Experiences: Experience Trends

In this column on the future of computing, we’ve examined how a handful of advances in technology, including the Internet of Things (IoT); along with sciences of human understanding such as neuroscience and genomics; and emerging delivery platforms such as 3D printers and virtual-reality (VR) headsets will together transform software and hardware into something new that we’re calling smartware.

Smartware are computing systems that require little active user input, integrate the digital and physical worlds, and continually learn on their own. Now, in this, the final edition of our column on smartware, we’ll consider how the powerful capabilities of smartware will enable new interactions and user experiences that, over time, will become seamlessly integrated into our digital lives. Read More

Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are coming of age at the same time as a cluster of advances in the sciences, especially neuroscience and genomics, and other technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT); additive fabrication, or 3D printing; and virtual reality (VR). Together, these technologies promise to create a radical inflection point at the same scale as personal computers in the 1970s, the Internet in the 1990s, and mobile computing in the 2000s. We call these collective technologies smartware.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently having a moment. In fact, the field has had many moments since its inception in 1956, with flurries of media excitement tempered only by the sober reality of what is actually possible. We have made massive strides in machine learning—the approach to AI that focuses on writing software that can independently learn and develop long after its human programmers have finished their coding—which is transforming personal computing as we know it. Read More

User experience (UX) design and user-interface (UI) design are two distinct, yet interconnected aspects of design. Both are important, must complement each other, and play crucial roles in the development of mobile applications, including virtual private networks (VPNs).

A VPN provides a means of protecting the user’s privacy online by establishing a secure network connection—even on an unsafe, public Wi-Fi network. It encrypts online traffic and keep the user’s virtual location hidden.

In this article, I’ll discuss some current design trends that apply to the design of VPNs, as well as some common design mistakes. Read More