Interface

[In a very special episode of Interface](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxTPgaAE3Eo), Chase tries not to be murdered by his too-smart house, Ian goes for days without electricity, and Andrew tapes a Kindle Fire HD™ to his refrigerator so he too can join the Internet of Things. Will our heroes survive when their toaster can set their kitchen on fire? Will their cloud-based bathtub scald them after a long day of work? Find out on this _very special_ Interface! - [The growth of IoT](http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-internet-of-things-market-will-grow-2014-10) - [16 mobile theses — #12 is particularly interesting](http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2015/12/15/16-mobile-theses) - [GE's _C_ lights](https://www.cbyge.com) - [Smart house hauntings](http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/07/26/smart-homes-hack/#363e931e46a5) - [Kevo smartlock security](http://www.kwikset.com/kevo/security#.V2xBLmN56Gu) - [Volvo wants things delivered to your trunk](http://fortune.com/2016/05/10/volvo-urb-it-delivery/) - […and also for your phone to be your key](http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/19/11059592/volvo-phone-car-key-app-ride-sharing) - [iOS 10 HomeKit hands-on](http://9to5mac.com/2016/06/15/ios-10-watchos-3-home-app-homekit/) - [Dojo will protect you from doxxers](https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/19/dojo-labs/) - [Stuxnet was a worm designed shut down Iranian nuclear centrifuges in a way that would seem like a series of coincidental accidents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet) - [BadBIOS jumps airgaps](http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/10/meet-badbios-the-mysterious-mac-and-pc-malware-that-jumps-airgaps/) - [Does your computer have a microphone? Then it's vulernable to malware](http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/12/scientist-developed-malware-covertly-jumps-air-gaps-using-inaudible-sound/) - [Aldi covers their packaging in UPC codes](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/06/aldi-has-very-impressive-barcode-strategy) - ["Best" smarthome products from CES 2016](http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/136306-best-smarthome-and-iot-gadgets-of-ces-2016-samsung-lg-and-more) - [Cloudwash is good](https://vimeo.com/87522764) - [Smart mirror concept — seems like it would get smudgy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38&feature=youtu.be&t=39s) - [Build your own smart mirror](https://medium.com/@maxbraun/my-bathroom-mirror-is-smarter-than-yours-94b21c6671ba#.h9y1ldfym) - [You are an advanced AI that controls a smart house. How do you kill your master?](http://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/35243/you-are-an-advanced-ai-that-controls-a-smart-house-how-do-you-kill-your-master) - [Bart of Darkness (I could have sworn this was a Treehouse of Horror episode…)](http://www.simpsonsworld.com/video/300925507538)

In a modern office, present day. We see a silhouette from behind; in front, a computer monitor. The gentle clatter of a keyboard, the "bwooooop" of messages being sent back and forth. The cadence of messages slowly picks up until they're being sent as quickly as if they were speaking. The camera pushes in and we can see the screen: a cacophony of images, text, full-screen effects filling the screen as message bubbles shoot in front the sides, from above, shrink and grow and shake and expand. One shoots lasers out, only to replaced immediately by confetti. Finally, the fateful message comes up: "i g2g." The TYPIST cringes instinctively at the abbreviation, but nevertheless sends another message of understanding. The green status indicator next to the friend's name blinks to a hollow gray circle, the name italicized. All that remains is the static, froze log of the chaotic communication that filled it just a moment before. The TYPIST looks down and picks up a cell phone. A green icon indicates another message. Another potential for intense, exhausting conversations filled with meta-contextual conversation and multi-channel communication. The TYPIST sighs. TYPIST: Well, at least it's not Snapchat. The camera pans around the TYPIST's face and we finally see that it's one of the hosts — Ian Fuchs. 1. [Apple's new iMessage features](https://developer.apple.com/imessage/) 2. [The first emoticons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticon#Creation_of_:-.29_and_:-.28) 3. [Ian's understanding of Snapchat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV0wTtiJygY) 4. [Snapchat like the teens](http://kottke.org/16/02/snapchat-like-the-teens) 5. [*The Victorian Internet*](https://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Internet-Remarkable-Nineteenth-line/dp/162040592X)

This week on Interface, a special guest host: Chase Meusel! (Ok, not really, but he is back this week.) We sit down and have a conversation about the nerdiest accessories you can get this season. Do you need a $500 wrist mounted computer that reminds you stand up once an hour? Get your sweet reviews here! I should probably type the word "wearable" here so you can find it later with search. 1. [Apple Watch > Rolex](http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/31/10872686/this-month-in-luxury-apple-watch-beats-rolex) 2. [Apple Watch made more money than Rolex](http://bgr.com/2016/04/26/apple-watch-sales-vs-rolex/) 3. [Withings Activité](http://www.withings.com/us/en/products/activite) 4. [UsTwo modular smartwatch interface](https://ustwo.com/blog/crafting-the-next-generation-of-smart-watch-faces) 5. [UsTwo Face Maker](https://ustwo.com/blog/face-maker-a-personalization-love-story) 6. [Wired article on the Disney MagicBand](http://www.wired.com/2015/03/disney-magicband/all/1) 7. [Push for Pizza](https://www.pushforpizza.com) 8. [Devices that let you do *more* (scroll to #3)](http://interconnected.org/home/2016/02/22/filtered) 9. [A history of wearables, from the Bronze Age to today](https://medium.com/diana-kimball/close-at-hand-b4331294160d#.dmvgidqhq) 10. [Pictures under glass](http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesign/) 11. [Sweethearting](http://kottke.org/05/10/sweethearting) 12. [Matt Webb's Glancing, a thing about presence](http://interconnected.org/glancing/2004/02/etcon/) 13. [Chronos](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-05/chronos-will-turn-any-watch-into-a-smartwatch) 14. [Best smartwatch *ever*](http://www.wareable.com/smartwatches/the-best-smartwatches-in-the-world)

You may have noticed that lately, Chase has been absent from the podcast. Fortunately, we've tracked down (at least some of) the problem, and found it to be mostly scheduling conflicts. This got us wondering, is there a better way to handle scheduling, calendars, and productivity? This week, Andrew and Ian dive into the current, messy state of calendars and scheduling, and highlight some products, services, and ideas that might make it better in the future. -[x.ai](https://x.ai/how-it-works/) -[WhenIsGood](http://whenisgood.net) -[Sunrise (RIP) Keyboard](http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/14/8586789/sunrise-meet-keyboard-scheduling-calendar) -[What Calendar Watch](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1540240985/calendar-watch) -[Your calendar is a mess](https://medium.com/habit-of-introspection/your-calendar-is-a-mess-f9a0a3457fb1#.j2vmp0bvb) -[RescueTime](https://www.rescuetime.com/features) -[Invisible design](https://medium.com/intercom-inside/invisible-design-why-is-less-more-f13d3640d531#.c36xuzv5z) -[Frictional design](https://ustwo.com/blog/the-friction-fiction) -[Calendar Watch](http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/24/11101230/what-watch-calendar-smartwatch-swiss-wearables-kickstarter) -[UsTwo's wearable design system](https://ustwo.com/blog/crafting-the-next-generation-of-smart-watch-faces)

It's easy for a usability designer to get beaten down and depressed by all the bad interactions in the world. Doors with terrible affordances, unclear signs, and software that gets in the way more than it helps you. Today, Ian and Andrew talk about all the good things out there — interactions where a designer took the time to sit down, examine the problem, and create a solution that actually helps people out. There's a lot of good out there! Links, show notes, and more at http://ianfuchs.xyz/8 -Mazda CX-5 Keyless Entry -Kevo Bluetooth Door Lock -Gyroscope Running -UsTwo: Designing for Movement -Ten Principles for Good Design -Misa Kitara -iON All-Star iPad Guitar -Olympus Micro 4/3 Camera -PowerPoint Auto-Spacing

Andrew just got back from four weeks of traveling and a move and all he wants to do is sit down and watch some TV. But where can he find the first season of Veronica Mars? This week — we try to figure out how to fix TV (if it's even broken at all). -[SlingTV](http://www.sling.tv) -[R.I.P Aereo](http://www.wired.com/2014/11/aereo-bankruptcy/all/1) -[TV](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQmK1CnwOUI) -[An interesting (French) proposal for a unified TV interface](http://www.samuel-medvedowsky.com/work/sfr/) -[Planet Money episode on cable TV channels](http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/09/27/226891181/episode-488-the-secret-history-of-your-cable-bill) -[Cable Subscriptions Fall](http://www.businessinsider.com/cable-tv-subscribers-plunging-2015-8) -[Why advertising is going to implode](http://idlewords.com/2015/11/the_advertising_bubble.htm) -[81.5 *million* Netflix subscribers](http://www.statista.com/statistics/250934/quarterly-number-of-netflix-streaming-subscribers-worldwide/) -[YouTube Red](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube_Red) -[Kids these days! (Just aren't watching TV like their parents)](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/04/millennials-youtube-tv-younger-audiences-_n_6797046.html)

"Hey Alexa, I messed up." Immediately, flowers are purchased and sent to your wife's office, along with a heartfelt card. Ten different messages were solicited on Mechanical Turk and the best was selected by votes on the same service. Using her Amazon purchase history, her favorite brand of chocolate was determined and a bar was sent to your home, along with her preferred wine. The Foursquare most-romantic restaurants are consulted, and a reservation is made via OpenTable at the one with the highest Yelp ratings. Google automatically determines the best route and calls you and your wife individual Ubers to meet up at the restaurant — but just one to take you home. -[Viv](http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/9/11639992/viv-digital-assistant-ai-artificial-intelligence-siri) -[Facebook M](http://www.wired.com/2015/08/facebook-launches-m-new-kind-virtual-assistant/all/1) -[SMS-Based question answering services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:SMS-based_question_answering_services) -[Mechanical Turk](https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome) -[Amazon MayDay](http://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-mayday-button-hilarious-uses-2014-6) -[The World's Fastest Phone (made by Lamborghini)](http://www.androidcentral.com/lamborghini-phone-will-cost-you-6000) -["The best interface is no interface"](https://blog.botapps.io/bot-apps-the-invisible-interface-and-a-100-billion-dollar-market-a0b6159efc5e#.q86578fd0) -[Another (better) take](http://www.cooper.com/journal/2012/08/the-best-interface-is-no-interface) -[Adobe Comp](http://www.adobe.com/products/comp.html) -[Siri without voice](http://www.imore.com/id-love-full-siri-voice-free-ios-10) -[Desktop Neo on voice](https://www.desktopneo.com/#voice) -[Siri's insanely specific syntax for commands](http://www.loopinsight.com/2016/05/14/siri-has-lost-her-mind/) -[Google Inbox](https://www.google.com/inbox/) -[Academic article on *Trust in Automation*](http://user.engineering.uiowa.edu/~csl/publications/pdf/leesee04.pdf) -[Spark email](https://sparkmailapp.com) -[Wolfram Alpha climate change example](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=global+climate+1800+to+2000&lk=2)

It's late at night. You've spent the whole day transferring files from your external drive to your computer and then uploading them to your online storage service, and it's hard work. You reward yourself with a beer (you've earned it) and return from the kitchen to your desk. Your file transfer is done, the clock reads 1:33 AM, you're ready for bed. You click the eject button so you can put your hard drive away — but instead of disconnecting the drive, you log out out of the web application — losing all of your data! Even worse, you already removed the drive, and the warning on the operating system has come true: all your files are corrupted! Links to all the things we discussed at ianfuchs.xyz/5 ———————— - [Icon understandings are based on previous experience](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/icon-usability/) - [More on icons and usability. Andrew always thinks the reply icon in Gmail is a back button.](http://moc.co/2012/01/icons-vs-text/) - [Labels always win.](http://uxmyths.com/post/715009009/myth-icons-enhance-usability) - [The Share Icon Is A Mess](http://gizmodo.com/we-need-a-ubiquitous-share-icon-1591333240) - [ClarisWorks Toolbar](http://www.wigglebits.com/images/3f.gif) - [Susan Kare on the *command* icon](https://vimeo.com/97583369) - [Wikipedia about the *command* icon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_key) - [iOS HIG](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/MobileHIG/index.html) - [OS X HIG](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/OSXHIGuidelines/) - [We use too much JavaScript](https://medium.com/@fox/the-web-isn-t-uniform-fd67eb631501#.qr1xhtmlq) - [Swedish ferry berth sign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Sweden#/media/File:Sweden_road_sign_A7.svg) - [Maybe the eject button isn't so sacred after all...](http://osxdaily.com/2009/11/06/mac-power-reboot-sleep-logout-keyboard-shortcuts/)

Andrew elaborates on his masters project, digging into the 10-foot interface and the presence of social interactions within the gaming & television media experience Links to all the things we discussed, and ways to subscribe at [ianfuchs.xyz/4](http://ianfuchs.xyz/4) - [Xbox Interface Refresh](http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/15/8786725/heres-the-new-xbox-one-user-interface-coming-this-fall) - [Master Lilja's Masters Project](http://andrewlilja.xyz/masters-project/) - [Alto's Adventure](http://www.altosadventure.com) - Phantasy Star Online:  - [Top 10 Tweets per Episode of TV](http://www.statista.com/statistics/304363/us-twitter-tv-series-audience-buzz/) - [Joint Watching Netflix](http://showgoers.tv)

Imagine you wake up one morning and find that your child has suddenly developed a new taste in self-published fantasy. Soon, your phone lights up: your plumber, a curious man, has ordered 15 rolls of toilet paper using the Dash button mounted in the bathroom! The doorbell rings — the 18 gallons of Tide detergent your dog ordered are on your doorstep. All horrifying vignettes — that could happen to you! Links to all the things we discussed at http://ianfuchs.xyz/3 [In-App Purchase Kid](http://www.cnet.com/news/5-year-old-sorry-for-racking-up-2500-ipad-bill-in-10-minutes/) [Another In-App Purchase Kid](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/in-app-purchasing-and-3-000-itunes-bill-stun-mom-1.1342843) [Freemium Whales](https://games.slashdot.org/story/14/02/28/1848228/study-half-of-in-app-purchases-come-from-only-015-of-players) [Family Sharing](http://mashable.com/2014/10/04/ios-8-family-sharing/#F6uaWUJngqqB) [Kindles with Ads](http://www.cio.com/article/2371022/peripherals/why-you-want-a-kindle-with-ads-instead-of-amazon-s-ad-free-e-readers.html) [Amazon's Page on Ad-Support Kindles](http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200671290) [Dark Patterns](http://darkpatterns.org) [Automatic](https://www.automatic.com/apps/) [Chevy Bolt](http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/6/10725182/chevrolet-bolt-electric-car-ces-2016) [LG's Involvement in the Bolt](http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/20/9573543/chevy-bolt-electric-lg-car-partnership) [Amazon Two-Factor Auth](http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/18/9753888/amazon-two-factor-authentication-2fa) [Andrew's Master's Project](http://andrewlilja.xyz/masters-project/)