Yu Centrik

I was completely blown away when I first played around with an iPhone. However, with no desire to subscribe to a 3-year contract, I was relieved to hear that the iPod touch provided the same interface and similar functionality without any monthly services; an iPhone-without-the-phone, so to speak.

While the iPod Touch allows me to connect to my home wi-fi network and play with its supreme functionality, I can’t escape the feeling that Apple forgot to ensure a music listening experience which meets the same high standards. As a company focused on innovative user interfaces, anyone at Apple should have cringed when they read that.

–

Both of the problems detected involve a failure to capture a music lover’s flow of needs. Here, I would define music lover as anyone who is very particular about music, with urges to hear specific songs and an inability to sit through any song they are not in the mood for. The iPod touch runs into problems with the music lover’s experience when it is resting in the user’s pocket with a music library playing at random. I have identified two specific problems here:

1.  Since I have 6 gigabytes of music randomly thrown into my ears as I walk the streets, it’s inevitable that a song which is inappropriate for the current moment will come on.

With my iPod Touch, I am forced to pull out the device, push a button to activate the screen display, swipe my finger on a slider displayed on the screen to remove the ‘hold’ feature, and finally push the ‘next song’ indicator displayed on the screen. This is not only a more complex user interaction involving both haptic and visual interaction, but pulling out the device itself is also very frustrating when you’re forced to take off your gloves and unbutton your jacket because you’re outside in Montreal when its -30C. Maybe it’s time for Steve Jobs to visit a cold climate!  This problem can only be solved with an external remote which must be purchased separately.

Contrast this to my iPod Shuffle, where i could feel the surface of the player through the fabric of my pocket, hold down the play button to remove the ‘hold’ feature, feel the simple circular button interface and skip the song. I didn’t have to take the iPod out, put my hand in my pocket, or buy an external remote to get the job done. Oh, and did I forget to mention that it was only $40 when I bought it used from the owner of a Depanneur on Sherbrooke St?

2.  I also noticed a second problem when listening to music at random with the iPod Touch in my pocket.  When a song comes on, often I will be inspired to listen to a different, related song. For instance, my randomized playlist might give me “Shoo Shoo Boogie Boo” by Big Joe Turner. I might decide that I’d rather hear “Shake, Rattle and Roll” by Big Joe.

On the iPod Touch interface, there are convenient features which allow me to browse songs from the same album/artist; however, when I select one of these songs, it is impossible to instruct the device to resume my random playlist when the song finishes. I am forced to wait until the song is over to perform this function, forcing me to either hold on to my iPod until the song finishes, or take it out of my pocket again 5 minutes later.

With my Shuffle, the song-selection interaction is obviously limited by the lack of a screen.  Even still, there are aspects to the interaction which are easier.  The Shuffle controls randomization with a physical switch.  I reach in my pocket, turn random play off, switch between songs in the current album, turn random back on.  After playing my desired song, the player will continue its random playlist.

–

Why are these minor problems a big deal when, obviously, the benefits of the Touch compared to the Shuffle are tantamount?  Here’s where the problem ties into User Experience!  I can’t shake the undeniable feeling that Apple simply released the iPod Touch to cash in on the buzz surrounding the iPhone, without seriously considering its role as a music player, not a phone.  I also can’t shake the fact that I was a victim of this marketing ploy, which severely decreases my trust in Apple products.  That’s a big deal.

For anyone who doesn’t know Big Joe:  Big Joe Turner - Shake Rattle and Roll

We have finally posted our presentation from World Usability Day on November 13th.  Problems of the human attentional system in driving situations were introduced to demonstrate what we must account for when designing for real drivers.

What follows is a two-part presentation. The first, in French, defines exactly what we mean by a distraction before presenting the attentional system and its involvement in situations where distractions intervene.

The second part, in English, shows technology as a dangerous DISTRACTOR in a driving task. Different scientific approaches to model, measure, evaluate and improve interactions are presented in the context of user experience.

Part 1 (french):

Part 2 (english):

Research in “auditory psychophysics” represents the deep-level study of how the physics of sound is represented by our conscious mind. So what does that have to do with interface design? Well… anything that connects to human perception has implications on how we might perceive an interface. Taking the next logical step, modern research on sound perception can, and does, have implications for the next generation of audio interfaces (true for both a complete audio interface such as an automated phone system, or simply the audio aspect of a multi-modal interface such as a cell-phone ring). Examples of this trend can be seen surrounding interface ideas related to hearing loss.

First, let’s target the implications of research and technology geared toward accessibility for those suffering from hearing loss. Hearing aids have participated in an endless struggle with the telephone since their inception. Imagine your phone conversations continually interrupted by the amplified sound of your hearing aid bumping against your telephone. This is only one of many accessibility problems for hearing aid users. This problem multiplies in severity when compounded with the inability of microphones to distinguish relevant sounds from background noise (a factor which has expanded with the advent of using cell-phones in public places). So who has the answer? … Nokia does, with their Wireless Loopset. This exceptional device is sure to be the first of a series of accessible solutions. The Loopset uses BlueTooth technology to actually turn your hearing-aid into your cell-phone headset, an elegant and complete solution.

Another demonstration concerns a condition known as presbycusis: a loss of sensitivity to high-frequency sound that emerges with age. In general, the older you get, the more difficulty you have hearing high-pitched noises. The condition emerges from the degeneration of certain neural receptors in the cochlea (a hydraulic pump within your ear designed to separate complex sounds into their individual components). The first “researchers” to jump on adopting interface implications from this were, in fact, young British students with mischievous intentions. It’s really quite brilliant; students configured their cell-phones to play an extremely high frequency ringtone (named ‘Mosquito’ in its original implementation by a Welsh security company). Ironically, this tone was first designed to disperse loitering teenagers while leaving adults unaffected. In this case, however, older professors could not detect the sound of their students text-messaging each other across the room. This anecdote raises two open questions:

• How could we use this principle in a commercially viable device?
• Are you young enough to hear the sound?

For some time now I have wanted to add my two cents to the debate surrounding the use of cell phones while driving. The opportunity presented itself a few days ago when an article appeared on cyberpresse.ca, the on line edition of Montréal’s francophone daily, “La Presse.” I could not resist, I simply had to share with you my thoughts and observations.

The article in question was about the Mayor of Trois-Rivières, Québec, Mr. Lévesque, and his misadventure. Busy reading at the wheel, he drove his car into a stop sign.