I miss the change of seasons living in Texas. I will move north again somewhere eventually. Autumn is my favorite time of year.

This is your life.

When I first encountered it it took me a second to work it as it is so revolutionary, as are most iOS features. I find it very simple to use now, and very intuitive. After removing your finger you can copy, delete, insert, select all, or even define the selected word – pretty nifty!

I read his text called Tapworthy which provides great insight into user interface (UI) design.

The following video is truly inspiring for how our future can be integrated with great UI. I think the best UIs are those that are effortless to use and integrate seamlessly with one’s environment. Since I go running a lot I’ve had the urge to record my thoughts – perhaps through some sort of Head-Up Display (HUD) built into my sunglasses where I could tap the sides of the glasses to record what I am saying. This would make a great iPhone app. However, I think the iPhone could use a “quick record” button which would access the voice recorder and get thoughts recorded quickly.

I have lots more thoughts on UI design and so I will post more about this topic in the future.

P.S. I just noticed this post which provides an awesome overview of various UI.

Early on during the course, everyone, including the instructor noticed that the data structures text we were to study from was riddled with errors. Not just a few, but hundreds! It’s as if the authors did not use an editor and/or were extremely sloppy. They definitely did not unit test any of the code in the book.

I tried searching for the text online for a photo but I can’t find it. Anyway, as an incentive the instructor set up a website area where you could post errata, and students would be awarded one point to your final grade in the course for every ten errors found. The criteria was specific, such as each error must be new, clearly defined, etc. This incentive was provided perhaps two days prior to the final exam. Later that night I thought this incentive was extraordinarily generous. I’m thinking “Sweet! Easy ‘A’!”. I think my grade was hovering around high C as I am not good with academics and testing (too much too fast).

And so, I spent several hours that night trudging through the entire text and posting several hundred errata, ensuring that I would get an ‘A’ for the class. I get into class the next morning and everyone was flabbergasted that I posted such a ridiculous amount of errata as everyone else posted only a handful. I’m not sure why no one else saw this opportunity. However, the instructor then said that the max # of points that could be awarded was 20.

I still got an ‘A’ for the class and was happy to see an opportunity and follow it to success.

There are the 6 governing principles for effective communication as stated in the text.

Smile

Open Posture

Forward Lean

Touch

Eye Contact

Nod

A nice smile always brightens up a room.

Having an open posture invites others into your space.

Leaning forward while talking with someone shows genuine interest, and also that you are the focused on what they have to say.

A gentle touch on the arm or shoulder every now and then makes things personable.

Eye contact is perhaps the most important factor in good communication. Not looking at the person you are talking to shows that you are not interested. This reminds me of an entertainment interviewer on CNN who would interview people on the red carpet. He would approach a celebrity, ask them a question, put the microphone in front of them, then turn his head and stare off into space! He was the most bizarre interviewer I’ve ever seen. It frustrated me to no end. I don’t know what his intention was but I don’t see him on TV any more, thankfully.

One interesting note about eye contact is that women find men more attractive when they are looking away from the camera.

Head nod… a great empathetic device.

I try to run these principles through my mind before attending events.

I find they most always place the bills flat in your hand, then sprinkle the change on top. If no bills, then they use the receipt as an unstable platform. This is very annoying.

The problem with this method is that the change still fumbles all over the place while trying to balance the mess with both hands, hoping not to drop anything! Who started this trend?

So, what’s the best way to hand back change? Place the change in my hand FIRST. This way I can grab it in my fist. And then, hold out the bills which I can grab with my thumb and forefinger. With one hand I can hold the change like this in even the busiest of situations. I can even stuff the change in my pocket first, and then grab the bills.

This same methodology applies to customers. When I pay for items with change I give them the change first, and then the dollar bills.

How can we educate the public about the proper method of handing back change?

http://blog.ted.com/2012/03/02/filming-one-second-every-day-cesar-kuriyama-at-ted2012/