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“The OS is the interface, the interface is the OS…they’re inseparable, they are one.”
- John Underkoffler
When Apple announced their revolutionary iPad, there was much disagreement between those who believed in the product and those who thought it completely ridiculous. And then release day arrived and droves of avid Appleites lined up outside retailers to be the first to pick up their very own iPad. Nevermind the silliness of the name, or the fact that it didn’t support Flash, or any of the other so-called “deal-breakers” missing from the flashy device, people wanted it. So much so that the international release has been pushed back due to incredible demand in the US.
My goal here isn’t to describe the frenzy surrounding the iPad, it’s to talk about the touchscreen that it employs. Ever since the iTouch/iPhone release, Apple has clearly had the vision to make multi-touch screens a reality. Like many of their products, the display is incredibly easy to use and relies on basic ideas about kinesthetic learning to function. Resizing images is accomplished by dragging corners in or out, turning pages by swiping fingers across the screen, and so forth. They have, in essence, trained an entire generation on the basics of touchscreen usage. Read more
“This is a gamer on the verge of something called an ‘epic win’…”
- Jane McGonigal
I’m a World of Warcraft, or WoW, player. I live, breathe, eat, drink, and exist in the world of Azeroth (and, by extension, Outland) on a daily basis. From the ruins of the Exodar to the magnificence of Dalaran, it is a world that I love, and will continue to love. When she says gamers spend 3 billion hours a week playing online games, that’s me. Well maybe not just me. Add in another 11.5 million players, each playing 22 hours a week, that’s 253 million hours. And that’s just World of Warcraft. By this point, you’re probably wondering why I’m so enthusiastic about a video game. I’ll tell you why.
