TechHaze.com » GUI

The Future of Our GUI is Demoed

Calixte Pictet — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:34:39 +0000

Computers are all about the interface. Without the amazing work that went on at Xerox’s PARC labs and Apple computer’s commercialization of the GUI, computers could not have reached half of the people that are now using them. It’s no secret that the 2D “desktop Environments” that we use now are outdated, simple evolutions of what existed a quarter of a century ago when the concept was just invented.

But some people are beyond simply rethinking our interface: John Underkoffler, an interface designer and the creator of the cool interface in the film Minority Report, shows us g-speak, a gesture-based interface that is aware of its surroundings. G-speak is has already spread out into the real World, enabling engineers and architects alike to work with an intuitive interface and smoothen their workflow. But Underkoffler’s goal is not limited to a select few; he wants everybody to use this technology at home. So when can we expect it to be part of our everyday lives?

So, what do you think? When will we see this technology in our living rooms?

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Mark Shuttleworth Keynote at UDS

Calixte Pictet — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:27:55 +0000

Canonical and Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth did an entertaining and enlightening keynote for the Ubuntu Developer Summit 2010. In it he describes the work that has gone in Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx), The future of Ubuntu (especially the “perfect 10″), The new “Ubuntu Light” that will soon be introduced, and Ubuntu’s future commercial strategy regarding converting new users and OEMs.

As you will see, a lot of the work for Ubuntu 10.04 has gone in interface design. That will be even more true for 10.10. If all of Mark’s predictions are true, Maverick Meerkat will be one innovative desktop!

Shuttleworth definitively has a talent for presenting and argumenting. Watch the video to find out why the next Ubuntu will be the answer to life, the Universe, and everything (followed by an interesting Q&A session).

The next year will definitively be interesting for GNOME, Ubuntu, and Open-source desktops in general. What do you think?

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Thumbnail by monkeymagico

Home Tab: The Future Firefox

Calixte Pictet — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:09:45 +0000

There’s nothing that excites me more than a great open source project that innovates. Nothing, that is, except for a an open source project that leans on the community for innovation. So what do we get when both are combined? Mozilla announced the “Home Tab design Challenge” recently. It’s open to all, and it’s goal is to create a new, fresh and intelligent home page for the next version of Firefox (Firefox 4). But what is it about, and what’s the “home tab” anyway?

Mozilla is taking act on the several innovations that have been popping up these last years in interface design, and they’re taking act. According to the last Firefox 4 mockups from a developer, the interface will slightly ape Google Chrome’s as well as one feature from Office 2007. First of all, the tabs-on-top configuration is likely to take over. Secondly, Mozilla will be adding an “app button” that will group all of Firefox’s most common actions. Some other ideas, like a progress bar sitting on top of the browsers’ tabs, that the blog post doesn’t talk about are also features in the mockup (below).

But the real innovation may be yet to come. The “Challenge” proposed by Mozilla has the goal of creating the content of the “home tab”, an entire new concept that will be introduced with Firefox 4. It’s now the users turn to tell the developer what they need.

So you’re bored now that you’ve received your Christmas presents? Why not have a go a that challenge? The next Firefox may have a bit of you in it.

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Thumbnail credit: Arjan Menger