I read the story somewhere as a kid and can’t recall the source now (perhaps one of you can help me). It goes something like this. There was once a Chinese emperor who wanted to know about everything that had ever happened. This was before Wikipedia, so he instructed his court scholars to go write […]
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Take the jobs that help you evolve along with your portfolio.
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July 29, 2015
No one likes friction. Friction slows things down and makes us work harder. Sometimes it makes sparks fly. Bright minds have been busy for centuries fighting it everywhere: from the first wheel to fighter jets and high-speed trains (and, more recently, the Hyperloop). Too much friction can cause our best inventions to burst into flames.
In the world of experience design, we’re just as busy fighting friction. But just like friction can help us in the physical world—to stop your car at a red light for example—there are times when we need friction in user experience.
We just need to put it in the right place.
I’ve spent the better part of my professional life working on games for kids. During this time I’ve crossed into the field of user experience and interface…read more
By Clint Schnee
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You may have thought the demise of the physical birthday card was cause for concern, trumped by texts, virtual cards and posts on social media.
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Mice that have a particular brain chemical switched off become hyperactive and sleep for just 65 per cent of their normal time, a new study shows. This discovery could help researchers to develop new drugs that promote better sleep, or control hyperactivity in people with the medical condition mania.
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The Golden Ratio might have no bearing on aesthetics, but Peng Wang’s Fibonacci Shelf is still one sweet piece of design.
The Golden Ratio might be design’s biggest myth, but that’s not to say that it’s useless. Aesthetics aside, the Fibonacci Sequence upon which the Golden Ratio is based is a very useful formula for modeling growth and compartmentalization.
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The Urbmobile
From the 1967 PopSci archives
In the second episode of Futuropolis, the podcast that explores what everyday life will be like in the future, we’re tackling your daily commute. Sitting in traffic doesn’t have to be stressful and frustrating. In the future, you may be able to lean back and relax while your car watches the road for you.
We’ve been promised autonomous cars for what seems like forever—and our archives have proof. In 1961, we predicted that cars would be directed by a punched tape so you could sleep behind the wheel. And in 1967, we anticipated you could twirl a dial on a car’s dashboard, set it to your destination, and then sit back to read the morning paper on the way to work.
But maybe this time it’s for real. To find out, we talked to Missy Cummings, the director of Duke’s Humans and Autonomy Lab; Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at South Carolina University who specializes in self-driving vehicles; and futurist Glen Hiemstra. And while we may not be quite ready to hand over the reins—er, steering wheel—we’d gladly take the opportunity to nap, read a book, or even get in a workout while the car drives itself.
What would you do while your car does the driving? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook, or email us at futuropolis@popsci.com. And be sure to subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, or search for Futuropolis on your favorite podcast app.
Futuropolis is a biweekly podcast on the Panoply network. Tune in every other Wednesday for more sneak peeks at the future.
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In our previous article, we talked about the distinction between UX, UI and graphic design — deciding the right path among these three is key in choosing the right school. No matter what your level of experience, enrolling in a graphic design program can take your career to the next level. But finding a program […]
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Touchscreens are not conducive to the blind as they cannot see the shifting pixels on the smooth device. That has not only slowed down the technological literacy for the blind, but has also impaired their reading literacy, cutting them off from most information that isn’t published in print. Some tech companies have found workarounds, like having Siri read texts or creating braille e-readers, but they are often clunky and expensive.
A South Korean startup company may have finally found a solution. They created Dot, the first braille smartwatch, complete with shifting cells of dots. This inexpensive gadget could help the blind catch up to the age of smartwatches, the sales of which have increased 475 percent in the last year thanks to the Apple Watch. But it could also be used as an educational tool.
“Until now, if you got a message on iOS from your girlfriend, for example, you had to listen to Siri read it to you in that voice, which is impersonal,” Dot CEO Eric Ju Yoon Kim told Tech in Asia. “Wouldn’t you rather read it yourself and hear your girlfriend’s voice saying it in your head?”
The Dot wearable looks like a cross between a Fitbit and a Pebble Time, Alphr notes. On its face, it has four cells each with six active dots, which can raise or lower to make four braille letters at a time. It links up with Bluetooth to convert text from apps like iMessage into their braille letter equivalents with the user’s voice commands. The device can last for five days without stopping to charge.
One key feature of the Dot wearable is its cost. Unlike braille e-readers, which can cost thousands of dollars, the device is slated to cost less than $300 when it hits the U.S. market in December.
But Dot envisions bringing braille beyond the wrist. The inventors have tested braille screen modules at ATMs and train stations, programming them to display information that regularly changes, such as account balances or train schedules. After the wearable’s launch in December, the startup will shift towards the public sector, which it anticipates could be its largest market.
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The social network is positioning itself as a leader in diversity efforts, even though it still has a lot to learn.
The post Facebook Publishes Its Managing Bias Course For All appeared first on WIRED.
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My First UX 