ExperienceLab

Could Pivot be a new cure for information overload?

After watching a TED talk by Gary Flake about Microsoft Live Labs’ Pivot I felt compelled to download it and test it out.

 

Pivot is a new tool (currently only available to PC users) which aims to make it easier to deal with information overload by doing something that, according to Gary Flake, is “not quite browsing and not quite searching”. Pivot puts information into collections combining images and text. These collections can be arranged, sorted and filtered in many different ways, allowing users to see how information is linked. Users can also zoom in and out, choosing to see all the information at once, or only a portion of it.

 

   

From many images to just a few, Pivot can help you sort through huge amounts of information.
 

Cinema anyone?

Last Sunday, after having lunch with some friends in Soho we decided we wanted to go to the cinema. There were various films we wanted to watch and so we got out an iPhone to see what was showing at the cinemas nearby.

There are five Odeon cinemas less than 10 minutes walking distance from the restaurant we were at. So, the obvious choice was to go onto the Odeon Cinema website. However, this obvious choice was definitely not the most efficient choice.

Gaming on the Go!

PlayableGames recently conducted research on how developers and publishers can design better mobile games that can be used where they are intended, on the move.

We used a range of the current best selling mobile devices and went walkabout, using them in a whole range of different locations, where and when the mood struck us. The key things we learn't were that tailoring a mobile game for short, snappy sessions was essential as we often snatched a few minutes when waiting for a bus or train and needed to quickly shut down the game as our transport arrived.

Our findings, which are available from the PlayableGames research page, cover a range of different aspects that are useful to consider when designing a mobile game including, touch screen and audio issues, the various control mechanisms, lighting, and what to do if your gaming device is a phone as well.

Microsoft offers a choice to Windows users

After being fined billions, Microsoft has announced that it is to offer Windows users in Europe a browser choice screen. This choice screen which the Guardian has named the “browser ballot”, will make it easier for users to choose an alternative browser. This is required as a settlement agreed with European Commission’s competition department in December 2009. 

  Picture credit: Mashable

Silver Sat Navers

Over the holidays it was the ideal time to visit friends and relatives, as everyone seemed to be on a break. My Mum and Nan, in particular, wanted to visit family in west London. So, not wanting to be the family’s permanent chauffeur service during my time off… I handed over the satnav.

While identifying the main roads wasn’t going to be an issue, the destination was in an unfamiliar part of town, and so that’s where the satnav was to come into play.

 

 

With mum at the wheel, they headed off from East London on the A406 towards some random part of Southall, using the satnav but not really paying closer attention until they had to locate the specific address. When it was time to make the return journey they set the satnav to go home…except now here’s the problem.

They wanted to return via the same route used to get to their destination because they knew the main roads that they needed to get to. However, a journey that should have taken maybe an hour, took three hours.

The satnav unhelpfully programmed itself to drive through central London. Mum didn’t think she needed to check the details of the route the satnav had planned for them as it took them through the A406, which was the ideal route, and just started driving. As they were unfamiliar with the destination area they trusted the satnav to take them home. What they really wanted was for the satnav to remember the route.

Why can’t satnavs be programmed to remember routes? Why can’t I save a journey? Why can’t it remember the route I want to travel by? Consequently, Mum's driving home, now even more confused when following the satnav, not realising until it’s too late that they will end up central London with a diabetic Nan in the car cursing the satnav. That’s an awful long time especially when it’s not expected.

Although, I am quite reliant on my satnav, it would be great if I could save a route. I just want it to take be somewhere and bring me back the same way. At least that would help me remember the route too...it’s just not as simple as I want it to be.

Apple's iPad Tablet - Take Two

Well earlier this week I was speculating about the price of the Apple tablet, hoping that it would be somewhere between iPhone and Macbook pricing. Well it looks like it will be reasonable value after all. Or will it?

Windows 7 Startup won't let me be me!

I bought a cute little Windows 7 startup netbook over the holidays. I only really need it for surfing the web and iTunes and that sort of thing. In all honesty, whilst shopping around I would have much preferred to buy a Mac, now that I use one for work. However, the netbook suited my budget.

Now that I have it, the most irritating thing that Windows could possibly do is to prevent me from personalising my desktop. What’s that about? One of the first things most people - well I - do is change the background so its more ‘me’! I have Googled the problem and I know there is a work around but why should anyone have to do that… Windows. Grrr!!!

Just in case you're interested...I'd have this piece of cuteness as my desktop background:

 

Apple Tablet - a difficult pill to swallow?

In a few hours Apple are likely to announce a new category of product - the iTablet. Or iSlate or iPad depending on who you believe.  Whatever the name the device is generating a lot of excitement even before any announcement. Lots of commentators are speculating about the likely design and the potential functionality. Will it be a media player, an internet browser, an e-reader, a games machine or all of these things. What kind of screen will it have, LED or OLED? How big will it be? Will there be a range with several models available?

This is all very interesting but I am beginning to worry about one detail in particular. The price. You see if the rumors of a $1,000 price point are true, and let's face it that could mean £1,000 in the UK, then I think there is problem. It seems to me that the acceptable pricing range is defined by two other types of Apple device already on the market - the iPhone and the Macbook laptops. In the UK the iPhone 3GS can be purchased for about £400 and the Macbooks start at around £800. I would expect the tablet to cost more than an iPhone but I would also hope that it does not cost more than the available Macbooks. If the price is close to or even more than the fully-functional (and portable) laptops Apple also sells then the value of the tablet device could be difficult to get across to potential buyers.

As I say it is a worry however I will still want one because I have that certain Apple / Mac illness and there is no known cure.

What will TV be like in 2020?

The rapid changes in consumers’ viewing habits brought about over the last decade by such services as Sky+ and Freeview show what can change in a short period in the TV domain. VOD and IPTV services through a set-top box have also emerged over the last decade but have been slower to make real changes to viewing habits. However, their impact is set to accelerate over the next decade. User interest in VOD is definitely present (as high usage of BBC iPlayer suggests) but ‘discovering’ content in broad VOD libraries, particularly on a TV screen, (or even thinking to consider VOD content instead of on broadcast channels) requires a substantial change in user behaviour. This change will only be brought about by UIs that really take account of user needs and so facilitate this change.

MiFi impossible

A new trend for mobile broadband has been the appearance of mobile WiFi routers or 'MiFi's' allowing the user to setup their own WiFI hub quickly for internet access via 3G. As many of our jobs here at ExperienceLab mean that we need to be out and about we decided that one of these MiFi's would be a useful addition to our technology arsenal.