I’d have loved for this post to be the introduction of our latest iPhone application. An application that introduces a new default optional home screen. A screen that doesn’t require you to scan for red dots with numbers inside of them. Instead it would display information and notifications of things that are new and relevant to you. We’ll all have to keep dreaming for the time being. Unless you’re willing to jailbreak your phone it simply isn’t possible to develop and implement this type of hostile UI takeover using the iPhone SDK.

Until then (we’re doubtful that sort of freedom will ever be available) Here’s how we might design a new home screen.

You can see from the screens it’s essentially just a scrollable list of applications and notifications. We envision it behaving in much the same way that the list view does in the Calendar application. By default it may track things like missed calls, unread emails and calendar events. But what if users could allow other apps to feed into this screen as well? If I’m a Facebook junkie I’d be able to tell the Facebook app to include certain feeds on my home screen. If I was a frequent traveler I may include the Tripit app to show me my upcoming trips. The options would only be limited by what apps you have installed.

Update: The demand for this has been too great to ignore. We’re building a working version of this. More details and screens to follow. You can follow us at twitter.com/teehanlax

A scrollable screen of the stuff that matters to me.

Application preferences would allow users to include certain feeds on their home screens.

Jon had mentioned (as did Drew in the comments) he’d like this info without having to unlock the phone. I agree. If only development were this easy.

Lately, one of the hot topics around our shop has been how to cut the cable. At least 5 of us have canceled our cable contracts, added OTA HD, or both. For me, it’s been an interesting project and I thought I’d share the experience.

I’m reminded of a conversation I had a while ago when I was explaining my plan to get off the TV grid. Someone said to me, “it makes sense that you’d do that, you interactive guys think TV is dead.” But I don’t. I love TV and I think it’s far from dying. According to the recent Neilson 3 Screen report (pdf), TV is thriving.

“Viewing of video on television, Internet and mobile devices continues to increase and has hit record levels.”

What is changing is how consumers access and consume TV shows and movies. To me, that’s the real issue because it illustrates how networks need to adapt in order to meet our changing consumption habits. If they ignore the new reality they risk a similar future as the music industry and will become irrelevant. Networks must reinvent themselves mostly because that’s exactly what consumers are doing.

After years of dishing out big bucks to Bell ExpressVu I finally got my act together and canceled my $100/month satellite service. I’m no longer tied to a traditional source for my entertainment needs. My path to freedom took three simple steps.

First, I re-configured my existing home network to automatically collect and organize content. The main computer in my home is a G5 tower and it handles the bulk of all the data coming in and out of my home. It’s not an actual server, but that’s basically what it does. This box moves content around, modifies it, and then parks everything on a 2TB network accessible storage device. I also upgraded my Rogers Internet connection to the 10MB Extreme package. I’m reasonably happy with it now that my system is optimized to deal with throttling. For the most part, bandwidth caps are no longer a concern. To monitor the content I want and access it the moment it becomes available, I use TVshows and Ted. And apart from my newsgroup client (Thanks Chris Erwin), I use Transmission for the heavy lifting.

Next I had to get the content from my network onto my screen(s). I opted to integrate a 40GB AppleTV into my home theatre as my media server. Some people have asked why I didn’t use a Mac Mini, and the simple answer is cost. The secondary purpose of this project was to reduce the amount I pay for home entertainment and the AppleTV integrated perfectly into my existing home network for around $150. Plus, I’m storing all data on an NAS device so I didn’t need the larger capacity version, and I really didn’t want another box to maintain.

I patched my AppleTV to run both Boxee and XBMC. The process was remarkably simple and easy to do – with all the code, how-tos, and decent video walkthroughs at my fingertips. From start to finish I was up and running in about 20-mins.

I’m a huge Boxee fan, but I actually find I use XBMC more often. I use Boxee to watch Internet channels like the Revision3, Make and TWiT – thanks to the simplicity of the repository and apps service. But I rarely use Boxee for movies and TV shows. Instead, I rely on XBMC with the MediaStream skin which pretty much makes it an AppleTV version of Plex. (UPDATE: Andreas correctly points out that XBMC for AppleTV is “not ‘like Plex’, it is Plex that is like XBMC”. Sorry for the confusion). It’s easy to configure. Simple to use. And looks absolutely stunning on a 50” screen (thank you teamrazorfish). I also love how it indexes any new content it finds on my networked drive, scrapes IMDb and IMDbTV for names, titles and plot summaries, and then downloads things like artwork and cast details in the background.

The last part of the puzzle I wanted to solve was how to get local TV station programming for things like news and sports. Thankfully, most stations now broadcast over-the-air ATSC signals (which is uncompressed HD) and all you need is the equipment to grab them. I removed my satellite dish and mounted two Channel Master 4220 antennas. I aimed one at the CN Tower and the other at Buffalo, NY. Now I have access to around 15 crystal clear HD channels.

My 50” Panasonic plasma is a commercial unit and doesn’t have a built-in tuner so I needed to find an ATSC decoder box to convert the OTA HD signal. After pouring through various forums I considered the HD HomeRun. But decided that the Samsung DTB-H260F was the one for me. Unfortunately it’s not available in Canada. Fortunately I found one on eBay (incidentally, the only thing I use eBay for these days is to buy/sell second hand geek toys). I think this unit was taken off the market because of a beef with the MPAA because it allows straight pass-through of the HD signal to any recording device. Newer ATSC decoders – especially ones with built-in recorders – down rez the HD signal to SC for storage, the uprez for viewing, resulting in a degraded HD signal and something I wanted to avoid. With my setup I grab uncompressed HD signals over-the-air, my Samsung box takes the signal data to create the channel guide and passes the unaltered 720p/1080i signal through to my home theater receiver which then uprezes it to 1080p and passes it to my plasma. And voila, free HDTV programming.

So, why did I do it? Mostly because I could. I’ve always hated being tied to someone else’s schedule, especially one that defines when and how I can consume media. I tried time-shifting with Bell ExpressVu and even that left me annoyed. With my new home system I can watch whatever, whenever and however I want. I can watch it on the TV in my living room. I can watch it on the computer in my den. And I can watch it on my iPhone in the backyard. I’m the one that decides. And that’s what networks can’t wrap their heads around. They insist on creating systems that define the habits of viewers instead of delivering an experience that their customers want. If they don’t switch gears they are doomed. TV will live. Networks will die.

And this brings me to one last point… Hulu. Guys, open up access. Track viewer habits. Analyze the metrics. Then sell it back to your advertisers. People might not love commercials, but they definitely watch them. Mostly because they’re too lazy to do anything about them.

I’m pretty sure that what consumers hate most is paying bundled rates for channels they don’t want, restrictive scheduling practices, and not being in control. Listen to your consumers. Learn about what they’re doing and change the way you do business. Set up your network distribution properly and no one will ever need a Tivo or PVR again. This is a new era of media consumption where the viewer controls their access. Figure it out and we all win.

Got a minute? Take our Free TV survey.

Resources:
Make an AppleTV Patchstick
How To Install AppleTV Patchstick
Boxee Setup on AppleTV
XBMC Setup on AppleTV

Software:
Transmission
TVshows
Ted
TVNZB

Over The Air HD Info & Equipment:
Free TV in Toronto
Digital Home Forum
Save And Replay Equipment Sales
Sensuz Equipment Sales

(UPDATE) OTA Station Listings:
US – FCC database search
US – Transition Plans by City
Canada – Available OTA stations

Follow 3beat on Twitter.

Ok, so it’s generally our policy not to blog about something that’s already gotten exposure on sites like Digg (let alone made it to the top ten), but for this one I’ll make a quick exception. Google just added an undo send button to its labs suite (or as TechCrunch calls it , a panic button).

This is the kind of “feature” enhancement I love. It’s a natural, yet subtle extension of how I use mail every day, it’s lightweight and unobtrusive, and it’s grounded in an aspect of human experience with email that’s so familiar and fundamental but ignored until now. The word I’d choose to describe this kind of feature is “humane”.

How many times have you sent out an email, just then noticing that you forgot to attach the file you were writing about in the first place? How many times have you forgot to copy someone, or realized you were addressing the wrong Steve, etc., etc. directly after hitting ‘Send’? For me it’s too many times to be a coincidence.

Often when we write emails—especially critical ones where pressure is involved—we get into a very focused, depth-first mode of reasoning. This makes it hard to see mistakes that would otherwise be obvious. My hypothesis is that as soon as we hit send, there’s this cathartic moment where pressure is relieved and we are suddenly able to reason more broadly, or in a breadth-first way. It’s only then that we notice the embarrassing mistakes we are now going to have to write a follow-up email to address. (There’s evidence to suggest this is the case, by the way, and I think it’d make for a great applied research topic.)

I’ve been waiting for a panic button in my mail app for a while now. Apple’s Mail got something like this (there’s a little cancel button next to the outgoing message progress bar in the Mail Activity), but I think it’s more for server-side issues and other technical stuff. I never have time to cancel my outgoing messages—there should be a 5-10 sec buffer between the time I hit send, and the time the message goes out, as in the new Gmail feature.

I’ve noticed a few new services that have replaced the traditional registration form (email/password) with email as an alternative sign-up method.

TripIt, a travel service that creates a single, readable online itinerary from your flight, hotel or rental confirmation is the first site I noticed doing this. To register, a user simply forwards a hotel, flight or rental confirmation email to plans@tripit.com. The site automatically registers you and replies with a confirmation and link to your new itinerary. Brilliant. (Note: TripIt also provides the classic registration form as well).

What’s important about this is that they’re reducing a psychological barrier to entry. Most people using Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn, Gmail, etc. feel signing up for yet another online service is an annoyance. After a while, another registration form can feel like a burden. Email-based registration avoids this barrier by rolling registration and the way you interact with the service into one action. For example, the same way you use TripIt is the same way you sign up, by forwarding emails to plans@tripit.com.

Of course, form-less registration doesn’t fit for every solution. While flushing out the IA for ImageSpark, our home-brewed creative inspiration tool, we decided upon the classic email/password registration. The reason being that the core interaction with the site isn’t done through email but rather integrated browser and desktop upload tools; For ImageSpark, there was no gain in baking in an email-based registration. (Although we hope this won’t stop people from using it.)

A service like Posterous however, which uses email to create and update a blog, is built on avoiding forms at all costs. It makes sense than that your first email registers you and initiates your first blog post, all in one.

I’m pretty sure we’ll see form-less registration grow into a design pattern as new services emerge. And I’m looking forward to using it, so long as the situation is right.

Following the inauguration, whitehouse.gov has been updated to reflect the Obama administration’s promise to use interactive media to make government more open and accessible.

I’m assuming the Presidential Pets section will get a good amount of traffic too.

Here’s an interesting demo of augmented reality from the folks at Digital Pictures Interactive. Using nothing but a webcam and Flash player, they’ve managed to blend virtual content in real time with a webcam feed. The possibilities here are endless and it’s great to see work being done with such ubiquitous technology. The accessibility of this project reminds me of Jonny Lee’s Wii based demos, in which he used a $40 Wii controller to hack together a sophisticated touch screen and a head mounted 3D viewer (still waiting for a killer game from Nintendo based off this tech). It’s exciting to see technology once limited to science fiction making its way to consumer level devices. Augmented reality seems like it’s still in its infancy, but all it needs is that one killer app to break into the mainstream. Whether that comes in the form of a game, or an Android app, I have a feeling it’s not too far off.

We’re incredibly proud to announce the launch of the 2008 Telus Gift Guide.

This year, we wanted to answer one simple question—“Which cellphone is right for me?” To accomplish this, we created a Rube Goldberg contraption we’ve called the Magic Machine. Oh, and don’t be afraid to play with it a few times… the video sequences are different depending on the features you select. Magical, I know.

Industrial product design can be a frustrating thing. Tens of years and millions of dollars can go to waste in a failed concept or prototype. The risk however is shadowed by the reward when you start thinking about the possible outcomes – saving lives, energy or time for starters.

A side benefit of product design is that its successes (and failures) can be used to heavily influence what we do as designers in the digital realm. (And, of course, our R&D costs are usually much, much lower.)

Here’s three innovative product designs that have caught our eye over the last couple of weeks.

Athletic Innovation

No surprise that with the Olympics going on Nike, a company we championed in our UX Fund, has been unveiling a slew of products that are aimed at improving comfort, speed, durability and material reduction. The Nike Lunar Racer, weighing a little more than a new iPhone, is a perfect example of product innovation. It’s a light, comfortable, stylish shoe made for marathon runners. It doesn’t seem like much but perhaps that’s because we’ve become so accustomed to Nike making strides in shoe design like this so frequently. (Note: Resident designer/sneaker freak/shutterbug Greg Washington will be in New York for the 21 Mercer St. Nike Sportswear Store launch, so hopefully we’ll find out more about the Lunar Racers in a later post.)

Electronic Innovation

OLED-based screens are paving the way for a world where the surface is the light (think a screen without a projector). Currently even our most powerful LCD screens are backlit. A luminous surface promises to be brighter and use less energy than any lighting technology we currently use in displays.

Transportation Innovation

Bombardier is in the process of constructing newly designed subway cars for the TTC that have improvements in everything from ergonomics to way-finding to accessibility (not all unrelated of course). They won’t save lives but they’ll certainly improve the quality of life for all commuters.

I know these examples are just a drop in the bucket. If you’ve been inspired by industrial product design lately, post a comment below.

Update: I can’t believe I didn’t link up to the Objectified site. Objectified – the new film from Helvetica’s Gary Huswit – focuses on industrial design and inspiration from a product designers perspective. The site includes a great ‘Objectify Me’ category that features designers discussing a favorite object of theirs, like AKPC_IDS += "446,";

A round of applause for Radiohead as we begin the New Year. Not only did they reportedly profit off the move to offer their latest album, ‘In Rainbows’, for whatever people wanted to pay for it, but the hype surrounding that decision gave them some good publicity for the album’s wide release yesterday. If that weren’t enough, the band put together a live in-studio webcast of songs from the new release on New Year’s Eve. In spite of the hype, the album was one of their best in years, and one of the best of 2007.

So to recap, Radiohead knows a bit about innovative marketing and distribution, stuck it to big corporate, and still knows how to rock. Cheers to that.

One of the only UI elements in the past that allowed users to traverse multiple pages of results was pagination. There are few databases any of us interact that don’t use those “next” or “previous” links: Google, gmail, flickr, etc.

About a year ago I saw the guys at Unspace had implemented a nice alternative to traditional pagination. I should note that their work was based on something similar that was done by Humanized. These solutions load in more results as you scroll to the bottom of the page – No more next or previous.

As seen in the image below, the Mail application on the iphone displays a button at the bottom of the page that appends 25 additional results to it – an elegant solution.

What I like most about these solutions is that they are non-destructive, that is, when I select more results I don’t lose the ones I’ve already seen. I’d love to see more implementations like this.