A Glimpse Into Microsoft’s Future

Microsoft is a changed company under CEO Satya Nadella. We’re not the first ones to notice. This change has manifested itself in several ways, most notably the willingness to provide solutions on whatever platform the customer wants to work with. More exciting, however, is how people interact with their computers. This week, I look at an article that reveals Microsoft’s important new thinking about the human-machine interface.

Future interfaces will combine 2D, 3D, VR, AR, AI and more. Which companies will nail the UI?

This week, right after I heard about Microsoft bringing Visual Studio to macOS, another article came to my attention that introduces what Microsoft calls “Fluent Design.”

The article is: “Behind Fluent Design, Microsoft’s Vision For The Future of Interfaces.” Bojana Ostojic, Microsoft’s Principal Director of Design…

explains that HoloLens was the inspiration for Fluent Design, a set of design guidelines the company introduced at its Build 2017 conference. It’s a loosely defined and still-evolving set of best practices for designing across mobile, desktop, voice, gesture, AI, VR, and holographic interfaces

At the core of this, I surmise, is the recognition that users will soon be immersed in several different kinds of user interfaces: The standard 2D display, 3D/holographics, VR and AR. The question is, what kind of user interface guidelines should be developed as users cross the boundaries of these devices. Fluent Design is a:

loosely defined and still-evolving set of best practices for designing across mobile, desktop, voice, gesture, AI, VR, and holographic interfaces, a necessarily broad language of interactions, animations, and visuals that may be updated frequently.

Why is this necessary? The motivation is that, according to the author, Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan, no company has yet “figured out how to integrate the old world of 2D devices with the new world of 3D or mixed reality hardware.” 

The new metaphor derives from the fact that modern interfaces tend to be more fluid and short-lived. In the past, our Mac’s display was fairly static, and action has been constrained to a few small windows. With new interfaces, moving, fluid representations of reality are presented. More to the point, how does one invoke design, structure, light and other visuals to bridge the gap across interfaces?

The author points out that new combinations of skills as a developer will be required. “Creating a holographic version of reality requires you to be part architect, part cinematographer, and part developer.”

This is an informative and inspiring article about how a re-born Microsoft is thinking these days.

Next Page: The News Debris For The Week Of May 8th. The need for speed.

Page 2 – News Debris For The Week Of May 8th

The Need for Speed

The new Microsoft Laptop is a beautiful looking computer. It creates in the customer’s mind an appreciation for the practical, level-headed competition Microsoft brings to the table in an era when Apple isn’t updating its own laptops as often as it used to.

But just how well does the Surface Laptop stack up against Apple’s offerings? Jason Snell at Macworld looks at specs and prices of the various models of the Microsoft Surface Laptop and compares to Apple’s MacBook Air, MacBook and MacBook Pro. The results shouldn’t surprise us, but in some ways they do, especially in Apple’s favor. You’ll want to check out: “How does the Surface Laptop stack up to Apple’s notebooks?”

Surface Laptop. Great looking. But how does it stack up against MacBooks? Image credit: Microsoft.

Along these lines, here’s a sensible, sober observation from Dan Moren that echoes my own feelings. “Why Apple’s laptops could use a little less innovation at the moment.” Subtitle: “Apple should take a cue from Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop and focus on speed, not gimmicks.”

Dan makes some great observations. In my own experience, I agree that Apple got too immersed in design and the company lost sight of the fact they were locking their customers into an uncomfortable sales proposition. Packing great power into a mobile MacBook Pro is expensive. One can easily pay US$3,000 for a 15-inch, quad-core, top-of-the-line MacBook Pro. However, backing off to a less expensive 13-inch, dual core MBP, makes one worry. Is it fast enough to meet future needs? To be the only Mac?

With the Apple design advantage evaporating, competitors could turn their attention to an emphasis on performance. When a customer only has so many dollars to spend, performance often wins even if that means using Windows 10. Apple could address this issue with a newfound obsession for notebook performance. See: “With Mac and PC Designs Mature, Computational Power is Sexier.”

More Debris…

Any computer historian will tell us that there’s been an endless succession of connected devices intended to sit on our desks and solve our problems. Where we (and the products) often go wrong is in the assumption that the product will last for a long time. That’s just not how technology works.

This is how I feel about the Amazon Echo and similar devices from Google and Microsoft. And maybe even Apple starting in June. See: “Apple employees are reportedly testing the ‘Siri speaker’ inside their homes.”

These devices are just the beginning of voice assistants and the AIs that will weave themselves into our lives. If you’re optimistic about their longevity, however, take a trip down memory lane and recall the 3Com Audrey. “Amazon’s Echo Show stands on the shoulders of these failed internet appliances.”

That’s not to say the Echo and similar products will fail. But they will evolve quickly. Even family service robots as mobile AIs won’t be the end point. The rapid evolution of this technology gives one pause about where it’ll all go next.

Meanwhile, it’s not too soon to reserve a place on the bookcase for one of your early voice assistant cylinders—so you can reminisce about the old days.

The Apple Watch has a staggering potential, yet untapped.

Finally, Jeff Byrnes looks at the Apple acquisition of Beddit, the sleep tracker and predicts that “Your Apple Watch Will Soon Become Your Favorite Sleep Tracker.” Previously, we’ve seen reports about Apple’s work to allow the Apple Watch to measure blood glucose. Add sleep tracking to the mix, and soon the Apple Watch will have the critical mix of capability that will make it a truly indispensable, and sales will then skyrocket. Apple’s plans for the Apple Watch shouldn’t be underestimated.

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Particle Debris is a generally a mix of John Martellaro’s observations and opinions about a standout event or article of the week (preamble on page one) followed on page two by a discussion of articles that didn’t make the tmo headlines, the technical news debris. The column is published most every Friday except for holidays.

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