"interface" entries

Proposing CSS input modality

:focus'ing on users.

Image of a camera lens artfully out of focus

Editor’s note: The author would like to acknowledge her co-author, Brian Kardell, who contributed many insights to the ideas presented here, along with a substantial number of the words.

Web developers and web standards authors alike strive to live up to the promise of “universality” — the idea that the web should be available to all. This concept drives many innovations in web technology, as well as being fundamentally built in to the philosophy of the open standards on which the web is based.

In order to achieve this, we frequently find that having some carefully chosen information about how the user intends to view the content (a concept we’ll refer to in this article as “user context”) allows web developers to create more flexible and useful user experiences. In this post, we’ll lay out a case that it’s time to expand our view of user context to include the concept of modality (how the user is interacting with the page), but before we flesh that out, let’s take a look at “user context”.

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Understanding Apple fans

There's a gap between Google's version of Android and what the mobile carriers deliver.

AT&T and other carriers are not helping Android, or themselves, by turning a great product into a second-rate one. And maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I now understand what Apple fans hate about Android.

Six ways to think about an "infinite canvas"

How would content look, feel and act in an unlimited space?

Imagine a canvas that's elastic and infinite. Now consider the content that could exist in this domain. How would it work? How would you interact with it? Pete Meyers considers these questions and more.

Spoiler alert: The mouse dies. Touch and gesture take center stage

The shift toward more natural interfaces requires new thinking and skills.

As touch and gesture evolve from novelty to default, we must rethink how we build software, implement hardware, and design interfaces.

UI is becoming an "embodied" model

Mobile, real-time, and physical make design tough and interesting.

In the following interview, AOL director of consumer experience Christian Crumlish discusses the design opportunities that arise from new technologies and interfaces.

Open Question: How important is a mobile device's "feel"?

The limitations of mobile seem to put the focus on interaction, not tech specs.

Whether you buy into Apple's "post-PC" spin, the rise of mobile computing does seem to shift the perspective from raw tech specs to overall experience. How important is a mobile device's "feel" to you?

7 emergent themes from Webstock reveal a framework

Agility, simplicity, and curiosity will define the next generation of apps and devices.

The speakers at the recent Webstock conference in New Zealand gravitated toward many of the same themes. Taken together, these themes create a framework for building the next generation of services, applications and devices.

Computers are looking back at us

The mouse's days are numbered. Researchers have developed laptops controlled by eye movement.

Tobii Technology is testing prototype laptops that use eye-tracking technology that replaces a mouse — and they think it might just be ready for mass-market consumption.