Slide Screen for Android – Musings
by Dana on Mar.04, 2010, under tech
Hi, all! You may have noticed all ready by reading my slightly different name, or perhaps you’ve heard of me over on the wildly popular site I co-founded, The Linux Experiment, but I am not the usual Phil. My name is Dana, and I’m a young professional working in IT for a large insurance company. I work with Phil and also had the pleasure of founding The Linux Experiment with him.
For reasons unbeknown to me, Phil asked me a few months ago to install Slide Screen for Android onto my Rogers HTC Dream – that’s a ‘T-Mobile G1′ for any American readers out there. Slide Screen is basically a complete home screen replacement for the standard Android interface, and is meant to reduce screen clutter and information overload in a nicely presented, simple, single location.
Installation and Setup
This was just about the simplest thing in the world, as is the installation of most standard Android applications. Open up the Android Market, search for Slide Screen, and install.
Setup was also quite simple, offering the option of either completely replacing my home screen (which I chose) or running as a launchable application.
First Impressions
I have to hand it to the folks at Larva Labs – they know how to code a nice-looking interface. The Slide Screen interface is certainly clean if nothing else, but while preventing me from experiencing information overload, I feel I may have been left out of information altogether.
Among other frustrations, I found the Slide Screen application significantly slowed down the all ready slow ROM included on the Rogers HTC Dream. In addition, the constantly running application reduced battery life noticeably.
The notification widget for missed calls also, inexplicably, did not actually bring me to my call log(s) as expected, but instead populated the number in my phone application for quick dialing.
I also found the ’simplification’ of information rather strange. Instead of keeping the information I want in plain view, I found that the application held information I want in inconvenient (ie, having to launch it myself) places.
Final Thoughs
While I can see the merit in this application, it’s not specifically for me. If the folks at Larva Labs can find a way to integrate more popular applications into the main screen while reducing overall memory footprint, I may explore it again in the future.
For now, I am falling in love with the Sense interface of my HTC Magic!
updated about me page: my projects
by Phil on Feb.10, 2010, under tech
It has come to my attention that potential employers may end up at this site. While my recent posts are rather telling of my opinions of touch technology, they don’t do much to sell my skills or other technical knowledge.
The about me page now features a projects section which acts as a portfolio to highlight the projects that I’ve been a part of that are related to my technical skills. Take a look to see what kind of shenanigans I get myself into on my spare time and through school.
the delta touch faucet is a good application of touch technology
by Phil on Feb.03, 2010, under tech
Touch technology has its place in consumer products, but shouldn’t just be used because its new and exciting. A couple of weeks back I highlighted some concerns over the use of touch technology in cars. Since then I had the opportunity to attend the Interior Design Show 2010 in Toronto. While I was there I spent time looking over various household appliances and thinking about their usability. What concerned me is that sometimes the technology in these appliances, while very cool, didn’t actually suit the needs of the user.
Take for example, a stove I saw with touch controls. This stove had an attractive glossy black surface, with touch sensitive areas seamlessly built into the surface. It looked very elegant, however I was immediately concerned about the usability of such a stove. The first scenario that came to mind was the user groping around for controls while trying to cook a difficult dish. It’s not difficult to imagine that the user might burn themselves by touching part of the element because there is no tactile or visual indication of where the touch-controlled area ends and the element begins.
Similarily in the comments of my pseudo-review of the new MyFord Touch dashboard, Jon and I discussed the issue of having these touch sensitive buttons in place of traditional dials and push buttons. The old input methods worked for years because they’re easy for the user to find when their attention is required on the road, and using them provides tactile feedback – be it the physical turning of the dial, or the depression of the button when you press it. Touch buttons and sliders will not lend the same convenience.
But now, an example of touch technology done correctly. A colleague showed me this video for the Delta touch faucet using Delta’s Touch2O technology – a faucet that can be activated by a touch from the user. The purpose of the touch control is highlighted in the video below.
The video highlights how a user with dirty hands can tap the faucet with their wrist to activate the water – preventing the mess from spreading onto the faucet’s handle. A lot of the usual concerns about touch technology don’t apply to this situation. Since the faucet only preforms one action “turn on the water”, the user will not have to search for the correct button or area to touch. Additionally, it’s easy to tell if the action worked – the water will be there, or it won’t. Another piece of convenience of this product is that the traditional controls still work alongside this new fancy one, so that the user can make the transition to using the new feature easily.
If more industries can work on thinking of creative ways to use touch technology instead of trying to work them into already existing systems, I think that we’ll see more applications of touch technology that won’t aggravate or inconvenience the user.
Source: Smart Solutions: Touch2O @ Delta Faucet’s Website
Source: Delta touch faucet, infinitely better than a pump handle @ dvice
Video: Delta Faucet “Hands” TV Ad @ Youtube
