Tuesday, 13 March 2007 @ 1130
David Merkoski, Assoc Creative Dir, Frog Design
Television is broken because the current generation is growing up when the internet is the primary media force that offers choice and interactive options.
“massive passive” and “tragically equipped”
“Ten-foot UI” — TV / user interface
EPG – electronic programming guide
Problems with current EPGs: linear and not scalable; they are based in time
Non-linear video has so much going for it except it lacks the televisual experience (i.e., edge-to-edge, immersive experience). If the non-linear video can achieve this, the tragically equipped will bail the tradition TV box.
Mondrian is the system they developed at Frog. Combines traditional, time-anchored TV streams with time-shifted videos of my choosing or by recommedation.
ZUIs – zoomable user interfaces (not so much about depth as perspective) a class of GUI
Think of it as modern day hunter-gatherers. Berries and nuts are north; fresh water is west….etc.
The four-way rocker switch “embodies the cardinality of direction in its design”
It allows control without interupting the televisual experience – cognitive interopability
WIMP (windows, icons, menu, and pointer) – Basically, the class of GUI that we use all the time. Problems: There is no pointer in the 10-foot UI and icons are too abstract and need to be too large for the 10ft UI.
Supermodality
First, what is modality. Modality is something we deal with all the time: dialog boxes, Clippy, context of the interface (e.g., typing ‘M’ in Word as compared to the desktop which selects a file). Modal interfaces expect the user to act in a certain way and when she/he does not a modal dialog results signifying error. It traps users in the process that is designed for them by the engineers and designers.
Modelessness does not apply the restrictions. Although it is an amazing design goal to approach, a total lack of interface would not work. A good example of a successful simplification of modes is the iPod. However, we can still experience modal errors/traps with the iPod (e.g., while searching the iPod one is unable to change the volume of a currently playing song).
Supermodality is a lifting of borders and restrictions. The extremes are evident in choice.
Great example: Half-Life Portal video
In supermodality there can be doors anywhere. It is hyperlinking an interface – folding its space to eliminate barriers.
Supermodality is a superset of GUI/ZUI/WIMP
It is about ridiculously-constrained interface design that gives the user amazing freedom.
haptics – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haptic