full Programme on BBC2 on Sunday 27th Jan at 23:20!' Link (via Eat Our Brains and Boing Boing)"

Storming Omaha Beach (on a shoestring, with three actors) - Boing Boing:

Toonlet: DIY Cartoon Strips Made Social

"Toonlet is a new site where you can create your own cartoon strips with customized characters and leave cartoons as comments in response to other peoples' strips. It's fun, fast and easy."

Toonlet: DIY Cartoon Strips Made Social - ReadWriteWeb

Five Rules for Great Websites

Some very good advice in this article.

In a world in which it's unusual for a business not to have a website, an ambitious business owner must expect to do more than just throwing something online. Following these simple rules will help your website stand out.

Five Rules for Great Websites - Marketing & Sales - Biznik