Market research from IDC suggests that we are already experiencing the sharpest drop in the sales of personal computers for a single quarter. Technology is evolving fit computing devices to our pockets and modern day tablets are more than capable of replacing the traditional desktops. Today, Android’s and iOS’s shipments are greater than PC shipments across the globe. Every company is worried and changing the way it tried to encourage the sales processes. In the first quarter of 2015, Gartner reports that PC shipments have dropped by more than 5.2%. The segments that plummeted were notebooks, tablets and hybrid tablets. Personal computers that we have grown up with are fast being replaced by thin, lightweight and more importantly, highly mobile devices.

This is certainly the end of a revolutionary era in the history of mankind. The PC revolution began in the late 1960’s when Hewlett Packard began selling its 9100 desktop calculators. Then came microprocessors and finally the internet revolution gave the strong kick to the adoption of PCs. By the 1990s, personal computers were universal home fixtures and office tools. However, now that we have come to the 50^th year, the sales of conventional PCs are falling fast. A lot has happened in between!

Today, 7% of Americans own a smart phone but don’t have an alternative device that could connect them to the internet or have a broadband service installed in their homes. IDC even goes on to predict that by the year 2017, 87% of the connected devices would be smartphones and tablets. PCs, including both desktops and laptops will just have a 13% of the market share. Forrester Research, on the other hand forecasts that by 2017, 1 out of every 5 tablet would be an enterprise device. Businesses are in fact investing more on tablets rather than limiting their employees to their desks with a desktop.

Following the trend, Apple CEO, Mr. Tim Cook says that there is no reason that someone would buy a PC anymore. Apple is already ready with PC alternatives devices like iPad Pad Pro. Tim Cook believes that the iPad Pro would be a replacement for several PC and notebook users. It is also being said that the free Windows 10 would be a humble end for the PC era. Google’s Android can do pretty much everything that you would want out of the traditional desktops. Well, gamers might disagree but even so, Playstation sells more than graphics cards today! The meaning of personal computers has changed. A truly personal device should be mobile, fast, easy to use and always connected. Users are looking beyond keyboard attachments, mouse, an accessory webcam, a connected printer, etc. smart devices of today integrate all of these functionalities into a small device that can fit into your hands, wirelessly!

While some people and businesses will continue to advocate personal computers, this surely is the beginning of the end of the PC era. Most of us have lost the reason to use those bigger devices!

The iOS X is all set to release next year there are several across the globe waiting eagerly. According to a recent report by 9to5Mac, Apple is already testing the version and some traffic is being identified from the to-be launched OS. Though this could as well be fake, Apple would certainly roll out the new version anytime in the coming year. It has been just some months that the iOS9 was released but this makes us better equipped to put down our expectations for the next version.

The release

First of things, the iOS 10 is likely to be announced at the WWDC 2016 conference to be held around June. Going by the previous trend, the update would be first available to developers and then for the general users. This should take another three to four months. It can also be noted that Apple has always released every major iOS update with a new iPhone product release. So, the iOS 10 should come bundled with the iPhone 7 by October next year.

A proactive SIRI

It is being strongly rumored that iOS 10 would bring about an interesting combination in Voicemail and Siri. As per business Insider, Apple is already testing a service that allows Siri to answer calls for its users and then transcribe a message in voice that has been originally a textual content. Though this system doesn’t necessarily need an update as most of the work is done in the server side, Apple has always tended to add a new Siri with an OS update.

The WWDC 2015 conference strongly featured the importance of a more “proactive Siri”. For long the process was getting smarter but it’s time that Siri anticipated what users would like to do before they saw/heard a communication. This would also bring Siri closer to Google Now features that present information based on what the user is doing. Where he is and how he would likely respond in such a situation.

The iOS 9 was a tad lackluster. Proactive Siri would largely suggest apps and make them do things that you would want them to. The easiest example would be launching the music app when you plug in the headphone or when set on commute mode, it will suggest Kindle. Siri integrated with voicemail will also suggest other applications based on your set schedule and notifications.

HomeKit

HomeKit, as many readers would already know is Apple’s growth in the sectors like Internet of Things and Home Automation. However, for so long, it has just been a stealth product. Though there are a few products in the Home Automation, Apple hasn’t really talked about them strongly. With iOS 10, Siri could play a bigger role in Home Automation like knowing when you are home, when it’s time to turn up the heater, at what temperature should the AC be set to, smart locking doors, etc.

These are the two top features that users would expect Apple to integrate with iOS 10. Hopefully, our answers would be heard!

Tag Heuer, in collaboration with Google is all set to launch its first Android timepiece, to be called the Connected Watch. As one can guess, the Connected is different from the regular watches from the Tag Heuer product lines. Priced at $1500, this luxury watch is clad in titanium and has more than passing resemblance to its analog timepieces. Jean Claude Biver, the CEO slipped a few details about the design recently and we can comfortably believe that the new product would be quite similar to the Apple Watch but with the design aspects that Tag Heuer has always stuck to. So finally, we are getting a watch that looks like the watches we have grown with and also has the capabilities of the most modern time-telling devices.

What makes Connected different?

The company had gone through a rigorous research to ensure that the design of Connected isn’t like a smart watch but rather the timepieces that the brand has been popular for. The first of things in the design is the titanium construction that makes the watch very lightweight. The Connected comes with a “transflective display”, making it readable under direct sunlight and is programmed to show you the time at all times/screens. The screen of the Connected itself is a vibrant and sharp. For someone trying to guess the exact design of the Connected, it would be very similar to the Tag Heuer Carrera – a previous analog model from the company. The connected will however come with six textured rubber watch bands that are completely customizable.

The best and also the priciest element of the Connected are the titanium case and the 46mm sapphire crystal display. Though its display (240ppi) would be a tad lower than the Apple Watch (290ppi), it should be enough to engage the user is a ‘cool’ experience. Further, the entire watch is made to be water resistant and thus can be comfortably worn outdoors.

While the watch has been designed to impress on the outside, it is equally complimented by the Android brain and Intel’s guts. The watch would most probably integrate a 1.6 GHz Intel dual core processor and this should be enough to support a range of smart functionalities.

Coming to the performance, it would again be similar of what can be expected of an Android wear. Leaving aside the customized watch face and the Tag Heuer applications (to be called ‘micro applications’ in this case), the ‘Connected’ would be completely compatible with an Android wear. It comes equipped with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, weather / wind monitoring applications and a microphone that responds to your commands. The 4 GB of storage, supported by a 1 GB of RAM should be enough to download and store some music for your travels. Also, the Connected integrates a 410 mAh, double the size of the Apple counterpart.

Like any other Android watch, the Connected too is compatible with iOS but users might run into certain limitations when connecting your iPhone.

The complete package is priced at $1500. While it might seem overwhelming, it’s also a fact that the $17,000 rose gold Apple Watch Edition didn’t do badly in the market. The Huawei Watch is another example how a $450 smart watch can get a profitable customer base. Tag Heuer has luxury and brand as its advantages and it is expected the Connected would be getting a good response when finally launched.

Just five months after loading the ‘instant article’ feature into its news feed, the format is progressing into iPhones. According to Chris Cox, Facebook will now be able to publish several thousands of articles every day. The format will also be tested in Android devices and the same would be available by the end of 2015. Aptly called as ‘the package of journalism’ Instant articles will allow many readers across the globe will now be able to read stories inside the realms of the social networks instead of following links that lead to websites. Since May, Facebook has been able to come up with more than a dozen publications of instant articles. The new feature however would be available only for mobile users.

So what would be the implications?

To start off, there would be huge decline in traffic that publishing websites received from Facebook. However, on the other side, it also gives businesses an opportunity to connect with targeted users (even a larger audience base) via their Instant Articles news feed. To top that, Facebook is also collaborating with comScore to develop analytics into the number of people that read a particular article. The traffic will be credited to the publisher. For Facebook, this feature will enhance the social networking experience by keeping the users inside the platform. TR Viswanath, a Facebook engineer says that the technology powering Instant Articles will allow content (both text and video) to load faster on mobile apps that it would have been the case with website links. Interactive maps, embedded audio, tilt to pan photos and auto-play video are other features that will engage more number of audiences.

Instant Articles will not necessarily show up on every iOS user’s new feed immediately. Though a timeline hasn’t been confirmed, the company suggests that the feature will be available to around 12.5% of iOS device users and this number will gradually rise. However, this incredible feature has also become one of the most discussed media issues. Media organizations will now have to give up a chunk of their revenues to Facebook for the targeted readership. This would be a big problem for small publications but brands like BuzzFeed, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Slate, Vox Media and the Atlantic have already tied up for the platform.

How it impacts businesses?

Facebook aptly believes that users will be more interested to share news and articles that load instantly (10 times faster as promised) and this will enable the publisher to get a higher rank in the social networking site. Publishers across the globe are already scrambling to change the content management systems to compete with Facebook’s efficiency. The faster loading pages are achieved by stripping down the tracking codes and advertisements that normally run on web page links. However, Instant Articles are also made more interactive where users can tilt down their phones to browse photos and also seek 3D maps to seek out more information about the business. Basically, instant articles will be a “Facebook version of your website promotion”

In its early days, PHP programming was largely limited to being highly procedural. There were certain building blocks to every applications and these ‘procedures’ offered a degree of reusability by being called by other applications. However, a programmer can still introduce the OO characteristics without the constructs of object oriented language, into the codes. While the process if a tad bit difficult, the ability to be able to build relationships between interfaces and classes makes it easier to come up with codes that are governed by good OO practices.

Here are top 5 PHP coding habits that every programmer is expected to follow:

1.     Being a good neighbor

Classes should be able to handle errors self-sufficiently. Consequently, you should package them in a format that is easily understood by the caller. Further, it is better to avoid any returning object in a state of null or invalidity. This can simply be taken care of by throwing specific exceptions and verifying arguments to prove the invalidity of supplied arguments. This habit can save you from wasting a lot of time.

2.     Avoiding the Medusa!

Beginners in PHP are always confused about the importance of interfaces. However, experts and seasoned professionals suggest that not using interfaces would be like looking into the eyes of the Medusa. In mythology, any person who would look into the eyes of Medusa, a Greek Goddess with snakes for hair would turn into stone! Similarly, with interfaces, using them directly limits your options and your classes are set in stone.

3.     Embracing the weakest links

It’s a good thing when you couple your modules loosely as they allow encapsulating change. The first and third habit mentioned above will also help your work towards modules that are coupled loosely. However, to loosely couple your classes, you should develop the final characteristics by lowering dependencies of classes – make this a habit. When trying to build OO designs, it is better to think of concepts like “Separation of Concerns”, wherein programmers try separating objects from classes, thus reducing the coupling.

4.     Being modest

Try not to expose yourself with your functions and class implementations. Hiding information is accepted as a foundational habit and it will get more difficult to build other good habits if you are already into hiding your implementations. Also referred to as encapsulation, exposing public fields makes you run out of options when things change in your implementations. It is better to use OO concepts to isolate the changes and stop them from spreading early on.

5.     Sticking to the family

The greatest disaster in OO programming is the copy-paste operations. Used without an upfront OO design, they can create havoc. Whenever, you are being tempted to use the same lines of codes from one class in another, it is a good habit to stop and consider how the class hierarchy can be leveraged to identical functionality. In most cases, copying codes is totally unnecessary when trying to come up with a good design.

Which programing practices form a part of your internal team checklist? Do leave in your comments and let us know.

Tired of holding the iPhone in your palms for long, but still cannot miss reading out the rest of the story? Well, Apple has come up with a solution – finally. A new app called Pocket on iOS will read out documents while you can get busy with other household work. The incredible text-to-speech feature is easy to use and can be used with your e-books, emails, messages and any other kind of document received or stored on your iOS device. This feature has actually been available for Android users for as many as three years now. Well, apple does finally answer the same, though a bit late.

Pocket on iOS is an incredible feature for users who would want to have their new hands-free. It even allows you to listen to an article from anywhere in the complete content, skip uninteresting portions and even adjust the reading speed between fast and slow. All the more important is the fact that this will be available in all languages supported by your device!

What’s new on Pocket for iOS?

Recently, Pocket was even updated to version 6.0.1 to incorporate new features for iOS 9 users. A notable addition has been Spotlight Search that allows users to find relevant articles from among a queue. The new version also adds support for the Picture-in-Picture mode for the iPad, allowing the user to take notes in the background while watching a video or something in the foreground Pocket app. Here’s what the new version of Pocket presents:

1. Spotlight Search – using ‘spotlight’ to search for saved URLs and titles and opening them directly in the Article View screen.
2. Picture in Picture – Allowing non-disrupted video watching while running other apps in the background.
3. Several bug fixes and other improvements, especially catering to iOS 9 users.

The base version of Pocket is available for free but there’s a premium version that will cost you $4.99 every month. This service will include full text search and a personal backup for suggested tags and saved contents. For users who regularly like to read on their devices, this investment will certainly be worth it.

There are several other aesthetic improvements that have been made to the Pocket 6.0.1 version, presenting a less cluttered and revamped interface. This will also be more suited for devices with Retina Display Technology. The update also adds image and video filters that make reading easier on your eyes, if you care to browse through the pictures along with the spoken content. Users will also be able do bulk editing with the latest Pocket App.

As of today, the Pocket app already has more than 4.5 million users across the globe. Apple in fact says that Pocket (Formerly Read it Later) is among the top paid news app for Kindle, Android and iOS. Since 2007, users have stored more than 200 million pieces. Further, the app can be beneficially integrated with other reading apps like Zite, Pulse, Flipboard and Twitter.

If you have an iOS 5 or later on your Apple device, Pocket would be an extremely advisable addition.

Information technology has been revolutionizing every aspect of human life today. A complex system of hardware, software, data storage, microprocessor, sensors, and connectivity is taking the world towards a more convenient and ‘smarter’ platform. While miniaturization of technology is encouraging a new era in competition, end users are using these technologies to enhance every aspect of their living and lifestyle. From travelling to making office work more efficient, technology has progressed into a whole new era. The latest buzz in the market has been about IoT or Internet of Things.

Assessing the reach and impact of IoT

Though most IoT devices haven’t yet reached the average home or user, they have been making huge impacts in businesses, manufacturing facilities and healthcare premises.  The main concept behind IoT is devices and networks that are able to collect data, exchange it and use it to create digital strategies, either programmed or manually. This is a concept where a “billion of things across the globe are constantly interacting with each other”. A brief idea of its implications is given by products like Smart ACs that control the room temperature by sensing the number of people in the room and the environmental factors. Everything is automatic and more ‘sensible’ with IoT.

These smart and connected devices are expanding our opportunities to create a global village. A greater reliability, high product utilization and newer functionalities have been able to help us transcend the traditional boundaries of products and service delivery. The changing products and services are also forcing traditional companies to retool and rethink every part of their business process. For businesses, it’s not just about the new opportunities but also new threats; specifically from evolving technologies.

What the future holds?

IoT, today has risen to reflect a growing number of smart products, right from the smartphones to automatic drives in automobiles. It has been just twice before in the history of men that information technology has so radically been able to reshape the nature of our living. Today, ‘information’ is a crucial part in all the technologies. Experts, across the globe have suggested that IoT would “change everything” but this could be a dangerous ‘over-simplification’. Like internet itself, connected products come with new range of possibilities but the rules of competition remain the same. To stay successful, it becomes crucial that businesses begin to understand the new rules of the game as fast as they can.

Smart products of today come with three main elements – “smart” components, connectivity components and physical components. While smart components amplify the values and capabilities of the physical components, connectivity in turn amplifies the value of the smart ones, allowing the overall setup to exist beyond the physical realms of the product. The results invariably present a virtuous cycle of improvement. Common examples would include Schindler PORT technology reducing elevator wait times by more than 50% and Big Ass ceiling fans sensing people entering the room and engaging themselves. We no more have to press the “switch”! Devices know when to operate, how to operate, all by themselves!

Donald Arthur Norman has been a very prominent figure in the design world. Apart from that, he has founded several startups, is an author and more popularly, a very captivating speaker. He is best known by his books, especially the title, “The Design of Everyday Things”. Now, much of Don’s own design is centered on user friendliness. From doors to computers, he has been encouraging academics, creativity and technological innovation to refining existing products. His approach has always focused on designs that that have been able to simplify task structures, make things more visible, mapping things rightly, elimination of design errors, affordance, and exploiting the ‘power of constraints’. Let’s discuss some of his design tips that are applicable to our UI/UX industry.

1.     The principles of design remain the same

According to Don, the basic principle of designing remains the same. Though time is changing and technology is evolving, the main goal of designing has always been to make things simpler to use, see, feel and understand.

2.     Great products being a small part of the story

There could be an amazing solution to a specific problem but as long as the solution isn’t packaged well, it might fail to leave any consequences. User experience is the only thing that completes a product. The best example for this could be Apple – a company that based its products on user experience. If we begin to compare, the iPod provides the same functionality as the average walkman but iPod became more loved simply because the way it worked.

3.     User experience must be complete

The aim of design, be it products or websites should not be limited to just the user experience but the entire interaction it has with the end user. As long as design doesn’t support functionality, it is as good as being useless.

4.     Being late is better than being too early

Great designs might have integrated high end usability but it is also necessary to ensure that the end audience is ready for the new revolution. If you don’t have a strategy to be able to change the way a user interacts with your product/service/website, it is better not to lead the design innovation. Reception holds the clue to the success of your revolutionizing UI/UX.

5.     Design isn’t the absolute necessity in MVP

If your products/service can offer high value to its customers, UX/UI won’t matter too much. However, this would only apply to the first iteration of the product. At later iterations, design will hold the key to adoption. So, if you are a startup business, don’t spend too heavily on UI. Focus on your core services and once you start making money, design would be the key in encouraging your customers to stay with you.

6.     Focus

We all know how too many cooks can spoil the broth. Similarly, too many designers engaged in the same UI/UX blueprint will provide inconsistent products. Stick to a dictator of a chief designer and let him challenge himself!

Write in with your comments on which of these will be a part of your next UX Design project

The days when Ford could “manufacture a car in any color, as long as it is black and still can sell” it to thousands of customers are long gone. Today, customers have grown from being takers to makers. Every business, small or big, runs according to the expectations, demands and necessities of its end users. For online businesses, this statement has greater implications. While the market has been able to break geographical boundaries, thanks to internet, there are also several new players competing for your target demographics. Entrepreneurs and businesses that still want to sell profitably and build a brand name need to adopt updated ecommerce strategies. Here are some key trends to follow in 2015 and beyond:

1.     The growth of mobile

Since 2013, Black Friday has been for several times been referred to as the “Mobile Friday” by ecommerce players. In 2013, 40% of the online orders on this day were placed via mobile devices. The trend continues and more numbers of shoppers are turning to mobile to browse through products and have them delivered at their doorsteps. Ecommerce brands like Flipkart are on their way to leaving behind the desktop interface and encouraging mobile-only shopping over apps. This goes on to how that the mobile is becoming a more powerful, popular and profitable platform for shopping. For small businesses, this could be the best way to start penetrating the market.

2.     Faster and free shipping

Nothing is more frustrating for a customer when his/her delivery is late. Also, customers don’t want surprises when it comes to shipping costs to be paid for their item. In many cases, shipping costs are more than the price of the product itself, making many customers looks for alternative and preferably local vendors. In response to the behavior, several ecommerce businesses are focusing more on faster and free shipping. Be creative and you can always find a way around the logistics.

3.     Businesses sans borders

The online phenomenon presents the opportunity for local businesses to go beyond their local markets and pitch their products/services. Online retailers, across the globe are in fact working on expanding their sales beyond the domestic boundaries of their countries. With several courier and logistics services at your disposal and the means of online payment getting easier, the world is just like a singular market.

4.     Content marketing

Coming to the point about how small businesses can market their products and services so extensively, there isn’t a better and more proven way than ‘content marketing’. According to a recent study, about 82% of online retailers are planning to increase their budgets of content marketing. This includes textual information, images, video content, press releases, blogs, etc. long gone is the trend to keyword targeted SEO campaigns. Modern customers want fresh and unique ideas to be delivered.

5.     Personalization

Personalization and tailored products and services are keys to winning the rat’s race in the modern marketplace. This is also an area where businesses can start getting creative and work on unique ways to attract and impress the end user. The sole aim is to make a more personal connection with the customer.

The best programmers never quite were pushed into the career. It’s usually the passion and inclination to create your own platform on the internet that makes the start to this incredible journey. Among the most popular languages popular with programmers today is Ruby on Rails. A compact, elegant and a very fun way to create web applications, Ruby on Rails is simple enough to use. Written in the Ruby language, the application designing framework is intended to make job easier for programmers and web developers. It allows writing fewer lines of codes to accomplish more than any other language would be able to.

The logic of Ruby on Rails brings forth a ‘best way’ to do things and encourage designs. Someone who has discovered the potential of Rails will love the tremendous increase in productivity and create a happy experience for both the programmer and the end user of applications.

The Ruby on Rails philosophy is based on two important elements:

1 – Don’t repeat yourself

DRY of ‘don’t repeat yourself’ explains that every piece of information must follow an unambiguous, authoritative and single representation within the system. Not having to write the same things over and over again coding gets more extensible, less buggy and more maintainable.

2 – Convention over configuration

Ruby on Rails offers several different ways to reach the same goals. All its defaults are set to this convention and programmers will not have to attend endless number of configuration files.

Installing your first ‘Rails’ framework

The first of the steps on your Ruby on Rails journey is installing the application framework. Open the command line prompt on your system (“Open Terminal App” for MAC OS users and “Run” for Windows users) and type ‘cmd.exe’. It is necessary that you verify the latest version of Ruby on Rails installed in your system. Also note that any commands that are prefaced by the $ sign must be executed in the program line.

Alternatively, MAC users can use the Tokaido tool to run Rails and Windows users can seek help of the Rails Installer.

Creating a blog application

Ruby on Rails offers several scripts called ‘generators’ that have been designed to make life easier for a developer. It creates everything necessary to begin with a Rails project. One of such tools is the ‘new application generator’ that offers the foundation of your first application without having to write codes. To be able to use this generator, users need to open a ‘terminal’ and navigate to the directory where you will be able to create files. The next step would be to type: ‘$ rails new blog’.

This command will open up a Rails application referred to as ‘Blog’ and subsequently install ‘gem directories’ mentioned in ‘Gemfile’ via the ‘bundle install’. Next step would be switching to its folder $ cd blog.

Hello Rails! You will have a functional application ready. All you need is to access the web server for your development machine. This could be run using the blog directory ‘bin/rails server.