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Byrichard

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The apple watch will put no one out to pasture. Have you seen how many people from my generation can’t even read books on a kindle? What will put the web out to pasture is the tabloid/gossip magazine style of writing. Too many mainstream media hubs and blogging platforms write for the clueless and emotional portion of the web rather than the informed.

There was a time when I would read up to ten thousand tweets a day and spend 20hrs a day in social media. Today that passion has collapsed because conversationalists have left.

There was a time when I would spend several hours a week listening to the TWIT network to gain a better understanding of tech news and current affairs. I stopped listening when they stopped editing out the small talk. What value does small talk have to an international audience?

The Apple Watch marks the next, probably last, step in the downfall of the web. Or more precisely, the downfall of the web as commonly understood: that HTML medium which has spent the last two decades dominating the way we buy, share, search, learn and collaborate.

As long as you create your user account, enter your credit card details, personal address and other data the statement is true. I can easily see myself booking a flight or hotel via the mobile phone and using a smartwatch to check in to a flight or hotel. Operations where a “yes” or “no” answer is enough will benefit from smart watch devices. For most operations web interfaces and mobile phones are key.

“What began the toppling of the web? The mobile app. And the reason is pretty simple: apps deliver a much better user experience.”

The discussion is not about evolution and alternatives rather than elimination. The World Wide Web interface on desktops and laptops is practical. Actions which would take several minutes on a mobile phone take seconds on a laptop or desktop. The focus should be on “What tasks can be simplified through the use of a mobile phone or smart watch?”. Bus tickets, train tickets and cinema tickets would benefit from smartwatch access. When you’re shopping using your phone to scan the bar codes would be good. Once you finish shopping press “Complete” or “pay” and the financial transaction happens automatically. This isn’t replacing the web interface. It’s streamlining other processes.

For companies and indie developers alike, the way forward means forgetting the previous decades’ assumptions around screen real estate, keyboards, even reliable network connections. The mobile paradigm means APIs, orchestrated into apps that are optimized for the devices they run on. That’s the bold new realm ahead.

I disagree. Rather than take a reductive approach I would take a complementary approach. Look at dual factor authentication for example. We often use a password and a temporary passphrase to log in to a number of services today. Look at the booking of flights. We use a computer to book the flight and the mobile phone for the QR code which we scan when boarding. I don’t picture myself booking a flight with the watch but I do see myself confirming the check in.

I don’t see myself getting an iWatch because I already have a smart watch on my wrist. I wear a suunto Ambit 3 and use it to keep track of my walks, of my training in the gym and theoretically could use it to see updates once Suunto have the Android app version ready.

For now the use case for the Suunto Ambit 3, Suunto Ambit 2, Mares Icon HD Garmin 210 and other devices is that I go out in to the real world and do some sports activity. While I am doing that activity I have access to a certain amount of data. When I complete the task I stop recording data and I sync it to the computer at home. That data is then uploaded to a number of fitness tracking softwares, computer applications and more. I then analyse that data and look at the map of where I have been.

In scuba diving this data is useful as it allows me to improve my diving technique. For walking and other activities the data is mainly for fun.

App developers, UX designers and companies need to think of the dynamic individual and how a smart watch can automate the gathering of certain pieces of data. In practical terms I believe smart watches should simplify the user’s life. They should definitely not replace the laptop or the smartphone.

Why The Apple Watch Will put The Web to Pasture once in for all

 

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Flightradar24

Byrichard

Flight radar 24 is an iphone app that allows you to see where aircraft are on google maps. It shows the callsign, registration, altitude and a lot more. It is a fun app for plane spotters.

Sit on a city roof or at the top of a mountain and as you see a plane fly above you you will know where it’s coming from and where it’s going. Next time I have to pick someone up at the airport I will be using the flight tracker to know exactly where the plane is. Boredom will be of a different type.

The information about what the plane is doing is quite complete. The only thing missing would be a live radio feed of the ATC communications.

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Glympse and real time location sharing

Byrichard

Glympse is a real time location software that allows you to share your location with twitter, facebook, by e-mail or via a number of other social networks. It is simple and intuitive to use. Connect your facebook, twitter and other services with the application. When you are heading to work or to the mountains for a ski trip you can start to share your location in real time. You can set the amount of time that the location is shared.

This is better than google latitude, foursquare and other services because it requires nothing from the receiver of this location sharing offer. Instead they simply click a link and they are kept up to date with your location progress.

The flexibility of this service gives the user good control therefore fearing for your privacy is not so relevant.

What I would like to see in future versions is the ability to play back the route we have taken. I would like to playback the train trip from one city in Switzerland for example.

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About the Ipad, which I will refer to as the Itablet in this post.

Byrichard

Designers must understand that user interface as well as ease of use are the two most important features of any electronics device. The more intuitive the device the more likely people are to keep using it. As a first generation Ipod touch user and an iphone 3gs owner I see the value of simple, intuitive confident design.

Looking at the itablet (ipad) what I see in this design are three key qualities, ergonimcs, ease of use and versatility. All of these combined make this device one of the most interesting on the market at the moment.

The smooth, slick design reminds us of the macbook air but without the keyboard.  As it is a laptop we will expect less from it but get more out. The macbook air is running the same OS as the Macbook Pro therefore we expect it to do the same things but when it cannot then we say it underperfoms. The tablet doesn’t have that problem. It’s sold as a slate that has a touch screen that can serve as a multimedia device.

Ease of use is another key feature. When you’re using a netbook, an N97 or many other devices you need some understanding of how things work. You need to understand how to configure an exchange server, you need to type the right character to complete the word and if you want to transfer files you need specific software. Of course the tablet has the same thing, you need itunes to do this. That’s an advantage and a dissadvantage. The advantage is that whenever you connect to any laptop (With the right library key) you can update podcasts and other content intuitively.

The second advantage is that the app store is so much easier to use on the mac than other platforms. We are used to buying apps and music on that device. Who hasn’t downloaded 10-15 apps for their iphone or ipod touch already? Imagine the facebook app on the tablet, or the flickr app.

In fact think about the day after a party. Hundreds of pictures were taken and you want to show them to friends, and have a good laugh. With the computer you can do this but you’re stuck at the desk, or you’re sitting down to be more comfortable. With the Ipad you hold it comfortably and a few people can stand around to see these images. Of course it’s less intimate than showing them on an iphone ;-). It’s also a way of demonstrating your picture portfolio or your multimedia showreel.  

Versatility is the last point of interest for this device.  If you want to use it for picture viewing then it could double as a photo frame, if you want to use it as a calendar and e-mail client then you can. If you want to play games then the larger screen means that all the games you already have for the iphone and ipod touch can be used.

Finally you can dock a keyboard to the screen and it becomes a 750 gram laptop. The advantage of this device’s keyboard, bought seperately is that you now have a laptop. You’re free to tweet, blog, sort through pictures and edit documents if iworks works well on the device.

Now the question you’re wondering, would I buy one? Not until July 2010 after the summer keynote. I want to see how they implement these new features into their line of futre laptops. Will they give us a dual screened laptop where the keyboard and mouse are replaced by a second touch screen or will we get the conventional keyboard and monitor where the screen is now touch based? That’s the point at which we can decide whether the tablet or a new laptop make more sense.

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A MacBook, a MacBook Pro and a Remote

Byrichard

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be asked what the remote on the new MacBook and MacBook pros were for. I went to the owner of the Macbook’s room and picked up the remote. Both my machine and hers were side by side and I started to play. I was controlling both computers at once. It’s not the type of thing I usually do but it’s amusing. You could control quite a few more machines if you like.

For some reason they appeared to be on the same menu so I’m wondering whether there’s something built in that tells them whether the remote wants video, music, DVD, or photo.





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Apple phone show 22 is interesting and twitter tracking

Byrichard

Apple Phone Show no. 22 is a particularly good episode. Andy Ihnatko and Scott Bourne discuss how to use the iPhone in real-life situations. It’s a precursor of things to come in the near future.

I’ve decided to try Twitter tracking which works by you selecting which words you want to follow. The messages are then sent straight to your phone and you follow any conversations on the topic.

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Ijustine and Laporte have demonstrated how to use twitter

Byrichard

Karina Stenquist of Mobuzz tv is confused by the notion of twitter as anything other than a means by which to distribute brainfarts, a term used by a few people.

Do you remember Swatch and Swatch time? The idea was to create a universal timekeeping format which would be the same around the world. If something would happen at 128 then this would be a universal time and everyone would turn up.

It’s a number of years later and now twitter is on the scene. As those who spend far too much time online, such as myself, have found it is the problem of knowing at what time something is going to happen. Let’s say that there’s a radio show at 9:30 pm GMT. Everyone not on GMT has to calculate at what time this would be for them. Through twitter, there’s no need. Just tell people “I’ll twitter you when I’m on” and that’s when you know to log on and follow the program. Leo Laporte and Ijustine have already been doing this.

There’s another element of interest. When you enjoy what someone is writing you have a tendency always to check their website, seeing whether anything has updated. Most of the time it hasn’t. With twitter, the person writing may send a tweet (Twitter message) and you’ll know that there’s a new piece of writing to be read and that’s great. It means that you’re not stuck at your desk waiting for new things to appear because you’re permanently kept informed.

Some news sites are using this service but it’s too much information to process therefore it may be better simply to check these when you’re at your computer rather than via text. It’s undercutting certain mobile operators extra features but that’s another story.