[LINK] more on interface design

[Steven Clark]

>
> On 25/01/2010, at 9:25 AM, Tom Worthington wrote:
>
>   
>> Kim Holburn wrote:
>>     
>>> This article is a puff piece on M$ Surface ... large ugly table with no place for your legs. ...
>>>       

No place for legs is a *serious* limitation.

As a countertop, the layout has some value - but the damn thing is far
too wide to be able to reach over comfortably.

>> Check Microsoft's site on Surface technology. They think it will
>> appeal to hipsters who go to bars or eateries. There are a few videos
>> demonstrating this application. All very American in focus...
the excitement wears off.

oh. it's a huge iphone/ipod. that just sits there.

>> I see it as a solution waiting for a problem. An approach favoured by
>> technology developers (and by throwing it out to a few sites - I
>> gather a cafe chain in the UK bought a few - they can work out what
>> it is really useful for, if anything). 

i wonder about the reaction if it starts displaying details about every
passing device that has bluetooth/wireless switched on as it tries to
make a connection. even at very short range, in a crowded room, some
passers-by will inadvertently get close enough. (handbag on table, phone
in pocket of jacket or pants ...)

it has to be open to any passing device in a public space. even if you
need a one-time passcode to sync with it ... the possibilities for leaks
and breaches of personal devices? methinks it could be a potential
hipster honeypot. (and who says i can/should trust some coffee shop
owner not to be surreptitiously copying data as i use it? or the guy who
maintains it?)

the demo's i've seen don't really consider the privacy implications of
this thing. "hey everyone, gather round and see what james here has on
his blackberry ..."

or some of the security risks of such a setup in a public space.

-- 
Steven R Clark