Jag U Are XF

Entry 10, Due 11.20.2014
Terra System
Ghirardellalalalali Galaxy
Star Command! Hi!

In this blog entry we will be talking about the Jaguar XF, a car I have experienced in person. And boy, is it a beaut.

You might be asking, "Dang, how did you encounter that?" Truthfully, I didn't just run into one. I drove one. And it is everything you and I would hope that it is. It is a piece of art and a thing of beauty. Where to start? 

XF, baby!

Let's start with the exterior. Look at them curves. They are absolutely gorgeous. Smooth and pristine as can be. Now look at the brakelights. Those scream class to me. Or obnoxious, depending on who you ask! Now look at those tires. Shiny chrome. Mmm. The only downside is that the engine is so big. It's a V8 so it packs a punch. This means you have to house said engine, and this requires the driver to inch the car out a little more than he/she may be used to. But on the bright side you get to go fast. Like really fast.

The inside of the baby. A literal baby.

Now let's look at the interior. I can speak from experience using this car, so if a description doesn't make sense, I apologize. I love the steering wheel. It feels great in the hands and is incredibly responsive. It also has paddle shifters (like in racecars) if you're a fan of manual shifting versus automatic. Additionally, the gear shifter is not a stick like you're used to - it's a little circle that you can direct left to right to point to the desired gear (L2, D, R, etc, my terminology may be off). It's really handy but a bit slippery at times, so that could cause problems. Moreover, there are heated seats, a navigation system, and seat shifters. They're all so useful and desirable! However, the navigation system is pretty buggy and not responsive at times. It violates so many user heuristics it's not even funny. It's not intuitive at all. Even my father, who works for Jaguar (or as the Brits say, Jag U Are), says it needs a ton of work.

 

With that image posted, bask in it. Aw yeah. Also, did I mention 0-60 in like three seconds?

Laundryview

Entry 9, Due 11.13.2014
Terra System
Lindt (I'm really running out of candies) Galaxy
Star Command Went Full Darth Vader and Abandoned Luke :(

Ryan Maas here! I'm here today to talk to you about Laundryview! With three payments of only $19.99 you can enjoy this incredibly useful product! It's better than OxiClean! (Catch my drift?)

Take a look at the site.

Yay Laundryview!

It's everything students need. And that's what it is designed for. It is simple and to the point, and doesn't try to accomplish more than it needs to. It simply tells you the current availability of washers and dryers in each hall/building. This prevents the hassle of walking to your nearest laundry room and finding everything to be taken. I can't stress enough how much time it saves.

Moreover, the solution actually looks nice. It's easy on the eyes and unobtrusive. There's no annoying ads or fancy jQuery functions when you hover over some random element. The navbar is situated right where your eyes hope it should be. The color scheme matches that of Furman for the most part - aside from the yellow - so hooray for school pride? Additionally, there's functionality that allows you to see how much time remains for a given washer or dryer if it is being used. That's something I've always wanted for my washer and dryer at home, and I've got it here, so you could say things are getting pretty serious. 

360 is Greater Than One

Entry 8, Due 11.6.2014
Terra System
Yoohoo (OMG A CHOCOLATE DRINK) Galaxy
Star Command Doesn't Even Read My Blogs

Hey look, I can do math (barely). But what do those numbers mean? Ah, yes, I'm referring to the design of the Xbox 360 controller versus that of the new Xbox One. You know, the "improved" version of the 360 controller. Microsoft surely meant inferior. They had to have!

So what made the Xbox 360 controller so great? Well, take a look.

1337 quickscoped

It is ergonomic in shape and the functions of each area are clearly defined. Heck, there's labels above the "Start" and "Select" buttons. Additionally, the joysticks are super smooth, especially if you "wear" them in (like you would a baseball mitt). They just feel right. Moreover, the whole controller layout is comfortable in your hands. You don't have to stretch any fingers to do anything. Plus, the materials that make up the controller are perfect. It's a pretty solid plastic (I think) that doesn't feel scratchy on your hands like some materials do (hello Macbooks). Add in the color coding for button functionality, and you have a piece of hardware that, combined with software, seems quite intuitive.

Now contrast the 360 controller with that of the new Xbox One.

I'm cool guys, I promise.

The first striking difference, besides color, is the angularity of the controller. What once was smooth has become a little rough and angular. Personally, I'm not a fan of this and I think it doesn't look natural.  It doesn't feel natural either, which is the most important thing for a gaming controller. The areas around the joysticks are also inverted as well - what once had rings that rose towards the joysticks now has bevels instead. I'm indifferent towards this change because I don't think the inversion presents much change to the user experience. However, the elimination of text on the controller and fully colored buttons are major changes. From my perspective, it seems likely that Microsoft - shooting for simplicity - may contribute to new users not knowing which button is the start or select button. Unlikely, but it is possible. Additionally, I wonder what effect the elimination of colored buttons has on users. There is a population of colorblind users that use Xbox so it is possible that their experience may be slightly more complicated now, but I'm no expert. I personally don't think that such a change was desirable. However, I will state that the material design of the Xbox logo is a nice touch. Scratch that, it's an amazing touch.