Hey, That's a Great Ideaservice | Hey, That's a Great Idea http://heythatsagreatidea.com Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:26:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Bill Gates at TED 2009 http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/02/bill-gates-at-ted-2009/ http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/02/bill-gates-at-ted-2009/#comments Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:21:05 +0000 the idea collector http://heythatsagreatidea.com/?p=388 Bill Gates talks about two of his latest philanthropic efforts at the annual TED conference going on this week; conquering malaria and making teachers great.

No related posts.

]]> http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/02/bill-gates-at-ted-2009/feed/ 0 IDEO/BUG Concepts Posted http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/ideobug-concepts-posted/ http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/ideobug-concepts-posted/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:50:15 +0000 the idea collector http://heythatsagreatidea.com/?p=350 Yesterday IDEO posted some very well presented in-process concepts for BUG UI design opportunities. They started by presenting some Mid-Project Concept Sketches. Download the PDF. Seriously, it’s inspiring.

They followed up with a post on each proposed concept:

  1. Concept 1 – e-Ink over Tactile Switches
  2. Concept 2 – Color LCD w/ Capacitive Touch
  3. Concept 3 – Monochrome Matrix LCD with Segmented Multicolor Backlight
  4. Concept 4 – Customizable Illuminated Buttons w/ Side Status Panel
  5. Concept 5 – NTE (Near-To-Eye) Micro-Display with Trackball

Very interesting concepts and very well presented. So well, in fact, that IDEO acknowledged the polished appearance and posted a few photos of the work-in-progress. Extra points for prototyping ePaper graphics on a Kindle.

No related posts.

]]> http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/ideobug-concepts-posted/feed/ 0 IDEO Product UI Design Process Will Be Public http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/ideo-product-ui-design-process-will-be-public/ http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/ideo-product-ui-design-process-will-be-public/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:45:25 +0000 the idea collector http://heythatsagreatidea.com/?p=342 The modular DIY gadget platform, BUG, has teamed with IDEO to redesign the BUG user interface. IDEO has agreed to BUG’s request to do the project in the open, soliciting feedback from the user community along the way. I’m not aware of a design effort of this magnitude, with a firm of this stature, happening in such a public manner.

Here’s what IDEO has to say about the project:

…We’re thrilled to be working with Bug Labs to make this great product even better. We are also prototyping a new, open way of working that we hope will combine the expertise of Bug Labs engineers, IDEO designers, and the BUG community throughout the design process.

This is a quick project with a focused objective: re-envision the interaction with the BUGbase, specifically the display and buttons. We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about the current BUGbase interface and your ideas for making it better. How are you using your BUGbase interface? How do you wish you could use it? In return for your feedback, we’ll be regularly posting updates on our progress, as well as the end results. We, of course, welcome your thoughts at any point. …

Follow along on the BUG Blogger website and the BUG Community.

The whole point of this exercise is to continue to push the boundaries of how we innovate, not just on the BUGbase UI, but on all things related to BUG. We take pride in thinking our designs are good, but we also know they are exponentially better when the community gets involved.

No related posts.

]]> http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/ideo-product-ui-design-process-will-be-public/feed/ 0 Simplify Media http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/simplify-media/ http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/simplify-media/#comments Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:13:57 +0000 the idea collector http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/simplify-media/

Judging from the response to yesterday’s post about iConcertCal it seems I have quite a few music fans in the audience.  Here is another application that my friends and I love. 

Simplify Media lets you access your media library from any internet-connected computer or iPhone (even works over EDGE).  I know there are other apps that do the same thing, but this one is great because you can share your library with friends.  Well, thirty of your friends.  I’ve been using it for a few months now and it works as-advertised.

Bonus points for Windows/Mac/Linux/iTunes/Winamp/Rhythmbox compatibility.

No related posts.

]]> http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/simplify-media/feed/ 0 iConcertCal http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/iconcertcal/ http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/iconcertcal/#comments Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:43:44 +0000 the idea collector http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/iconcertcal/ Wouldn’t it be awesome if someone went through your iTunes library and found all the album release dates and concert dates for all the artist in there? Wouldn’t it be better if they did it for free? Instantaneously? iConcertCal does just that, which is why it’s a great idea.



iConcertCal is a free iTunes plug-in that monitors your music library and generates a personalized calendar of upcoming concerts in your city. It supports worldwide searches, includes direct links to purchase tickets, and is available for both Windows and Mac OS X.

iConcertCal

No related posts.

]]> http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/iconcertcal/feed/ 0 Lifehacker Posts their Top 10 CES and Macworld Announcements http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/lifehacker-posts-their-top-10-ces-and-macworld-announcements/ http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/lifehacker-posts-their-top-10-ces-and-macworld-announcements/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 10:44:26 +0000 the idea collector http://heythatsagreatidea.com/?p=291 I don’t necessarily agree with all of these, but interesting nonetheless.


10. iLife/iWork new features and tweaks
9. Apple/Jobs won’t dominate Macworld anymore
8. Palm is back in the game
7. Built-in media streaming on TVs, DVD players
6. Better laptop batteries
5. Smarter voice-activated car systems
4. Wireless charging, for real
3. Picasa for Macs—FINALLY
2. Windows 7 Beta announced
1. iTunes frees its music (and yours)

No related posts.

]]> http://heythatsagreatidea.com/2009/01/lifehacker-posts-their-top-10-ces-and-macworld-announcements/feed/ 0