OS Enthusiast

Title says it all. I enjoy designing the user interface of operating systems, but definitely not a professional at it, just, well, an enthusiast. I guess I need somewhere more tangible to put all the stuff I do than in the depths of my files. Critique me, I love it because, hey like i said, I'm no professional., I just really like OS user interfaces.

[hammerheadtiger]

This one of the most important aspects of Axiom OS; The ability of Panels to expand for more user control without leaving the home screen. For example, when the user receives an Email. The email can be read and replied to in the expanded email icon with options to Reply, Forward,Mark As, and More. Music control can be done outside the app with basic controls and information. This maximizes productivity and makes the interface feel interconnected and coherent.

The TickFeed banner at the top of the phone will also integrate within apps. In this scenario, A user has just received an Email about an upcoming BBQ. Tickfeed is now actively preparing a calendar entry and ready to receive contextual time sensitive commands like "remind me to buy paper plates for this BBQ." Tickfeed will now remind you to buy paper plates next time you are in the store, but before the BBQ. TickFeed will in this case be a mediator of information connecting the Reminders App, Calendar App, and its own location and time aware system to seamlessly set up the system by which the user will attend the BBQ.

[hammerheadtiger]

TickFeed is a scrolling banner of information that is always listening and always contextually aware. For example when you have the phone out and you casually wonder out loud about the weather in Seattle, TickFeed catches on to that and scrolls the pertinent weather information through. When you say a note and then tell TickFeed to "Save that as a Note," It will save the last thing you just said as a note. When you are in an app, TickFeed can scroll different voice commands you may use. For example, in the Email App, you may say "Copy the contents of this email" or "Reply, I will be there."

Unlike a standard voice assistant who needs some kind of initial command be it voice of button based, TickFeed  is always on because it is unobtrusive, allowing for thoughts and ideas to be captured instantaneously, even after they have been voiced. You can continuously tell TickFeed to add items to a grocery list throughout the day without even taking it out of the pocket, saving time and effort while ensuring that nothing is missed just because it wasn't convenient to record it at the time.

Notifications will be presented as lines of text so that entire lengthy texts can be read without going into the texting app.

Another important feature is the ability of TickFeed to reply to messages or conduct actions. In Siri or Google Now, sending a text message is an action that is not presented in the texting app itself, but as a popup part of the conversation. Because TickFeed is always presented at the top banner, it can open the Messaging app up on screen to fill out messages in its native environment for the user or  give users the full range of message options. For example, when you say "Post to Facebook, the last photo I just took." it will open up the Facebook App on screen, click 'Post Photo' for you, select the picture out of a scroll, place it in the Facebook Post, and then ask you to confirm the post.

I like to think it strikes the best of both worlds between a full formal voice assistant and a simple voice command system. The best part is you don't have to even leave many apps for it to work. It is a packaged notification delivering, question answering, news scrolling, and ease of use assistant into one simple nonstop stream of text.

There are obvious downsides to this idea however, a Nonstop stream of information may make users uncomfortable, as if there was important notifications coming through and they were missing out. Without a trigger word, it may mistake something you say as an action or note you want to make. it may drown out other notifications so that the user misses them. I think that with the right amount of adjustment, this can be a more elegant system then the current voice assistant, removing any barriers between the users and information.

[hammerheadtiger]

So this is Axiom, my Windows inspired OS. It has a number of visual benefits. For example, the Parallax effect is in full effect on the main screen. There are three distinct layers for each app icon. There is the background image, the logo/title/icon of each app, and then there is the "Window" looking into this world. This kind of Visual design hints at the deeper features within each app and will look very impressive in action. Using square tight fitted Panels maximizes use of screen space and eliminates the need for any kind of background.

Like Windows Phone, each "tile", called Panels here, can be re-sized and display information like the weather and be location aware. For example the background of the Maps App is the satellite image of the approximate area of the phone. There is also a feature to expand apps that I will cover later. Another later covered feature will be the seemingly always on Assistant at the top constantly scrolling banner of information.

[hammerheadtiger]

Here is Utility OS for remote controls, one of the reasons I am not working on Utility OS for the Big screen. The system is designed to be used as a touchscreen remote control, and as such, was designed to make use of the very long design of most remotes. The system colors was also kept subdued and dark to minimize the effects of a lit up screen in a dark living room.

Hierarchy is obvious throughout the system, starting with a simple menu, and progressing to the right as more options are chosen. The scroll bars of past menus are kept layered on the left side of the screen to give the user an idea of how deep they is within menus and also because it looks "sophisticated." It has a practical use too, dragging the desired scroll bar right returns the user to the specific desired menu. At any time the user may pull down the top bar to return to the home screen or pull up the "blinds" at the bottom to dim the screen.

Even the apps are designed with an organizational structure. As seen in the second image, the top of screen displays the time and reception, the tier below that displays the current app(or channel) being used. Below that is the title of the movie/show, and then the controls for the content. Advanced options is next for subtitles and screen brightness, and finally, the 'Blinds."

[hammerheadtiger]

This was just a fun mock-up of a operating system designed to be used in peripheral devices complementary to the actual main device. This project sprang from the difficulties in getting the user experience I want from an android TV box. The creatively named Utility OS would be used to unite the interfaces of home automation, remote controls, appliance OS, and other uses, like this TV Interface above. This is obviously not the main design of the OS but a good representation of the overarching theme of Hierarchy. The main flow of information goes from a left to right stream of menus and options. The background of the main screen is populated by available content, from apps to TV shows. The system automatically "Checks in" the viewers from the detected mobile devices in the room and fills the top bar accordingly. Unfortunately, the design does not reach the level of usefulness I expect, because it has been replaced by another design of mine, the remote control system, which replaces these menus with something more intuitive. I admit, Utility OS looks much better in its mobile iteration.

[hammerheadtiger]

So... the InfoCard. Windows is sorely lacking a good notification panel to relegate all the apps and updates into one centralized location. By using a redesigned time area, two anchors are created on the desktop, the windows button for looking into your PC, and the InfoCard for handling external information like weather alerts and email. The InfoCard will anchor chat boxes and email replies to the forefront of the desktop so users wont have to switch between windows to stay on top of a chat on Facebook or Skype. The notifications can be revealed by clicking or if on touch, dragging up. As shown in the second image, they can be customized to various colors.

Another important addition is shown in the first screenshot. The feature is called Relay and provides a merging of the smartphone with the desktop. Relay will allow the users to answer calls and reply to texts from the desktop. Not unlike Apples Handoff. What makes this one unique is the link with all of the networked devices. The PC will be able to sync iTunes with an iPad without the cord or transfer photos to a Windows Phone directly. It will also be the centralized location(left of the start menu) for external connections such as printers and Streaming sticks. More on how this feature will work later. One issue with this system is that while the Windows OS may be agnostic, Apple and Google certainly are not which may cripple some basic features of Relay.

[hammerheadtiger]

One of the biggest problems that plague Windows OS is the disconnect between the Modern UI and the desktop UI. Touch users find the desktop unwieldy and difficult to use while desktop users dislike the giant buttons and touch/swipe interfaces of the Modern UI. One of my main concerns stem from the oversimplification of the layout, it dumbs down the options and unnecessarily wastes space. I decided to have a go at recreating the Windows UI.

These are just the most important main screens of it, I have many more parts to go into this. The most important pillar to my current (2.0) design is this; "The classic desktop, when optimized can be the only center focus of an effective cross-device Windows." There is no need to separate the touch and the desktop interfaces. Windows already has the worlds most successful design for an interface, they just need to optimize it, no not make the buttons bigger, but make it responsive, contextual, layered. I have touch optimized designs i will post later.

These screen captures represent the more mouse and keyboard oriented version of my current design. Its immediately obvious that the desktop is the centerpiece of the design and everything is layered upon it to create a hierarchy. 

The utilities area has been replaced by a InfoCard that I will explain more in depth later but, the idea is derived from the notification centers of nearly every other OS. In short, the Infocard does for connecting to information from everywhere as the start menu does for connecting to programs inside the PC.

Well, thats enough explanation, there is so much more to this design I will post later. The main importance of my hobby is to solve all of the complaints people have about Windows.