#user interfaces

[theartofmany]

Top related videos Subject: User Interfaces While looking for a new wallpaper for my desktop, I was thinking how cool it would be if my desktop was like those hologram-futuristic user interfaces we often see in the movies These videos will give you a great idea of what I’m talking about And yes, I’ve heard about utilities like Rainmeter, Wallpaper Engine and such but I’m still a bit reluctant to install those things on my PC (just don’t want to mess with my RAM) Enjoy (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿) ...

[phoenixrisesoncemore]

I’m so thankful fans have a place like AO3. The dedication required to keep something with that much content running smoothly is incredible. I cannot even begin to imagine the database that site is sitting on.

That being said, the author’s backend user interface for the tagging system is extremely frustrating, particularly when it comes to tagging things in the MDZS fandom. I’ve entered and deleted tags umpteen times, and keep having to redo it because the order is wrong, but half the time when I change something it doesn’t save in the draft, and I have to start all over again. I have to very carefully hover/click over the text field to get the drop down of canonical suggestions to even drop down.

Also, are diacritics necessary? Why can’t I find any of the relevant canonical MDZS/CQL fandom or character tags without including them (which I can only do via copy and paste, which means I have to go manually searching for a work that already uses the tags I need to use)?

[antialiasis]

Sword and Shield bring so many cool quality of life and UI improvements, but somehow, the UI around held items, and only the UI around held items, just makes no sense at all. Let’s break it down:

In the context menu when you select a Pokémon on the party Pokémon menu, there’s a “Held item” option. The options under that (assuming the Pokémon is currently holding an item) are “Open your Bag”, “Put it back to your Bag” and “Give an item”.

“Open your Bag” will open the bag, so that you can give an item to the Pokémon...

...except that when you select an item there, the top option will actually be “Use this item”, which will use the item instead - even though you entered the bag specifically through a “Held item” option.

The other option is “Give to a Pokémon”, as if it’s going to let you select a different Pokémon to give it to, but no, it’ll give the item to the Pokémon you selected previously.

“Put it back to your Bag” at least works as you’d expect, but is it just me or is it pretty weirdly phrased? Shouldn’t it be “Put it back into your Bag” or even “Put it back in your Bag”? I’m not a native speaker but it sounds off.

The “Give an item” option, on the other hand, is for moving the item to a different Pokémon in your party. What?? How on earth is that “Give an item”?

(While in the party menu, you can also press X to “Swap held items”, in order to move items between your party Pokémon. Why is that bizarre “Give an item” option even there when there’s a much more sensible way to do what it actually does.)

Meanwhile, when you select a Pokémon in the box, the only held item-related option in the menu will be “Check held item”. Sounds like an option to see if the Pokémon is holding an item and if so what it is, right? Maybe it’ll tell you what it’s holding and then give you some options?

But! Actually! If your Pokémon is not holding anything, this option will just go straight into your bag to prompt you to give an item to the Pokémon! (Same “Give to a Pokémon” option, but this time there’s no “Use this item”.)

Meanwhile, if your Pokémon is holding something, the “Check held item” option will ask you to confirm that you want to remove the item from the Pokémon. I never said I wanted to remove it! I picked an option to check it!

Also this means that the UIs for held items are just arbitrarily completely different depending on whether you’re in the party menu or the box, including how if you’re in the box there is just no option to immediately give a new item to a Pokémon that’s already holding one, without first removing the current item.

It took me a while of gameplay to get any sense of what any of the item-related options actually meant. The first time I was going to do something with held items I just ended up being completely confused and felt like I eventually stumbled into doing what I wanted basically by accident.

I’m guessing these are probably largely translation mistakes. The “Give to a Pokémon” option, for instance, is just phrased in a way that would make sense in one context where that menu is used but not it another, which would almost definitely be the same in Japanese with the lack of articles, and I can picture these various other phrasings as being ambiguous in Japanese, one way or another. And then... probably the playtesters for the English localization were just not much for held items and never actually used these options, and thus didn’t notice. It’s really glaring in a game where the UI is otherwise so polished.

[antialiasis]

Pokémon Go gym update

So I’ve had the chance to play the new gym system a bit. I have mixed feelings.

I really like the motivation system, both for counteracting stagnancy by having Pokémon drop out automatically after some time if they’re just sitting there and for the fact the Pokémon actually weaken when you defeat them. When there’s a Pokémon you have a difficult time with, it’s so much more satisfying to do it once and then be able to fight a weaker version of it next time, use the same strategy with more leeway and watch it fall easily this time, than to have to do the same difficult fight successfully over and over and over again. And it’s nice to be able to help out your team’s gyms even if you’re not in them by feeding the Pokémon.

I did like the 21-hour cycle for claiming coins - it was elegant game design, I think, adding a level of strategy and risk-and-reward to the gym system while subtly encouraging people to play nice and give others their turn (once you’ve claimed your coins for the day, you gain nothing by trying to stop other players from taking the gym). But I like the new coin system well enough. Having your Pokémon bring back coins when they’re knocked out of the gym is a neat way to discourage stagnancy, again - you don’t want your Pokémon to stay in a gym forever because then you’ll never get your coins - and encourages people to add actually good defenders, since if they’re knocked out too soon you won’t actually get coins. It also encourages more active play than the old system - whereas the ideal situation used to be that you got into ten impregnable fortresses and then just sat at home claiming your coins, you now only get coins when you’re knocked out and thus need to go out and get into another gym again.

But I do miss prestige. The need to train at a gym to get a Pokémon into it meant that you had to put some effort in, and that barrier to entry that increased with gym level meant most gyms weren’t level 10; most of the time you could just walk to a gym and it wouldn’t be full and you could train it up a level and add your Pokémon to it. Yes, lately all gyms have been stacks of ten Blissey that nobody had the time or patience to take down, but that was a problem with stacks of ten Blissey, not with the prestige system, and would have been largely solved just by introducing the species clause. In the new system, once one person has taken down a gym, passersby from the same team can immediately just fill it up with their own Pokémon, and that means most gyms are by the nature of the system always going to be full, unless somebody’s just recently taken it down (or, I suppose, if Pokémon have been dropping out because of motivation drops but haven’t been replaced yet). While you now have something to do at a full gym belonging to your own team, feeding isn’t nearly as fun as being able to actually battle and not nearly as motivating as being able to put your own Pokémon in, and if you’re on the dominant team in your area, you may barely get any chances to get into gyms.

Worse, this also means the system actually discourages bothering with battling at all: a freeloader who just walks around adding their Pokémon to gyms that are still being filled up is more likely to have their Pokémon last longer than someone who actually takes down a gym, because another team might come by five minutes later and knock down the single Pokémon that the one who defeated it put in, whereas a gym that already has several Pokémon in it is more likely to last.

Granted, this does make the gym system more accessible for kids and casual players, and that’s good. But it comes at the expense of being able to reward people who are willing to put time and effort into gyms and battling, and I’m pretty dismayed at that. What if gyms had six (or three or four, whatever) “free slots” but you could also add extra slots through training, or something like that? And the extra slots had, say, slower motivation decay, so that people who have the time and ability to train will want to go for that instead of the free slots? I just want to be able to take daily gym walks and get something out of them again, damn it.

On the plus side, all the UI upgrades are really nice, and gyms now actually have a help button that tells you what to do in them, which is bound to help everyone who isn’t determined enough to look up on the internet what on earth is going on. But on the other hand, how is the Pokémon selection interface still so, so bad. In all of this refurbishing, they couldn’t be bothered to fix the most maddeningly near-unusable user interface in the entire game? At the least, at the absolute least, they could have added a tiny bit of code to just save whichever Pokémon you used in your last battle and then have them picked by default on your next try for that same gym. Heck, they could even have it stored in memory and cleared if you exit the gym at any point; I could live with that. But no, game, I don’t want to use the all-Electric team you picked for me against this gym that includes a Rhydon! Stop removing my actual choices and going back to this useless default each time! For the love of God. I was expecting this glaring usability flaw to be fixed within the first couple of months, but my patience is really running out by now; there is no way people at Niantic are actively playing the game, actively using the gym system, without noticing how utterly broken this is. I heard something about datamining revealing “battle teams” are now a thing in the code? I really hope that’s coming in the next update, because if not I am going to kick some things.

Also, battles are still unfortunately glitchy as hell.

[iconuk01]

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These are so evil, I LOVE them!

[dehex18]

A Rule for ALL WEBSITES EVER:

If you show me a little picture, and it's clickable, I expect to be shown a bigger version of that picture when I click on it. Sure, you can also take me to a page that has more, similar pictures, but clicking that picture should make it so that I see a bigger version of the picture front and center. That is, after all, why I clicked on the goddamn picture!

(This does not apply to icons or, like, a picture that also has text and is very clearly an ad. These are examples of "pictures" that have clear meanings and functions.)

[mattbrittonnyc]

Transforming Consumer Interaction: Matt Britton's Insights on AI-Powered User Interfaces

In the swiftly evolving digital landscape, businesses are continually seeking innovative ways to enhance user experiences. A pivotal aspect of this evolution is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into user interfaces to foster better consumer interaction. As organizations grapple with these challenges, the guidance of seasoned experts in the field becomes indispensable. One such authority is Matt Britton, a renowned AI keynote speaker and a luminary in understanding and implementing cutting-edge consumer trends.

Matt Britton, the Founder & CEO of Suzy, a consumer research platform, has carved a niche for himself as a leading voice in the application of AI in consumer interactions. His extensive experience, which includes consulting for over half of the Fortune 500 companies, positions him uniquely as one of the top conference speakers in the realm of AI and consumer trends. His insights are particularly relevant today as businesses seek to leverage AI to enhance user interfaces—a topic he could adeptly cover in a compelling and thought-provoking keynote speech.

Understanding AI in User Interfaces

The integration of AI into user interfaces is not just about technological innovation; it is about fundamentally rethinking how businesses interact with consumers. AI can analyze vast amounts of data to offer personalized experiences, predict user behavior, and respond to consumer needs in real-time. For companies, this means an opportunity to engage with consumers more effectively and efficiently, ultimately driving satisfaction and loyalty.

Matt Britton’s Expertise

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Furthermore, Matt’s standing as a consumer trend expert is well documented in his bestselling book, YouthNation, which positions him as a thought leader in identifying and leveraging new consumer behaviors. This expertise is crucial when discussing how AI can meet the evolving expectations of modern consumers, particularly as Generation Z begins to wield more purchasing power.

Why Matt Britton is an Ideal Keynote Speaker for Your Conference

Selecting Matt Britton as a keynote speaker for a conference centered on enhancing user interfaces with AI for better consumer interaction offers several advantages:

Proven Expertise: Matt’s successful track record with Fortune 500 companies and his role at Suzy provides him with insights that are both deep and broad in the field of consumer AI applications.

Engaging Presentation Style: Known for his dynamic and engaging speaking style, Matt has the unique ability to make complex topics accessible and exciting. His speeches are not only informative but also inspire action, making him one of the top keynote speakers in the industry.

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Customizable Speeches: Understanding that each audience is unique, Matt tailors his presentations to meet the specific needs and interests of his audience, ensuring that the content is relevant and impactful.

Conclusion

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As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of digital transformation, having insights from top conference speakers like Matt can make the difference between merely adapting to new technologies and leading the way in innovation. His deep understanding of both technology and consumer behavior makes him an invaluable asset to any conference focusing on the future of business and consumer interaction.