[LINK] more on interface design

[Kim Holburn]

On 2010/Jan/25, at 12:14 PM, Steven Clark wrote:

>>
>> 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.

Hilarious (or lol in intertube talk).

>>> 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.

That was my first reaction too to the video of surface back in ... oh  
2007 or so when I first saw it.

Oh and commentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZrr7AZ9nCY


>
> -- 
> Steven R Clark
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link

-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
M: +61 404072753
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request