Microspaces - The Blog

Multiple GUI's? Actually It's Obvious.

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:36:00 -0800

It just makes sense to me. And once you really think about it, it becomes apparent and obvious.

You used to not be able to run multiple progams in DOS. You had to close out of one, and open the other. What an innovation it was when you could run multiple programs. It's obvious now.

Then one day someone hooked a second monitor to my computer. I thought, well that's just obscene. Now I can barely work without multiple monitors. Of course, it's obvious.

IT departments used to run lots of apps on a server. managing service packs, and dlls. But now it's best to run a single app on a virtual server. Multiple OS's... once you understand the difference... obviously.

And a single interface. when you can have multiple GUIs. hmm. Seems rather obvious. and soon it will be to you too! (just look at the difference in the pictures below and watch this video if you want to see more)

See the full gallery on Posterous

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I lost 10% of my followers this morning

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:21:00 -0800

I just started using Twitter recently. In just the last few days I started following people who follow some of the leaders in the tech field. I built up a following of around 1000, because I want to network about business and my startup. I've already made some great contacts and had a phone call with another company about the technology.

This morning I decided to start twittering more. I posted info and a link about Microsoft BizSpark. Then I posted some nonsense about the name game song using Obama as the name. Then I replied about a kids CD I had bought. You can see my tweets here. http://twitter.com/michaelbuchanan

After doing so I noticed that my followers had dropped by about 100, or 10%. I wonder why. Was it that people don't want to follow issues or Obama(I don't like following people tweeting issues either - which it wasn't, and I'm not pro-Obama - there goes another 10%). They don't like nonsense as it's too much noise. They are not interested in reading a stream of replies... or it's the way twitter goes?

Any thoughts?

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There is a flaw

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:41:00 -0700

It's right in front of you but you don't see it. You use a computer everyday. I think it's complicated and difficult. I also thnk there's one particular reason it's so hard, but noone seems to realize what it is.

I think I know what it is. The computer makes me organize everything by file type. I keep emails in my inbox, then categorize into other folders. I keep favorites in my browser, sometimes in folders there. Spreadsheets go out the network share organized by project, My word documents are in a my documents folder(sometimes they are in my email). All my pictures are in a shared folder, and on a picture website. Videos are a video site. Program shortcuts are on the start menu. Feeds are in my reader all mixed together where I star them and save them. hmm lots of spaghetti, all knotted up...

But if I make a subtle shift to organize by topic(like a microspace), it kind of mirrors the way I think. I can put the stuff I want together. I can have relations persist and new info arrive right where it goes. I can save, and share, and search, and port, and discover, and nest, and use. I can leverage others knowledge, and make them my own.... hmm if I'm right(I think I am), it's a completely different path.

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Hello from Microspaces

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:15:00 -0700

This is an email sent today to all that signed up for the Microspaces private beta.

Hi,

It's been a while since you signed up to be part of Microspaces private beta. It was great to see such interest after the great writeup from TechCrunch. Over 400 people signed up. Sorry for the delay, I've been doing this - www.overnightapps.com

Initially the microspaces site is just a technical preview of the Nested GUI technology, and I received some very good emails and comments about the potential. Since the article, I modified Storylinez.com(a quick exmple site) to include RSS feeds and Yahoo search integration. Got a great post from Louis Gray where he asks if microspaces is the future? (http://www.louisgray.com/live/2008/09/will-future-information-consumption-be.html). I was excited to see the story have that angle, because (of course) I believe it will.

Still the interface is evolving, and there are exciting developments coming shortly... as well as 5 rollouts planned in the next few months, that will illustrate great uses and compelling applications that challenge the current norms.

Please check out the new www.microspaces.com site. It has
1) a new blog (please subscribe using the link at the top),
2) and a new support/discussion area for idea exchange and feedback (please post your thoughts and ideas)
3) and please follow me on twitter(http://www.twitter.com/michaelbuchanan) and friendfeed(http://www.friendfeed.com/michaelbuchanan).

I'll keep you up to date, and when ready, open the site for you to create, save, and share.

Thanks, Michael Buchanan

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Storylinez overview

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:53:00 -0700

Here's a quick video overview of the new site www.storylinez.com. It's a nice start to showcase some of the things you can do with the nested guis technology, and it describes a little about where the site is headed.

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Microspaces is worldwide

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:49:00 -0700

Here is a writeup at a site called 'dream Orange'. Although I took 4 years of French I can't read a word..

dream Orange

Here's the Google translation. I think it's positive :)

Translated

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Storylinez is released

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:33:00 -0700

Storylinez is now available to the public. It's a news hub site, but there's a twist. Relevant microspaces and similar stories show up throughout, so it makes it easy to see that 'There's more to the story'. Check it out at www.storylinez.com.

Louis Gray wrote a great post about it.

http://www.louisgray.com/live/2008/09/will-future-information-consumption-be.html

StartupMeme had this to say

http://startupmeme.com/storylinez-aggregates-news-using-innovative-technology...

And here are some of the screenshots Louis took.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Microspaces Technology Overview

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:23:00 -0700

This new video talks in-depth about what a microspaces is. It discusses the concept in terms of how information is organized, presented, and interacted with. These 3 parts make up what is really new and inventive.

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Microspaces in TechCrunch!

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:16:00 -0700

This was extremely exciting. Just one hour after I had sent a tip to tips at techcrunch, I had been emailed with questions, and this entire article was up. Thousands viewed the video, and almost 400 signed up for the private beta. What a kickstart from just introducing the technology.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/19/microspaces-playing-with-nested-guis

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Organize by topic, not by file type

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:10:00 -0700

While developing microspaces, I've come to quite a few conclusions. Many of them fly directly against the grain of the basic concepts of computer technology.

The first glaring problem I notice is that everything is organized by the type of file. By that I mean, program shortcuts are on the start menu, emails are in the inbox, favorites are in the browser, documents are in a my docs folders, videos are at a video sharing site, images are in a picture folder..and on. This is the problem. This is why the computer is so complicated!

It's understandable why it's this way, because it was the natural way for it to evolve, but it's now legacy. I don't think in file types. I think in topics, whatever a topic is to me. And my object oriented experience tells me, model the system the way I think.

Enter a microspace. It naturally mashes info together via a relationship I define. Now I can understand all of my data, I can think about naturally. I know where to put stuff and find stuff.

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Sample Microspaces Desktop

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:05:00 -0700

This video is about what a microspace desktop looks like. I'm really on the track of show it don't tell it. I think once everyone has seen it, and know what it is, it will be easier to talk about without the aid of a video.

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How to use a Microspace - advanced navigation

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:01:00 -0700

Advanced techniques for navigating in a microspace... including zooming, spinning and leaping.

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How to use a Microspace - basic navigation.

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:58:00 -0700

Microspaces is an innovative technology in a brand new category called a nested GUI.. It takes less than a minute to understand how a microspace works. Take a look a this video.

Only 3 things to know.

1) Hover on the title to see a preview of all the pages contained.

2) Hover on the navbar to zoom a page.

3) Hover on an item to preview. That's it.

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