There were many interesting concepts taught in this course, I realise I started being more analytical when i see poorly designed UI around just about everywhere i go. I think this is good as I am putting what i learned to use in real life and it could strengthen my idea of what a good design is all about, having the user as the first priority. However, one of the topic got me the most intrigued would be the part on memory. This is because not only could this be applied to this course and UI/UX but this could be applied to many other situations, namely, studying for tests. I found it very interesting as Velian tells us many different aspects of memory. 2 of the topics i found particularly interesting is how experts such as chess masters can use a schema for efficient storage, instead of remember piece by piece they remember the board as one piece which saves a lot of memory space. Moreover, they are able to do this because of practice proving practice does help with memorizing things. Another idea Velian talked about was the mental maps that helps memorizing things, I think this could really help with memorizing information for exams as a student. One more interesting topic that Velian talked about during the memory slides was the gaming aspect of it. The arrow pointing down to tell the user the units moved in RTS game as it could have delay communicating with the servers was very interesting. I use to think that it was just a design to have the units respond when its clicked and have the arrow down to show that it is walking there. But now I know its more than that, it was a smart way for designers to let the users know that it is about to move to reduce confusion on the user end.
All in all, I thought taught me alot of interesting concepts, many to do with human behaviour. This can potentially help me in the future with whatever i take on, not only on the technology side of things.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Sunday, March 19, 2017
WorldMapPortal experience the world in VR
I remember as a kid, my parents and teachers use to show me maps of the world and globes to show me what the world is like. However, besides a bunch of green lands and blue sea, there was nothing exciting or engaging to look at.
WorldMapPortal provides much more than just knowing where the country is located at. It offers a Virtual Reality experience so that kids and even adults can feel like they are actually there. I think it allows kids to be a lot more engaged in the country and the world around them then just showing them where it is on the map. Some may argue that it will keep them at home and discourage them to get out and experience the world. However, I think the contrary, I think this would encourage them to actually go the place and experience it allowing them to explore and learn more.
Children will be exposed to actual cultures, people, landscapes and monuments. Moreover, for people who may not be able to physically visit the place, this idea can open up many doors for them to be able to experience the place without being there in the future.
This application also doesn't require a lot of new technology hence it would be low in cost and affordable for any common household. If this app is inexpensive, I think it is quite worth it as it provides some quality family time and experience. This app is also designed for group use so a parent or teacher can actually take their children on a VR trip in a safe environment.
Moreover, this app provides educational games on top of the Virtual Reality experience so that kids and adults may learn while exploring different places around the world. It is like having a tour guide with you as you travel around. The learning aspect of this application helps it make exploring even more fun for kids.
Room for improvement: I feel like this idea could be expanded so that even more places could be visited or maybe even streets and roads by collaborating with something like google maps. Perhaps include audio with it to make everything that much more real.
WorldMapPortal provides much more than just knowing where the country is located at. It offers a Virtual Reality experience so that kids and even adults can feel like they are actually there. I think it allows kids to be a lot more engaged in the country and the world around them then just showing them where it is on the map. Some may argue that it will keep them at home and discourage them to get out and experience the world. However, I think the contrary, I think this would encourage them to actually go the place and experience it allowing them to explore and learn more.
Children will be exposed to actual cultures, people, landscapes and monuments. Moreover, for people who may not be able to physically visit the place, this idea can open up many doors for them to be able to experience the place without being there in the future.
This application also doesn't require a lot of new technology hence it would be low in cost and affordable for any common household. If this app is inexpensive, I think it is quite worth it as it provides some quality family time and experience. This app is also designed for group use so a parent or teacher can actually take their children on a VR trip in a safe environment.
Moreover, this app provides educational games on top of the Virtual Reality experience so that kids and adults may learn while exploring different places around the world. It is like having a tour guide with you as you travel around. The learning aspect of this application helps it make exploring even more fun for kids.
Room for improvement: I feel like this idea could be expanded so that even more places could be visited or maybe even streets and roads by collaborating with something like google maps. Perhaps include audio with it to make everything that much more real.
Bibliography:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gptree/worldmapportal-the-first-mixed-reality-map?ref=category#
Saturday, March 4, 2017
senstone, the intelligent wearable voice recorder
More often than not, ideas or sudden spark of realisation comes to me on a daily basis. Whenever that happens, if i have a phone in handy, i would take it out, press the notepad and start typing it down. The creators of Senstone created a wearable voice recorder that allows you to do a lot with it. image below shows all the functions of the Senstone, as well as what it looks like.
Personally, I wouldn't like to wear this around because i don't think it looks fashionable, even though it is arguable whether it is aesthetically pleasing. Most of the functions here can be done with a smartphone or smartwatch. I feel like it is easier to forget to clip this on your clothes than to forget to bring your phone out. In the video that introduces this product, they show a person exercising and recording his thoughts. Even though it seems more convenient than taking a phone out to record a though, technology nowadays is sufficient enough to record it while wearing earphones for example.
Moreover, the speech to text function can already be done on most smart phone or smart watches which makes this device more insignificant. The charger also seems very hard to use as they stack multiple chargers on top of each other. It is also very specific to this device which i think is very inconvenient because if they had to travel, not only do they have to bring the device, they would also have to bring the charger. I feel like it might get lost very easily as it is dark, small and light. It would probably be hard to notice even if it falls off or if someone stole it.
Furthermore, the privacy issue with this product could be a huge problem. Lets say a hacker hacks this device, they would be able to hear everything you say extremely clearly, also more than likely, this device has less defence than a smartphone. It provides hackers ways to listen into your conversation through out the whole day and extract plenty of information from you.
Bibliography
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/835264493/senstone-the-intelligent-wearable-voice-recorder?ref=category_popular
http://www.zdnet.com/article/senstone-first-look-intelligent-wearable-audio-recorder-that-syncs-to-your-phone/
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
youtube phone app double tap to skip or rewind by 10 seconds
As someone who often watches videos on youtube before falling asleep, I recently discovered the new feature Youtube had added which allows user to easily navigate through videos. Now, if you double tap on the right side or the left side of the screen it would fast forward by 10 seconds or rewind by 10 seconds respectively.
Apparently, according to on of the sources, there was evidence of this feature in late 2015 where it was originally designed to be shown as double-arrow buttons. But it was removed and it was not available to every user. Only, recently had it been release to every platform.
In my opinion, this feature really helps navigation in the videos, since I often watch videos and i often impatiently skip the parts i don't find interesting. With the double tap in effect, I dont have to scroll manually with my finger and be afraid that i scrolled to far or not far enough. Also because it is only 10 seconds, I feel like it is a very appropriate length to skip by for the average youtube video which is often 10-20 minutes long. However, according to some sources, there are a certain amount of users who found it annoying, reporting that it slowed down the interface and made it difficult to go in and out of full screen mode.
As i mentioned earlier, i really do like this add on, however i do think that there is this slight limitations in which it is only usable when the video is on full screen mode. However it is not a big deal because not many people watch videos not on fullscreen especially on their smart phones. This could possibly prevent people from accidentally fast forwarding the video or rewinding it instead of going to the next video on the playlist.
In conclusion, as a frequent user of the Youtube app on the smart phone. I really rate this new add on. It did very much improve the convenience of navigating through the videos. Being slight impatient, this add on had been very useful to me. Hopefully, this function could be added on to different video players as well in the near future.
Bibliography:
Apparently, according to on of the sources, there was evidence of this feature in late 2015 where it was originally designed to be shown as double-arrow buttons. But it was removed and it was not available to every user. Only, recently had it been release to every platform.
In my opinion, this feature really helps navigation in the videos, since I often watch videos and i often impatiently skip the parts i don't find interesting. With the double tap in effect, I dont have to scroll manually with my finger and be afraid that i scrolled to far or not far enough. Also because it is only 10 seconds, I feel like it is a very appropriate length to skip by for the average youtube video which is often 10-20 minutes long. However, according to some sources, there are a certain amount of users who found it annoying, reporting that it slowed down the interface and made it difficult to go in and out of full screen mode.
As i mentioned earlier, i really do like this add on, however i do think that there is this slight limitations in which it is only usable when the video is on full screen mode. However it is not a big deal because not many people watch videos not on fullscreen especially on their smart phones. This could possibly prevent people from accidentally fast forwarding the video or rewinding it instead of going to the next video on the playlist.
In conclusion, as a frequent user of the Youtube app on the smart phone. I really rate this new add on. It did very much improve the convenience of navigating through the videos. Being slight impatient, this add on had been very useful to me. Hopefully, this function could be added on to different video players as well in the near future.
Bibliography:
- http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/02/06/youtube-officially-enables-double-tap-gesture-to-jump-10-seconds-forward-or-backward/
- https://thenextweb.com/google/2017/02/03/youtube-fast-forward-backward-double-tap/#.tnw_Q4uY9Oh9
- http://www.techtimes.com/articles/195905/20170203/youtube-rolls-out-double-tap-function-fast-forward-rewind-videos.htm
- https://www.xda-developers.com/psa-double-tap-to-fast-forward-rolling-out-to-youtube-app-on-android/
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Annoying Whatsapp links to phone number
For someone like me who travels back and forth from Canada and Hong Kong, Whatsapp is extremely inconvenient. The reason why Whatsapp is so inconvenient and frustrating to use is because you have to verify your account with your phone number. So let's say i have an account registered under my Hong Kong phone number, whenever i change back to my Toronto phone number or change my phone it prompts me for a verification code that is sent via sms text to my Hong Kong Number. Without roaming, I am unable to access that code using my Hong Kong sim card in Canada. The worst thing is, there isn't much of a way around this. I've seen people using apps that generate fake numbers and have to go through countless and complicated step just to receive the text in order to verify their account and use it.
Personally, I used to use Whatsapp a lot. It was my primary way of communication to friends and family. Ever since i couldn't get my verification code and had to create another account I stopped using this app on an often basis. This app is not created for people who travels a lot or lives in multiple countries through the year. Unfortunately, I appear to be one of them and unfortunately for them, many are on the same boat as I am.
After being frustrated from Whatsapp, I realised there are many alternatives to it. And I mean better alternatives. An app which really surprised me on how good it is would be Wechat. Another messenger app with a lot more functions. Unlike Whatsapp, Wechat does not use your phone number to verify your account. It is a lot more convenient to use for someone who travels and it is significantly superior to Whatsapp in my opinion. There are a couple of features which make wechat better for me as a user and i will talk about these features later on in my blogs. So stay tuned!
Personally, I used to use Whatsapp a lot. It was my primary way of communication to friends and family. Ever since i couldn't get my verification code and had to create another account I stopped using this app on an often basis. This app is not created for people who travels a lot or lives in multiple countries through the year. Unfortunately, I appear to be one of them and unfortunately for them, many are on the same boat as I am.
After being frustrated from Whatsapp, I realised there are many alternatives to it. And I mean better alternatives. An app which really surprised me on how good it is would be Wechat. Another messenger app with a lot more functions. Unlike Whatsapp, Wechat does not use your phone number to verify your account. It is a lot more convenient to use for someone who travels and it is significantly superior to Whatsapp in my opinion. There are a couple of features which make wechat better for me as a user and i will talk about these features later on in my blogs. So stay tuned!
Sunday, January 22, 2017
option of viewing previous snapstory/instagramstory and instagram private message instead of tagging in comments
I remember how frustrating it is when I missed or didnt see clearly a snapstory and wanted to review a certain snapstory or instagram story of someone who posts a lot of stories on their profile. I'll literally have to watch all of their snaps again just to get to that story i missed or wanted to see again.
I recall instagram was the first one to create the back option and snapchat quickly caught on, which in my opinion improved their user interface since now it is a lot more convenient for users to view the story they missed or want to see again by simply pressing the left side of the screen to go back to the previous snap/instagram story.
In conclusion, this addition onto the user interface really improved the whole UX of the app and made it a lot more convenient and easier for the users to view any snaps/story they like or missed.
Another feature I wanted to talk about is the private message feature. In the past, in order to show people a post, the users had to tag them on the comment. And sometimes if you tag a friend too much instagram might think youre spam and unable you to tag the person again. This is a huge problem since good friends often tag each other on posts alot and this feature made it extremely inconvenient. However after private messages were added to instagram, we only have to press one button in order to send the post as a message we can also send it to a group of people. All the user has to do is find those people, select them and then click send. What makes it even better is that the history is saved so if you have a certain group of people you share posts with itll be on the suggestion and a simple click will allow you to share the posts to them.
This feature in my opinion improved instagrams UX in a massive way. It was sort 2 problems at once; the spam problem and the inconvenience and slow speed of tagging people one by one. There was also another problem because many users dont use their real name and their instagram name is often forgotten. Hence, instagram made it alot easier for users to tag people in posts and talk about the post as well. As before after tagging your friends on the comment, if they wanted to reply theyll have to tag you back and it just becomes really tiresome and annoying to talk about the post. But now you simply reply in the chat box with your friends and theres no need to tag each other again and again.
In conclusion, I personally think that this addition of private messages and the ability to share posts within the conversation is an extremely good UX and made sharing posts exponentially easier than what it used to be.
Another feature I wanted to talk about is the private message feature. In the past, in order to show people a post, the users had to tag them on the comment. And sometimes if you tag a friend too much instagram might think youre spam and unable you to tag the person again. This is a huge problem since good friends often tag each other on posts alot and this feature made it extremely inconvenient. However after private messages were added to instagram, we only have to press one button in order to send the post as a message we can also send it to a group of people. All the user has to do is find those people, select them and then click send. What makes it even better is that the history is saved so if you have a certain group of people you share posts with itll be on the suggestion and a simple click will allow you to share the posts to them.
This feature in my opinion improved instagrams UX in a massive way. It was sort 2 problems at once; the spam problem and the inconvenience and slow speed of tagging people one by one. There was also another problem because many users dont use their real name and their instagram name is often forgotten. Hence, instagram made it alot easier for users to tag people in posts and talk about the post as well. As before after tagging your friends on the comment, if they wanted to reply theyll have to tag you back and it just becomes really tiresome and annoying to talk about the post. But now you simply reply in the chat box with your friends and theres no need to tag each other again and again.
In conclusion, I personally think that this addition of private messages and the ability to share posts within the conversation is an extremely good UX and made sharing posts exponentially easier than what it used to be.
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