Is it really a relationship, or something different
Ruminating on the recently announced update for iPad devices (iPadOS 13.4), the conversation about “is this a computer“ is sparked again because of the addition of external pointer/mouse support. And really, this is something that only seems to happen in a very small, yet loud contingent of media and fans of Apple devices devices. But, it was notable enough to cause some reflection to a past writing, and later a statement which lingered a little bit longer than the 280 characters it was given:
Realized as I put on my computers this morning… iOS invites you to ask for richer controls (for your computers). It’s not tap and drag remixes; it’s slides, pulls, 3-finger, 2-hand, etc… iOS requires a different (lost) dexterity. Perhaps that’s why it’s felt like a toy for so many reviewers/press… forgotten muscles
What about computing, or more specifically, our relationship to computing, is based on it being some kind of “point of reference,” versus it being an augmentation? When looking at the contrasts between MacOS and iPadOS, one gets the sense that this argument is being played out in a very acute manner from Apple. The argument, computing is more than something that you go to, more than something that you tap indirectly… and it can and should be more. The other side of the argument, computing is about exploring the outer limits of one’s relationship to ideas in space. That the tool should only foster exploration, not limit it to the language of a few. It’s looking through this lens, you can almost hear Apple saying, “there’s more to interacting with the ideas that you have, help us help you explore.“
And therefore, when we are now considering this idea of remote work as a “near normal.“ When people who are used to go into an office, now have dedicated spaces in their home where their productivity happens. In the spaces, they “go to” the computer. And then once they have gone into that space, they then become “able to input value into the world.” However, when I look at iPadOS, tvOS, HomePod, and even the AirPods in other accessories, I’m starting to feel like Apple is saying less “go to the computer,” and more “ how do you want to extend the moment.”
Admittedly, this is a very tender and new idea. However, it does have some legs. At least from the personal experience of the person writing this; computing is more like manipulating a canvas with several fingers, voice, ears, and silicon in some kind of concert. It’s less “go to” and more “putting it on.” And as such, notifications aren’t the pirate of attention. They are managed like any other stimuli. Reading takes a backseat to sketching. There’s a different pull-push to computing from this perspective… and I’m not sure it’s about sitting under the gaze of what the shadow of “personal computer’ offers.
Is the better reality for personal computers that they amplify us more like clothing, rather than shape us like broadcasting? And if so, then perhaps the tablet was the more personal computer all along.
For the past week, have been comparing the use of smart ring (Ōura) and a mood ring. In many respects, both of these devices do the same thing. However they get there by different means. The smart ring is a series of circuits and electricity, analyzed on device, and then passed to another device to be combined with a series of algorithms to give one a trend map of a particular set of wellness parameters. The mood ring, on the other hand, uses a less technological bed. This material, thermochromatic crystals, interacts with the human body‘s temperature and changes color based on it. It is calibrated, like the smart ring, outside of the wearer’s view. But, the meaning it gives the wearer is personalized all the same. Fewer wellness parameters, but also much more real-time.
What’s most interesting so far is the reduced cognitive load of what a measurement might mean between them. If you will, the mood ring more or less expresses your body temperature (and that can, for some people, indicate a state or being). Ōura, on the other hand, is a bit more of a coach for specific wellness events. There’s the sleep report, the weekly report, the poke to either get moving or get ready for bed, the activity goal, and more. None of these are noticed from the ring itself. This information passed from the ring to one’s mobile, and the notification from there. For both, the metrics aren’t what you think about. You stay “in the moment” and the ring’s state is passed to you when you need to notice it.
Which sparked thinking: why wouldn’t a connected ring, like the Ōura, also use the same thermochromatic crystals as a mood ring? The thinking here is that even though thermochromatic crystals are not an accurate indicator of emotional status, the correlation to body temperature could be combined with the active coaching have a connected ring in order to be more present wellness advocate for the wearer. Over time, the wearer wouldn’t just look at the prompts and stats from the networked intelligence of the connected ring to understand their present psychological condition, but also use the transformative appearance of the ring to “adjust their frequency” to stimuli in real time.
For now, am just wearing both on the same hand. And when the mobile is near, am able to make some inferences between the data provided by Ōura and the “in the moment” state of the mood ring. Perhaps, there’s already been an exploration of this kind of dual-signaling and am just on the latter side of what works alongside the other physics caused by batteries, processors, etc. Or, maybe the connection we have to various elements is a route to explore with wearables. A route knitting us closer to not just understanding our own state of being, but how that state is probably much more aligned to unique elements in the organic world around us.
Bonus Bits
Came across this via a friend:
The short-term goal, Mason said, is for UCSF and San Francisco General emergency room doctors and nurses to get a heads-up of a fever or impending illness, not just COVID-19, so they stay home or get treated. Already taxed front-line medical workers can little afford to spread illness among themselves, she said.
The long-term goal is to collect as much data of healthy and COVID-positive patients who wore the ring and determine common bio-marker activity that precipitated symptoms, such as heightened temperature or breathing patterns. Whether they will be able to differentiate the common flu from COVID-19 is unclear.
If you are interested in assiting this work and have an Oura ring, read more and signup here.
Not reading into this too much, but it seems like am already on the right path. And maybe, just a little bit ahead of where some aspects of self diagnosis may be able to help an even larger problem.
Haven’t published the “Notable Reads” series at all this year. Part of that being a bit less disciplined in the end of week contemplation. Part of that wondering if that’s the right format for sharing longer bits of content here. Not sure. But, today was full. So how about a share from what’s just been read today?
This was compiled and formatted using the previously shared Avanceé Reads Apple Shortcut.
Posting a bit different than the usual, a video of one of my latest bike rides. Some call it “gravel,” and some prefer the term “all-road.” Both work, because both happened during this roll.
Per the usual, Snap’s Spectacles are the tool of choice for recording. There are a few reasons for this. But, the best reason is simply the versatility of memory-eyes which are in the same position as organic ones. Might be worth shifting to this type of experiential content from time to time. The other types still happen, but it’s in moments like these where the observations shared here are more lived.
As appropriate a day as any other to speak on how to move forward.
Leap days could probably be better termed corrective days if one looks not just at the reason for their being, but also the analogy to an application. One doesn’t just leap into the next thing. But, over time, debt and deposit create conditions for a transformation. Once that transformation happens, there’s a new normal. Maybe similar set of conditions or context, but the normal is actually different.
Granted, most of these leap moments we want to believe are able to be calculated. And if the analogy to this day would hold, it isn’t just calculated, but planned for. However such moments are less obvious, less subject to direction than we would want. Leaps happen when a specific set of conditions not only present themselves, but entropy itself seems to want to join the narrative. And once these conditions show, bang!
There might be ways to identify when that leap might be primed to happen. Looking at a series of powerful questions, one can’t help but find a pattern in the shape. And when you find the pattern within the shape, the ability to move he boulder into position so that the avalanche of change can begin is merely up to you. Once moved, that boulder doesn’t necessarily mean change will happen, only that the conditions are more favorable.
And when “favorable” is met, the cliff is all that remains. Leap, or stop. There’s no longer “continue as one had before.” There is only a decision point. Every four years he Gregorian calendar makes its decision and we abide by its choice. At moments in our lives or companies, the same point is come to. Will you leap? Will you simply stop and rebel against the change you’ve been setting the stage for? After today, that answer might become clearer.
Breaking down how an ant eats an elephant
On a current project, a comment was made, “you are playing chess while others are playing checkers.” It continues to stick, in part because there was some truth to it. But, also because in the design space, having an accessible long term goal seems to be the “highly wanted” grail of many once they get to a certain point. Before then, it’s a lot more about being reactive, majoring in the minors, “swimming in the weeds,” and many other apt analogies. Long-term goals, where very small, seemingly insignificant moments accumulate to the eventual reality, is a difficult strategy to grasp. And, perhaps deservedly so, continues to remain the province of “those who figure it out” rather than those who learn.
When it comes to long-term goals, it’s not too difficult to create them. It is harder to achieve them. From our own inclination to finding the paths of lowest energy, to the utter reality that entropy is more normal than order/discipline, being set towards a goal further out is simply just harder. This is why those folks who seem to be persistent/stubborn enough to become successful we laud as heroic. They took some aspect of a reality that was a long way off, and pushed the present out of the way until it became their present.
But how? How does one create a strategy of long term goals, and even achieve them?
First, the goal has to be sharpened. Meaning, it cannot be so esoteric it rings only good in hearing. It has to be sharp enough to persist once the early energies, the honeymoon phase, has worn off.
Secondly, the goal has to have a specific, measurable outcome. Not output, outcome. Specific to the point of even needing to create the thing which measures it. Because that which can be measured, can be communicated. That which can be communicated can be achieved.
Another strategy, it has to be a step beyond realistic. If it’s realistic, then it’s not a long-term goal. It’s hope, and statistically possible. A long term goal needs a prospect of failure. A prospect of being unachievable. And then, it has to still be measurable.
Last how to for long term goal strategies: it should not be easily seen by others. Your steps to achieve need to be small and measured. But, not so large that others see the entire road. Yes, I’m advocating for a bit of secrecy and non-collaboration. You want the benefit of adjustment, readjustment, and discovery alongside this journey. It would be harder to do so when also yolking to others the voice of the vision and it’s outcomes.
It’s in these methods strategies for long-term goals gets its legs. And as the person or team setting forth on such a goal. It allows a full stomach for every bite of the elephant. Right even to the point when he elephant realizes it no longer can move because it too is under the spell of wanting to see you succeed.
Where a rogue comment about USA history invokes computational evolutions
A friend mentioned about the changing ideals the USA has been undergoing, and it was something like another ember to a festering thought about computing — specifically, the tablet-based productivity which has marked the past decade or so of my work. This wasn’t the only kindling for such a thought, there are (at present) a number of unfinished written pieces pointing to similar. On the balance, the way productivity happens from this perspective is guided by a different set of principles than others. It deserves a reflection, and maybe some more fanning.
As with many of my particular generation, personal computers came into the home at an early age. They evolved slowly, then splintered into gaming, educational, and “things your parents worked on” kinds of spaces. My specific experience had me not only learning DOS, but also getting both hands into Windows and macOS frames at nearly the same time. Frustrations landed early on the side of “why isn’t this easier,” not “what can it do.”
And now, not only personal computers, but speakers, watches, rings, glasses, and shoes have embedded within them a case of being “different than the generation that birthed them.” If the viewpoint is that countries evolve from a “land of immigrants to a nation of indigenous citizens; then can the same be said for aspects of built-culture which evolves as well? Productivity was once described by what archetypes such as Rockefeller, Ford, Crock, Anderson, and others gave shape to. What if those principles have served their course, and what this has evolved into is a new shape? What can productivity do with that?
Perhaps what was admired as a teen drives adulthood after all
This could probsbly be considered a response to @brooksreview.net’s 13 Jan member journal; and it’s also a “state of the workspace” piece
When fall of 2019 rolled around without an announcement of a new iPad Pro, I was left at something of a crossroads. Having been waiting earnestly for the next evolution in iPads — to push my own visualization and implementation of computing — I was left somewhat disappointed. Apple’s hardware releases are very consistent. Offering both fan and buyer alike a chance to let rumors stoke fires, while the eventual reality a chance to evolve and reset expectations for personal and communal computing. It didn’t happen like that this fall. Slightly disappointed… just slightly.
Yet, that didn’t deter purchases. The 5th generation iPad Mini entered home-based usage. An evolution of the Kindle Paperwhite for weekend reading, while also a harder break from the iPad Pro’s use during business hours. The Mini and Apple Pencil combination has been a pleasant, and contrary addition. It puts pressure on the larger, older iPhone, asking “what is social and necessary about the larger screen phone versus the smaller screened tablet?” And still, has found a neat niche. It works, and doesn’t get in the way, even if carried with only the Apple Watch during café sessions.
It has also found a niche as a better device for video than the larger iPad Pro. So much so, a purchase of an external screen seems to make more sense than having the larger iPad nearby as an AirDrop recipient of what’s found in home’s moments. Conjuring another screen when the smaller Mini isn’t immersive or dismissive enough sounds like a case of “why not use the larger iPad or a TV,” yet misses the instances where personal becomes a context of “just for a moment of difference” rather than always needed. Scaling up, versus removing to scale down.
An opening to acquire the iPad Pro in Jan 2020 adds to the multiple canvases used across productive contexts. The latest iPad Pro, purchased alongside the Pencil 2 and Brydge keyboard, shapes a picture for something more. The initial thought of feeling like Captain Picard at a desk full of PADDs (defined by fans) hasn’t gone away. In fact, it feels almost right — mainly for the inability of most software to extend as fast as the hardware is allowing. Agreeing with @ben, a workflow utilizing two iPads at the same time doesn’t seem unproductive. In fact, it seems “best case” because of the inability of iPadOS apps to enable casting non-mirrored instances to external screens. It still doesn’t feel correct — just more correct than what I’ve been doing.
That said, the Star Trek TNG reference rolls strong. I’m almost in that posture of saying “yes it makes sense for tablet interfaces to adapt to the needs of the person holding it.” Seeing this when my niece FaceTime’s questions about her iPad (she also moved up, from Mini to the full-sized). There’s this context or multiple iPads and their shaping of a more personal computing context which seems to just fit. Star Trek TNG came out during my teens, and I argue this viewpoint comes from Gene Roddenberry and his team’s keen messaging to my subconscious.
Whatever the shaping of those evenings spent with mom watching her feed her Trekkie nature, what is true is that multiple iPads does manage to reset an expectation around screens and interfaces. Watching Avengers again recently brought this to light all the more. Casting information into space, assuming all who are in that space can interact with it, has been something of a dream for productivity spaces and fictional models for a while. It gets more real as devices like iPads show up not simply as accessories to the tools we have, but begin becoming default states for the worlds we are shaping. These default states offer us a glimpse into the very realities which used to entertain us. Realities I’m noticing a chance to act upon, and become something of a canary for what might be yet another shift.
Things seem to be a little bit slow in terms of the new publishing here, but the fact of the matter is that activities happening elsewhere that speaks into why this place matters.
Design thinking, or more honestly, design mentorship seems to be a key topic in terms of professional development and organizational maturity. Some of that comes from the interactions where I am running into people who are both new to professional spaces, and those people who see that some spaces need a more personal touch — humane touch as it relates to creating intentionally, ethical, beautiful products and services.
Some of the conversations are focusing more on the future. How do we get from seeing technology has an appendage to seeing it as a part of who we are and dealing with the successes and ramifications of such adoption. This is actually pretty interesting. And if you follow on IG or Twitter #FromAFuture, you would see some of the conversations as they are happening.
Other aspects of those conversations are happening in the devices currently in hand. From this exploration of having more than one tablet, to being OK with the idea of talking into the air, there’s something to be said about activities happening elsewhere, but manifesting in our future that everyone has not yet realized.
Clearly, having content here doesn’t mean being completely divorced from Twitter. But it does mean to push the future of Avanceé in a somewhat different direction. What is that branch? Well, that’s what this year is all about discovering.
Casting new patterns for a new year
The past two years, Avanceé has been something of an experiment, and another part a package. The experiment: to put into a business model, an approach to design and process which elevates individuals and companies from “do what they’ve seen modeled” to “invent and do what they’ve imagined.” Experiments are hard — especially this one where it’s also got to be a package. It has been the “package” bit which has been hardest to clarify for Avanceé. But, that’s ok. That’s why this space was shaped. Hearing what you see is not a simple construct.
In light of this, have had some roaming thoughts of where to take Avanceé for 2020. To some, describing the year as “an invitation to clarity and contentment” resonates. Yet, it’s not clear enough on this site that “designing experiences and (re)engineering complexity” does that. It happens in conversations, and in coaching/mentoring, and in design-birthed work. But, not quiet hearing-seen.
Came across a phenomenon called grapheme synesthesia not long before drafting this, and it seemed to make sense. In the article it was found, the author describes her experience of synesthesia and a tool she’s developed to help others understand it. It was in seeing Avanceé in this frequency that hearing what 2020 could be began to take a better tone.
As much as there’s been the technology and methods talked about here, the things actually heard has been more around coaching, mentoring, and strategy. Much more the “hey, let’s walk alongside you for a bit and figure out what’s actually complex.” And more often than not, one or two conversations are all it takes to unpack — demystify — the wall or speed bump. Is there design strategy and organizational redirection? Sure. But, more of the re-engineering happens as a result of relational stacks, not technological ones.
To that end, let this be a shift to posing more of that relational content here. Maybe more along the lines of what’s shared with current friends and mentees. Because what’s best seen, is often just a better color of what’s heard, At least, for 2020…
This time last week, didn’t intend on writing another one of these composed link lists. But, it’s a behavior now associated with a slice of reflecting on the week. There’s a whole behavior forming — in part because of the fall/winter stealing light and warmer temperatures from cycling. A major part of this is now leveraging technologies which move slower yet further (an iPad Mini 5, an Apple Watch Series 3, Snap’s Spectacles or Vue glasses). There’s intentional envisioning, and occasional sketching. Yet it’s mostly for the purpose of enabling rivers to form elsewhere. And perhaps enabling the following week to tide into something more permanent, more sustaining. Notable reads have become an intentional space of walking thru the weeds found during the week.
This is actually a bit hard to pull together… go figure
One more than the usual, but there’s been something sparked by just bits watched and read today. A few from here:
Lastly, am raising funds to support an upcoming NYC to Philly bike ride. Learn more and support the effort by going here.
written with Tactilis Scribe
Reflecting on the week, there’s a lot which can theme it. But, an overwhelming sense from others is a sense of tiredness and irritability. Perhaps due to the holiday now in full swing. Or, maybe the weight of the continuous news and notes, mostly sensationalist and negative unless one has deliberately tuned their dial differently. Maybe the choice to turn the dial differently is the theme here. And as such, reflecting on week’s notable reads is a chance to focus on something better.
Nothing on deck which was new. And maybe not for the rest of the year. If keeping to last year, the next steps are reflection. And so, let’s take care of that in the near future. Until then, enjoy this week’s share, and tune into new sounds, on purpose.
While part of the world yells for redemption, another part aims to grab monetary redemption from feelings ascribed to holiday culture and business value. Truly, the end of the year is an expanse, best understood for the whole picture, not just the parts we take part of. However we review our response to the end of the year and decade, we must agree that it’s only a part of the whole… and that the river of time bends it’s own direction. We are simply those who travel along it.
With such a theme in place, here are a few bits which aided this week’s river travel:
From here:
Share this… or pick up an oar and express your experience in this river
Drawn with Tactilis for iPad, titled “river running thru forest”
When Avanceé launched, it was like finally finding shape to the bottom of a very deep well. That well being a mind and set of experiences so unique, it could only be described as “put your mind in a can and make it available to others.” In some respects, Avanceé has been a quiet, small success. It’s garnered no real fame, but amongst those who’ve been engaged since its unveiling, Avanceé has certainly proven to be a demonstrative step forward for their efforts — even if it’s taken a few stumbles to get there.
What Avanceé hasn’t yet become is profitable. At least not in the shape of a few favored (and sometimes too linked) other sites and endeavors. This isn’t for lack of effort. The winds of maintaining a roof over one’s head requires hard and soft decisions. One of those being attaching to more consistent income than the consulting which Avanceé aimed to monetize. This was understood to be a slow build. And such hard and soft decisions were made — in part — because at the outset it was assumed these adjustments would be necessary.
Didn’t expect to consider a more major shift. The one under consideration speaks to a good bit of the coaching and facilitation which has happened. And it’s something less reliant on maintaining a front of being a “business first” endeavor, and more of an “individual embraced” one.
Change is worth debating a bit longer than what’s given here. Yet, it’s clear that for the upcoming third year of Avanceé, for this to be more than a hobby of links themed around the occasional project, it’s got to springboard into a fuller frame. At this point, change and pivot is just a debate. There’s hopefully some time before a decision and road needs to be taken.
Was going to theme this around some design concepts, but it occurs that a better topic is that of silence. Or, more specifically, noise. Following the cadence of the week to respective reflections and insights is a case of taking noise and filtering out the unnecessary bits to hear something more pure than just another newsletter. This is hard for some. Energy levels, boundaries, expectations, and he weight of experiences are all their own bits of noise. And yet, those of us who still ourselves, and hear better what ways we sync with the world around us, tend to find the volume much lower of those unnecessary bits. The natural bits accent life not only nicely, it in ways which resonate to others.
Noise and silence as a theme for this week’s reads? Sure, why not.
Nothing new published this week… was too loud to pull it all together one could suppose. A few previously posted items along this vein:
Preparing for next spring’s NYC to Philly Bike Ride; support the efforts of this venture thru that effort.
Reading this weekend a few Kindle samples, and there’s one which has made enough of an impression to consider the full read. Specifically, Why Cities Look the Way They Do hits between the eyes of the consistent conversation about design and it’s value — for itself and for the things design behaviors communicate.
…Design responds to processes, such as the demands for housing, or for places for people to work, or for buildings that make attractive capital investments, to pick examples of typical urban processes… and design is often trying o ameliorate the effects of processes…
Such is part of what mediates the theme of this week’s notable reads. Design is communication, orchestration, and artistry. These reads are efforts to understand the frequency and friction at play.
A single article posted, a single initiative started, and a reminder of the roads travelled are the times from here:
Signed up for the NYC to Philly Greenway Bike Ride (page tweaks in progress). This ride is to support the efforts to complete the East Coast Greenway. Instead of asking for the usual site support, will promote this effort until the ride. Still want the site support, but this is a decent endeavor.
After several weeks, impressions of an open letter type
It’s been about a month since attaining the Vue glasses — a Kickstarter-funded acquisition— and so now might be a decent space and time to give a fuller impression. Previously spoke of Vue in an article titled Ear Muscles; but this would qualify as more of a review than the usual contemplative piece.
An earlier version of this piece was posted as a comment on Vue’s Kickstarter page. The intent of resharing here is to clarify a few points, adding also pieces which are better translated in this blogging format.
Overall, am pleased with Vue. Despite initial feelings of the weight, and niggles with standby battery life and UX polish, these are actually pretty decent. They point towards a better interface to computing, but also a better relationship to the world around you which isn’t digital and connected. It can almost be described as being humane tech since it empowers the wearer to not completely leave their context to enjoy aspects of connectivity.
Perhaps impressions initially were a bit more colored by wants versus reality. Bone conduction isn’t a surround sound’s compliment. It’s background more than foreground. In thinking of Vue as replacing AirPods or other headphones, expectation immediately leads to an inconsistent experience. That’s not to say that the sound umbrella the Vue glasses makes is wide and deep. It’s higher on the treble sides of the soundscape and personally feels like it misses depth in the bass and mid-tones. This could be attributed to the physics of pushing sound thru thin arms and bone. Bass and mid-tones might be better for acoustics, but also diminish the performance against bone. Understandable, yet also a wish for an EQ or “sound environment setting” (like the Nuheara buds) to improve this aspect.
Didn’t expect the frames themselves to be as large/wide. Pardon the memory from the CES experience of trying these on, but they are and feel bigger than current frames (via GlassesUSA). Still, they are not an obvious gadget. And each mention of Vue and subsequent try on by others lands in a very positive category. Compared to (also owned and used) generation one Snap Spectacles, the Vue Kickstarter edition comes across like a normal pair of glasses with an acceptable fashion-forward framing. Of the classic and trendy styles offered, the trendy (rounded frames) might come across as better for smaller or rounder heads.
Am spoiled though by the cohesive experience of Apple, Microsoft, and other products and therefore cannot say the same about the app. The stepping stones are there, but the app is basic and has echoes of “coming soon website pages” of old. Not being able to seamlessly switch to other devices is a bugger — use is treated similar to other Bluetooth devices on iOS where the app plus pairing sequence needs to happen to each device. Would have at least liked a companion Apple Watch app, controlling or extending Vue as an accessory for it and Siri. As is the lack of integration into the Apple Health app — to leverage Siri for even just polling the Health app for relevant info would be a marked improvement over the Vue’s audible metrics (steps and calories). Perhaps some lessons from Oura (Ring) might be applicable here: conversational tone, recommendations when asked, and prompting/push messaging which respects the user (aka, a low battery notice which isn’t heard by those near because it’s so much louder than the audio which might be playing already). That kind of polish is harder to attain, but would go a long way to making the Vue a better overall platform, and these glasses a more suitable ambassador.
Lastly, a personal niggle: should have gotten transition lenses with these. And maybe as a matter of marketing them for those with prescription needs, it might make sense to push that option heavily. Noticing use of Vue in contexts such as an office or commuting dawn/dusk where switching glasses has to happen. Also, the need to carry a second pair of glasses because after 4-5 hours of streaming/web calls/standby, they need to be charged to finish the day. Shame there’s not an adapter to cap the back of the arm with some kind of USB-C connector. Carrying the case makes carrying the second pair of glasses doable. But, that’s because the choice in not getting transitions hits at a very specific point. Is there an easy means to swap into transitions or a different lens entirely, because eyes do change? This is a personal niggle. But, does not affect some of the overall perception noted at the start.
For those who might be looking at Vue, you might be surprised at recommending them. Bose (and soon Amazon) is quality competition, and others will come also. That Vue has shipped means that the idea is not just fundable, but it’s also possible. The electronics and physics which went into making Vue happen for a prototype is impressive. What’s been translated to production is no less impressive. As a secondary set of glasses, they would be fine. As a primary, some expectations would have to be reigned in. And depending on one’s experiences, maybe a bit more patience until some of the software bits are later addressed.
Not everyone will have a great experience however. Those with attention and hearing difficulties will love the idea of Vue, but might find other factors infringing on the possibilities. But, that’s par the course for products like these. Hopefully. Vue adds to the initial experience with updates and refinements. Hopefully competition does also. There’s something to the case of having audio interfaces closer than just the ear canals. Vue has a case for proving where that could be, if in the attention they have gotten from this, they can focus prospective purchasers to the sound scapes they might have missed.
Vue glasses are currently available via their website ($259 USD; does not include additional cost for prescription, polarized, or transition lenses). The last Kickstarter pledges are being shipped out now, so you might find a longer window for obtaining a pair than a competitors’ glasses. You might find a few folks in the comments there wanting to sell theirs, and that would be a faster means to attain Vue.
Added an iPad Mini 5 & Pencil to the toolset recently and it’s actually made for much quieter sessions for evening and weekend computing. As a matter of fact, wasn’t until right before writing this post that even a social network was added to the Mini… intentionally putting the onus on the owner to define a different gravity to connectivity. Gravity causes this revisited constellation of devices and connectivity to orient yet another perspective or approach to addressing complexity. But, like any good constellation, it’s just a point in space to orient oneself. It isn’t the destination, or the road.
This week’s notable reads follows a similar horizon-view:
No articles from the queue just yet. Much to consider, and several in drafts. And well, perhaps something to explore now that there is a new device in hand to create and extend the canvas…
Have been away once again. This time because of physical moments. Seasons changing does some interesting, yet humbling, things to our sense of time and energy. At times, we can navigate feeling the best of all the energies the sun has to offer. And then there are those longer, colder winters — where it’s more about perseverance than much else. It’s shaping up to be an interesting end to the year. And time taken from regular affairs to attend to our bodies could make for a more impressive finish.
Does that also mean this week’s reads landed in a sense of wellness? Perhaps. Here they are for you to explore:
No pieces this week from this end. Cadence returns along w/health. Here are some former pieces to chew upon until the next:
Share or support if you find this valuable.
Leveraging newly acquired Vue glasses to explore other ranges of hearing
Been sitting on how to best talk about these glasses. Sure, there’s the vantage point of Kickstarter as something of a motivator. These Vue glasses have taken the better part of nearly three years to make it onto my head. And this isn’t a slight to Vue or Kickstarter, that’s just the nature of product development which finds itself strengthened or weakened by the same audience that consumes it.
A better focus could be the product itself. Vue has certainly produced a ground-breaking product with glasses which utilize bone conduction speakers and mics. Those who have worn glasses and headphones/earphones for a few decades can empathize with the struggle of segmenting attention and hearing alongside attention and sight. Wireless sound has helped greatly, and yet there’s always the consideration for undue weight on the ears. Glasses have evolved far beyond their “sight impaired” audience beginnings. And here Vue is a solid explanation as to where that can land. There’s some polish to be gained on it for sure; but for the effort, one cannot doubt that making it across the finish line is an incredible achievement for the product and the advances to be gained from the shrinking sizes of silicon.
However that isn’t the right focus either. One of the use cases explored has been more along the lines of extending hearing and focus. For an experiment, allowing the Vue glasses to handle a call or background music while also using AirPods has opened a question: just how much can one’s ear muscles be developed (or underdeveloped) towards focused conscious attention? No conclusions, but certainly some headaches and moments of confusion.
Liken this experiment to focusing on a musical score while someone is also telling you about a movie which has a different score. Just how developed is hearing beyond and alongside focusing attention? Can that muscle be developed? Is there some limit to simultaneous inputs of complexity and making sense of it all?
No clue. And Vue offers the best expression yet of a wearable, connected device which gets closer to “hey, how does your brain actually deal with all these inputs” than others tried before. It just so happens, instead of adding to soundscapes or isolating oneself from them, certain wearables might be at the very place where we can question evolution and postulate other paths. Or, at least be strong enough to hear and lift them.
Probably should not do more apologies. And yet a present situation has made for a cadence disruption that probably isn’t as noticeable. The beauty of this platform places metrics for success outside of what is posted. This space is merely an extension of what gets to happen in other modes. To some, it may be better that way. There are many situations where looking at specific metrics causes you to slow down, instead of further hone what do you do best.
To make up for a few weeks, here are some of the most notable reads:
Even though we missed posting with links, there have been a few items written. Here are a few produced here:
If this kind of content continues to be valuable for you (despite its cadence), support the site through sharing with others or financially through Librepay.
Persuading a designer’s shift from “intuitive” to “indigenous”
Tearing a perspective from history in order to reclaim a voice that should have never been taken? This is a way to describe the Euro-American shift of veneration towards accepted/primary voice on Columbus Day/Indigenous (Groups) Day. It might seem a simple political maneuvering to opine on the topic. Yet this isn’t a political blog, this is a design-oriented exposition. Lessons for what has been happening with perspective on this day follow lessons towards what designers and their industries are learning in regards to the expression of productivity and consumption.
The shift to experience design has asked for companies to acknowledge and invest within the perspective of those closest to the business output — whether this would be the producers or consumers. Open both the business processes and technical competencies to the perspective of these producers and consumers, and allow this to add/shift/remove value from the company’s operating focus. Shift is the right word here. There’s no amount of artistry as delicate as changing behaviors for a culture, and yet experience design asks this very thing.
The result of such shifts are defined in transactional terms. Helpful? Perhaps to the legs of business and technology on this now three-legged table (experience design now becoming a leg of equal value to business focus and technology enablement). However, it may be better defined in the terms of those more native to the intended transaction. Indigenous could be the better word here, even as loaded as it is for political framing. Within design framing, “indigenous” moves us past the ethereal “intuitive” and by importing empathetic lenses to transformation’s voice. Not simply enough to “use the words they are familiar with,” indigenous also means we ascribe to tone, framing, and even acknowledged disassociation — we may be designers but we aren’t designers of other’s comfort, only of the tools they use to craft their own.
In another industry, rap music continues to be debated as a form of music because those who held a primary “this is valuable music” perspective have found their tools to be used to author another group’s expression of being. Shared tools does not mean shared perspective. In fact, the drive to authentic experiences almost never comes from those author the tools. It is designed by the voice of those who wish to express tonal accuracy to their lives, according to rules native to them. And as such, it’s that much more important for designers to elevate indigenous peoples and their cultures.
In doing so, the designer elevates the voices of those once condemned to be heard under a false celebrity— one who might have rightly instigated the perspectives we now enjoy. But, also one who’s transactional nature unfortunately colonized the leg on which we might better find stability and worth.
Impact isn’t just visibility, but the impression massaged by consistency
In a previous draft of this post, there was a review of the recent pictorial posts on MicroBlog and there were some which held more impact than others. Several familiar faces drew on not just impactful visual artifacts, but a consistency of approach/experimentation which allowed some thing more notable in the tone presented. This isn’t to say that those who weren’t recognized were ignored; only that their visibility hadn’t yet gotten to the point of registering that familiar presence and voice.
A new project is also shedding some maturity towards the impacts of visibility and consistency. Visibility seems as if it is effectiveness. There’s the dopamine-addressed, newness of what is entering the framing. And if done in acceptable, albeit contrasting ways, visibility indeed comes across as if effectiveness is happening.
Growing this endeavor has meant increasing a base level of visibility amongst the intended audience and prospective customers. However, visibility isn’t really addressing whether an impression was made that indeed simplifies complexity. For this, consistency must add to what visibility has begun. One could think of consistency as a massaging of the touch visibility made — however this isn’t a dead touch, or an ignored one. Consistency which speaks to adding value offers presence a place to mature into longing/wanting.
Now, all of this doesn’t matter if you are spending time being visible in places where others aren’t looking. That’s altogether a different bit — context. And probably worth elevating into a more visible layer of discussion here and abroad in the near-future.
For one reason or another, felt like waiting until the end of the day to share what has been impactful in reading. Impact is noticed when it happens, but the ripples are what we really respond to. Sometimes those ripples are positive effects (wisdom, understanding, or realization of a kind of humility, etc.). Other times, those ripples are an indication there was actually something a bit more perilous on the horizon (the tidal wave after an earthquake for instance). In any respect, impacts happen and then we recognize we have to move differently. This week, the reads which have stuck out relate an impact maybe felt immediately or later, but they will be felt.
And a few from here:
If these weekly notable reads have been impactful to you or your teams, consider supporting through Librepay.
