Monthly Archives: March 2007

Eat your own dog food

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At Microsoft we used an expression ‘eating your own dog food’ the basic idea is that you’re supposed to use your own products. By using your own products you can better see the real world scenarios and problems that customers will experience. It’s a great way to run a real-world usability test on yourself.  When you eat your own dog food it tastes awful at first (hence the name)  and there are all sorts of problems. In some cases the software is so bad it can impact productivity. However it’s these pain points that help focus developers and product groups on fixing real-world problems that address tangible needs. If you’re not willing to use your own products and software on a day to day basis what makes you think that someone else will?

I was reminded of this today on a visit to iRobot. I was listening to a general talk about robotics and human-robotic-interaction. (A whole different post).  The talk covered general robotics and company specific products such as the Roomba sweeping robot. As the talk let out around 9:30pm people mingled and talked. Then to my surprise the night cleaning crew came in and started vacuuming the room with traditional vacuums . I half expected dozens of Roombas to launch a coordinated assault on the building cleaning, vacuuming and polishing the floors. I’m sure the cleaning crew does a great job but it seems like a lost opportunity to learn and improve the product.

If your company creates a product, any product, that you can use on a day to day basis you should. Even if the use is slightly abstract and convoluted. Only by using your own products will you be able to find the pain points. Just remember to enjoy the puppy chow.

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Multitouch desktop keyboard

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For 30 years the interface for a computer has been tied closely to a typewriter. The keyboard allows for quick text input in a simple and predictable way. The problem is that the keys on the keyboard do not always map well to the application that you are using. For example when using a music application the keyboard interface is limited to keyboard shortcuts for mau commands. When using a visual program like PhotoShop the keys allow you to change tools in a very non-visual way.

Recently the optimus keyboard has suggested that the keys don’t have to be static, they can each be a small screen that provides visual feedback to the current application or function. This approach is nice in that it stays with the traditional keyboard but it very expensive and is ultimatly still limiting from an interface design perspective.

The iPhone from Apple has also receently been showing off some keyboard ability particularly in the multi-touch space. Multi-touch is the ability to independantly detect multiple fingers on the screen at the same time. Despite the seemingly ‘newness’ of the technique the principals of multi-touch have been around for over 20 years.

A concept that we’ve been exploring at Raizlabs is combing aspects of the adaptive keyboard and multi-touch technology. The result is a keyless keyboard:

Multi-touch keyboard concept

The traditional keys are replaced with a multi-touch screen technology. This allows you to type in a very traditional way for basic input but allows the interface to be customized or adapt to specific applications such as music:

Multi-touch music concept

Individual applications can create application specific keyboard layouts or they can use the traditional keyboard. The multi-touch aspects also allow you to integrate the mouse into the exact same touch screen interface. Here’s a closer look:

Keyboard layout

Underneath each hand is a visual nub. Shown here as a blue dot. As you’re typing you can grab either blue dot and use it like a mouse. You can drag it around the screen. As you move it left and right mouse button appear under your fingers and the keyboard fades out. So the mouse is litteraly at your fingertips, your hands never leave the keys. Let go of the mouse and the keyboard comes back.

Now let’s talk about multi-touch. If you grab both dots and drag both down this is the same as scrolling.  Grab both dots and push them together and this simulates the keyboard shortcut for Copying text. Push both dots out and this simulates the Paste command. Additional two and three finger gestures could also be created. I’m only giving a couple quick examples.

Potential problems?  Tactile feedback is the largest potential problem. Since you don’t feel the key go down the interface will need to compensate with subtle audio and visual cues to show you when a key has been pressed. There’s a lot of research that shows that this type of feedback works and can overcome some of these drawbacks. It may also be possible to have the keyboard ‘push-back’ offering some haptic feedback as well.

We’re excited by the concept and have started contacting display manufactureres to guage the feasability of the display technology.
If we built this as a stand alone keyboard and it cost under $500 would you buy it?

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Apple TV vs. Tivo

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Apple has introduced a device that connects to your TV and brings content into your living room.
No cable provider, no tuner, no service fees, just digital content on demand. Pure and simple.

Tivo on the other hand is a middle man. Tivo is a broker between the networks and the user. The time shifting functionality gives the illusion of control but the truth is the networks are still driving your viewing habits. Today content is control and the networks have the content… but the control is changing hands…

Consider Apple’s relationship with some of the largest TV networks…
The ABC network is owned by Disney. Steve Jobs’ company Pixar was acquired by Disney and Steve is now the largest shareholder and on the board of directors for Disney. Now consider that ABC is leading the way in moving content online. It’s not a leap of the imagination that Apple TV could provide on-demand content from ABC.

View the show direct with commercials or buy an episode to keep for $1.99. Plausible?

In the same way that people are realizing that they don’t need their land-lines for telephones people will begin to realize that they don’t need their cable providers for TV content. If ABC leads and makes money at this the other networks will follow.

Get your news online, get your weather online, get your shows online. What’s left?
Live sports… Ohh, didn’t I mention that ESPN is a subsidiary of Disney.

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Apple MacBook Switch Experience

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I’ve been using Windows for over 10 years, I would say I’m an expert windows user having worked at Microsoft on some of the aspects of Windows XP and some early Vista designs. I’ve played with Mac’s over the years. I’ve had an iMac, the cube Mac and a Mac-mini but these have always served as secondary testing machines. You never really learn a system until you’re immersed in it. A few months ago I decided to take the plunge, the MacBook Pro was the first time that I would be using a Mac to actually get work done.

Summary
The MacBook Pro is the best laptop I’ve ever owned (Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Toshiba, Gateway, Compaq). The hardware is well engineered and elegant. The operating system and applications are amazing at times and frustrating at others. This is partly the frustration of transitioning from Windows and partly the lack of certain features that I take for granted. Overall the experience has been positive. The Mac software community seems to be more passionate about creating quality applications. While at times this means that there are fewer applications the average quality of applications seem to be higher. I’ve been using Parallels Desktop as a tool for Windows applications, this has provided a critical stepping stone through the process.
The Hardware
The design of the overall hardware seems simple but the subtle touches do add up.

  • When you close the lid hidden magnetic latches hold the cover closed.
  • The power connector has a magnetic plug (MagSafe) preventing you from yanking your laptop onto the floor.
  • When the laptop is in a dark room the keyboard gets backlit and the monitor adjusts brightness automatically.
  • The battery pack on the bottom has a touch sensitive readout of the current charge allowing me to know if it needs to be plugged in without turning it on.
  • The DVD is slot loaded from the front so there’s no flimsy plastic DVD tray.
  • The caps lock and num-lock keys have a little light directly on the key showing you that it’s on.
  • A web cam and microphone is built directly into the frame
  • The fastest resume from standby I’ve ever seen
  • Etc. Etc. Etc. None of these would be considered ‘must have’ features but together they create an experience that you can’t get elsewhere. The design is minimalist and may not suite everyones aesthetics or their personality but it is defiantly well engineered.

The Software Experience
Changing operating systems is strange because the things you thought you knew are no longer true. Some of these things are so hard-wired through repetition that even a month later I’m still catching myself hitting Enter to open a file and swearing when I realize I’m renaming it. The lack of a second mouse button was initially infuriating however the new MacBooks allow you to do a two-finger tap to perform the right click action.

The Good:

  • iLife – The basic tools for editing photos, videos and music are in the box. These are quality tools that don’t typically come free with a PC.
  • Graphics – The graphics are stunning, the little details are everywhere from the genie effect to Expose and the dashboard effects. I found myself entertained and even after a month it hasn’t gotten old.
  • Applications – Safari, iChat, iDVD and others are really nice applications. They do what they are supposed to do and not much else. These applications aren’t ideal for power-users but they are perfect starter applications. This actually leaves a good opportunity for third party developers to create the tools that aren’t part of the basic package.
  • Parallels – Some applications just aren’t available for the Mac. I still live in Outlook and despite it’s drawbacks it’s still more powerful combination then iCal & Mail. I tried MacOffice but it was a joke, why use MacOffice when you can run the real thing. The ability to have ALL popular applications working on the same box is a killer feature that’s helping Apple sell millions of boxes (to people like me).

The Bad
After using the Mac for a month there are a number of things that I continue to be frustrated with.

  • There’s no easy way to start an application that you don’t use very often. I have to open a folder and browse around for the application I need. What’s it called again? What folder does it live in? Third party tools like QuickSilver provide a shortcut for quickly launching apps but I’m shocked that a better launcher isn’t built in. Yes, I miss the start button.
  • The behavior of the dock is confusing. It seems to combine running applications, shortcuts, minimized running applications, system tools and the trash can. I have repeatedly dragged icons into a puff of smoke by accident and had no way to get them back. If you have multiple windows of the same application it’s hard to find the right one.
  • Wireless configuration is very hard to use. If you’re connected to your own access point you’ll be OK but as soon as you go searching for a hotspot you’ll need iStumbler or some other tool to find open access points.
  • DRM just sucks. (this is mostly a gripe about Microsoft not Apple but it caused a ton of frustration). Windows media files won’t play nice on the Mac, tools like flip4Mac, won’t always help. Why are my home movies encoded in WMV? Moving your music, photo and documents is a real pain.

The Ugly

  • The Mac namespace is just ugly. Initially I thought that “Music” = “My Music” and “Pictures” = “My Pictures” but this isn’t correct. The file system namespace exposes users to all sorts of document and application internals. If you want to browse music files you need to use iTunes and if you want to browse photos it has to be iPhoto. It seems that users aren’t supposed to organize files in these locations (even though they are exposed in the finder). It’s really easy to mess up your filesystem and applications.
  • Installation of applications – This seems to be all over the map. Most application download a file that mounts a virtual drive, it’s then up to the user to drag that file into the applications folder. I then delete the the file unmount the drive by dragging it into the trash and then I have to go find the application I installed. (What was it called again?) It just seems strange and unnatural. Uninstall is just as bad (often worse) and I always feel that I haven’t truly uninstalled it even though it’s deleted.

OSX
Overall OSX is a very capable system. Like the hardware there are a lot of special touches and finesse throughout the system. Some aspects of the system are clearly better then Windows while others seem confusing and awkward at times.

How do you measure the success of an OS?

Out of the box I could deffinetly do more with a Mac then a PC however I can’t say I got more ‘work’ done on a Mac or was more productive. i would say that I had more fun. This is subjective but the OS does encourage you to play, create, listen to music, look at photos, etc. This emotional aspect is why fans of the OS are so passionate. It’s this emotional aspect that reminds us that we’re human and having fun is part of who we are.

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OpenID UI

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OpenID is a new mechanism to allow users to login to sites without needing to register a new account on each site. It’s very similar to how Microsoft and Google authenticate you across many different sites only the technology is not tied to any specific company. As the name suggests it’s Open.

The key thing to understanding OpenID is delegation. An OpenID is any website that supports the OpenID standard and can validate your login. So in effect an OpenID is a special website address.

Technically this sounds fine but from a UI perspective this causes a problem. Let’s look at how users login today…

Open ID exploration

It’s pretty consistent across the board. Email/ID and a password, a button to login, an option to keep you logged in and a way to retrieve your password when you forget it.  There really isn’t a place to type a URL. If a site wants to add support for OpenID it’s both a technical challenge as well as a UI challenge.  How do you explain this new concept to users that just want to login?

Instead of thinking about this from the web-perspective what if we think about building in OpenID UI directly into the browser:

Browser OpenID

Some points:

  • If a user hasn’t setup an OpenID with the browser the very first time the browser can recommend an OpenID provider and then cache that provider for the next time.
  • From the user perspective it’s just a link, they don’t have to learn a new concept if they don’t want to.
  • If the site doesn’t support openID the link wouldn’t be shown so the experience is fairly consistent.
  • If a browser doesn’t support openID natiavly the above example could be done with a bit of Ajax.
  • If the UI is integrated into the browser you can allow users to save the password with a non-modal control.
  • Password managers and extensions could allow you to easily manage 100′s of passwords (local or remote)

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