Are you a die-hard novel writer, looking for a distraction-free way to crank out your next story?

Darn you Apple!

The "post-pc" product marketing juggernaut has hooked me into their products, by following a simple UX (and therefore, Psychologically-based) human tendency, called: "Set Completion".

Darn you Stephen Anderson!

Stephen Anderson, UX Designer who created "Mental Notes", which is a deck of cards that describes our natural human tendencies, has truly hit the mark with "Set Completion".

Set completion is Stephen's naming of a human tendency to want to "collect", and more specifically, "complete" our collections. Apple computers, my nemesis, has simply taken Stephen's psychological cues to heart, and fiendishly, steathily, hooked me like a fish into their products.

Currently, I am an owner of an iPhone 3GS, iMac, and Macbook. What could I possibly need more in my computer-life? Uh, nothing. Except the iPad. That's all! That's it! That's all I need to complete my set! Er, well, actually... the Apple TV, too. But that's it! Then I won't need to buy any more Apple products ever again! I'll be set!

Yeah, right. Well, if you're anything like me, you've been trying to fight back the Dr. Jekyll inside your head that keeps whispering ideas of how to sell your current NON-thunderbolt Macbook, and somehow sell the cat and the furniture for the THUNDERBOLT (it's like Zeus!) Aluminum Macbook Pro, or super awesome solid-state Macbook Air.

Read more about Stephen Anderson here:

http://getmentalnotes.com/

With all the "CAPTCHA" ideas out there, this one has really caught my attention.

Do you ever have a difficult time reading the CAPTCHA letters/words at the end of a comment field on a blog? I do! I can't stand them sometimes, actually.

Just yesterday I came across an excellent new idea: Use something a computer can't imitate! Mouse motion!

What I also like very much about this idea is that this appears to be a great option for the "Canvas" element in HTML5, something I've been wanting to implement anyway.

Learn more here:

http://www.josscrowcroft.com/projects/motioncaptcha-jquery-plugin/

The CSS3 Generator You Never Knew You Always Wanted

Do you LOVE the new and improved CSS3? Do you follow all the CSS3 tweets, and wait anxiously (like the rest of us) for IE to finally face reality and support CSS3 as much as the other browsers?

...Do you ever wish there was a solid, clean interface out there that could help you create standards-compliant CSS3, on the fly? Well, you're in luck!

Some design buddies of mine just finished a powerful, clean CSS3 Generator that uses a beautiful UI with sliders and color pickers, and actually prints out the code for you to copy and paste into your style sheet! Check it out:

http://css3.me

Check the designers out on twitter:

http://twitter.com/funkyscript

http://twitter.com/kolage

The "NoteSlate" and the "Kno" - Desirable Interfaces?

I have been watching the introduction of new types of computer-like tablets, specifically the "Kno" and the "NoteSlate", which use the "stylus" for user input. The "NoteSlate" is marketed just as a low-level input device, geared more towards static note-taking, while the "Kno" is a tablet computer geared towards textbook reading, that allows Stylus notes.

Both of these interfaces leave me wondering... Would I use this?

I mean, I'm really excited about the way the industry is going... especially since mobile computing appears to provide such a better user experience. However, I still have doubts about whether the stylus can compete with Apple's multi-touch finger-input approach. Which is the better User Experience?

Are there studies that show that the end-user still wants this type of input? Is the Stylus-input a good User Experience?

Follow the discussion here: http://tiny.cc/StylusInputUX
 

Evernote: No app can match it

Over the past few years, I've struggled to find the best way, and best place, to keep track of all the web pages, notes, ideas, pictures, journal entries, and so on that I aggregate on a daily basis. As I looked through the myriad web apps, iPhone apps, and desktop apps that provided some sort of organization for these things, I came across "EVERNOTE" one day, and have YET to find its equal.

Evernote allows you to save text notes, web clips, pictures from your mobile phone, and even voice recordings all to one easy to use web account.They even have a Firefox add-on that makes it super easy to "clip" web pages you like, and automatically save clippings to your account.

Evernote for students: A great tool for notes, studying, and recording lectures

Today I came across a really solid list of reasons why Evernote is so awesome for college students. Check it out: http://tiny.cc/loveEVERNOTE

I have spent the past year studying various devices which have "eReading" capabilities, and in various markets (casual reading, education, etc) such as:

Do you wish there were ONE place to collect all your blogs, RSS feeds, Tweets, and Facebook posts, so you could read them all in one place?

Well, in my opinion, the coolest tool for managing social content is an iPad app: "FLIPBOARD". Flipboard is a "content aggregation app" of sorts, that collects all your feeds, social network updates, etc, and puts them into a smooth, intuitive, beautiful magazine-style format, that literally flips from page to page. Awesome, huh?

Check it out at "http://flipboard.com", or download it on iTunes

Or, join the discussion on UX Exchange:

http://tinyurl.com/26y9dq2

Aevum Design

Image galleries, sliding content, onClick events, glowing text, and so on and so on... If you spend anytime online at all, you've been exposed to these fantastic interactions.  

Javascript enhances the User Experience of a website, bringing a website to life with animations, smooth transitions, and access to any piece of code within the site, via the DOM. iPhone developers have incorporated special plugins and libraries, such as jQTouch, to create experiences that are smooth and mentally intuitive.

In an effort to prove the usefulness of Javascript in portfolio design, I have decided to create a website stuffed with Javascript interaction. As part of my current class schedule at Utah Valley University in Orem, UT, I've almost finished the final project for my Digital Media 2760 (javascript) class. Although there's still work to do, I at least wanted to share what I've done so far.
Enjoy!

http://aevumdesign.com

Aevum Design

Anyone who dreams about the future of home entertainment has very likely had their interest piqued by Apple's streaming technology, "Airplay". Airplay is a software designed by Apple that allows you to share content between Apple's hand held devices, such as Apple's iPhone or iPad, with your home entertainment center. With this smooth technology, Apple has set a new standard for device integration.

Just imagine... You're watching a movie on your iPad (if you're lucky enough to own one), and you walk into your living room and sit down on your couch. You pause your movie, and think to yourself: "Man, I wish I could watch this on my TV without having to go through an entirely separate process". THAT'S where Airplay comes in. With Airplay installed on your iPad or iPhone, and using Apple's new "Apple TV", you can literally "slide" the content you're viewing on your device, to your TV!

I get really excited when I consider the implications of this new idea. What if you're playing a game on your iPad, and then you "swipe" it via Airplay to your TV? Your iPad would then become the CONTROLLER for your game, while you play it on your TV! Awesome!

Apple really has a solid idea with a lot of exciting possibilities. I'll be watching this new technology closely.

Aevum Design