Category Archives: Haplab

It´s a wrap. Merry Xmas from HapLab!

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The Grande Finale

We will humbly thank all participants, customers, students and supporters. These new deliverables will finalize the HapLab as a project within Aalto University.

  • The HapLab report II is available here in English, and in Finnish.
  • The eTextbook report has been published in English as a shortened version. Available here, the Finnish version is here.
  • The pedagogic HapLab app has reached the Apple Store.
    Available here for iPhone, (sry no tablet- nor Android version at this time).

HapLab project manager Harri Heikkilä will start as a researcher in The Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (Tieteellisten Seurain Valtuuskunta) in an Electronic Book Platforms -Project 2.1.2017. New plans for research and dev. on touch screens and on eReading are forming up. See the end of the report II.  Further info: Harri Heikkilä +358 400 214724, harri.heikkila@aalto.fi

 

Aalto Studios 2017

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Time to move on.

We have packed up our Arabia facilities on December 16th 2016 and joined Media Centre Lume in building a new, ambitious initiative and facility at the Aalto campus in Otaniemi during the next years. While this was made public some time ago, we didn’t yet have a name to go by. Now we do.

We call ourselves Aalto Studios.

To stay up to date, make a note of studios.aalto.fi, where we’ll build up more information on what we are aiming for, and how we’re starting to plan it together with you.

And be sure to like our New Facebook Page to get the latest behind-the-scenes view on our relocation and reignition for 2017!

Creating Interfaces for the Future

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ARTS_HSL (4)Ubiquitous network society will be built on touch screens. They are everywhere, not only in smartphones but in cameras, in watches… and even in trams and omnibuses. Therefore it is crucial to understand the specific design patterns and good practices in developing user interfaces for them.

That was the topic of two week Touch screen -workshop at IX-course of Aalto ART´s Design department with AMF HapLab

ARTS_HSL (10)

During that time four groups of students assessed the current UI of Helsinki City Transport (HSL) ticketing device and created five suggestions for the better interface using touch screen heuristic model. Our cooperation partner HSL provided the actual devices for the lab, briefed us on the ticketing system requirements and is currently evaluating the outcomes for the future use.

Outcomes were delivered as usability reports and found problems were targeted as five fully functional interactive mockups for the device.

Course home page at MyCourses

 

ARTS_HSL (5)

Cloudshelf is a promising, modern and multiplatform ePUB-reader

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CloudshelfBluefire has just released Cloudshelf, an iOS-version of Readium SDK -based ereader program for ePUBs. Android versions and browser support are coming this summer. Why is this a big thing? Because there really has been a lack of modern multiplatform reader.  Modern means that it can handle ePUB 3, Fixed lay-out ePUB (FXL), Media Overlays, Audio, Video, JavaScript interactivity, animation, etc.

In our initial testing, even FXL directly from InDesign (CC 2015) worked flawlessly. Cloudself is a program to keep the eye on. Perhaps the future ereading projects may find this platform as an interesting option to recommend and even build on.

Link to Appstore:
https://appsto.re/fi/OJes7.i

Readium is an OpenSource Tech for EPUB 3 and the Open Web platform. Initiated by IDPF and architected to work on any modern (HTML5) browser.
FAQ: http://readium.org/about/faq

Bluefire is a maker of Bluefire reader (iOS, Android, Windows) one of the most popular eReaders capable of handling Adobe DRM
http://www.bluefirereader.com/white-label-platform.html

News source:
http://readium.org/news/bluefire-releases-readium-based-cloudshelf-reader-app

 

The Italian Connection

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italöia

Haplab and ARTS have recently improved their visibility in the Italian peninsula

  • The largest Italian library magazine Biblioteche Oggi published just our article on social reading – in Italian.
  • Italian tech provider and publishing startup Pubcoder interviewed Harri Heikkilä in their blog because the coop at Publishing for Emerging Platforms -MA course at ARTS. We tested Pubcoder-application, assessed it and gave a comprehensive list of suggestions how to further improve the program and the UI.

Haplab visited Paris Book Fair 16–18.3.2016

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Highlights from digital point of view:

  • The sixth ebook barometer has been published
    • 28% of Frenchmen have a dedicated e-reading device
    • 29%  read the same ebook with different devices
    • 20% of Frenchmen have read ebooks
  • All french books from last century will be published as free ePUBs, if title not commercially available
    • There is a legislation to support this. Name of the project is ReLire and publishing is managed by a company called FeniXX
  • Marlin-based new DRM-scheme for ebooks called DADC is claimed to be easier for customer then Adobe DRM

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s0qwek422hictr2/Paris2016SalondLivre_hh2.pdf?dl=0

You could buy an ebook also on USB-stick.

You could buy an ebook also on USB-stick.

Touch the touchables of the past and present

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Introducing new acquisitions at HapLab eReading PettingZoo: Rocket eBook of 1998 (pic) and Plastic Logic 100, a 10,7 ” e-ink textbook device from 2011.  Rocket by Nuvomedia was perhaps the first dedicated e-book reader in the world, it sported a 5.4″ monochrome display and was able to contain 40 books! Plastic Logic was considered to be a future of textbooks. High resolution and pleasant to read. Both well ahead of their times. Come & see test yourselves!

Recent acquisitions include also:

  • Kindle DX Graphite (DXG) 2010 –Kindle with 9,7″ screen and free 3G access
  • Kindle 1 (K1) 2007 The rare original Kindle with interesting navigation system
  • Leia Media 2013, Finnish prototype, 10,7 ” e-ink -device with solar panel. Three versions.
  • Kindle Voyage  Wifi (KV) 2014, premium e-reader with Carta-screen
  • iPad Pro 12,9″ with pen 2016

RocketBook

HapLab-app in the works!

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Johannes Neumeier (left), the student of the Publishing design for the emerging platforms -course at Aalto ARTS discusses the app interface with Jun Li and Antti Sihlman from Neonto Studio (link: https://neonto.com). The native app will be published in summer 2016 and it is targeted to designers and publishers who are interested in good practices of touch screen UIs.


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