Corey Miller (the one and only XAMLMammal from CoreysPortfolio.com) spoke at CD2 last night about all things Mix. His presentation will go up on the CD2 website shortly. Lots of great stuff Microsoft… including Potbelly sandwiches and cookies. They sure do know how to make friends. Here is a pic from last night.
When starting a project, it is easy for us to gather up a shopping list of goals, wants, needs, and ideas. We may say “I want a chat room, a calendar, a blog, a forum, a product configurator and…” - you get the idea. In fact this list is great and all part of the discovery and defining process. The more information and ideas we can pull out of our heads, the better. But this is shopping list. It is a list of ingredients that don’t necessarily relate to each other. We buy ingredients to create a meal. There are a lot of ingredients we like but we must understand the that not all good ingredients can be put together to create a great meal. We choose ingredients that have their own unique flavors, textures, and colors, that intermingle to form the perfect tasting meal. This same idea can be applied within training, educational, and marketing applications. It is important that we not only define and develop the individual components, but how these components work together to form a comprehensive, cohesive experience. Continue Reading >>
Corey is back from Mix and talking up a storm. Check out his latest post: What happens at Mix, gets exposed to everyone.
I am on websites all day long. Occasionally a few of those websites catch my eye. Today it is mint.com. Mint.com is the best free way to manage your money. Not only does it provide a fantastic service, but it combines simple marketing, a great design, clear navigation, strong usability, and easy to comprehend financial analytics. It is a great user experience that was built for their audience.
Right from the start the site has a bit of it’s own personality. Fun yet helpful and informative. It’s all about money and so green is the tone you feel throughout the site. Your eye darts around the homepage from the logo to free to manage your money to an easy to read chart, and finally the Sign up in under 5 minutes button (and that is 5 minutes to sign up and add all your financial information - quick and easy). I do wish they had username and password fields on the homepage but I can set my favorites to be the login page rather than the homepage (thus concludes any more nitpicking of this site). Continue Reading >>
The mouse and keyboard are either old friends or old adversaries - fact is, you know what they are and I bet so do your users. The learning curve is low or non-existent. New input devices are creating a more engaging experience without expanding that curve. Input devices such as touch screens, multi-touch screens, joysticks, game pads, and controllers, to name a few, give our users plenty of ways to connect and interact with our apps. And with creativity running mad through the streets, developing fantastic ways to manipulate the user’s experience, are popping up daily. Check out this example using a simple webcam at squidder.com.
In this post I want to talk a little bit about a project we are working on at Illumen that deals with a haptic device. Haptic technology refers to technology that interfaces to the user via the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, and/or motions to the user [Wiki]. So basically we are talking about an input device that has force feedback.
So what do we do with said device? We have been working with Arnie Steinberg and the University of Illinois at Chicago Dental School to develop a new training method for their students. The picture on your right will give you an idea of the haptic device. It is basically a “pen” attached to an arm attached to a motor attached (USB) to the computer.
As the student moves the pen around, the cursor on screen will move with the same X, Y, and Z. The cursor can be mapped with a 3d model that represents one of the dental tools. The curtain opens and we find our star - the 3d teeth and gums. The student moves the dental tool (the pen) towards the teeth and as the end of the tool makes contact with the teeth, the haptic device’s motor and arm stop the pen, giving the student the feeling that they have made contact between the tool and the teeth. The gums even have a softness value. When the tool touches the gum the student feels the softness through the pen. Nice. So what do we do with this? We model cavities and disease states into the teeth so the student can get their hands dirty without any screams and tears. A lesson plan leads the student through everything they need to know. The device tracks how well the student performs and can even play back pre-recorded actions. This tracked information can be used to score the student, get feedback on the overall class, show improvement, etc. It is an enjoyable experience. And it is just the start.
Haptic devices are getting very cheap and are now being developed in all shapes and sizes. You know that controller you use that vibrates when you “drive” your car over that elephant? That is a haptic device. We are finally starting to see the enjoyment of gaming showing its face within education. I for one, welcome our haptic overlords and can’t wait to see what you all do with your creativity and the many upcoming input devices. You have me impressed so far.
Travelers - In Synch Challenge
