user interface

Microsoft shows off prototype of new Sphere computer

Paul Mah — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:36:48 -0400

Ever in search of the next paradigm shift in computing, Microsoft showed off a prototype of its Sphere computer at its Research Faculty Summit in Redmond. The research prototype is a multi-user, touch-sensitive display featuring an orb as a replacement for a traditional flat-screen monitor. Imagines are sent by a projector to the inside of the sphere, which uses an infrared camera to sense when someone touches the outside of the sphere. Some demo applications have been built for it, including a finger painting and omni-directional video-conferencing application.

To be honest, I don't see where this can possibly lead. Then again, Dan Olds, the principal analyst with the Gabriel Consulting Group summed it up this way: "While some of the form factors, like a sphere, seem to only lend themselves to very simple uses, you never know where this type of exploration might lead."

For more information on this report:
- check out this Computerworld article

Firefox 3.0 beta 4 released

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

Beta 4 of Firefox 3.0 was released just yesterday. According to Mozilla, this latest iteration sports more than 900 enhancements over the previous beta, and is a direct result of community feedback. The new beta includes drastic improvements to performance, stability and memory usage--the latter especially over long browsing sessions. Other notable mentions include a new download manager to make locating downloads easier, the inclusion of a full page zoom, improvements to JavaScript and offline data storage for web applications. In addition, continuing look and feel improvements have been added in terms of platform-specific icons, buttons and other user interface elements on the various platforms such as Windows Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.

For more on Firefox 3.0 beta 4:
- check out the Mozilla blog

Launching successful projects

Mon, 14 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

The most successful projects deliver tangible business value in the first 30 days. By quickly delivering value business people can immediately use, stakeholders can see clear evidence that the project is headed in the right direction and will live up to expectations. Another way to ensure that stakeholders see value immediately is to keep the scope narrow by delivering 20 percent of the capabilities that provide 80 percent of the value. And keep it really simple; it's often better to build systems where the user interface is composed of common office productivity tools like spreadsheets, web browsers, word processing, and personal databases. People already know how to use these tools so there is much less of a learning curve. IT agility like this delivers major business benefits at a fraction of the time and cost otherwise incurred if companies go the conventional route of buying and installing large, complex, all-in-one packages.

Read more about successful IT projects:
- read the blog at CIO

ALSO:
- read this on why too many software projects invite trouble
- and this for tales of projects that crashed and burned

One-Minute Tutorial: Understanding RIA

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:01:38 -0500

Although the term might be unfamiliar to many, Rich Internet Application (RIA) can be a useful tool, especially for customer-facing applications. RIAs are web applications with the features and functions of traditional desktop applications that transfer the processing necessary for the user interface to the web client while keeping most of the data on the application server.

Learn more about the benefits of RIA:
- read the definition at Wikipedia
- or read a blog entry from an RIA fan at FlexLive

Migration costs stalling Linux adoption

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:01:37 -0400

While Novell is certainly making big inroads in pushing open-source computing ahead (it recently released a newly revamped SuSE Linux system boasting more features and a better user interface), there are still quite a few hurdles for open source to overcome Windows. According to research firm Gartner, the high cost of migration will keep many enterprises away from Linux and stall widespread adoption.

For more on open source hurdles:
- read this article at Vnunet

The many flavors of Vista

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:01:39 -0500

Microsoft is taking the "Baskin Robbins" approach with its newest operating system, Vista, offering a half dozen flavors when it debuts later this year. There are two business options, three consumer packages and one for "emerging markets." While all sport certain features, such as a transparent user interface and easier window transitioning, the various OS packages also offer specific functionality for the intended user base. For example, Vista Business makes managing big volumes of data and documents a bit easier with clever organization abilities. The Windows Vista Enterprise boasts hardware-based encryption technology and multi-language abilities for global deployment use.

For more on the many flavors of Vista:
- read this article at Newsfactor.com