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The Microsoft Kinect Gaming System is set to revolutionize the world of video games as we know it and concurrently change the way people interact with their entertainment choices. Kinect, a controller free console for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console, is a novel type of user interface that corporeally integrates the user with the program—the actions on the user’s screen are controlled completely by the user’s physical movements.

The Kinect system currently really still is one of a kind in the video game world because unlike the Nintendo Wii, there is no control to hold or buttons to push, but it is likely that others will soon follow the path. The Kinect user interface is operated by three camera sensors and voice recognition technology from the four microphones within the console.  The combination of the cameras and the microphones allows the console to read the user’s full range of movements and then transfers them to the avatar on the screen.  Therefore, AI plays a significant role in the operations of Kinect, as it really is a gaming system that understands the user just as much as the user understands it.  While some may find the idea of AI disturbing (probably those who have read too many disastrous dystopian novels) for the most part, players have raved about the Kinect user interface and are eager to own one of their own.  It is safe to say that Kinect will likely be a smashing success—what will they come up with next?!

Hear the word smartphone and what pops into your head. Invariably an iPhone or Android with their sleek interface design and functionality. One undeniable tech trend of the last four years has been the explosion of the smartphone and mobile devices market. Another underlying trend is the shrinking market share of Nokia and the Symbian S60 smartphone operating system. In the best of times the symbiotic (excuse the pun) led to both topping the charts and Nokia eventually buying the company behind the OS. A few years on and you almost have to ask yourself how it could all seem to go wrong. So wrong in fact that both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s reportedly have put Nokia on “negative credit watch” concerned with Nokia’s ability to compete. And all of this despite Nokia still being the largest mobile phone manufacturer! As for Symbian, it has now been overtaken by Android.  Could it be that complacency in interface design and in product iteration simply allowed other platforms to innovate and offer superior user experience? In a leaked memo, Nokia’s CEO candidly describes their situation as “standing on a burning platform”.

How might Nokia address interface design shortcomings?

Nokia is a company that makes great hardware but the focus now is on software and interface design. Symbian’s User Interface design simply appears below par. This has a lot to do with the fact that it is intended to be used with all manner of phones and interface designs, be they smartphones or regular “dumbphones”. On the other hand Android and iOS, for example are specifically designed for high-end touchscreen phones and this is reflected in the interface design. Nokia’s (and Intel’s) MeeGo OS doesn’t seem up to the task with the CEO admitting that “at this rate, by the end of 2011, we might have only one MeeGo product in the market”. Had Nokia woken up earlier it might have purchased Palm (which created underwhelming hardware) for it’s roundly praised webOS when the company was up for sale. Indications point to Nokia turning to Windows Phone 7, with its innovative ‘Tiles’ interface design. Makers of Android handsets have had a head start in developing for Android and often implement proprietary user interface designs onto the Android OS (HTC’s Sense UI, Motorola’s MotoBlur, Sony Ericsson’s Mediascape). Windows Phone 7 is not fragmented like Android and could be deployed by Nokia immediately. With a major announcement from Nokia expected at this year’s World Mobile Congress we shall soon find out.

For many years now, outsourcing has resounded through the land. But still it is linked in our heads with big companies which give some work away because they either do not have the capacity to carry out the work themselves, or want to save money by using this strategy. However, nowadays it is not only big companies anymore who try to gain from this process, but more and more small businesses and private people.

The advantages of outsourcing

But what are the advantages of outsourcing and how can these be generated? The system is easy. If you as a company – (whether a small or big one) – would like to give previously performed in-house tasks to an external provider, you can simply give the contract to a third-party who you will pay to carry out the task on your behalf. The main advantages include cost savings, being able to focus on your core business, overall being able to improve the quality while increasing flexibility at the same time. Collaborating with external experts allows customers to calculate their business costs more precisely because the costs only occur for a certain period of time.
But how can you find such an external provider, and how do you know if the price you are paying is not too high and if the proposal is really the best you could get? One possibility is: Using global internet platforms which arrange services for you in order to meet your individual needs. One of the biggest in Germany is twago.

Team Work Across Global Offices – twago

twago is a Berlin based company which focuses on outsourcing and offshoring of online services. The overall goal is to achieve the best performance for the best price for the customer. The more precisely you know what specific task you would like to have done, e.g. programming, web design, user interface design, etc., the better it is. You simply post your project with a detailed description on the platform and receive proposals from all over the world from up to 20,000 providers. These service providers can be companies or freelancers. You can find a service provider who best fits to the individual project. Whether you are looking for a service provider from around the corner to meet up face to face or you prefer a freelancer from a specific country, twago offers the possibility to find the right service provider with suitable skills. You choose the one that best fits your needs and preferences. And the best of all: Using twago is easy. You just have to register, post your project and award it to your provider of choice. Should you need any help or special service the kind twago employees are ready to support you. You can try it out at: http://www.twago.com.

Apple recently released its second generation of the MacBook Air laptop series in an effort to improve upon the oft criticized, though equally lauded, model. Users and the tech community alike praised the original MacBook for its portability, size, usability and sleek design, but carped on its high price, limited configuration options, limited battery options and hard drive size.  Apple has clearly capitulated to the complaints of the masses as the new MacBook series include both the original 13.3” model and a new 11.6” model starting at $999. Additionally, both versions boast lighter aluminum enclosures, higher resolution screens, excellent track pad/keyboard combinations, higher battery power and SSD.  They also come with the latest version of the iLife Software Suite, which includes iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand apps among other useful features for app and software savvy users.

Of course, improvements do not a perfect version make, and complaints bubbling to the surface surrounding the MacBook Air include small and difficult keyboard keys and heating issues – user interface problems affecting the usability of the device. However, the most prominent complaint concerns the GUI design.  Many users are reporting that the interface display is prone to flickering, freezing, and kernel errors as the computer attempts to resurrect itself from sleep mode.  The causes behind these GUI difficulties are not quite clear, but what is clear is that each new generation of technology comes with its own set of new and unique issues that have to be remedied over the course of the first few months of release.  Thus, the new MacBook Air is definitely a worthwhile investment, but it might be prudent to wait to buy it until the newborn glitches are sorted out.

The Plane Finder app is undoubtedly a remarkable display of augmented reality technology, an emerging class of apps for smartphones which attempt to interface with the environment by overlaying digital information on top of the real world.  The fact that the simple act of pointing your phone at a distant jet in the sky can disseminate all of the above-mentioned information in seconds is unarguably extraordinary but… is it necessary?  As apps continue to churn out at a record pace, it is becoming more and more apparent that some apps are just plain frivolous or outlandish to some smart phone users.  Why, for example, do we need an app to tell us so much detailed information about a plane flying above our heads?  How often do you really take note of the planes flying over your head, other than to notice the noise (if it is even close enough to be audible)? How many people are really going to use this app or will they just download it for the novelty of the first few tries and then forget about it when the charm has worn off? This seems to be the new business model that some app designers are following. It’s the novelty and fascination of the next great app, the excitement about a new interface design, or simply the child in us that drives this trend in mobile applications. It is one thing to have an eternally handy app for your city’s public transportation system, or for Facebook, Twitter etc.  But an app to identify planes flying overhead? This development may seem silly to some, but it appears to work. The creators of the Plane Finder app should be applauded for their ingenuity and achievement but one can’t help but wonder not only what app developers will come up with next, but also who will actually need it.

Several weeks ago Plane Finder AR debuted for iPhones, an app that allows users to point their phones at the sky and see data about various flights passing overhead.  So if you have ever found yourself staring at the heavens, desperate to know where those smoldering trails of jet engine smoke will end up, then you will likely find this app an excellent investment of $2.99.  But if you don’t often find your head in the clouds you may find this app to be a bit on the silly side, regardless of its innovative character and interface design.

Users who install the Plane Finder app on their smartphone interface will be able to see:

•    How fast the plane is going
•    The plane’s point of origin
•    The plane’s destination
•    The plane’s elevation
•    The flight number
•    The distance between the phone and the plane

If the development process pans out according to Nokia’s plan then MeeGo’s future hallmark will be its ability for easy customization, thus setting it apart from other popular operating systems. The ability to customize the MeeGo operating system will allow users to create unique user interfaces according to their particular needs and tastes. With customization and flexibility comes a larger market because the MeeGo OS can come from various phone makers, in addition to permitting customization for wireless carriers.  MeeGo is hoping that customizability will enable each user to employ the OS with their own touch and preferences leading to highly individualized and ultimately loyal users.  Time will tell if MeeGo can live up to Nokia’s touting, but it sure seems smart to take advantage of users desiring to have or create something unique or fantastic—customizability is a trend that is spreading fast.

Although Nokia and Intel’s new MeeGo operating system is still in the development phases, Nokia has been releasing periodic images of screenshots of the user interface design and recentlyeven released a video of the OS’ user interface, a marketing strategy most likely employed to whip up product hype and whet the appetites of users.  MeeGo is a software environment comprised of Linux-based tools which use familiar user interface designs and run on mobile devices such as smartphones, netbooks and tablets. The smartphone user interface is one of the newest additions to the MeeGo, and it is open to customization which will likely give it a competitive edge in the UI design crowd.

Brian Barrett of gizmodo.com recently reviewed the new Xbox Live app user interface design for the Windows 7 phone for the US news site msnbc.com.  Microsoft’s new smartphone is set to be released to the public in October 2010. The buzz surrounding the phone shows that expectations are high, and we will see if the UI design merits this euphoria.

User interface design review

According to Barrett, the Xbox application user interface design will be “familiar” in terms of what users are used to seeing on their regular Xbox consoles. This is a smart move by Microsoft in terms of usability as users like applications that are familiar and thus easier to employ with fluency.  By tapping on the Xbox tile users will be met with their avatar and their last game achievement (the game achievement can be updated from both the phone and the Xbox console).  Users will also be able to view invites from friends and previously downloaded games.

There are some new features that have been added especially for the Xbox Live app but Barrett maintains that these “are some clever ways Microsoft has optimized the experience for mobile” (msnbc.com).  For example, the user’s 3D avatar will “get dizzy” and fall down when the phone shakes and any unlocked avatar item can be accessed from the phone no matter the source of the action. These new features are slight and help to facilitate the relationship between the Xbox console and the Xbox Windows 7 app, thus reinforcing the concept of user familiarity.
If Barrett’s report is accurate, then users can look forward to an Xbox application that is familiar and intelligent without too many frills and nonsense.  Micrsoft didn’t try to get too creative on this one, just smart enough to be subtle and for their sake successful.

Samsung and LG have apparently recognized that if they want to compete with the iPhone and its popular smartphone brethren, they are going to have to put a lot more focus on vamping up their mobile user interface designs. So after a somewhat desultory start in the smartphone game, the two Korean companies are taking a scholarly approach to breathing new life into their mobile UI designs by enlisting the services of two university professors.  Jung Ji-Hong, a former professor at Visual Communication Design at Kookmin University, will join Samsung as Vice President of their Mobile Design Group.  At LG, Lee Kun-pyo will head up the Design Management Center as Executive Vice President.  Kun-pyo is the former dean of the Department of Industrial Design at Korea Institute of Advanced Technology and comes to LG with an expertise in user interface and human centered design.

Although Samsung and LG are the second and third largest handset manufacturers in the world behind Nokia (Tech Crunchies), both companies have struggled to find success (or maybe a better way to put it is their place) in the smartphone market.  The Samsung Galaxy S has been relatively fruitful but in comparison to the iPhone and Blackberry consumer feeding frenzy, both companies haven’t exactly been able to bait the waters with their products.   The hiring of UI/UX design experts shows that Samsung and LG not only acknowledge their smartphone weakness, but also concede that user interface design strategies need to be the crux of mobile product marketing and sales.  The fact that the UX/UI experts come from universities indicates that both companies want to be at the cutting edge of new developments in the UI/UX design worlds.   LG already plans to release a line of Optimus smartphones and both companies plan to have Android tablets by the end of 2010.  Time will tell if the UID academic infusion translates to smartphone success.