[IxDA Discuss] notepads and creative tools

[Oleh Kovalchuke]

On 7/4/07, Jeff Axup <axup at userdesign.com> wrote:
>
>
> care to elaborate a bit (either privately or publicly on list) about how
> the tablet would interact with the digital whiteboard? I see potential
> advantages and problems with doing that.


About eight months ago I wrote a proposal for an electronic whiteboard,
where I have described how several people could interact with the whiteboard
via laptops. Below are excerpts from the proposal. Replace "laptop" with
"digital notepad". Now, eight months older, I would replace quite a few
things (naturally) besides the word 'laptop".

-- 
Oleh Kovalchuke
Interaction Design is the Design of Time
http://www.tangospring.com/IxDtopicWhatIsInteractionDesign.htm

--------------------------------------------


*The Perfect *Brainstorm* (electronic whiteboard)** *

*Technology*: 4x6 feet touch screen, support for multiple inputs, *wireless*
*connectivity* *to* *multiple* *laptops*, web enabled, electronic pen, USB
ports.
*

Possible uses*:
 *

Brainstorming*
 *

visual (drawing wireframes, designs)* *
**textual (IA, nonvisual ideas)*

Lecture hall presentation *
*Video games, military video games *
*Art *
*Teachers in classroom *
*Traffic controllers *
*Interactive TV *
*CAD *
*Next generation of computers
*

Brainstorming goals*

Encourage and support *collaborative* *environment* *
*Make contributions effortless *
*Make contribution eclectic *
*Make *possible* *moderation* of contributions *
*Make *ideas* *semi*-*anonymous* *
*Save, *review* *and* *reuse* *ideas*, sessions
*

Brainstorming tasks*
*

At the board:
 *

Ability to draw, erase, modify drawing (see Flash for details) [tools on
demand to reduce fatigue] *
*Ability to zoom (consider fish eye zoom) *
*"Scratch" area *
*Tools area (zoom overview, paint, etc.) *
*Ability to undo/redo. *
*Ability to save, restore *
*Ability to point without writing *
*Ability to add and hide notes on specific parts of the design. *
*Ability to stack multiple boards. *
*Shapes? *
*Colors *
*Ability to add video. *
*Ability to link multiple views (pages) with transitions (PowerPoint, Visio)
*
*Ability to add layers (interactivity with active layer only, three layers)
*
*Ability to add notes and ability to hide annotations (show note stubs). *
*Hand writing recognition. *
*Ability to add sound comments, sound bites associated with specific
areas/actions (low info density, hard to edit, could be used for prototypes,
though). Voice recognition software. *
*Ability to browse web and to take area snapshots. *
*Ability to browse web and to take area video. *
*Any enclosed shape with writing can be converted into a note (hover icon in
the corner of the shape)
*

Remotely:
 *

Ability to edit remotely (multiple connections from within conference room)
during brainstorming session (session start/end issues). [two interfaces –
laptop and board] *
*Ability to edit and upload changes from the "other coast". *
*Ability to moderate session input (optional, but important). *
*Ability to make changes on laptop asynchronously and upload/synchronize the
changes during session. *
*Ability to put pieces of ideas into "master" design, to merge designs *
*Ability to view contributions from users (motivator to contribute ideas,
comments, also reduces possibility of sabotage)
**

User tasks will have to be distributed among three tools: Whiteboard proper,
whiteboard Pen, laptop(s).
*

Whiteboard *areas and functionality

History (bottom of the screen, screenshots) *
*Pages (top of the screen, "Add page" Google IG) *
*Scratch (for remote submissions, shapes - right) *
*Tools (layers - left)
Zoom and overview (top right corner)
Session, remote connections – top
Select entire screen and drag it to Scratch area *
*DVD backup *
*Print with collated output *
*Save as PDF, PNG, JPG in addition to native format. Export to PowerPoint.
*

Pen *functionality

Draw – push button to reveal tip. Pressure – line thickness. Or zoom widget
as thickness *
*Point – drawing tip is retracted *
*Select – touch object once – side, twice entire object selected, click and
drag for group *
*Drag – if object is selected *
*Edit – edit button on pen (hold to drag/transform the shape) or edit
handles on the screen once object is selected *
*Erase – opposite end from drawing tip *
*Wipe – pen on the side, drag across the area to be wiped *
*Zoom in/out – spring loaded widget (see camcorders) Thumb operated. Zooms
selection. Zoom affects line thickness in nonlinear fashion (lines remain
thick longer than areas for zoom out). *
*Sound paging (to locate when it is misplaced) *
*Microphone (for sound bites and for annotations)
*

Laptop *functionality

Real time brainstorming session *
*Ability to drive the whiteboard from a laptop (if pen is lost/broken) *
*Multiple simultaneous contributions to main area of whiteboard from several
laptops *
*Contribution to scrap area *
*Contributing notes to main area of white board: Appear on submit and
dissolve leaving stub, which can be re-open from the whiteboard or from
laptop. Once reopen – explicit minimization. *
*Asynchronous brainstorming *
*Compatibility with MS Office products. *
*Ability to sketch ideas and upload them to Scrap area of ongoing session *
*Ability to download session for review, editing, adding comments *
*Create designs on laptop and upload them during session to scrap area
*

Core functionality *(bare bones functionality):
*

Must haves *(support Venecia and clumsily Dave):
*

Nice ideas to consider *(future releases, if there is time in the current
release):
*

Frequent tasks*:

*Whiteboard wireframe (the draft of the first draft):*

* **Prototype interface for laptop (remote contribution)* – will not be
included in the first release due to severe time constraints.



On 7/4/07, Oleh Kovalchuke <tangospring at gmail.com> wrote:

> *suggested enhancement* for the digital notepad: multiple devices should
> be able to connect to digital whiteboard, some of them remotely - San
> Francisco to ongoing prototyping session in Boston
>
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