tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80018664976261125072024-03-05T08:55:29.677+00:00Web 3.0 = CollaborationPosts and comments regarding internet-linked collaboration toolsIan Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-21138324117408727642015-02-04T14:20:00.002+00:002015-02-04T14:20:59.428+00:00Sigh... curved monitors have a 3 meter curve radiusSo we're s.l.o.w.l.y... getting there with curved LCD desktop monitors, but with the manufacturers being highly conservative so as not to get too far ahead of their user base.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBqi_1n-juSxItjWJipCMTNl2Mnbpk4TC3Al4kHfD8HqDUc6WBNTKM5moYRWR7uonPxFyP42p-2tt0m4kksduTe3zzirTIeyYV4aICKhJdenbFeZME0KwM3zrx1uNS0Yi9Qrd2IKBxlc/s1600/SE790C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBqi_1n-juSxItjWJipCMTNl2Mnbpk4TC3Al4kHfD8HqDUc6WBNTKM5moYRWR7uonPxFyP42p-2tt0m4kksduTe3zzirTIeyYV4aICKhJdenbFeZME0KwM3zrx1uNS0Yi9Qrd2IKBxlc/s1600/SE790C.jpg" height="315" width="320" /></a></div>
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The <a href="http://www.samsung.com/levant/consumer/computers-peripherals/monitors/led-monitor/LS34E790CNS/ZN" target="_blank">latest Samsung SE790C</a> monitor has a screen curvature radius of 3 meters, i.e. your view will be 'correct' if you sit three meters away. well I'm using a computer monitor right now, and I think my eyes are roughly 60..70cm from the screen. It's not rocket science, the screen should curve just enough to always present an image perpendicular to your view so the current 3 meter curvature is wayyy off the optimum.<br />
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So here's a prediction... screen curvature will gradually increase until the sweet spot is reached.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-22042591833951542502014-11-14T10:19:00.001+00:002014-11-14T10:19:28.638+00:00Initial thoughts on the Oculus RiftI've been using (i.e. playing around with) the <a href="http://www.oculus.com/" target="_blank">Oculus Rift</a> DK2 now for a couple of weeks, and here are my initial observations:<br />
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<ol>
<li>The resolution is staggeringly low. The 3D view is great for something low-fi like a Tuscan scene, but toggling back to the desktop is a huge relief in terms of the pixel-sharp clarity of the average desktop display. I can't find any image on the interweb that really conveys what the view through a Rift headset looks like, but if you put a pair of tea-strainers over your eyes and then donned a scuba facemask, you'd get the idea.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGm4mJCW8NwAEoTXlBElPSUaCvP3NepWayLoLsOKIK3i_vCTH4Y8jAXQtINvcUcF3rmQauX2jsHUzsLKTiSCKFdX7nZ7QQ-frRYiFCjl37Fg4POO83P-I7-8dvvYbXx4k080BqfW3rPmk/s1600/strainer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGm4mJCW8NwAEoTXlBElPSUaCvP3NepWayLoLsOKIK3i_vCTH4Y8jAXQtINvcUcF3rmQauX2jsHUzsLKTiSCKFdX7nZ7QQ-frRYiFCjl37Fg4POO83P-I7-8dvvYbXx4k080BqfW3rPmk/s1600/strainer.jpg" height="200" width="155" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjAcg3BlSvhPY9j_owVKwDwlrLPP0dpU3kTW2NsqRHXkW1Iz9zg5enh4UkSDfA_g1UUubsU_MRtmIQmtz7n891HbwTIMqG5dempnpCAEbAJVMm3CPxJo3IpAitYuSw_foj3N5DqmIn44/s1600/facemask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjAcg3BlSvhPY9j_owVKwDwlrLPP0dpU3kTW2NsqRHXkW1Iz9zg5enh4UkSDfA_g1UUubsU_MRtmIQmtz7n891HbwTIMqG5dempnpCAEbAJVMm3CPxJo3IpAitYuSw_foj3N5DqmIn44/s1600/facemask.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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The first time you look around a skillfully crafted 3D scene using the Rift is truly jaw-dropping (in spite of my comments above). In my case this was the inside of a spaceport in Elite Dangerous:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHlwFydudfGpVTb-B_lL2GybCLSPf_Xxj13EPNnB775u_rea5o-DELz6X8lshgHp3MSV_BG2aKL6Pfqk1zy-ET3GMYuKTCSkz2mnxA0Un-UHTq0Fc6eBkjNKehEKW4iFLSB8IHsUyFtc/s1600/spaceport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHlwFydudfGpVTb-B_lL2GybCLSPf_Xxj13EPNnB775u_rea5o-DELz6X8lshgHp3MSV_BG2aKL6Pfqk1zy-ET3GMYuKTCSkz2mnxA0Un-UHTq0Fc6eBkjNKehEKW4iFLSB8IHsUyFtc/s1600/spaceport.jpg" height="181" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li>Oculus have steadily shifted their ambitions from the idea that VR could be suitable for a very wide range of applications to emphasizing the Rift is <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/oculus-doesn-t-recommend-the-optimal-rift-experience-to-most-users-1266726" target="_blank">suited to a seated experience</a>. The unavoidable fact is that virtual motion of your body while you're wearing the headset cannot provide the appropriate sensory input re-inforcing that motion. I.e. the '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQS7BHFlas0" target="_blank">roller-coaster demo</a>' which is the first and only demo I had the opportunity to experience before I bought the Rift DK2 is a total waste of time. So applications in which you are stationary and seated and simply moving your head have no disconnect with your real-world sense of motion so there's no reason for motion sickness which is inevitable otherwise. Not as much fun though. Earlier discussions of VR motion sickness tend to conflate issues such as your body motion unsupported by real sensory input with technical issues such as lag in the display. OK, both cause sickness but the former is a fundamental constraint while the latter is fixable with better technology.</li>
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But overall, the technology clearly has great possibilities. The good news is that resolution and field of view are engineering issues that inevitably will improve with each generation (and will also demand higher graphics rendering performance). Motion sickness due to a disconnect between your VR world experience versus your real-world sensory perception is not going to be solved any time soon. But this still leaves plenty of room for 'seated experience' VR applications such as a virtual office/desktop.</div>
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The production 'Rift' product from Oculus will certainly be an improvement on the DK1/DK2 (e.g. maybe each eye will be ~1300x1440, with less screen door effect), but there is no way it will significantly alter the fundamentals of what you see with the current DK2 to make a major difference.</div>
Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-50855609634166907022014-10-31T21:54:00.002+00:002014-10-31T22:03:27.639+00:00Bloomberg's multi-screen VR, resolution multiplier, and the rotating eggcup transformBloomberg are demonstrating <a href="http://qz.com/218129/virtual-reality-headset-oculus-rift-meets-the-bloomberg-terminal/" target="_blank">a demo of a multi-window desktop</a> mapped into 3D VR viewable through an Oculus Rift:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeBTtcfXDhFvv2cI8guMEwE3a5bRk0eGJdat6ah2vKhDgv4WWCIobkRUl3PWT0vLPw8nx9XeK5Ax9hZ7mfUI1SI-uDZVUljBPYIuTrq43coMIEbEVnJD-gJH8oZ4vug1vvPJHlLOrY0vE/s1600/bloomberg-on-oculus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeBTtcfXDhFvv2cI8guMEwE3a5bRk0eGJdat6ah2vKhDgv4WWCIobkRUl3PWT0vLPw8nx9XeK5Ax9hZ7mfUI1SI-uDZVUljBPYIuTrq43coMIEbEVnJD-gJH8oZ4vug1vvPJHlLOrY0vE/s1600/bloomberg-on-oculus.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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It is counter-intuitive that you'd want to look at 20 displays, each of (say) 20" @ 1600x1200 resolution (i.e. a 8000x4800 pixels display area) through glasses with 2x960x1080 pixels. Ok, I agree, the view is going to be pretty dire and you will get neck ache, but it doesn't seem to be <i>as bad</i> as viewing 8000x4800 at 960x1080 should suggest, because you can swing your head around and lean-in to view any screen in more detail.<br />
A 'resolution multiplier' of <span style="font-size: large;">37</span> (i.e. pixel count of display area / pixel count of Rift) as suggested here is wayyy too much to be optimal, but when (not if) higher resolution VR glasses become available the ratio for this demo will come crashing down.<br />
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To display the screens effectively, rather than having the screens static in the VR space (i.e. rendered on the inside of a sphere centered on the user's head), we should use a transform that enlarges the screen in the center of the users view while compressing the edges. This is a bit like the distortion of a reflection you see in a spoon, or as in this drawing by Escher:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqXxwMf63lpAC57tEwkkA-8UL85p7opiazqAietJ4iJWisYvDhhoj5LOPpwh9wkW89lHNf5gxR3mUb26pkVzHPaKbuSUxcvfe03s6oasOsDuzoAzFrfo0PWSHzY7hjHzC6uf2yGNXqNY/s1600/sphere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqXxwMf63lpAC57tEwkkA-8UL85p7opiazqAietJ4iJWisYvDhhoj5LOPpwh9wkW89lHNf5gxR3mUb26pkVzHPaKbuSUxcvfe03s6oasOsDuzoAzFrfo0PWSHzY7hjHzC6uf2yGNXqNY/s1600/sphere.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></div>
Say this sphere were used... as you look around you need the sphere to appear to roll around you, showing more of the left or right as your head rotates.<br />
Or you can visualize the same concept viewing an Earth globe:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JtLMd0gYA1uPKEE3DLyJ_CWOzfoz6kCRLrHO572YM0kh5aYEga6_OY8yqdJIvtCsCwApU8TS0SKNKsbTrpSjftBT4tWK1FfUvziOJT7ljAruc_RzhXbSe2HWD7lAbdhgYpTytPmWww8/s1600/world-time-zone-globe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JtLMd0gYA1uPKEE3DLyJ_CWOzfoz6kCRLrHO572YM0kh5aYEga6_OY8yqdJIvtCsCwApU8TS0SKNKsbTrpSjftBT4tWK1FfUvziOJT7ljAruc_RzhXbSe2HWD7lAbdhgYpTytPmWww8/s1600/world-time-zone-globe.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
The 'sphere' distortion (aka transformation) is useful to illustrate the point, but actually you want a wierd cylindrical object where the top and bottom of the cylinder curve <i>towards you</i>, a bit like an eggcup, something like:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYdHx7uwITyIMBO9JZAx4g16snxsrpUfBc57p829UytvxcLTtlAuSBLaf2BIx73d9QCrkV4CZZOC9Vv-m52xmyE093BHVMxJkDgHYuJuXpz0hB7Mw58hJwKO4zV8HCq8LFgKGh0Iygpw/s1600/hyperboloid-surface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYdHx7uwITyIMBO9JZAx4g16snxsrpUfBc57p829UytvxcLTtlAuSBLaf2BIx73d9QCrkV4CZZOC9Vv-m52xmyE093BHVMxJkDgHYuJuXpz0hB7Mw58hJwKO4zV8HCq8LFgKGh0Iygpw/s1600/hyperboloid-surface.jpg" height="320" width="241" /></a></div>
The shape above is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperboloid" target="_blank">hyperboloid</a> which is a reasonable approximation to what you could use. The console images would only wrap around the front section (so every console is in view) and the shape would appear to rotate as you turned your head, a bit like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teacups" target="_blank">rotating teacup viewed from the teapot</a> (alhough we're using a <i>single eggcup</i>...)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdtghtAsQBHjlZ7nb_9c2c757gydzOOM5bM-NP_1ycxmRl2f8S4KWoItRgZxv9UOUMOa-GBcRcRbgf_hf1350jp-D6gtDPl-qBOjR1xwOKZ_cJ8ek6wELF6mScsjmHbZEYNjf0v1KQlc/s1600/MidiTeaCup_gallery_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdtghtAsQBHjlZ7nb_9c2c757gydzOOM5bM-NP_1ycxmRl2f8S4KWoItRgZxv9UOUMOa-GBcRcRbgf_hf1350jp-D6gtDPl-qBOjR1xwOKZ_cJ8ek6wELF6mScsjmHbZEYNjf0v1KQlc/s1600/MidiTeaCup_gallery_03.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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The cylinder could rotate in front of an apparently stationary background so the VR isn't too disorienting.<br />
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So I name this technique the <i>rotating eggcup transform</i>...<br />
<br />Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-17353430543519682952014-10-28T17:32:00.000+00:002014-10-28T17:32:36.464+00:00Oculus Rift supports 'high resolution' desktops via a resolution multiplier effectHere's an interesting scientific detail: for virtual desktop use the relatively-low-res Oculus Rift DK2 actually feels higher resolution than it really is, because of the way you can pan around a large virtual screen, and lean in for a closer look. For desktop use this is a <i><span style="font-size: large;">resolution multiplier</span></i> effect.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.oculus.com/" target="_blank">Oculus Rift VR DK2 headset</a> has a native resolution of <a href="http://www.oculus.com/dk2/" target="_blank">2 x 960 x 1080</a> (i.e. it's a 1920x1080 HD display split vertically in two).<br />
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So you could assume this makes for a fairly poor display to present a standard computer desktop, e.g. via the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqCYO_tDdTw" target="_blank">Virtual Desktop</a>.<br />
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It is true the headset can only display 960x1080 pixels at a time <i>but</i> if you define a desktop of (say) 1920x1080 it is relatively convenient to move your head around to see the full content. Not the same as the full resolution, but a lot more convenient than having a scrollable virtual desktop you move left and right on via the keyboard.<br />
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This may actually pay off when a later VR headset really <i>does</i> have the resolution you want for each eye (I don't know, maybe WQXGA i.e. 2 x 2560 x 1600) but actually your desktop can appear much larger (e.g. 5K) because now you have more than enough within the 'current window' but can pan around (by moving your head) to other displayed information.<br />
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So unlike the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqCYO_tDdTw" target="_blank">Virtual Desktop</a> mentioned at the start of this post, maybe the 5K+ larger display I'm suggesting should be virtually <i>curved</i>, and appear to wrap around the user. So this brings us full circle (pun intended) to the curved requirement for large displays that I've referred to in regard to real monitors earlier in this blog.<br />
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Games, as always, explore new tech ideas before anything else. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FWOUwdBQdY" target="_blank">On this Elite:Dangerous video, see how the wrap-around 'user interface' has many more pixels than the window of the users real-time view...</a><br />
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FWOUwdBQdY" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FWOUwdBQdY" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihffqJst6X4fxIpziTtfEZHYvPMCakkZzmkJnIbbcWoMo1eYM8A3mCoUhlmdpQNyPXiHdWeLmZyUEcijDqy1p7FlC4AGJUc4a6fN9l50VSZ7puqzitNKE32TPS4hQo36MJtMNm8eltoZ8/s1600/elite_menu.jpg" height="132" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-29602195616507967432014-10-27T11:35:00.001+00:002014-10-27T11:35:42.764+00:00WTF? The Google Inbox website is kinda brokenIn an interesting twist in the 'what's important to the end user' industry soap opera, the <a href="http://www.google.com/inbox/" target="_blank">Google website promoting Google Inbox</a> makes some interesting design choices regarding web usability. In particular it discards the concept of web 'links'. Really? So the page for 'Request Invitation' shouldn't have a URL? I can't link readers of this blog to the 'highlights' page?<br />
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There's a lot of dynamic scrolling going on but ultimately the entire 'site' is served via a single web URL, a la full-page Flash sites of maybe a decade ago.<br />
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The HTML 5 developers did a <i>good thing</i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_HTML5_and_Flash" target="_blank">introducing features that removed the need for Flash</a>. But if Google developers buy into the Flash-style website-as-a-single-page model then others are definitely going to do that, and we're going to head off on a detour on the interweb superhighway.<br />
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Maybe I'm just out of date. Apps are the way to go, the internet is just <i>wrong</i>.<br />
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Although, seriously, as posted earlier, I think the assessment of user value from Google for Inbox is misguided (in spite of the Google-Wave-like effusive user enthusiasm currently in the TwitterSphere), and the Google inbox website is actually symptomatic of a glossy marketing-led fire-and-forget approach.<br />
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If Google really wanted to see if Inbox is a killer app, they should quietly make it available as a slightly inelegant beta, and see if it goes viral.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-82485701902868547472014-10-26T12:02:00.002+00:002014-10-26T12:59:28.098+00:00Google announces Gmail Google Inbox: a clever idea that misses the pointAfter the failure of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Wave" target="_blank">Google Wave (now Apache Wave)</a>, Google is having another try with <a href="http://www.google.com/inbox/" target="_blank">Google Inbox</a>. They are missing the point, and here's why:<br />
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Fundamentally, deeply and irrecoverably, email developers (like those on Gmail, but also all the others like Microsoft Outlook) cannot get their head around the fact that the actual email message is <i>not</i> the defining core central element of an email platform. It was a great concept to center all the functionality around the messages when these were infrequent and all the technical resources at the developers disposal were 100% absorbed in the exciting complexity of transferring a message from A to B and storing and displaying them.<br />
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When technology moved forward a bit and storage of text emails was less of a state-of-the-art problem, the email developers kept the message as the 'core object' of the system but added the innovation of being able to store those messages under the concept of <i>folders</i>. This was simplistic and inevitable if you realised that emails were typically stored as plain text files on the system so email folders had an easy, obvious but limiting implementation of storing those messages in file-system folders (i.e. directories) on the computer.<br />
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Google Wave kept the concept of the message as the core defining element of the system but linked them together in threads/waves/conversations. If you have a sense of how email works (i.e. one person sends an email with a given subject line, others might reply) you can see how displaying 'threads' is a thing you might do to messages about as obviously as putting them in folders. But it doesn't alter the fundamental premise that the message is the core defining element of the system.<br />
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Things have changed. The person that sent the message is a more important defining core data concept than the ephemeral thing that is the actual message, but email clients (and, surprisingly, Google Inbox) still stick to the notion that the key problem to be addressed is connecting YOU to your MESSAGES.<br />
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Actually, more important is connecting YOU to the OTHER PEOPLE YOU KNOW. Email systems do a good job of enabling you to see or send messages, put them in folders, see them in threads, search for messages and a host of other message-centric things, but actually provide very weak support around the concept of people.<br />
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There is a a simple way of illustrating this limitation in any email client. Anywhere in the system you see a reference to a <i>message</i> (e.g. in a list of messages in a folder) you can click on the message headline (e.g. the subject appearing in the inbox) and BOOM, you go straight to that message. Obvious, no? But anywhere you see a <i>person</i> mentioned (e.g. in the 'from' field of a message, or even in your address book) the support is weak, fragmented and hard to predict. Next time you look at an email, try clicking on the email address in the 'from' field and see what is does. Typically nothing, maybe it allows you to copy that email address, maybe (but unlikely) it takes you to the address book.<br />
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The <i>only</i> sensible solution is to treat <i>person</i> (referenced by email address) as a first-class data object everywhere in the system. In the same way that clicking on an email message subject always takes you to the comprehensive display of that message, clicking on a person reference should <i>always</i> take you to an enriched definitive display for that person. Even simple email clients have useful information to display in that context (all emails to/from that person), and often this could be implemented as an extension of the existing address book functionality (currently inboxes and address books all appear to have been written by independent developers even when bundled together in the same client.<br />
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I've explored this issue in a <a href="http://carrier.csi.cam.ac.uk/forsterlewis/computer_science/face_mail/" target="_blank">hack to the email Roundcube client, making <i>person</i> more of a central element</a>.<br />
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<br />Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-86216881235346144452014-09-12T10:55:00.001+01:002014-09-12T10:55:17.931+01:00The first purpose-designed curved desktop monitor arrives...So finally, in Sept 2014, Mars has lined up with Jupiter and manufacturers have worked out that desktop monitors can be larger, this means they have to be higher resolution, and the size means a curve makes sense...<br />
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Congratulations to LG, who actually have a 34" product, their <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/18/lg-curved-display-ifa-2014/" target="_blank">34UC97 3440x1440 QHD 21:9 curved display</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7p2rwQd6fVncdYgHX4XtTk5G4mSjcWO077R2vH_T4VxDMQ9is1Jpx2Wpt2PuwSK_n8Tj9DtTv5IzzvJsZlnGHu5QOL4k0gz_gGGEjvhZIYeyZtAUCaEj6CTx6RamMohvSFubWPLylq8Q/s1600/lg-34uc86-900-80.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7p2rwQd6fVncdYgHX4XtTk5G4mSjcWO077R2vH_T4VxDMQ9is1Jpx2Wpt2PuwSK_n8Tj9DtTv5IzzvJsZlnGHu5QOL4k0gz_gGGEjvhZIYeyZtAUCaEj6CTx6RamMohvSFubWPLylq8Q/s1600/lg-34uc86-900-80.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
As predicted here, you need to test with a straight edge to actually detect the curvature but you have to expect the manufacturers to be very conservative at first...<br />
<br />
Dell have been teasing with a curved display, also 34", the <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/dell-teases-34-inch-ultrasharp-u3415w-curved-lcd-monitor-7000033154/" target="_blank">Ultrasharp U3415W curved LCD monitor</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCckgW5-QrfD3DwVuqUhmdpqjAhtii1l4N3IJUPVbEHMq-Hz8m1W49Gikqnk7hfghnKJU_FafsnhvR9TbOBXEGMd-PAjXtfvcXqQk0pJtdxOiHJF-C45Ib-N1ONjglEAKiY5XFEuf5-oE/s1600/dell-ultrasharp-u3415w-curved-lcd-monitor-display-620x284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCckgW5-QrfD3DwVuqUhmdpqjAhtii1l4N3IJUPVbEHMq-Hz8m1W49Gikqnk7hfghnKJU_FafsnhvR9TbOBXEGMd-PAjXtfvcXqQk0pJtdxOiHJF-C45Ib-N1ONjglEAKiY5XFEuf5-oE/s1600/dell-ultrasharp-u3415w-curved-lcd-monitor-display-620x284.jpg" height="146" width="320" /></a></div>
In a slightly farcical piece of marketing, Dell have worked out they need two of these monitors side-by-side for you to see they are actually curved. (By the way, for games, 2 monitors generally sucks because the join is right in front of the player - you need 3 monitors to avoid that).<br />
<br />
Good to see monitor sizes creep up to 34", but this is IMHO still rather missing the point of increasing <a href="http://collabtools.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/digital-desk-ratio.html" target="_blank">digital desk ratio</a>, and desktop monitors should get significantly larger (and more curved).<br />
<br />
The question is whether buyers take these relatively expensive products or just buy a 4K TV and stick that on their desk. (Seriously, the <i>possibility</i> of this option should reduce the price of fancy new monitors...)Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-13962070175063471702014-07-08T11:19:00.001+01:002014-07-08T11:39:30.756+01:00Large 16:9 monitors have height issues...With the default 16:9 ratio for TV display panels, desk use creates more of an issue with the <i>height</i> rather than the width. To counter this you really want the bottom pixels of the display area at the lowest point possible to be visible by the user, and this requires counter-sinking the stand into the desk:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJC6952r0yZdS7qWOpvZ_Al6QfrXHhRUr5zAfgDF_jX6vUW4Lmqxb6u3VWkxyeYTrQrgZtUPbhnOjb5iDagYN4mlnYbWMrKf6kRP0kNkBTtygOG2uZgmxjnnREWLK01V9EJ4WeNqorEYw/s1600/stepped_desk_angle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJC6952r0yZdS7qWOpvZ_Al6QfrXHhRUr5zAfgDF_jX6vUW4Lmqxb6u3VWkxyeYTrQrgZtUPbhnOjb5iDagYN4mlnYbWMrKf6kRP0kNkBTtygOG2uZgmxjnnREWLK01V9EJ4WeNqorEYw/s1600/stepped_desk_angle.jpg" /></a></div>
So this results in a desk layout something like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fNHqDh8yeA-kmIdt-9VXu-yvNZGkcobTiYN0lPKyUqcvF6sjRWVyY6-66VptCJTZRhfFxXU09lpLG2l8HcVVT6muWSAgxpWXtgvnDFAwh1jV2Nm2TKYIVGdf4uPfAoctoJCb4Yud7RQ/s1600/stepped_desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fNHqDh8yeA-kmIdt-9VXu-yvNZGkcobTiYN0lPKyUqcvF6sjRWVyY6-66VptCJTZRhfFxXU09lpLG2l8HcVVT6muWSAgxpWXtgvnDFAwh1jV2Nm2TKYIVGdf4uPfAoctoJCb4Yud7RQ/s1600/stepped_desk.jpg" height="320" width="307" /></a></div>
I'm sure this could be done more elegantly but you get the idea. An alternative would be to cantilever a VESA stand from the back of the desk with the bottom bezel <i>below</i> the back edge of the desk, but that would involve a heavy bit of kit hanging off the back of the desk.<br />
I wonder whether manufacturers think of patenting obvious ideas like this. Wouldn't surprise me...Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-16043113294292836992014-05-21T12:14:00.001+01:002014-05-23T16:55:33.661+01:00First UHD Curved Desktop Monitor announcedFinally, a device has appeared that is IMHO workable as a desktop UHD monitor: The <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/televisions/plasma-and-lcd-tvs/samsung-ue65hu8500-1238487/review" target="_blank">Samsung 55" HU8500</a>.<br />
<br />
55" might be a bit large for most desks, but the screen is curved so the angular issue of the extended width is mitigated. UHD is effectively four HD panels, so in terms of apparent resolution this is like four 27" HD panels arranged in a 2x2. So it's probably larger than ideal (most people don't use HD at 27" - more common is 22" or 24") but it's close.<br />
<br />
And it's the only screen I've seen so far that is UHD, curved, and small enough to put on a desk. But it's MUCH bigger than people currently think is 'normal'.<br />
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Here's a contrast with a genuine internet 'office' image (actually advertising Green Card immigration services):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5l_mHLstGFX-ZuhQ7a1J5HnwooCTtFljMMiPXjYmvM37Yt3Br-3RqQutyUFdTur9VheMgQRU4W97MV_ak32604z7gZOKQl3-jGYWQYtrjyaUmgTdEHcMhFLWjzDGTRpajBHv12Kprom0/s1600/office.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5l_mHLstGFX-ZuhQ7a1J5HnwooCTtFljMMiPXjYmvM37Yt3Br-3RqQutyUFdTur9VheMgQRU4W97MV_ak32604z7gZOKQl3-jGYWQYtrjyaUmgTdEHcMhFLWjzDGTRpajBHv12Kprom0/s1600/office.jpg" height="132" width="320" /></a></div>
And if we take out the 'traditional' screen and put in the Samsung curved UHD 55":<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQd6qOw7CSFErlefkOsV4jlIgdl_aKLQQBcUQW4wQNjZVf6Cxa05c-2dlYhLjffofHd1rLxIT9lgRforNE_k-Y2-5Ow-qfmtzoo8VhapppQsy7BAwaB8rwbkmSRziLXO195fRS5BX-m8/s1600/office_curved_uhd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQd6qOw7CSFErlefkOsV4jlIgdl_aKLQQBcUQW4wQNjZVf6Cxa05c-2dlYhLjffofHd1rLxIT9lgRforNE_k-Y2-5Ow-qfmtzoo8VhapppQsy7BAwaB8rwbkmSRziLXO195fRS5BX-m8/s1600/office_curved_uhd.jpg" height="132" width="320" /></a></div>
I know the picture editing is terrible. Apologies. I wanted the screen further back but couldn't adjust the perspective correctly.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-23876445478015694072014-05-16T20:18:00.002+01:002014-05-16T20:18:50.107+01:00May 2014: 49" Ultra HD, $640 - no mention of use as a desktop monitor???A new Ultra HD monitor (i.e. TV...) announced today, the <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/15/xiaomi-mi-tv-2-4k/" target="_blank">Xiaomi MiTV 2</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGuDa3SHH-S3nyfUi5SeA0Bc8FoaHol6dPvTT_srN_KFiWk6Lq8tYiEu1EpgcrOIg8wkS6Ro62heSuSjJNsUMojm6UB59uu150vVAHur9a5W_MiwzP0S3dY7O5i0ClNBHBEZluH1Q5Uk/s1600/MiTV-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGuDa3SHH-S3nyfUi5SeA0Bc8FoaHol6dPvTT_srN_KFiWk6Lq8tYiEu1EpgcrOIg8wkS6Ro62heSuSjJNsUMojm6UB59uu150vVAHur9a5W_MiwzP0S3dY7O5i0ClNBHBEZluH1Q5Uk/s1600/MiTV-04.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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49 inches of 4K goodness for $640 (in China though, so this might never appear in the West). Built-in Android as a freebie extra.</div>
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What's strange to me is there's NO mention anywhere of using this thing as a desktop monitor. OK it might not be for everyone but really? No Linux hacker wants all this borderless screen real estate?</div>
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<div>
49" is about the optimal size - each HD quarter screen is ~ 24", and we've been happy with that pixel density for years. From experience, the height of the screen would feel a bit wierd (you'd definitely scrap the little legs), but you might not want to make the screen wider on your desk without curving it.</div>
Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-52996487286219041032014-04-25T21:42:00.000+01:002014-04-25T21:51:06.534+01:00Flat small monitor versus curved large Ultra HdHere's another comparison of screen size thought 'normal' today, and the target we should be aiming for.<br />
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1. A 'stylish' cubicle mockup provided by an office furniture vendor in (I kid you not) 2014.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMZO9jDruryhwVCYDAlFbTaNGDKVkpb4CQ2o5DEgYId0NonsY8OfwSRheOLJNnN3LmhFJTEMknWu-VDJbL_xduzmTdUJY7wSPIg-sSayRRz0Vkzm0FEcUJ4QudCWG-v8CqWXY2Ps9JBE/s1600/quad_cubicle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMZO9jDruryhwVCYDAlFbTaNGDKVkpb4CQ2o5DEgYId0NonsY8OfwSRheOLJNnN3LmhFJTEMknWu-VDJbL_xduzmTdUJY7wSPIg-sSayRRz0Vkzm0FEcUJ4QudCWG-v8CqWXY2Ps9JBE/s1600/quad_cubicle.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
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2. With the shortly-to-become-possible larger single curved Ultra HD monitor:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4dI-Z1_mZHQpg6OHwd7hVRPUjLm1jp6MD8-0TyTkXQGSiTbg4c7f3n1HcD5QbO3YW8qeip0WtRvAZDcN9qLQ5W25pzDMqjx5HDDKes__Gw3BOYjhtGGQmgwmaTd7qcEStw70afBP13I/s1600/quad_cubicle_larger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4dI-Z1_mZHQpg6OHwd7hVRPUjLm1jp6MD8-0TyTkXQGSiTbg4c7f3n1HcD5QbO3YW8qeip0WtRvAZDcN9qLQ5W25pzDMqjx5HDDKes__Gw3BOYjhtGGQmgwmaTd7qcEStw70afBP13I/s1600/quad_cubicle_larger.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
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Maybe this suggests a plausible size (at Ultra HD, 3840x2160) and curvature for desktop use. The challenge will be that affordable LCD panels will be designed for TV, and they'll have a sub-optimal curvature for desktop use, i.e. they'll be too flat. But that'll match initial user expectations anyway (but they'll be wrong...)<br />
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The larger monitor is TEN times the screen area of the one the furniture vendor thought suitable (I measured the two images...). This example is exaggerated (the furniture vendor is nuts) but illustrates the delta between current expectations versus what should soon be cost-effective.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-35094951419949474812014-04-18T22:35:00.001+01:002014-04-18T22:37:47.718+01:00The curved desktop future, via Apple<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
More on the 'Ultra HD curved desktop' future...</div>
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Apple will probably announce a new Mac with a curved screen, with the usual 'this changes everything' marketing hype. Maybe that will help change opinion on the appropriate size of a computer desktop. Not a big deal but if you asked a sample of computer users 'how large should your display area be' I suspect today you'd get a typical expecation of maybe a 24" screen. As mentioned before, Ultra HD computer monitors are naturally larger such that a 50" monitor becomes reasonable, and at that size curving the display makes sense for at least two reasons;</div>
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<ol>
<li>it keeps the angle between the screen and the eye more consistent, so you get a more even image with less perspective distortion</li>
<li>it keeps the distance between the eye and the screen more consistent, so focussing is easier especially for older users who would struggle to adjust their focus distance from the center to the edges</li>
</ol>
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But the Apple device (if such a thing comes along) will be conservative, maybe looking like th image below:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxeccoLoAiPpx3DgPHHLY30-wotgyHyNK5JdXWPb_uaB0zwZ-w56dqva08fyG2SjOuTEvhszbzlb4DxHu57PlVyIRbrWDyws62CR2VKTlI_LcKYUBEObvjF3Z-W3ruR7zZq24fhoURIc/s1600/small-curve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxeccoLoAiPpx3DgPHHLY30-wotgyHyNK5JdXWPb_uaB0zwZ-w56dqva08fyG2SjOuTEvhszbzlb4DxHu57PlVyIRbrWDyws62CR2VKTlI_LcKYUBEObvjF3Z-W3ruR7zZq24fhoURIc/s1600/small-curve.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7GBWtExXeUgXXOqNfweygKAX36cXXJ0Jb2hbqZjc1tetsywDKzD-1ZHTStUqnhjffk_JrNjR8-5SD6-ItsIaKZGpwPDNw-LJFxxBI184rJb7XTdbg9-4jUc8j8eE273EnmP5TNWdyHU/s1600/small-curve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7GBWtExXeUgXXOqNfweygKAX36cXXJ0Jb2hbqZjc1tetsywDKzD-1ZHTStUqnhjffk_JrNjR8-5SD6-ItsIaKZGpwPDNw-LJFxxBI184rJb7XTdbg9-4jUc8j8eE273EnmP5TNWdyHU/s1600/small-curve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7GBWtExXeUgXXOqNfweygKAX36cXXJ0Jb2hbqZjc1tetsywDKzD-1ZHTStUqnhjffk_JrNjR8-5SD6-ItsIaKZGpwPDNw-LJFxxBI184rJb7XTdbg9-4jUc8j8eE273EnmP5TNWdyHU/s1600/small-curve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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The image above is good for TV, but for a computer desktop a less conservative approach would look like the image below</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfT-ai3QaiWdt9_L-uY7gu3f_xgCeejQ0S2vNqERIH4nXhk8CAwVkxaeOgM8TKlxzp_NAKAOC48-J9uafZQDsx_bVBXDDuXWL9lVSomSVuaPcfo5gz-cRO6iAv4dLVaSKEW8GfVnORe1I/s1600/curved-desktop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfT-ai3QaiWdt9_L-uY7gu3f_xgCeejQ0S2vNqERIH4nXhk8CAwVkxaeOgM8TKlxzp_NAKAOC48-J9uafZQDsx_bVBXDDuXWL9lVSomSVuaPcfo5gz-cRO6iAv4dLVaSKEW8GfVnORe1I/s1600/curved-desktop.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Plenty of people have experimented with multiple flat monitors (state of the art in 2013) and with complete freedom of choice they've chosen a significant curvature, validating the approach:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEbwCw3WeSBmSTSgGufbPjC-Do0TH4k4qiDhtQPklHbtI_TYvLuU5pG_d5G0CRf5bY0O3z8t_1Pn7ebM3LAhEtrwQb7Ev76GNE8XF2sSR0DJnq1-O89IXJnlmcOE_R-QFsK5eIKs7JrU/s1600/BobCurvedSmall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEbwCw3WeSBmSTSgGufbPjC-Do0TH4k4qiDhtQPklHbtI_TYvLuU5pG_d5G0CRf5bY0O3z8t_1Pn7ebM3LAhEtrwQb7Ev76GNE8XF2sSR0DJnq1-O89IXJnlmcOE_R-QFsK5eIKs7JrU/s1600/BobCurvedSmall.JPG" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
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So in a nutshell, my case is the center image is what we'll choose when it's socially acceptable, but we'll get there via a series of steps - Ultra HD, gentle curve, larger with more curve.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-89856526225303172852014-03-24T11:07:00.001+00:002014-03-24T11:07:05.837+00:00Digital Desk RatioFor a long time I've thought there's a disconnect in business regarding the most efficient amout of 'digital' real estate on a knowledge worker's desk. I.e. office staff tend to have big desks and small computer monitors.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvu0xvxagye2682vgVTOxLDnNlGMsw9qFSyB72FDK6lLpen03Be3jOa13r-86ue-4RMP4u60dZH825eiEKnmNLVFXKVrD4lMiGOUGEo-rHrrV29SiDA9tR9GpXuzD3nvqqEFAFhH-Xqs/s1600/digital_desk_ratio_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvu0xvxagye2682vgVTOxLDnNlGMsw9qFSyB72FDK6lLpen03Be3jOa13r-86ue-4RMP4u60dZH825eiEKnmNLVFXKVrD4lMiGOUGEo-rHrrV29SiDA9tR9GpXuzD3nvqqEFAFhH-Xqs/s1600/digital_desk_ratio_2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have worked in the Investment Banking industry for many years so maybe I'm more used than most to seeing desks that look like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzb4lI7Gy_qunMTNNkgHqiXYaIKkVdM9GXyDMyuOSSnmC-t2NERXOhLwwOHiqpfr6vDf4K6nJypsPQ5r-1T69Q1UYO9-Rx5Ja2jWtTbbbLf1M6nUFtG0ZFQAB45S7uArKzas5DcHz4M3E/s1600/digital_desk_ratio_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzb4lI7Gy_qunMTNNkgHqiXYaIKkVdM9GXyDMyuOSSnmC-t2NERXOhLwwOHiqpfr6vDf4K6nJypsPQ5r-1T69Q1UYO9-Rx5Ja2jWtTbbbLf1M6nUFtG0ZFQAB45S7uArKzas5DcHz4M3E/s1600/digital_desk_ratio_3.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
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I could understand some people looking at the image above would think that it's an unusual requirement for an unusual business with no relevance elsewhere, but below is an image of how computer gamers would be happy to have their desktop setup:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMXe0zY5kj8PjG9oqp90n4_-iTspFHMr1feGb3YN00693dfjzVUH-T8Gpen3XeVqejnXKcsUB4mHQPmcLsgEWoj-uBG93WE2KMWqhq7TXA22yigDYgMR1S12RVN0hMqf4tXu3MhziqEw/s1600/digital_desk_ratio_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMXe0zY5kj8PjG9oqp90n4_-iTspFHMr1feGb3YN00693dfjzVUH-T8Gpen3XeVqejnXKcsUB4mHQPmcLsgEWoj-uBG93WE2KMWqhq7TXA22yigDYgMR1S12RVN0hMqf4tXu3MhziqEw/s1600/digital_desk_ratio_4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
In a nutshell, I believe there is significant cultural baggage associated with the 'normal' size of office digital real estate which acts against a reasonable expectation that users would have more screen real estate because:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Our business lives have become more digital</li>
<li>The cost of LCD displays has become so low as to be irrelevant for most office workers</li>
</ol>
<br />
There must be good reasons why most office workers have a lot of desk and not a lot of digital display space. Perhaps those reasons include:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>The 'cultural norm' I alluded to earlier (a single 20" screen looks 'normal')</li>
<li>Maybe connecting multiple displays appears technically complicated to some</li>
<li>There is still an expectation of a business case to justify the investment even though the screens are now $150.</li>
<li>No-one is asking the IT department to improve the digital desk ratio (the ratio of digital screen area to desk area)</li>
</ol>
<div>
For the record, my office <b><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Digital Desk Ratio</span></b> is <span style="color: red;">22.1%</span>.</div>
Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-69767369339533605512014-01-25T20:51:00.001+00:002014-01-25T20:52:20.087+00:00Curved = FlatI learnt something new about curved screens today (thanks to a demo model in John Lewis, Cambridge..)... If you view the screen from relatively close, it actually looks flat. It's a wierd optical illusion but it works and may turn out to be important for desktop displays.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-37598336224089351832014-01-05T20:25:00.001+00:002014-01-05T20:25:11.537+00:00Ultra HD + Curved makes sense for the desktopMost computer displays these days are re-hashed TV lcd displays, hence the prevalent 1920x1080 pixel form-factor. This resolution limits the screen size on your desktop to maybe 24" - anything larger and your sitting too close to a fuzzy mess. I have two screens on my office computer - a 20" 1600x1200 (portrait) and a 37" 1920x1080. The latter is just a TV used via its DVI input, and is pretty awful to use for office apps like Word or Excel (but it's great for spinning around in the office and sharing when we're looking at application screenshots...). I suspect many people's expectation of a 'sensible' monitor size is actually based on what's available, constrained by this limitation.<br />
<br />
TV's are <i>obviously</i> going Ultra HD (i.e. 3840x2160) - this <i>will</i> happen even though media content at this resolution will lag far behind. The price will be below $1000 in 2014. Ultra HD displays are just too good for digital displays for this opportunity to be missed. Even when viewing HD media content, at the very least you will be able to shrink the video window and display the online guide, or program info, or whatever on the same screen.<br />
<br />
If you accept the above premise (Ultra HD TV's will become affordable quickly), the first benefit is to computer users who want a larger display. A 50" Ultra HD panel has excellent pixel density for a high quality display.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4clO2HNBts__erkupKd8ioTfIqCNh4Oh_MIjREnUkXbc5JdAKttGXp9cxe0CHNmgARmuj1DkyPhNOJdxPjb1t4vAEeFqNVCHhcApsORWooquvN3bIlxh1E15AhBH6rSm7JWIQAr1F60/s1600/curved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4clO2HNBts__erkupKd8ioTfIqCNh4Oh_MIjREnUkXbc5JdAKttGXp9cxe0CHNmgARmuj1DkyPhNOJdxPjb1t4vAEeFqNVCHhcApsORWooquvN3bIlxh1E15AhBH6rSm7JWIQAr1F60/s320/curved.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
But if you have the screen a couple of feet in front of you (i.e. on your desk), a large flat display is less easy to see than a curved one. This is demonstrable from the many users (including me, at home) that have <i>three</i> similar displays on their computer. These are always angled into a curve for convenient viewing. In my case with three 20" 1600x1200 monitors (all portrait), the outer monitors are set at maybe a <b>40 degree</b> offset from the center. So the current delicate curve is probably sub-optimal for a desktop.<br />
<br />
I can understand readers of this thinking "A 50" desktop display? That's crazy large and I'll never do it." but why at work in your office would you want a 80" desk and only a 20" screen?Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-85663497861993841102013-09-20T16:45:00.001+01:002013-09-20T16:50:46.513+01:00Snapchat, WebRTC, HTML5 & CollaborationA quick point: video on its own is not enough to make person-to-person communication much better than a phone call. It <i>is</i> better, just not much.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sO7oSOu07-b-0xvLNs9X8P8_QAQ8hLfDwfDPEF2P8qvgEeuBKIoKznIrx9PPXSGr-444ahWD778pQ8MoRjPp5q45jSXc0b3jzZzRtEjGMg5ZbowUoPJVWb7pJ0Mk-D9M3g3g31YsGIo/s1600/webex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sO7oSOu07-b-0xvLNs9X8P8_QAQ8hLfDwfDPEF2P8qvgEeuBKIoKznIrx9PPXSGr-444ahWD778pQ8MoRjPp5q45jSXc0b3jzZzRtEjGMg5ZbowUoPJVWb7pJ0Mk-D9M3g3g31YsGIo/s320/webex.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
You need more content in the remote meeting than just the video feed, e.g. as above for a Webex meeting.<br />
WebRTC currently relies upon a peer-to-peer connection for the video, i.e. between the <i>browsers</i>. Creating a meeting like the one illustrated with Webex above is just a total pain in the ass unless a central media gateway is used as a central video hub, which is not something WebRTC supports at the moment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmRrrrqbSR3N7GhVpsBvrIJ1ri_NO_APu8iKCGqzh-fEpk_UEfuAQUYbH_IDxg7loi-p2lznIQI6XNcLqOykHnf0zg2_OambeQ0yhe-YYNGc57BLFmmOLVgOX7TdUiSKqA4X61y04Amc/s1600/snapchat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmRrrrqbSR3N7GhVpsBvrIJ1ri_NO_APu8iKCGqzh-fEpk_UEfuAQUYbH_IDxg7loi-p2lznIQI6XNcLqOykHnf0zg2_OambeQ0yhe-YYNGc57BLFmmOLVgOX7TdUiSKqA4X61y04Amc/s320/snapchat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
My kids are currently using <a href="http://www.snapchat.com/" target="_blank">snapchat</a> to send messages to friends which include a single picture just taken with their smartphone. This, to me, looks a bit like videoconferencing with a framerate of seconds- or minutes-per-frame (think about it) so at the very least it suggests the real-time video isn't quite as important as the industry assumes. But, as mentioned, with the additional content it becomes more useful for remote collaboration.<br />
<br />
Finally, HTML5 is capable of WebRTC video, plus all the various real-time chat, image/document sharing and multi-person annotation directly in the browser, so really that is where we should expect to see the most innovative development in this space, i.e. within the browser.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-6580838951712427722013-09-05T10:09:00.000+01:002013-09-05T10:09:46.569+01:00Interactive whiteboards + Windows 8 multi-touch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The situation has <strong>changed</strong> for interactive whiteboards in the past 18 months.</div>
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Interactive whiteboards (such as <a href="http://www.prometheanworld.com/" target="_blank">Promethean</a> or <a href="http://smarttech.com/" target="_blank">Smart</a>) are a simple combination of a digitizer area than supports touch/pen input plus a projector (typically) that can overlay an image onto the same area. The whiteboard is always connected to a PC, with the digitizer connecting via a standard USB interface and the projector (or display screen) connecting via the standard video interface (i.e. VGA, DVI or HDMI).</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jo6zZtWHZ7KHMzAWxy4M28ycLIwKaRikf-kGxXFTHNcUJQXrXGU2gLAVwNz5fzMpX7Zyjj__gLtXrMtC6oGEi6dFYE-sPxaQ9ouYQIrShVj9iMWxoBFp5kpV2CWlVBlPB7h1dkqMIR4/s1600/promethean_activboard.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jo6zZtWHZ7KHMzAWxy4M28ycLIwKaRikf-kGxXFTHNcUJQXrXGU2gLAVwNz5fzMpX7Zyjj__gLtXrMtC6oGEi6dFYE-sPxaQ9ouYQIrShVj9iMWxoBFp5kpV2CWlVBlPB7h1dkqMIR4/s1600/promethean_activboard.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jo6zZtWHZ7KHMzAWxy4M28ycLIwKaRikf-kGxXFTHNcUJQXrXGU2gLAVwNz5fzMpX7Zyjj__gLtXrMtC6oGEi6dFYE-sPxaQ9ouYQIrShVj9iMWxoBFp5kpV2CWlVBlPB7h1dkqMIR4/s320/promethean_activboard.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basic interactive whiteboard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Previously, the basic assumption was that the PC would be dedicated to running software provided by the interactive whiteboard vendor, which is dominated by the needs of K-12 education.<br />
<br />
The <strong>new</strong> situation is that Windows 8 (and Android, and iOS) has come along with it's<strong> native</strong> support for multi-touch, so the interactive whiteboard vendors are necessarily re-configuring their systems so the digitizer surface becomes a generic Windows 8 touch/pen input device. This opens up many more possibilities for the use of the interactive whiteboard outside of the classroom.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAY6q1XtqYPJxMnBwViEvBLS5LHnRecW4GktKOaZI9L9zfcSmzZHoP5y6p4f9G6V3eRJ6JHOsbydesOiAUIbjYXKTmejrzMnT-mbNs38aG2RNRdagKgK0d2Kz-66J251449qK9FRrKu9o/s1600/whiteboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAY6q1XtqYPJxMnBwViEvBLS5LHnRecW4GktKOaZI9L9zfcSmzZHoP5y6p4f9G6V3eRJ6JHOsbydesOiAUIbjYXKTmejrzMnT-mbNs38aG2RNRdagKgK0d2Kz-66J251449qK9FRrKu9o/s1600/whiteboard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">User interaction</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It <em>is</em> a new experience to see the Windows desktop on the whiteboard and be able to scroll around with swipes. As with tablets, the previous windows/scrollbars/keyboard metaphor was a poor fit for whiteboards.<br />
<br />
Essentially, the interactive whiteboard vendors are moving more into the space of large-PC-touchscreen suppliers, so we'll see how this evolves. From a hardware standpoint there will be more alternatives, and Promethean have announced their strategic intention to focus on the software used in teaching (presumably rather than the hardware).<br />
<br />
<strong>Of course LCD displays will replace projectors</strong><br />
From a hardware standpoint, the large-format digitizers are impressive (e.g. see the <a href="http://multitouch.com/product.html" target="_blank">G4S multi-touch overlay)</a> supporting capacitive multi-touch with high resolution and rapid responsiveness. But the current use of projectors for the display is laughably inadequate, with a typical resolution around 1024x768. So for office use (where the users can be expected to be closer than in a classroom) it can be assumed new, large, high resolution displays will be preferred - the price is rapidly falling for, e.g., 65" Ultra HD displays - already less than $5,000.<br />
<br />
<strong>Generic software capabilities will continue to evolve</strong><br />
In an office setting, there are at least two scenarios where you want software beyond the current basic capabilities of Windows 8 (even if the application you are using is Microsoft Powerpoint).<br />
<ol>
<li>You can expect your users to have tablets in front of them in the meeting room (many do already) and they should not have to leave their chair to annotate the whiteboard, or even simply page forward in the presentation. They should <em>not</em> need to have their tablet hard-wired to the whiteboard...</li>
<li>Whiteboard software is not currently designed to support remote users (i.e. people in another room). Remote collaboration software is very immature relative to the use of touch-enabled devices (e.g. <a href="http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/adobeconnect.html" target="_blank">Adobe Connect</a> or <a href="http://www.webex.com/" target="_blank">WebEx</a>), but the use of products such as these in the whiteboard environment described above shows real promise.</li>
</ol>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5KUQtnmf0GQj7n-sjwO-UuHTqvCHAWAJBF37a3Ip5l-nDGPul9bmwj5nh6yNnrRD9eJZCc_ULnAUQayo3hiCj252RbMN-P52WhjqzultPwM4BSyDjL2YF3sTloqV7kjPC-KhwjaE7gQ/s1600/meeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5KUQtnmf0GQj7n-sjwO-UuHTqvCHAWAJBF37a3Ip5l-nDGPul9bmwj5nh6yNnrRD9eJZCc_ULnAUQayo3hiCj252RbMN-P52WhjqzultPwM4BSyDjL2YF3sTloqV7kjPC-KhwjaE7gQ/s320/meeting.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With a table digitizer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-90651267305709426402012-03-15T10:57:00.000+00:002012-03-15T10:57:48.094+00:00Touch interface will encourage contact-centric email approach'Touch' interface users are good at prodding things with a fat finger, and dragging and dropping items. Typing is less convenient than on a device with a 'proper' keyboard.<br />
There are three immediate examples that show where contact-centric email benefits a 'touch' user more than a user of a regular desktop computer:<br />
<ol><li>Composing an email to a given contact is conveniently a click on a button by their name, business card popup, or in the contact entry itself.</li>
<li>Adding addresses to new emails or replies can be supported via drag-and-drop from the contacts pane</li>
<li>Searching for emails based on an email address can be done with a single click on the corresponding contact</li>
</ol>For each of these it is common for PC users of existing mail applications to resort to the keyboard (and email client developers have worked hard to enhance the productivity of this). But a touch user might prefer drag-and-drop, and for this to be effective you really want the contact list readily available.<br />
This post isn't intended to suggest contact-centric email is a slam-dunk obvious preferred solution for touch/tablet users, rather to suggest they might find it more attractive than PC users.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-52610936958301441162012-03-11T12:03:00.000+00:002012-03-11T12:03:34.066+00:00Abstracting the framework useful for contact-centric emailI am actually modifying the open-source webmail software <a href="http://roundcube.net/" target="_blank">Roundcube</a> to provide the contact-centric functionality described in the posts below as a personal research effort. The developers of Roundmail deserve huge credit for producing a free piece of software that is remarkably well architected. <br />
Nevertheless it's clear that, like all email software that I have come across, Roundcube is currently constructed around a few fundamental assumptions that then constrain the way the product is used. In particular Roundcube is designed with the assumption that you are interacting with an <em>email folder</em> or the <em>address book</em>, but never both. From the screenshots in my earlier posts below I will leave you to decide whether you are looking at a list of emails (i.e. a <em>folder view</em>) or a contact entry (<em>i.e. a contact view</em>), the point being that contact-centric email merges the concepts.<br />
With conventional email, a folder view will typically allow you to filter and/or sort your emails, so you can certainly arrive at a list of emails to or from a given individual, and from a typical email addressbook you can usually click a button that will take you to a 'compose' form to send an email to that individual, and Roundcube includes these capabilities as does Thunderbird, Outlook, and most other email user applications.<br />
The development of contact-centric email would actually benefit from a more abstracted framework within which the component panes could be relatively independent, but respond to messages or events sent between them.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsp3Tyigpy7jSfYLBBrWz2QHMruDiKotRhqDLK_90Ta-K_oANeIj3ioAMjqMedEmdimdSA9wLOaOpdj25X2elU08Yp91joxBVz_gMXVJeEQygAq1eiP5K6fAqUMxpzGjaC4pinMvcrOQ/s1600/general_pane_support.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsp3Tyigpy7jSfYLBBrWz2QHMruDiKotRhqDLK_90Ta-K_oANeIj3ioAMjqMedEmdimdSA9wLOaOpdj25X2elU08Yp91joxBVz_gMXVJeEQygAq1eiP5K6fAqUMxpzGjaC4pinMvcrOQ/s320/general_pane_support.png" width="320" /></a></div>At the most basic level, clicking on a <em>folder</em> or <em>contact</em> in the left pane will cause the 'items list' pane to update with a new list of items, and the 'item preview' pane to update if a contact has been selected. Clicking on an item in the 'item list' pane will cause the 'item preview' pane to update.<br />
Using a single-window view, the 'item preview' pane could be minimized, maximized of left adjustable within the window. The default for the size of the preview window could be adjusted for different events, e.g. clicking on a 'compose' button might maximise the preview pane (which would then also be in 'edit' mode for an email) and the same could be done if an 'edit' button were clicked while viewing a contact entry.<br />
Particularly in the case of clicking on a <em>contact</em> in the 'contacts list pane', it could be imagined there are multiple <em>types</em> of items that could be listed in the 'items list pane', including items from systems other than an email platform. If the framework supported <em>tabs</em>, and general support for web content within each pane, then it is conceivable the contact-centric solution could be extended outside the email context. For example, if this <em>contact</em> makes <em>documents</em> available in Google Docs to the user of the email client, then those <em>documents</em> could be listed on another tab in the 'items list pane'.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-9207279493861043822012-03-11T10:52:00.000+00:002012-03-11T10:52:29.019+00:00Email conversation improved styleIn case my post below is not clear enough, here's the contact-centric email 'conversation' view re-done with an improved style. There's plenty of room for improvement but the difference between this 'conversation' view and a 'thread' view should be obvious.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tn7kyC90pDdWBxF_EL9_ws_jShUz5cwafQE39JDJEt756yQySdV36kLSdRIMAHTIqgyfarmlpuXwNAz1_7mMlpjTXKf_yLKJy4nJUMumnIpv4UZnc_s4EvpdKC0u5AtUmQlHQ2JLcd8/s1600/contact_conversation2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tn7kyC90pDdWBxF_EL9_ws_jShUz5cwafQE39JDJEt756yQySdV36kLSdRIMAHTIqgyfarmlpuXwNAz1_7mMlpjTXKf_yLKJy4nJUMumnIpv4UZnc_s4EvpdKC0u5AtUmQlHQ2JLcd8/s320/contact_conversation2.png" width="320" /></a></div>Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-23995452114117030672012-03-10T21:30:00.000+00:002012-03-10T21:30:14.180+00:00Email thread versus conversationI actually thought the idea of a <em>conversation</em> as the exchange back and forth between two people would be well accepted in email clients, but having looked around it seems <em>all</em> email clients that refer to a 'conversation' actually display the <em>thread</em> view, i.e. emails linked together on a common subject regardless of who they're from. The Microsoft Outlook documentation in particular refers to the ability to view a "<a href="http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/view-messages-by-conversation-or-thread-HA001135667.aspx" target="_blank">Conversation or Thread</a>" which looked like you could have <em>either</em> when in fact Microsoft is using both "conversation" and "thread" to refer to the <em>same</em> view, grouping emails by their subject line.<br />
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This conflation of two different ideas will probably hamper the development of a more contact-centric view of email for another decade.<br />
<br />
So in summary, <br />
a <strong>thread view</strong> would be with an inbox grouped together by subject line, and<br />
a <strong>conversation</strong> is the list of emails exchanged with a given user, e.g. as iPhone messaging:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_NnpzFn1GtdkocwvsKQWyuHW_3o9Um_aMgHNREZppXhlMZhOOQMTCVEUDqG4vHkzjfugDT3NvDOg4xXsqdroHc3b6Nd-fI82cwr0HdPc9GdPFdrqBJmCZ01mCr_d60yI0KGjwfP4vy4/s1600/iphone_messages_text_message.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_NnpzFn1GtdkocwvsKQWyuHW_3o9Um_aMgHNREZppXhlMZhOOQMTCVEUDqG4vHkzjfugDT3NvDOg4xXsqdroHc3b6Nd-fI82cwr0HdPc9GdPFdrqBJmCZ01mCr_d60yI0KGjwfP4vy4/s320/iphone_messages_text_message.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Modifying the email client so it becomes more contact-centric (as in my earlier screenshots) radically increases the importance of the conversation view as defined above, and the pre-selection of the contact automatically creates a context for the conversation.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-43949410362741917952012-03-04T11:24:00.000+00:002012-03-04T11:24:53.894+00:00Contact images, and drag-and-drop for emailThe screenshot below illustrates a couple of concepts. <br />
Firstly is their <em>any</em> advantage in using portrait images for contacts where their email address might be? Maybe, maybe not. The assumption is a mouse-hover over the image would give the 'business card' with the usual information including email address and action buttons, and a 'click' on the image would take you to that 'contact' entry (as is assumed throughout this discussion of contact-centric email). A 'contact' that has no image would necessarily be represented by a similar-sized icon just containing the text email address or person name if that is available. But maybe the image at the top of a 'compose' makes it feel more like you're communicating with that person rather than their email inbox. I am aware that videoconferences that 'freeze' the image while the audio continues <em>do</em> still feel like a videoconference, just with an incredibly slow frame rate, so maybe there's something in this.<br />
Secondly, it illustrates some aspect of where drag-and-drop fits in with the use of email. The open-source email client Thunderbird already allows 'contacts' to be dragged from the addressbook into the To: or Cc:, but this requires the addressbook to be opened in a separate window first. Having the contacts list (addressbook) more immediately to hand might ease this kind of drag-and-drop. Also, dragging a <em>VCARD file</em> from another desktop folder window (e.g. Windows Explorer) should have a similar effect, either adding the email address into a To: or Cc: field, or 'importing' that person entry to the mail address book. Drag-and-drop also makes sense for email 'attachments'.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwBJE7jlxFJNpA__i8YVlDay5K3TvKpd3Nr2I_B0XM_Ql-OZU90lJmdKve8btXulfcm1cuqX6lxakFNNk8eqVqgUyH3baiRbzgbvtraC1XziSY_MczS7Y-HWnyVJtTGTHTeBpriVFMVQ/s1600/compose_drag_drop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwBJE7jlxFJNpA__i8YVlDay5K3TvKpd3Nr2I_B0XM_Ql-OZU90lJmdKve8btXulfcm1cuqX6lxakFNNk8eqVqgUyH3baiRbzgbvtraC1XziSY_MczS7Y-HWnyVJtTGTHTeBpriVFMVQ/s320/compose_drag_drop.png" width="320" /></a></div>Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-6751980971031653932012-03-02T13:30:00.000+00:002012-03-02T13:30:40.497+00:00Contact-centric email - 'conversation' viewOn reflection, the 'email list' section of a 'contact-centric' view of email would be the sensible place for a 'conversation' email list view. I.e. the email to and from that contact interleaved. In my previous post I'd illustrated the 'contact view' with tabs for emails-from and emails-to that particular contact (which still might be useful) but I should also have considered the 'conversation view' which is simply the same email flows combined onto a single list, sorted by date, with the 'froms' and 'tos' clearly marked. The idea is you see the back and forth communication with that particular person in the correct order.<br />
The mockup screenshot below illustrates the idea, although the actual 'style' of the page would need work. In particular there's a subtlety in that the user might have received an email from the contact by virtue of being on a Cc: list or From:, plus it might be useful to indicate which emails are 'replies' versus fresh 'conversations' - the screenshot below isn't great from a 'style' standpoint but is intended to illustrate the principle. 'Indent' has been use to mark the 'from' emails...<br />
The 'Date' (Datum) column has sort up/down buttons - these might be more important on a 'conversation' view, as it is more natural to see the time flow from top to bottom, while email inboxes tend to be looked at with the newest at the top - this might be an important user preference.<br />
Click to enlarge screenshot:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzemyLeZa7Mnji8h2gumDioB5dJsAk6N65_NJTvUBFVxSFYOgKdeXrRLfTyxCD-rmYiNAg1Bg95UxqF1dBD_f4xM27HjaY5i2nKKVVY1s7tLAAq0I9PyWLyfN6kAiephQAsTYFoGkdZw/s1600/contact_conversation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzemyLeZa7Mnji8h2gumDioB5dJsAk6N65_NJTvUBFVxSFYOgKdeXrRLfTyxCD-rmYiNAg1Bg95UxqF1dBD_f4xM27HjaY5i2nKKVVY1s7tLAAq0I9PyWLyfN6kAiephQAsTYFoGkdZw/s320/contact_conversation.png" width="320" /></a></div>Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-32254951737048322042012-02-27T14:02:00.000+00:002012-02-27T14:02:54.900+00:00Contact-centric emailThis blog post develops the basic thesis that collaboration is person-centric, while the most prevalent collaboration tool, i.e. email, remains firmly wedded to the concepts of 'folder' and 'email', leaving the concept of 'person' somewhat out in the cold.<br />
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This post is labelled 'contact-centric' (rather than person-centric) purely because 'contact' is the term used in most email clients. Actually email clients are often endowed with an 'address book', named after a thing that contains 'addresses', not people.<br />
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The argument is more fully developed on my <a href="http://carrier.csi.cam.ac.uk/forsterlewis/computer_science/face_mail/">contact-centric email</a> page, itself really a specific example of <a href="http://carrier.csi.cam.ac.uk/forsterlewis/computer_science/ddwd/">the principles of data-driven web design</a>.<br />
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<b>All</b> email clients support the concept of <i>folder</i>. I.e. you can click on the name of a 'folder' (e.g. Sent Items) and can expect to see a list of emails associated with that folder conveniently displayed.<br />
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<b>All</b> email clients support the concept of an <i>email</i>. I.e. if you see a list of emails (e.g. after clicking on a folder name above) then you can expect the contents of that email to be conveniently displayed.<br />
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<i>Person</i> has a long history of being effectively an attribute of an <i>email</i>, i.e. a piece of data in the form of an email address that may appear in the From, To or CC fields. As mentioned above, email clients have added 'address books' over the years but almost entirely as a convenient cache of email addresses to aid the primary task of writing an <i>email</i>. Person (aka Contact) remains a poorly supported entity in the system, certainly compared to 'folder'.<br />
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It doesn't have to be this way. Rather than being hidden behind an 'address book' icon which effectively takes you 'out' of your email tool, your list of contacts could be displayed within your 'main' email view.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyzZbvsNH-5Zx3d8ckfLyJxjiK8vM4m48_s8rC2T9icalpLmZN2JZDNAhgLrkHmFseSM9YoCkCPNkilKu1M5qDZvbGglLu0uB6uBIdtqdQqCYdlPn74W9jcQgIMg2wrNcMrxei9vpd6ww/s1600/folder_view.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyzZbvsNH-5Zx3d8ckfLyJxjiK8vM4m48_s8rC2T9icalpLmZN2JZDNAhgLrkHmFseSM9YoCkCPNkilKu1M5qDZvbGglLu0uB6uBIdtqdQqCYdlPn74W9jcQgIMg2wrNcMrxei9vpd6ww/s320/folder_view.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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For 'Person' to be treated at least as importantly as 'folder', something more useful should happen when you click on a person name. The illustration below shows how the 'contact pane' could actually be a composite of contact details plus mails-from and mails-to the person concerned.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnZp4yYiW6uutJvkrQ-_Uk3mCDcdISMxVjr9xM0XclpHCFlphRb-fFhay02gbMixvRWj5b1CttmSIgUMovn3aNRr2zaVIvnc0ME8sR5RXcSCA6hLyQqtYd2uHicb49RrtopEswTdr8XE/s1600/contact_view.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnZp4yYiW6uutJvkrQ-_Uk3mCDcdISMxVjr9xM0XclpHCFlphRb-fFhay02gbMixvRWj5b1CttmSIgUMovn3aNRr2zaVIvnc0ME8sR5RXcSCA6hLyQqtYd2uHicb49RrtopEswTdr8XE/s320/contact_view.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Regarding 'Person', the additional consideration is what would you click on to bring you to this view? The obvious answer is the name of a contact in the contacts list (aka 'address book') left-pane. In addition the same view could be reached when clicking on <i>any email address in the To:, From: or CC: fields of any email</i>.<br />
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So the 'person page' has two primary qualities that distinguish it from current 'traditional' implementation of email clients:<br />
<ol><li>All useful information derivable from a given individual is accessible from their 'person-page', and in many cases that information is 'promoted' to appear on the page itself (rather than being provided in the form of a link that takes you away from the person page). The 'Sent' tab in the illustration above keeps the user <strong>on the person page</strong>, not off to an 'inbox view' that happens to be sorted by email address.</li>
<li>Clicking on a person reference (typically in the form of their email address) <em>consistently</em> brings the user to this view.</li>
</ol>This post doesn't attempt to provide the definitive answer on what <i>should</i> be on the email person-page, but provides instead an illustration that should easily justify its value. <i>Given</i> a person page, there are many opportunities for collecting information even within the email system that could appear on this page. For example <br />
<ul><li>the mail lists to which that users belongs</li>
<li>relationship scores with other users of the email system (equally this allows the collection of contacts with whom this user is most associated)</li>
<li>other systems (e.g. voicemail) may provide additional information that can be incorporated.</li>
</ul>Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001866497626112507.post-61050512442372168022010-12-13T12:08:00.000+00:002014-03-24T11:12:30.616+00:00TelepresenceIt seems likely that in the future it will be less likely that you'll need to attend meetings 'in person'... but this promise has been around for a long time without an accepted solution.<br />
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Cisco have established a strong presence in the market with their design for a purpose-built room (generically a videoconferencing suite):<br />
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<a href="http://diagnosispr.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/telepresence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://diagnosispr.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/telepresence.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Apple iPhone 4 has a forward-facing camera and a built-in application / service called FaceTime<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aLMJC7zMJz5uEByDLgKc92EHduspy37mTFKhIG0p4yF-xaomf8Gtk-cxa7wyQ1KwMr2mYPfdkpvrW_q_oRj89B8G6iS259MCibcTL41RJe4JrYG4Bm3N3wETroE55kbTHFCOdlnUBjw/s1600/videoChat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aLMJC7zMJz5uEByDLgKc92EHduspy37mTFKhIG0p4yF-xaomf8Gtk-cxa7wyQ1KwMr2mYPfdkpvrW_q_oRj89B8G6iS259MCibcTL41RJe4JrYG4Bm3N3wETroE55kbTHFCOdlnUBjw/s1600/videoChat.jpg" height="320" width="282" /></a></div>
We will see how prevalent the FaceTime application will become when the next iPad arrives (spring 2011?), largely expected to also have a forward-facing camera. Then, if you can't attend a meeting, maybe send your iPad instead?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XYT777orRwX6sf_AG9R4mgMcn9U1Lh1vJj-KAxql5a2TTc3pAKfvXutyhMgy3xv4nKAGsnPWav08mQUWKEFxTsrE8wpIQtBqGUCYlAXzsQ7PyqKP2CF4bT9SD1zhSDQXKpaYK3mownQ/s1600/telepresence+ipad+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XYT777orRwX6sf_AG9R4mgMcn9U1Lh1vJj-KAxql5a2TTc3pAKfvXutyhMgy3xv4nKAGsnPWav08mQUWKEFxTsrE8wpIQtBqGUCYlAXzsQ7PyqKP2CF4bT9SD1zhSDQXKpaYK3mownQ/s320/telepresence+ipad+2.png" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
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Or if you're not at your desk, just leave your iPad there?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDoFZ0tcEeE4Khyphenhypheno0SHlthPtZLteNg-b9j5eivLDVC0o4TGNUp2ajzALVZV6aPePNHRNRu5wKUVM4xGwRIhxZNNL9-Gu9hq9qUwC3MRgJGtN4FGAIDi_qWyhRFIa4MaV02fVxjNd7Yk-U/s1600/telepresence+ipad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDoFZ0tcEeE4Khyphenhypheno0SHlthPtZLteNg-b9j5eivLDVC0o4TGNUp2ajzALVZV6aPePNHRNRu5wKUVM4xGwRIhxZNNL9-Gu9hq9qUwC3MRgJGtN4FGAIDi_qWyhRFIa4MaV02fVxjNd7Yk-U/s320/telepresence+ipad.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
For both of these images, I've done some liberal cut-and-pasting and scaled the iPad up, but you get the idea. Or maybe your remote avatar should be mobile as suggested by <a href="http://www.anybot.com/">Anybot</a>?<br />
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<a href="http://www.geekologie.com/2010/05/24/meeting-bot-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.geekologie.com/2010/05/24/meeting-bot-1.jpg" height="267" width="320" /></a></div>
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Or maybe you'll have a telepresence android?<br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cFVlzUAZkHY?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cFVlzUAZkHY?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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So there's a range of options there, and we'll see which approach proves to be popular. The fact is that the internet is mostly (in volume terms) used to transmit video, bandwidth is the easiest internet parameter to increase, so this is going to lead to significant developments before long. This particular post is intended to illustrate the 'physical' end of the meeting, e.g. the picture of the guy sitting at his desk so you can walk in there and talk to him. Obviously the 'user' of the telepresence device is sitting somewhere, using some equipment, and this could be the <a href="http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/ijl20/collaboration_station.shtml">Collaboration Station</a> or something like it. When <i>everyone</i> is using a collaboration station, then these 'physical' versions become less needed.Ian Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01999375012178220497noreply@blogger.com0