Re: [IxDA Discuss] Where are all the designers?
I love and hate this thread. There have been many great points made about the tradeoffs of working in a vibrant area, about what interactive design is, and how horrible it can be to find the right job. But as I read this thread it pains me. I%u2019m a recent graduate of a European design school and I%u2019m currently looking for employment. I am that young kid who would gladly live in a cardboard box to be out in the valley and working on exciting projects, yet so far there%u2019s only been rejections and glimpses of future contractor work. So it%u2019s quite hard to see the disconnect. I%u2019d like to offer up one observation. Just as the IxD community has had trouble defining Interactive Design, my school had difficulty choosing the types of projects to develop throughout the program. Since the field is so varied, we touched upon many types of interactive design projects while never delving too deep into the technical aspects of each category. Instead an overall emphasis on theory, process, and the artistic elements of interactive design were stressed as those elements can be applied to any possible future project. While, I believe, this was an apt way to instruct the program at this current point in time, it has left us students with a lagging technical skill set. The backgrounds of the student body were as diverse as one could imagine and therefore students as still able to only apply for positions similar to their previous backgrounds. As I currently browse jobs, many jobs emphasize simply the web nature of interactive design and therefore the only students from my school who would fit into the mold that HR builds are those who already had a background in web development and programming. Perhaps this is another element to think about. There are schools attempting to teach the discipline, but until the categories are defined further, it will be hard to train students on a highly technical level. I would like to see companies start to give a little and realize something along the lines of what Andrei said where interactive designers do not code and also work along side of graphic designers. So far it seems that this mentality would surely lead to a rejection email. Also, in general, I am saddened to see that the areas of experience design, environmental design, and installation design are less prevalent in the United States than over in Europe. In my mind this is quite ironic, because as usual, the funding for substantial and innovative projects could easily be found stateside. Also, I would say that a fair amount of my classmates prefer these areas as opposed to UI/IA design. But if anyone has suggestions for the unemployed side of this debate, please send them over. I agree that it would be nice to have a simple and secure resume posting system on here.I don%u2019t believe I%u2019m the only inactive designer around here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=26170 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] iPhone SDK
buying a cross-platform development framework does not automatically make you know how to build good software, unfortunately for Nokia. They were not particularly good at it using Symbian. I don't see how this acquisition changes that. My Nokia N76 (which I like) has a HORRIBLE music interface. Browsing and playing are quite obviously 2 separate applications. For an idea of just how bad it is, just from an organizational standpoint, here's a look on my mostly abandoned blog: http://notes.motiontek.com/?p=29 this can easily be replicated in its full badness with QT. Hopefully will not, but I think the underlying UI framework is the least of their worries. MT On Mar 8, 2008, at 2:28 AM, Pankaj Chawla wrote: BlackBerry is dead. Microsoft is dead. Windows Mobile is dead. Amazon is dead. Kindle is dead. Nokia is dead. Motorola was already dead but now they are even more dead. Google's Android is dead. Samsung is dead. LG is dead. Sony is dead. UTStarcom is dead. I dont know about others but Nokia sure aint dead. It recently bought a company called Trolltech that makes C++ toolkit by the names of Qt for desktops and Qtopia for the mobile world. Its a proven technology and extensively used for a decade now and what makes it beautiful is that your application code is same for Windows, Unix and Mac (Yes, Qt is available on Mac also). To top it all it also has the same toolkit targetted for Java by the name QT Jambi. It comes with thousands of programmers who have been programming using it for a decade and since the toolkit scales from mobiles to desktops seamlessly and from Windows to Mac to Linux also seamlessely, its one power weapon that Nokia just acquired. It just needs to be seen how Nokia uses this to combat Iphone API and Google Android but if I as a developer have to bet my money I will surely put a large bet on Nokia-Trolltech combine though I wont ignore Iphone API and Android totally :). Nokia through Trolltech also gets onto the LiMo (Linux Mobile) platform and I wont be surprised if symbian gives way to LiMo-Qt combination in future Nokia devices and that sure will be one hell of a platform to beat :-) Cheers Pankaj Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] iPhone SDK
While the assessment Dave makes is a little strong (I might go with very sick, not dead) he is exactly right. But Pankaj, this has very little to do with coding and languages. This has to do with one of the most adept market assessments and most elegant strategic moves we have seen. talk all you want about Apples superior style, technology and cool factor, but this move into mobile hardware is brilliant. Apples sniffed out an industry that was divided into two disfunctional factions. The carriers, who are making the exact same strategic mistakes they made as long distance providers 20 years ago, and hardware manufacturers - also repeating old mistakes. The carriers are still caught up in creating barriers for consumers to maximize profit. Hand set makers are driving with technology first, the user second. The iPhone is fundamentally changing the functional, developmental, and the business landscape of the mobile phone industry. This is a fast and remarkably transparent market take over. If you have any aspirations of being an entrepreneur you should be following this very closely. It is a lesson in how to own an market. Lastly, and likely most importantly, pay attention, these kind of changes in the market always present large opportunities for folks like us. Mark On Mar 8, 2008, at 2:28 AM, Pankaj Chawla wrote: BlackBerry is dead. Microsoft is dead. Windows Mobile is dead. Amazon is dead. Kindle is dead. Nokia is dead. Motorola was already dead but now they are even more dead. Google's Android is dead. Samsung is dead. LG is dead. Sony is dead. UTStarcom is dead. I dont know about others but Nokia sure aint dead. It recently bought a company called Trolltech that makes C++ toolkit by the names of Qt for desktops and Qtopia for the mobile world. Its a proven technology and extensively used for a decade now and what makes it beautiful is that your application code is same for Windows, Unix and Mac (Yes, Qt is available on Mac also). To top it all it also has the same toolkit targetted for Java by the name QT Jambi. It comes with thousands of programmers who have been programming using it for a decade and since the toolkit scales from mobiles to desktops seamlessly and from Windows to Mac to Linux also seamlessely, its one power weapon that Nokia just acquired. It just needs to be seen how Nokia uses this to combat Iphone API and Google Android but if I as a developer have to bet my money I will surely put a large bet on Nokia-Trolltech combine though I wont ignore Iphone API and Android totally :). Nokia through Trolltech also gets onto the LiMo (Linux Mobile) platform and I wont be surprised if symbian gives way to LiMo-Qt combination in future Nokia devices and that sure will be one hell of a platform to beat :-) Cheers Pankaj Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Security on the web: how far do we go?
David Platt devotes Chapters 3 4 of his book, *Why Software Sucks...And What You Can Do About It*http://www.amazon.com/Why-Software-Sucks-What-About/dp/0321466756/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1204999335sr=1-1, to this very issue. His quote: The No.1 threat of security isn't the packet sniffer...it's the Post-it Note. His proposed solution: single sign-on, managed through a reputable and trusted third party, such as a credit card company or bank (similar to Stephanie's solution). Microsoft tried the same thing with Passport awhile back, but it flopped because no one wanted their personal info being managed by Microsoft. He also recommends this book, which he claims will scare you so bad you won't be able to sleep for weeks afterwards. Sicko that I am, I can't wait to check it out. Kevin Mitnick, *The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security*http://www.amazon.com/Art-Deception-Controlling-Element-Security/dp/076454280X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1204999227sr=8-1(Wiley, 2002). Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] iPhone SDK
Hi Michael, On 3/8/08, Michael Tuminello [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: buying a cross-platform development framework does not automatically make you know how to build good software, unfortunately for Nokia. They were not particularly good at it using Symbian. I don't see how this acquisition changes that. My Nokia N76 (which I like) has a HORRIBLE music interface. Browsing and playing are quite obviously 2 separate applications. this can easily be replicated in its full badness with QT. Hopefully will not, but I think the underlying UI framework is the least of their worries. I 110% agree with you. The only point I was trying to make was that symbian was a failed development platform. More than the API whats needed is a good development platform and I think Qt+LiMO will provide a very powerful development platform. Having fixed that end Nokia can focus on the interaction design part of the process and if they can get that right they have a winner. Apple on the other hand have done beautiful work in the interaction design of Iphone and now it is exposing the API for Iphone but ultimately the new applications will need to be developed and to my mind Objective C is the weak link in Apple's armour. I havent downloaded the SDK yet so I am not sure if any other development language is supported but if its Objective C only then I will be a lot worried. Cheers Pankaj Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Design Deliverables and Developers
I'm an in-house designer who sits on the same floor as the development team, doing a lot of enterprise system work. It's good to find that groove that works with your developers (for us, nothing gets results like a clickable HTML/CSS prototype, accompanied by an MSWord doc with screenshots of the different error screens...all meticulously dated so no one accidentally designs to the wrong version), but be warned: sometimes you can get so wrapped up in how you the developers communicate that you forget your end user. In the past, if an interface needed a fix, because I wanted to keep confrontations to a minimum I would unconsciously design a solution that stayed within the programmers' comfort zone. (This happened during a project last year, and the end users spanked me for it.) Looking back I know now there were times when - for a truly usable solution - I should have been more of a hard-ass. This isn't necessarily true for other settings, but for large-scale enterprise apps, I would venture that the quality of the deliverables you give to your developers is informed by the quality of the deliverables you have with your end users. If all you've got are a couple hour's worth of user interviews (which often turn into rant sessions and pie-in-the-sky wish lists) and some Photoshop mockups, it won't matter how well you communicate with the developers, you're not going to get the biggest bang for your buck. I think every company has its own thing that works for them, discovered by trial and error. But now that I've figured out how to communicate with my development team, I'm more free to focus on creating research deliverables that...(wait for it) feed into the deliverables that go to the development team. -G Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] iPhone SDK
First off, those weren't my words. Second off, Jeez! doesn't anyone have a sense of hyperbole any more? Of course Nokia and Blackberry are far from Dead, and I would even say they aren't all that sick either. What they aren't is prepared for the current war. I would argue though that BB has a better chance against iPhone (or more accurately is better protected against an iPhone assault) than Nokia is. Samsung Motorola ... Let's just say ... maybe not so much a hyperbole. ;) -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=26885 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] iPhone SDK
Sorry Dave, apparently I misread your intro... I spent a few hours this afternoon trying to find an introductory product that penetrated a 10+ year old market with the same sort of numbers as the iPhone. I can neither find or think of one. On Mar 8, 2008, at 12:42 PM, dave malouf wrote: First off, those weren't my words. Second off, Jeez! doesn't anyone have a sense of hyperbole any more? Of course Nokia and Blackberry are far from Dead, and I would even say they aren't all that sick either. What they aren't is prepared for the current war. I would argue though that BB has a better chance against iPhone (or more accurately is better protected against an iPhone assault) than Nokia is. Samsung Motorola ... Let's just say ... maybe not so much a hyperbole. ;) -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=26885 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Nice NY Times article on interface design changes
Hi Gang, I thought people might be interested in this NY Times article on interface design. It actually made the front page under technology. http://tinyurl.com/2ph443 -- dave -- David Malouf http://synapticburn.com/ http://ixda.org/ http://motorola.com/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Security on the web: how far do we go?
On Sat, Mar 8, 2008 at 10:08 AM, Gloria Petron [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: David Platt devotes Chapters 3 4 of his book, *Why Software Sucks...And What You Can Do About It* http://www.amazon.com/Why-Software-Sucks-What-About/dp/0321466756/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1204999335sr=1-1 , to this very issue. His quote: The No.1 threat of security isn't the packet sniffer...it's the Post-it Note. ... Kevin Mitnick, *The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security* http://www.amazon.com/Art-Deception-Controlling-Element-Security/dp/076454280X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1204999227sr=8-1 (Wiley, 2002). Another for your book list: Corporate Espionage by Ira Winkler http://www.amazon.com/Corporate-Espionage-Happening-Company-About/dp/0761508406/ Former NSA computer security spook (hi guys, hope you get this message, tell Verizon I'll pay my bill soon, OK? :-) delivers case studies that read like spy stories. My favorite was the Japanese Documentary Film Crew caper. His recommendation for the most effective thing a company can do to promote security: a company-wide security awareness program. The weak point of most of the cases discussed in the book are the humans in the system; a security education awareness program helps them make better decisions. Michael Micheletti Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
