Tori Breitling

Unique CAPTCHA

Tori — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:01:53 +0000

While I’m not a fan of having to prove myself human, I did enjoy this unique test I found on Adafruit site. Adafruit sells electronic kits and parts, so the puzzle is contextual to its users. Even if you don’t know what a resistor is, I think it’s fairly self evident to move the sliders to match the colors. They have also thoughtfully provided a link to find out more about how to read resistor values. Neat! I’d take this over trying to read those crazy words anyday.

Breakoutjs and the Starship Enterprise

Tori — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:07:59 +0000

Recently @odannyboy tweeted about the release of breakoutjs. Breakoutjs “makes it easy for anyone familiar with javascript and basic web development to explore the possibilities of using physical I/O in their web applications.” That sounded pretty good to me, as last time I checked (admittedly several years ago), doing such a thing required internet shields, awkward flash implementations, and router configurations I could never get to work with my cable modem. So I broke out my big tub of electronics stuff.

I have an battery-operated Starship Enterprise toy, which I picked up many years ago at the thrift store for $10. I always thought it’d be a good candidate for some sort of hack, since it contains a small board which controls the lights and sounds, which are activated by three push buttons on the top of the ship. And it’s held together with screws, something I wish were more common in today’s toys.

While not a particularly useful hack, my initial objective is to try to web-enable it. That is, make it possible to “play with” the toy via the internet.

First I dug out an arduino and followed the directions on breakoutjs and, using their examples, made sure that the basics were working. Then I took apart the Enterprise, and used a jumpwire to short the connections on the board to determine which connections triggered the three sounds. The ship uses three “AAA” batteries, which is 4.5volts, and the arduino can supply 3v or 5v. So I cut the wires to the batteries and wired them to the breadboard, and used the 5v pin and ground from the arduino to power the breadboard. I tested that connection to make sure it worked.

If there’s one thing that fiddling with electronics will teach you, it’s to be systematic in your approach. I’ve learned to start with the smallest thing I can get working, and build on that. There’s so many things that can go wrong trouble-shooting is impossible unless you have a working baseline to go from. So I establish that I the connection from the webpage to the arduino is working, then i make sure that my ship has power from the arduino. Next I’ll try to trigger a sound on the ship from the web page…

Mobile Testing on the Cheap

Tori — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:36:19 +0000

I built this mobile testing rig out of stuff I had on hand. It’s not pretty, but it didn’t cost a thing, as I had everything I needed: an old usb webcam, some velcro, a strip of plexiglass which I cut and then bent by heating over my toaster, and EvoCam, a little app which allows you to capture multiple camera streams. I used the web cam to capture the users interaction with the phone, and angled the webcam on my mac to capture the user’s face and audio. By the way, you’ll get better results if you use a web cam which allows focusing – the one I had on hand does, and you’ll at least need a camera which is capable of focusing at short distances.

There’s instructions on how to make a testing rig out of erector set bits, but I think plexi is the way to go. Next time I need to spend a little more time researching the best way to cut it. It came out rough, but I just taped over the rough bits. It took me a few tries to get the angles right on the plexi-bending, but as long as you’re gentle, it seemed to be amenable to multiple attempts.

Please note: EvoCam is not free, but does have a 15-day trial, if you want to check it out.

Locker Finding

Tori — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:27:39 +0000

This is a simple frustration I encounter several times a week at the gym. There are several sets of lockers available to use, and frequently they are nearly all in use. Additionally, the housekeeping staff endeavors to keep the doors shut on any open lockers. In the end, this means having to literally try the door on all of them until you find one that is open. Or, you can look for a tiny red led. Here’s the part that bothers me – the led lights up when the locker is in use. In a grid of lockers, wouldn’t it make more sense to have designed the light so that it lit up when NOT in use? So that I could scan the rows and look for one that is lit up, meaning AVAILABLE?

It’s the details, folks.

Follow Up – Packing an iPhone for International Travel

Tori — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:34:12 +0000

The above is a photo of an automated text message I got when I landed in Bangkok. (Free pie at a Bangkok Burger King?!) Unfortunately, my phone failed about 4 days later, so I’m not going to be able to provide much of a follow up for these apps. I’m not sure what happened to it- it was working one minute, and about 350 degrees the next. It never came on again after that. I lost a few pictures and video from the trip, which I am sad about, but luckily had plenty of other devices on which to capture the trip.

My experience trying these apps was limited, therefore, but I’ll give my impression nonetheless.

Skype: Tried the calling feature a couple of times using wifi from Kanchanaburi. It never connected. Could have used this several times if it had actually worked. Didn’t get a chance to try it in multiple locations.

Convertbot: Missed this app the most. Tip: add all currencies for any country you are traveling through before you leave. That way, if you are in an airport taking a connecting flight, you won’t need wifi to get the current conversion rate for the country you are in.

ReadItLater: The notes I had saved were missed, but I managed without. I still think this is a good method for finding previously saved trip info – though I do remember that searching was a bit tricky at first.

Wifi Track: I tried to use this, but it didn’t work as I believed it should have. It never notified me of networks when I tried that feature, and required so much fussing that you might as well use the built in wifi detection.

uTalk Thai: I had played with this several times before landing. It would have been a helpful reference, and several times I wished I could look up a pronunciation for a word or phrase that I knew was in there.

I never had the chance to use the BoA app or Pano before the phone bricked. Thanks Apple for quickly and simply giving me a replacement.

Packing an iPhone – International Travel Essentials

Tori — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:38:56 +0000

I’m off to Thailand soon. I always forget how much there is to do to get ready, and preparing gear is no exception. These applications are the ones I think will be the most helpful on my trip, and hopefully will be helpful to anyone who is traveling internationally with an iPhone where there is no cell service.

I’m not planning on doing much calling at all, but I did download the new Skype app just in case. I can make calls for free to anyone on Skype using wifi, or if I need to talk to a non-Skyper, like make a call to the house sitter or make an appointment for a Thai massage, I can do so for 2.1¢ a minute, and not have to sweat local charges or finding a phone. The Skype minimum credit available for purchase for calls to any phone is $10.00. A lot more than I’ll likely need, but the convenience makes up for it.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/iphone/

Convertbot
Besides just being one of the slickest apps out there, I’ll need something to convert Thai Baht to US Dollars. Convertbot isn’t perfect, but I looked at quite a few free apps, and they were way more clunky and far fuglier. Since Convertbot does about 20 different kinds of conversions, I’ll be using this app long past this trip. And speaking of Baht, you should never use your feet to stop a rolling coin or pin down a fly-away note, as Thai royalty is on all Thai currency, and it’s considered rude to do so.
Price: $0.99

ReadItLater
Naturally I’ve done quite a bit of research on the web about Thailand – restaurants, markets, things to do. I wanted an easy way to save pages as I found them for later referencing offline in Thailand. I tried both Evernote and Instapaper, and for me the ReadItLater app worked better. It didn’t sync quite as easily as it appeared it would, so double-check to make sure you’ve got your content downloaded before you go.
http://readitlaterlist.com/
Price: Free

BankofAmerica
I do all of my banking online, so it made sense to be able to pay bills that come up while I’m away.
Price: Free

WiFiTrak
I probably could have gotten along without this one, but for a buck I wanted to see how helpful it would be. The primary benefit to WiFiTrak is its ability to auto-scan and notify me. If I’m walking the streets of Ayutthaya and want to check my email, it’ll notify me with the sound of my choice, and even connect and launch Mail. Handy!
Price: $0.99

Pano
Pano takes photos from your iPhone and makes seamless panoramas from them. Ok, so this isn’t essential, but I thought this app would provide some interesting shots, perhaps in the night markets of Bangkok.
Price: $2.99

UTalk Thai
There is unfortunately only a paltry selection of language applications for the iPhone. As far as I can tell, no one is yet developing specifically for this platform, instead simply shoveling content over as sound files. UTalk seemed to be the best, but also it was by far the most expensive app I’ve bought for this trip. Unfortunately, the amount of phrases it contains falls short, and it includes whole sections not all that useful for traveling, like colors and countries. It also allows you to record your own voice practicing the words, but to what end? The majority of the app is word recognition games, which while fun, I’d prefer more of a focus on travel phrases. I’m hoping this app will at least help get my ear tuned for Thai.
Price: $9.99

In addition to the UTalk Thai app, I’ve downloaded a few Thai language podcasts. They’re not ideal, but since they are free, I thought they might be worth a listen.

Other
I looked into an app which would allow downloading and storing of Google maps for later offline viewing, but the one option out there has very mixed reviews, so I’ll stick with paper maps. I also have a few games loaded, though I’m not much of a gamer. Music is a given, and since planes now have satellite television, I haven’t bothered to download any movies. I’m more of a reader on planes, anyway.

Have I missed anything?

Visible Wear

Tori — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:55:50 +0000

Impressive! My tires rot before I even get close to wearing the knobbies down to this degree.

Tip: Don’t borrow this bike if it’s raining.

Scan as you Go Grocery Guns

Tori — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:34:20 +0000

I saw these at a grocery store in Provincetown, MA, while visiting. Using your grocery card, you check out one of the scanners from the wall display, and grab some empty grocery sacks. As you shop, you use the scanner gun to scan each item (the big yellow button) as you put it in the bag. When you are done, you put the scanner in the checkout machine and pay.

Scanner in the cart holster

While I’m sure the novelty of laser-shooting your groceries (pew! pew!) would wear off, what I liked about this system was the ability to see a running total on the scanner. (Shown in the photo as $1.00) It also shows sale items via ads displayed on the scanner, and I have a feeling I’d be susceptible to that as well. The scanner with its few buttons is easy to learn, and offers the ability to scroll your items in the list and remove them. I wasn’t playing close enough attention to see if the checkout system verified weight to reduce theft, but I’m assuming it did.

I’d use it.

Analog Displays and Physical Mapping

Tori — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:37:42 +0000

I snapped this picture in the lobby of the Frost Bank building in San Antonio. The panel, nowhere near the elevators, was designed to give the fire department a view of what floors the elevators were on.

I love the look of this display – the lights behind the numbers, the movement going up and down, and also the ability to compare. By comparison, a simple digital number display would be faster to read probably and infinitely more scalable, but not nearly as fun and charming.

The Idea 09 Conference T-shirt

Tori — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:06:17 +0000

Woo!

I’m happy to say my design won the crowdSpring t-shirt design project for the Information Architecture Institute’s Idea 09 Conference.

My concept was a design which also served as an information graphic illustrating Neilsen’s 90-9-1 rule of user participation. Since the conference focus is Social and Experience design, it felt especially appropriate to reflect users and user patterns specific to social design.

The winning design was the next to last version of the 10 or so iterations I went through, as I tried to represent the movement of 100 cursors as a sort of school or flock, which I thought doubly ideal as a reflection of group social patterns.

It feels great to get recognized and I really hope the conference attendees like it – I do enjoy the idea of all the awesome UX folks walking around in my design.