Here are some observations and design thoughts based on my experience today and past few days.
I have been taking coffee for the last 2 days to keep myself awake through the day, cause I am coming really early to office. This and observing other people here at work makes me think that US is not just running on gas/petrol/oil but also on caffeine
Internet radio vs iPod
Internet radio means you dont have to carry your device while providing songs which you dont have worry buying.
Youtube is a good alternative so far because you can create custom list and play them.
Problem though is video which is not really needed if you want the music running in background of your work.
iPod or other personal music device allows a sense of personal control as well as keeps me working without bothering to go to that web window and switch the songs everytime I dont like.
Design ideas or paths based on this are that either the web interface should become like a plugin so that I can work on reading in a page while I can read my page and I can switch songs. Or may be a playlist I’ll choose and work for the day because it might be based on my mood for the day.
Other aspects here are the cost of the device, trust on network capabilities, network permission/access for the website
Private Email server?
Can individuals have private email servers so that they dont put their data for companies to thrive on their business?
The business model will also be very interesting.
Umbrella which you don’t need to hold
We have been using umbrella for years and years. We have been comfortable holding them with one or both the hands, even using it to play in the rain. However, with the element of mobile phone and other technology growth, every one’s hands are busy. It’s not just with the phones.
I was walking with my colleague to our office. It was raining. He was carrying his sports bag and his normal bag in hands, one on each shoulder. He had to put/get something into/from his bag. Since I was there next to him, he asked me to hold the umbrella for a second. Now it struck for me, what if the umbrella could stand by itself and could follow & give protection. Umbrellas have changed colors and models. This is the Umbrella 2.0 in the history of umbrellas I’ll say.
Any more interaction or cool working could be added. But again, observing and understanding people in action is undoubtedly important for the next level of change. This is what I’ll call user (people) experience.
Future of furniture
I came across this video,demonstrating how future furniture will work
My initial reflections were that yes indeed it’s going to solve the problem of space & cost considering the shrinking living space with exploding global population.. but prob will be the cost and repeatin an action everytime and everyday.. wht might be cool will be a intelligent furniture which recognizes humans and changes form automatically. The scope of improvement can be vast for this kind of furniture. Last year (2009) in my first semester, we had the opportunity to create next generation furniture, Google globe.
These are the reflections for the day. Looking forward to what I’ve next.
Ravi
