http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/37611/?p1=A4
So it looks like we will soon have virtual technology all over. They already have desktops that are holographic. Now we can control our iphones without even touching them. We just hook up a camera to your heads and poke at our hands as if we are holding our phones and it recognizes where on the phone's interface we are accessing. This is really cool, except for one small problem: We can't see what we are touching,. unless our phone is right next to our hands anyways. Sure if you were a phone zombie and memorized everywhere all of your buttons are, then you could navigate, but even, then, if you need to answer a call, how would you be able to see who is calling?
I think this is awesome technology, don't get me wrong. And some day in the future, they will probably be hooked up to some high-tech looking matrix-esque monocle so you can see what you are doing, but until then, it's not very convenient at all. That and people would think you're cracked for playing pretend phone games on your hand.
This does, however open a doorway for a whole bunch of other cool stuff that can be virtually controlled by motion. Also, it doesn't surprise me too much, considering Japan now has robots that can create and recognize facial cues and use them to determine a person's mood and the proper response to it.
It's exciting to be on the brink of a lot of really cool changes to the way we will be living in the next 10 or 20 years.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Resources
So I am floored by the speed that developers can get a new artistic medium, master it, and further extend it's functions in order to do new things that it might not have even been intended for originally.
Cut to the chase. The first Flash developing site I found when I started the class was this one: http://developer.yahoo.com/flash/
It's just a basic yahoo group that yahoo's company created to bring together Flash developers and give them a place not only to read, but also to find tutorials, upload their creations, find videos and other links to helpful guides on the web, AND be able to communicate through forums and chatrooms in order to more effectively bounce ideas of eachother. Communication is the basis of all learning, so a site dedicated not only to announcing new ideas, but to bring commentary into it is really useful!
Number Two: http://www.flashkit.com/
Flashkit. It's definitely more thorough and professional than the yahoo group, but it can be a bit overwhelming to navigate if you are a newbie and not sure where to start. They even have their own newsletter and job sections, which is helpful for those of us planning for some amount of professional work using Flash.
Three: http://www.mosessupposes.com/Fuse/FuseFX.html
The Fuse Kit. It's a program that customizes tweening abilities in Flash. Talk about hardcore, they have special downloading add-ons for your add-ons! Talk about developing your developments. It's insane that there is a fuse kit for your fuse kit. Apparently this little program is an animator's best friend, because it is extremely specific at customizing just about everything you can do in Flash.
Four: http://www.friendsofed.com/book.html?isbn=1430209933
This is like an intro to web developing site. They teach you how to create Flash hacks, and more. They also are one of the first sites I cam across that openly hands you programming codes to create mobile apps.
Cut to the chase. The first Flash developing site I found when I started the class was this one: http://developer.yahoo.com/flash/
It's just a basic yahoo group that yahoo's company created to bring together Flash developers and give them a place not only to read, but also to find tutorials, upload their creations, find videos and other links to helpful guides on the web, AND be able to communicate through forums and chatrooms in order to more effectively bounce ideas of eachother. Communication is the basis of all learning, so a site dedicated not only to announcing new ideas, but to bring commentary into it is really useful!
Number Two: http://www.flashkit.com/
Flashkit. It's definitely more thorough and professional than the yahoo group, but it can be a bit overwhelming to navigate if you are a newbie and not sure where to start. They even have their own newsletter and job sections, which is helpful for those of us planning for some amount of professional work using Flash.
Three: http://www.mosessupposes.com/Fuse/FuseFX.html
The Fuse Kit. It's a program that customizes tweening abilities in Flash. Talk about hardcore, they have special downloading add-ons for your add-ons! Talk about developing your developments. It's insane that there is a fuse kit for your fuse kit. Apparently this little program is an animator's best friend, because it is extremely specific at customizing just about everything you can do in Flash.
Four: http://www.friendsofed.com/book.html?isbn=1430209933
This is like an intro to web developing site. They teach you how to create Flash hacks, and more. They also are one of the first sites I cam across that openly hands you programming codes to create mobile apps.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Resourses Inspiration
As a watch lover, I came across the newly improved website for Rolex Watches.
www.rolex.com
The first thing I notice, was how fitting the preloader is for the site. The slow revealing of the face of a Rolex watch on a simple dark background, with a small version of it logo sitting in the corner. The first tag of the menu is it product page, selling merchandise is its priority after all. All the products are categorized, and once a category is selected, additional sub-navigation is revealed on the bottom of the screen, by the way of a time line. These include introduction, models, and stories. When the user hover along the toolbar, small thumbnail appears showing further navigation. Each thumbnail magnifies as you hover over them. Very elegant way of display of a sub-menu in my opinion. It makes a very complex navigational system still very user friendly, and not clustered.
Each page is has the watch prominently shown in a crisp extra large photo, or I should say clip, since the hands on the watch is moving. It's branding is very strong on each page, even on pages that has no photos of the watches,(i.e. "my selection", "dealer locator". Instead, there are elements of the iconic watch, such as its links or partial photo of its face. They are very subtle, but still very powerful.
This website can be viewed as HTML as well. After viewing the HTML version, I really appreciate how powerful Flash is, and how much it contributes to the overall presentation of a website.
I understand that this website is a result of the collaborative of many designers, perhaps ones with many years of experience, yet I still see glimpse of how things are created. It was an inspiration for me.
www.rolex.com
The first thing I notice, was how fitting the preloader is for the site. The slow revealing of the face of a Rolex watch on a simple dark background, with a small version of it logo sitting in the corner. The first tag of the menu is it product page, selling merchandise is its priority after all. All the products are categorized, and once a category is selected, additional sub-navigation is revealed on the bottom of the screen, by the way of a time line. These include introduction, models, and stories. When the user hover along the toolbar, small thumbnail appears showing further navigation. Each thumbnail magnifies as you hover over them. Very elegant way of display of a sub-menu in my opinion. It makes a very complex navigational system still very user friendly, and not clustered.
Each page is has the watch prominently shown in a crisp extra large photo, or I should say clip, since the hands on the watch is moving. It's branding is very strong on each page, even on pages that has no photos of the watches,(i.e. "my selection", "dealer locator". Instead, there are elements of the iconic watch, such as its links or partial photo of its face. They are very subtle, but still very powerful.
This website can be viewed as HTML as well. After viewing the HTML version, I really appreciate how powerful Flash is, and how much it contributes to the overall presentation of a website.
I understand that this website is a result of the collaborative of many designers, perhaps ones with many years of experience, yet I still see glimpse of how things are created. It was an inspiration for me.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Design Exploration
2advanced.com
2-Advanced is a world-renowned interactive design and interesting studio. Services include site design, multimedia creation, flash illustration, SEO development and building corporate identity. Site features a beautiful, lush and futuristic Aztec-themed multimedia environment.
They virtually have their hands dipped in everything. It's amazing to see how much they've designed and to see all the partners and clients they're associated with.
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