Goodbye Microsoft (sorta) and Hello *********

Well it’s been a chaotic few weeks here in wonderful Microsoft Land. I have been getting tons of questions about some things I said at CHI. Apparently, unknown to me, a few people overheard me talking to some SOFTie colleagues and telling them that I was planning an external move soon. What that means is I was planning on getting another job, but not at Microsoft.

ProTip: A “move” just means you are shifting teams, an “external move” means I was going back into the world. Its rare that a Microsoftie goes back out into the world. It really is an incredible place to work.

Here is a small “guide” to Ron.

1. I have Asperger’s Syndrome. It is clinically significant, but not so much that I freak out or am crazy awkward in public situations. I consider it an amazing gift to be honest. There are a few things about the “syndrome” that really come out in me. I am very honest and upfront, and I am incredibly gifted in some things (mainly design and using logic to break down and solve problems) and am very bad at other things (remembering dates, balancing a checkbook, etc).
2. I am obsessive about finding solutions to problems. (see #1) The more difficult the problem, the more obsessive I get. The real challenge to this is that in design, you rarely find a “solution” rather than finding a better than what you have now option. That does suffice for me, but usually I will obsess about a problem until I make a giant leap in the space. Good enough isn’t enough.
3. I LOVE a good challenge. These are what make me get up in the morning and clap my hands.
4. When it comes to work, I rarely choose the “easy” route. Which means if I have the choice between a difficult job and an easy job, with both being the same amount of money… I always choose the difficult job because it will cause me to grow.

So where does that leave us? Well, I’m trying to lead up to where I am going to next. My last day at Microsoft was Friday and I am busy preparing to move across the country.

So what is my next challenge? I think it is the most complex problem in the User Experience world at the present time and just thinking about it gets my brain pumping.

Bloomberg.

The article at UX Mag.

This interface is complex, rich, and mind-blowing in size and scope. I think this article really sums up a few of the problems, but also makes some wrong assertions as well.

http://uxmag.com/design/the-impossible-bloomberg-makeover

I think the best line in the article is this,

“Redesigning the Bloomberg Terminal would be any interface designer’s dream.”

You are correct, and if I have said it once, I’ll say it again… I am living the dream. See you in New York!

Further Reading:

Wikipedia Article

Google image search of examples of the terminal.

An interesting visual history/lineup of past terminals on display at Bloomberg

An example of a typical Terminal in use

Dear Ron: Any Advice for someone to escape the ‘telecommute’ career path?

I get this question quite frequently, so I thought it best to address it in its own post. Here is the question.

Any advice for someone with tons of experience as a designer and developer, but stuck in upstate NY with a dearth of telecommute opportunities?

Answer

The first thing I would tell you to do is to watch and read everything from Daniel Pink you can get your hands on. If you are like me and you just want the lazy route, atleast watch this video of a talk he gave at TED (embedded below).

I’m a big fan of Daniel and the things he has to say. Basically, he sums up the threat of telecommuting and how innovation and decision making will solve many problems. Anything that can be done by telecommute, WILL be done by that method. If it does not require decision making, it will be done by telecommute. It’s cheaper, easier, and faster. Many of the offshore development houses have an unlimited amount of resources they can throw on the project, so scalability is never an issue.

The key to success in this day and age is in design and decision making. Put yourself in the position to make decisions that directly affect the product’s success. Being a designer that can actually shape the product is the key to accelerating your career path. Make an impact and ensure it’s success.

Development is a great skill, but you only need to know enough to make good design decisions. The ability to work out a specific worker algorithm to accomplish a task is beyond the scope of your needs. If you are talking about web design, then development plays a much higher need. The ability to understand and incorporate web development into your designs will save you, your team, and the development team tons of wasted cycles.

Summary

Know enough development to propel your designs to the front of the pack. Concentrate on a specific part of design or interaction and own it. Become it.

Does anyone have recommendations for a decent webhost?

I have been getting a few emails about the blog being down. It’s rather silly when my blog is being linked from international news sites and they get a memory error instead of content. I’m getting tired of the lack of performance. The dreaded “Out of Memory” error is because my current host cannot handle the load from the readers on WordPress. I have moderate traffic and run a few websites. I’m currently paying $30 a month, which seems outlandish for what I’m getting.

Movie Interfaces: Code 46

One thing I always enjoy, when seeing a movie with other designers,  is the discussion afterward. Talking about different things we each captured and then having some in depth critique is always fun. The format will probably change with each additional new movie, but I want to keep it digestible. Also feel free to point out any interfaces that I miss!

Movie: Code 46 (2003)

[it contains Organic User Interfaces, transparent monitors, futuristic workstation with a touch pad]

IMDB Link

This is a futuristic movie so there are several experiences that could be captured. I want to capture the two interesting ones.

The first is the Digital Photo Album. It’s a normal pocket sized photo album, but instead of 4×6 pictures, it has 4×6 bendable lcd screens. On these screens they play home movies that have been recorded. This is a great concept because you use the already current mental model of pocket sized albums to store memories. This would be a great leap into the household.

The other interesting thing about this is the interface is nothing more than an onscreen “jog” mechanism. The user rewinds and fast forwards by moving the thumb north and south on the jog. By pressing the center, the movie pauses. Great device and very understated, which as you know I like. :)

Summary

For further reading, and for classification, this interface would called an Organic User Interface. Mainly because the interface bends into shapes other than flat. There are some very interesting studies and prototypes around this model. If you are feeling particularly brave, you should head over to the Organic User Interface site (a spinoff of the ACM Magazine), that has a ton of information, videos, and papers that have been published on the subject. Of particular note about the actual implementation would be the speed of the video and no apparent view of the battery pack. These futuristic things are what will really start pushing the need for modern user interfaces.

The second piece is wonderful setup for a futuristic workstation. This is their vision of the modern workstation. It consists of multiple monitors, above eye level on opposite walls, and a controlling device near the hand rest area. Of course it’s a natural interface due to the lack of mouse and traditional keyboard, but I also like what they did with the monitor position (above eye level, which prevents tiring of the eyes). I also like that they blended the controller and monitors in with the environment. The monitors are transparent when they are not on, and the small keyboard-like controller is small, clear, and flat, almost concealing itself when not in use.

Transparent Monitors are just around the corner! The recent work over at Purdue into optically transparent electronics shows a lot of promise.

The development of mechanically flexible and/or optically transparent electronics could enable next-generation electronics technologies, which would be easy-to-read, light-weight, unbreakable, transparent, and flexible. Potential applications could include transparent monitors, heads-up displays, and conformable products. Recent reports have demonstrated transparent thin film transistors (TFTs) using channels consisting of semiconductor nanowires (ZnO, SnO2, or In2O3) and random networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs).[1,2] [Source]