Why SLANT loves John Underkoffler

We caught this tweet from Fast Company on Friday: The Genius Behind Minority Report's Interfaces Surfaces, Unveils Mind-blowing New Tech http://bit.ly/bdjmmo

The video of John Underkoffler's TED presentation is an amazing show of gestural interfaces that (according to Mr. U) will be commonplace in a few years.

Our favorite part was this quote around the 13:00 mark - it reinforces our own thoughts from our recent GUI + UX video

"For some of this technology, ground center is a combination of design which is crucially important. We can't have advances in technology any longer, unless design is integrated from the start. And efficacy, agency... we are human beings, creatures that create. We should make sure our machines aid us in that task and are built in that same image. " - John Underkoffler

Take some time to watch it. And envision the awesomeness of the future (and the forthcoming buffness of computer users from all of that arm movement).

SLANT playtime: Wired Magazine's first edition for iPad

In February, Wired released their iPad demo video. Yesterday, the first issue was available for download. As of this morning, it has already generated $10,500 in sales. (see Update)

Having recently completed the design and UI for an iPad digital magazine prototype ourselves, we couldn't wait to see what Wired and Adobe have dreamt up. 

Here are 10 initial thoughts from SLANT's test drive of Wired's first digital issue:

1. Holy file size, Batman! It took minutes to install but this thing is loaded with content. 
2. Price: The first issue was $5. Will be interested to see how the subscription model unfolds. We may be trading paper and ink resources for programmers and video resources - should the consumer expect a per-issue cost-savings in the digital format or not?  
3. Cover: Landscape, Portrait. Portrait, Landscape. It's just fun to play with to see what changes - expanded image, some of the handwritten notes disappear, the word "works" in the main headline jumps from one side of Woody to the other. It's kinda like those old Highlights magazine picture puzzles.
4. Cover > Content: It may seem like a no brainer, but instant access from the cover article headline to the article itself is cool. OK, moving on from the cover.
5. Content navigation: Both horizontal and vertical navigation are available. The horizontal "scrubber" nav shows thumbnails which indicate the article length via article page "stacks". Handy for when you're in a browsing mood or want a more in-depth read.
6. Article interaction: Some interactive features are clearly called out with icons. Some are more subtle and easy to miss. This reminds us of the recent iPad usability study - some interactive devices can be standardized, and if you want to be creative, make sure people know you're doing it.
7. In-article scrolling: iPad interaction is trial-and-error. But we can help that success rate with clearer visual cues. We thought we discovered one convention in the blue-ribbon-arrow visual element that weaves through Wired articles. These "arrows" seemed to point down when an article continued on the next page, prompting the user to a "scroll" action. That theory was blown when we came to an article with the ribbon-arrow, but no additional content to scroll to. 
8. Favorite article: The Trent Reznor sound studio article was a perfect candidate for iPad content. A simple one-page article with three numbered columns. Touch a number, the corresponding image appears and sound plays. Simple and beautiful.
9. Ads: Most of the interactive ads were creative, entertaining and informative. Is it an echo of the age when people clicked on banner ads because they didn't know any better? We don't think so. But we hope these won't turn into repurposed TV ads but instead use the medium to inform and engage more - let us play with car colors, even though we already know we like gunmetal gray. The non-interactive ads were disappointing - especially because they seemed to have visual cues for interactivity already built in but didn't deliver. Of course, they still looked great because they were on an iPad screen. 
10. What was missing? Standard stuff - pinch to zoom wasn't enabled on every article. Chalk that up to artistic or editorial license? Also, we missed utilitarian simplicities like being able to highlight/copy text or a search feature. 

Wired has done a great job - as expected. 

We're stoked because our recent iPad project implements additional design, UI and interactivity features we haven't seen in Wired or other digital publications to date. So, way to go SLANT team!

You want to see it, dontcha? Not yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Update on 2010-05-27 17:51 by Lauren

Wired reports selling 24,000 copies in 24 hours. 

A Day In The Life of SLANT

Ever wondered what it's like at the Galactic Worldwide SLANT Headquarters?  Yeah, we doubt it. But just in case you have wondered, wonder no more!  

We've been in our new office space for nearly six months and decided it was high time to showcase the place.  Take a look. 

iPad: Told you so!

Here at SLANT, we're getting lots of questions like: "so the iPad - what's the point? Isn't this just a giant iPhone?"  Well, yeah, it is.  BUT...we see tons of potential.

Our biggest gripe about the iPad when it was announced is that Apple didn't spend enough time showing us how things are going to be different on the iPad than on our iPhones, iPod Touches, or laptops.  They showed us web surfing, music, pictures and movies, but it's all the same that we're used to. They needed to show us how amazing it will be to do other stuff that we CAN'T do on iPhone.  

It's so obvious to us that we started to wonder why it wasn't obvious to everybody else: this is going to be an amazing way to read and interact with magazines and newspapers. And for this to be truly amazing, we knew that big publishing companies were going to need to really embrace the platform.  And by 'embrace' we mean, totally rethink their content for full-blown interaction.

Instead of flipping digital pages with your finger, imagine sliding articles into place with your finger, or flicking through images embedded in an article.  Or how about making Ads finally worth looking at by rotating objects 360º with your finger right inside the ad?  All of these things will make the iPad an amazing experience for consuming content. 

But there were no such announcements or demos showing a partnership with the Condé Nasts or the Newscorps of the world to offer compelling interactive versions of their publications.  We were beginning to think we were the only ones who got it and we were going to have to do this ourselves.  Looks like our visionary-ness has caught on and the big guys are finally getting it.  So, that's why we say: "Told you so!!"  

See what the publishers are saying about the iPad...some really exciting stuff!

• Wired Magazine: http://bit.ly/95vgK7
• Other Condé Nast Publications: http://nyti.ms/9SHtHL
• Penguin Books: http://bit.ly/c0EWOh
• Wall Street Journal: http://bit.ly/do9PGl

Nerd Alert: I've Solved a Mac Server Problem Nobody Else Could...

Here's a news flash for you:  we're tech fiends here at SLANT.  But as they say, stay on the cutting edge and you're bound to get cut.  Well, we made the decision to migrate our central office server to the latest and greatest Mac OS X Server thinking our troubles would be over.  Long story short, nothing worked and for three months I've been trying to figure out why we cannot connect remotely to our VPN and work from home.

Between Comcast support, Apple Support and countless internet posts, nobody could figure out why our VPN server was not working.  I have figured out the problem, which makes me the smartest man alive.  I am posting the solution here for my fellow geeks and hopefully others who may be having the same issue.

If you are trying to run OS X Server with VPN services and an Aiport Base Station, you have to disable the MobileMe 'Back To My Mac' service on ALL the computers in your OS X server's network.

I found a tiny little snippet of information buried in an Apple support document that says Airport Base Stations cannot use both Back to My Mac and VPN services simultaneously.  That means they will fill fight to the death over the use of your router and according to Apple, Back To My Mac will always win.  

So there you have it.  Turn off Back To My Mac and enjoy VPN goodness.  And yes, I am the smartest man alive.

Top 10 reasons why we'll miss Mandy

Today is Mandy's last day at SLANT. Yes, she's moving out to sunny L.A. to take on her new position as Director of Marketing for the L.A. Chamber of Commerce.  But before she leaves, we present to you the Top 10 Reasons why we'll miss Mandy.

10) We just became 40% less healthy.
9) Make that 90% less healthy.
8) Nobody is going to call the office anymore just to gossip.
7) No more culinary surprises for the office from Mandy's mom.
6) Christopher won't have anyone to yell at for being so happy all the time.
5) No more hijacking Mandy's Facebook page with hilarious status updates when she forgets to log out.
4) We won't have anyone to knife fight during the next election year.
3) The IT department will be bored stiff without anyone screwing up stuff on their Mac.
2) We won't have anybody who can pull off wearing red cowboy boots (not even Will).

And the number one reason we'll miss Mandy:

1) Uh..we're losing our Voice of Reason.  Where are we going to get our reasonableness from?

So Mandy - it's with a heavy heart that we say: "So long, and best of luck.  We know you'll do an amazing job out there.  Just don't forget about us little southern folk when you're hob-knobbin' with the celebs on the red carpet!"

Love, 
SLANT

Best and Worst Identity Redesigns of 2009

Design blog BrandNew (a division underconsideration.com) has posted their list of the best and worst Identity Redesigns of 2009.  Definately some dead-on entries in there, but I'm not so sure I agree with some either.  

Check it out here: 
The Best and Worst Identities of 2009

What do you think?

Mandy's a big loser...and we're proud of her.

We've seen it firsthand: Mandy's been slowly disappearing.  And I don't mean the part where she's moving to LA the day after Christmas.  

No, we're talking about the 32 pounds she's lost over the past 12 weeks doing MUSC's Healthy Charleston Challenge. We could tell you all about it, but why bother when the Post & Courier had Mandy's picture on the front page of today's paper??  Check out the article here:  http://www.postandcourier.com

And the next time you see Mandy, be careful...she disappears when she turns sideways. Very sneaky....