Improving Interface Design / Garret Dimon

An interesting presentation by Garret Dimon on interface design, filled with quotes and examples. Presented originally at the Web Visions 2007 Improving Interface Design Workshop.

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©2008 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

iPod Touch = iPod + Multi-touch + Wi-Fi + Widescreen

Source: Apple Unveils New iPods, Adds Wi-Fi, Touchscreen / WSJ

Apple (AAPL) released iPod Touch today. The new iPod has all the features of the iPhone except the crappy phone reception. Here are some highlights of the new iPod:

• Multi-touch. Like the iPhone, the iPod touch features a multi-touch interface for all the user controls.


• Accelerometer. The added accelerometer detects the rotation of the device and automatically adjust content to fit portrait / landscape orientation.


• 3.5-inch 480x320 163ppi display. The removal of the hardware interface provides new space to stuff a nice high-res widescreen display onto the unit.


• Wi-Fi Web Browser. The new iPod comes with WiFi (802.11 b/g) and comes with Safari so you can browse the web and watch your YouTube video.


• iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. Because of the added Wi-Fi, you can now shop for new songs and add to your iPod wherever you have a Wi-Fi connection.


• Power and battery. iPod Touch is rated to play for up to 22 hours of audio or 5 hours of video when fully charged. 80% of battery charge capacity takes 1.5 hours. A full-charge takes about 3 hours.

The new iPod is scheduled to launch on September 28th, 2007. Pricing is very reasonable: 299 for the 8GB model, 399 for the 16GB model.

I hope that the new iPod will work with IM+ for Skype as well—a service that allows users to run Skype on the iPhone without paying for an AT+T's monthly plan. (The New Zealand Herald: Blog: Skype on the iPhone / 2007-08-15 / Telecommunications News)

Related News

• Gizmodo: First iPod Touch Video Hands On


• Portfolio.com: Apple Unveils New iPods


• Wall Street Journal: Apple Unveils New iPods, Adds Wi-Fi, Touchscreen


• Wired Blogs: Apple and Starbucks Ink WiFiDeal Via New iPod

SML Copyright Notice

Copyright 2007 See-ming Lee (SML Pro Blog). All rights reserved.

GUIdebook = Graphical User Interface Repository

GUIdebook is "a website dedicated to preserving and showcasing Graphical User Interfaces, as well as various materials related to them.”

1. Screenshots. This site has an amazing repository of screenshots of all the main applications from pretty much all the OS that's ever been introduced, all saved in 24-bit PNGs (aka lossless) quality.

2. Interface Elements. Additionally, you can compare icons of application components, drives and devices, documents and folders, as well as mouse pointers across different OS environments.

3. Sound. Fairly interesting, and is often missing in other GUI repositories is the collection of sounds in WAV (lossless) format, which is a very effective means of user feedback in interface designs.

4. Applications. The site also include application splash screens, and an applications section that detail every aspect of iTunes and Photoshop during their entire history.

5. Additional resources. It even has repositories for ads, videos, articles, books and tutorials of everything known to human history about GUIs.

More information about specific GUI families can be found on the site's site map.