From the category archives:

input device

Complex Clickers in Class

by Richard Pak
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I will be teaching general psychology to a large undergraduate class this Fall.  I had planned on using the “Clicker” to encourage interaction with students (link to company that makes them, wikipedia page that describes them).  They are essentially remote controls that allow the instructor to record votes from students.  For example, I could present a multiple choice question to [...]

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HF Potpourri

by Richard Pak
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Touch Usability’s Kevin Arthur is soliciting input for a presentation he’s doing at UPA
Designing for Human’s Rob Tannen posts an online video of a presentation (ergonomics for interaction designers) he gave at the School of Visual Arts in New York
Edward Tufte will help us understand and track where stimulus funds are going (via Slashdot)
The Internet does not replace health professionals.  [...]

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Making virtual worlds more accessible – a new context area for Human Factors

by Anne McLaughlin
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The Consumerist blog (of Consumer Reports) posted an article on the state of California suing Sony because their online Playstation services were not accessibly designed.
Quoted from The Consumerist post:
At the crux of the plaintiff’s failed case was their contention that, because PlayStation allows people all over the world to connect and play games together via their now-repaired PlayStation Network, that [...]

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Design & HF Potpourri

by Richard Pak
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Comparison of text entry input speeds.
Steve Krug (of “Don’t make me think“) has a new book on usability titled Rocket Surgery Made Easy.  See the first few chapters.  [via Photoshopblog]
Smashing Magazine has a list of how various websites portray progress in multi-step tasks.
A piece on complicated and overwrought design from the NYT.  Choice quote:
Sadly, more and more products seem set [...]

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Environmental Controls: Spotlight on Volvo

by Anne McLaughlin
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I rode in a colleague’s new Volvo the other day and I love the environmental controls. The button lights up when active, showing where the airflow is going. Notice how the fan speed control is integrated into air direction display so they each add information to the other.
Compare to the older Volvo buttons, which had a similar theme but not [...]

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HF Potpourri

by Richard Pak
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James Rubinstein sends along a this post about a 32 inch LCD TV presumably designed for older users.  It has features such as a dramatically simplified remote control, fewer wires, and a shut-off timer.  [Engadget]
Designing Devices is a relatively new blog devoted to “how and why to create devices” from Dan Saffer (author of Designing for Interaction).  I’m loving the [...]

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Smells like more potpourri

by Richard Pak
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The end of the academic semester is upon us in the U.S. so we’re backed up with deadlines which is why we’re having Potpourri again for lunch. But tasty potpourri:
First, a curmudgeonly three-part series on things that give too little feedback or have too few buttons:

I just got an iPod Shuffle which uses a system of taps on an [...]

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Driving and Writing: Audi MMI

by Richard Pak
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The new Audi A8 sedan has a novel text entry input system:  writing.  Instead of using a knob (an indirect velocity control) or touchscreen (direct position control), the system accepts input using a touch sensitive pad (indirect position control) that can recognize letter input:
This seems to be an improvement over current systems that make you use an indirect input device [...]

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Bad Design: Mouse mode and feedback

by Richard Pak
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I interrupt this HFES re-cap to express my slight dismay at my new computer mouse.  I purchased a portable Bluetooth-enabled mouse for my laptop (I hate using those mouse nubs).  The mouse is pretty nice because instead of a scroll wheel, it uses a full trackball to scroll.
Depending on my mood or environmental conditions, I can switch the mouse between [...]

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HFES Conference in San Antonio, Part 1

by Richard Pak

Anne and I just got back from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society conference held in San Antonio.  We plan on posting some snippets of posters/talks that we found interesting in an upcoming post.  But in the mean time, here is a panorama of the view from our hotel.

Being in San Antonio, TX, we also visited a Cowboy bar complete [...]

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Is Older Adult Interest in the Wii Interface Just Hype?: or “I want to try bowling”

by Anne McLaughlin

I’d like to share a conversation with my mother that occurred today. She is in her 60s, and although she uses a computer for communication, has never even played solitaire or shown any interest in a video game.
Nikki says:
The wee? Is a game that lets you think you are doing a sport?
Anne says:
Yes, you use the controller, that looks like [...]

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The Tactile Thinkpad: More Laptop Redesign from Lenovo

by Anne McLaughlin
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I posted earlier on the innovative data collection Lenovo did for a keyboard redesign. A new post on DesignMatters details the design and user testing of a new touch pad using tactile feedback.
Designers must often work within constraints induced by other portions of their product. In this case, the touchpad had to be flush with the hand rest of the [...]

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Heatmapping the Keyboard

by Anne McLaughlin

David Hill over at DesignMatters has an excellent post on how Lenovo collected data for a keyboard redesign.  Below is an excerpt, but please visit his site for the entire tale.
We thought that taking an updated look at key frequency of use would be a good place to start in order to uncover innovation opportunity. Things do change over the years. [...]

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(face) Gestures Interface

by Richard Pak

Peter Squire sends in what is most likely an early April fools joke by the creators of the Opera web browser (right before 4/1/09). It is an interesting interaction idea nonetheless.

Share/Save

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Dashboards meet the 21st century

by Richard Pak
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Reader Darin Ellis sends along this news item from MSNBC about the future of car dashboards (hint: analog is out, glass screens are in).  There is a great quote in the article from the visualization designer of Chrysler:
A lot of usability studies need to be done. Designing these is not a no-brainer.
In addition to this article, here are some other [...]

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Consumer RFID technology–The Mirror by Violet

by Richard Pak

Violet has introduced an interesting computer peripheral called the Mirror that is an RFID reader for home users.  You apply RFID tags to everyday objects, program their actions, and when waved over the mirror, the actions are run from the computer.
When I first saw the following video, I was skeptical–their initial use cases in the video seemed silly.  But around [...]

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