tejology

Thinker, designer, explorer, entrepreneur, teacher and engineer! www.tejology.com

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The Fascinating History of the Search Icon

How the Magnifying Glass Came to Embody the Idea of Searching

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Why You Really Need A User Researcher

Here's an interesting piece of an article I've read recently - 

A good user researcher can be your eyes and ears. He can help you understand what your customers really want, and why they might not need your product. He can measure whether your customers even understand how to use the software you’ve shipped. All of this data is essential in finding product-market fit. And on larger products, this data gives teams the confidence they need to make changes.

A huge part of user-centered design and lean startup methodology is getting out from behind your desk, out of the office, and talking to your customers. Is there someone on your team who does this naturally, who loves talking to customers?

Everyone has their center of gravity. If I had a free hour, I’d spend it sketching. Engineers will spend their free hour coding. And every good team should have someone whose center of gravity is outside the office. This is the person who’ll chime in when you’re having an argument about features and say, “I’ll go out, ask some customers, and we’ll know by this evening.”

There are many roles that have their center of gravity outside the office: user research, sales, community management, business development, etc. And all of these people can help to gather data about customer needs in different ways. For the products I’ve worked on, user research has been an indispensable part of the product design process. And for anyone building consumer-facing products, I highly recommend working with a user researcher from the very beginning.

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LeapMotion Hands on - A very high potential technology in its early stage. There isn't a lot of productive stuff you can do with the current device. As its open for developers, I believe many exciting things will be available soon!

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This fun little book has just arrived!

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Who is up for a *usable* Ubuntu Touch?

Ubuntu Touch has been around since sometime, but its pretty buggy/flakey and limited. Canonical’s Director of Ubuntu Engineering Rick Spencer noted in his blog about a usable version of Ubuntu Touch to be available for developers by end of May. This mobile operating system supports Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, 7 and 10. 

This new version of usable Ubuntu Touch is said to be having basic features like - 

a. Make and receive phone calls and sms

b. Import and edit contacts

c. Browse internet using 3G and Wi-Fi

d. Dimming the screen using proximity sensors

e. Updating the phone without loosing data

f. Fairly functional front and back cameras

It seems Spencer is optimistic about releasing a customer friendly version of Ubuntu Touch by first or second quarters of 2014!

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Time Lapse Video of Earth

Here's an amazing compliation of time lapse of Earth taken by astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS). This amazing video is compiled by Bruce W. Berry Jr. Thanks Bruce!

(Click on the image above for the video)

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Kevo - Use your smartphone as a key to unlock the door!

Kevo is an electronic, bluetooth enabled lock that uses your smartphone as a key to unlock the door. It uses the iPhone's (4S/5) bluetooth and location services to identify "you" and you can unlock the door with a simple touch on the lock. And yes, you don't even need to take your smartphone out. It uses location and bluetooth technology to identify you (or rather your phone). 

For non iPhone (4S/5) users, you can use the Kevo Fob that is included with the lock. This fob gives you the convinience of same touch to open technology. Which means you can leave the fob in your pocket and can still touch to unlock the door, as Kevo can detect the presence of fob in proximity. 

The mobile app also gives you the convinience of giving an electronic key to your family members, if needed. You can also manage these eKeys by activate/delete them when needed. If you ever happen to loose your iPhone, you can easily revoke its access. It also said to be having "military-grade encryption" which makes it really secure.

We can currently see this touch to open technology available even in standard cars like Honda Accord (2013 EXL) and Nissan Altima and its definitely a good sign that this technology is reaching to door locks.

Although there is no official information on the pricing, it is expected to be under $250. Pre-orders will be accepted from mid-June and will start shipping from this summer. If you are interested, you can read more details at http://www.kwikset.com/Kevo and subscribe to their updates. 

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What We Need For Wearable Computing To Work