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Comment Re:Yes (Score 1) 311

by ubrkl (#41173237) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Is the Rise of Skeuomorphic User Interfaces a Problem?

Yes, accuracy is something I'm not too worried about with the minute resolution of the clock, the same doesn't apply to hour, or using the same UI control for AM/PM, which means you now have 3 datasets applied to the same UI pattern, 1-12, 1-59, AM-PM ... I really like their keyboard (it does it's job very effectively), don't like the time picker.

Also, for something as utilitarian as an alarm clock interface, (something I may want to change while half asleep), I would sacrifice any 'fun' aspects of setting the alarm for a predictable interface. Inaccurate & slower for me is going backwards in usability.

Comment Yes (Score 5, Interesting) 311

by ubrkl (#41161921) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Is the Rise of Skeuomorphic User Interfaces a Problem?

Yes it is a problem, and seems to be taking us backward in terms of usability. Apple is the worst for this, imo, their iPhone interface for setting an alarm is abysmal, hard to use with any accuracy, because you're sliding dials around, which have physics attached to them. So instead of being able to type in: 7, 3, 0 on a keypad, you're forced to deal with 3 different dials, pushing up & down until it gets it right. (It also stinks of 'hey, lets use multitouch for EVERYTHING).

Also, accessibility takes a hit, as you're now dealing with pictures of physical things, and all people are left with are the equivalent of ALT tags on images with image maps.
The Media

Digitally Filtering Out the Drone of the World Cup 602

Posted by timothy from the it's-called-an-off-switch-use-it dept.
qubezz writes "World Cup soccer fans may think a hornet's nest has infiltrated their TVs. However the buzz that is the background soundtrack of the South African-hosted games comes from tens of thousands of plastic horns called vuvuzelas, that are South Africa's version of ringing cowbells or throwing rats. It looks like the horns won't be banned anytime soon though. A savvy German hacker, 'Tube,' discovered that the horn sound can be effectively filtered out by applying a couple of digital notch filters to the audio at the frequencies the horn produces (another summary in English). Now it looks like even broadcasters like the the BBC and others are considering using such filters on their broadcasts."
The Internet

Activists Use Wikipedia To Test Aussie Net Censors 330

Posted by samzenpus from the hole-in-the-net dept.
pnorth writes "Editors at Wikipedia have removed a link to a blacklisted web site that sat uncontested for over 24 hours in the main body of the Australian regulator's own Wikipedia entry. The link, which directs readers to a site containing graphic imagery of aborted foetuses, was inserted into ACMA's Wikipedia entry by a campaigner against Internet filtering to determine whether Australia's communications regulator had a double-standard when it came to censoring web content. The very same link motivated the regulator to serve Aussie broadband forum Whirlpool's hosting company with a 'link deletion notice' and the threat of an $11,000 fine. Last night, the link became the subject of 'warring' between several Wikipedia administrators in the lead up to its removal, with administrators saying they didn't want to be used to prove a point."

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