Say “goodbye” to saying “hello”
Sprint Nextel is ending its Voice Command service, which allowed users to store numbers and say names to dial them. Is this a tragedy? Not really, but like Hamlet, it is marginally interesting. Voice Command was a network-based service; that is, the names, numbers, and matching voice files were stored on Sprint’s network. Now that so many wireless handsets have voice dialing, the network service isn’t that useful (or billable), but the network cost of maintaining it was probably as high as it ever was.
So chalk this up as another salvo in the endless battle between network/shared resources and those feasible in every pocket.
Sprint discontinuing Voice Command on July 1st - Engadget Mobile
“How Grandma Sees The Remote”
It’s funny because it’s true. Take a look at this Roz Chast cartoon, which shows how an elder might view all those buttons as disasters waiting to happen. Get off my lawn, you complex, unintuitive interfaces!
When poor design is very good design
Interesting article that covers an aspect of universal design we don’t usually discuss: developing products specifically for people in the most impoverished areas of the world. On the other hand, there is a proven correlation between rates of poverty and disability, and several of the designs mentioned–foot-operated water pumps, text-free training devices–would be right at home in AOMS any ol’ day.
Quixote ugly
Gerry McGovern has written an interesting article on why websites with nice big black text on off-white backgrounds–a good high-contrast combination for people with low vision–may not be as aesthetically pleasing as sites with teeny, “more elegant” gray text, but may be significantly more successful even among mainstream audiences. He cites some big name examples of websites he considers ugly but useful: “Ryanair, eBay, Amazon, Google, Craig’s List, My Space, and YouTube.”
Who will watch the watches? No one.
It’s official: the wristwatch is running out of time. Most teens don’t have them, even fewer wear them, and US sales declined 17% last year. Why? We’ve all got other gadgets that tell time in their spare time: mobile phones, PDAs, media players, etc. Sure, you say, but do those things talk or display braille? Maybe only some speak, but there are some large time display programs and vibrating alerts that can be programmed to give you a tickle when you want.
Stick that in your Pipes
Yahoo! has released a new technology called Pipes. Pipes lets you easily create new ways to collect and display web information, using feeds and a visual programming interface. For example, you can link stories in the New York Times with images from Flickr, or aggregate stories from multiple sources that all contain a search term you’re interested in. Visit the Pipes site below for more examples.
But what’s the accessibility link, aside from finding stories that include the word “accessibility”? Well, consider the possibility of having emergency notifications “piped” to a text messaging service for deaf users, or a web-based speech synthesizer that takes all your email and web content and routes it through a powerful speech engine, delivering it over your mobile phone. It’s a mashup world out there, campers.
Antiuniversal design
In universal design, everything is made as easy as possible. Now come some Japanese designers with the opposite view. They say that too much comfort causes physical and mental decline, because there is no challenge in the environment. So their “Reversible Destiny Lofts” have sloping floors, light switches down low, and other modern inconveniences. Available in wild playground colors, the Tokyo units are being snapped up; overseas expansion is planned.