COLLEGE PARK, Md., Jan. 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- DateLens, a unique calendar interface for PCs and Pocket PCs developed at the University of Maryland is now available for free download. The DateLens application is designed for easy use and to work seamlessly with Outlook and ActiveSync utilizing an animated fisheye representation of dates coupled with compact overviews and integrated search. This innovative application allows users to view several months at once and to easily navigate through their calendar without getting lost. DateLens is the latest of many original, innovative products developed by Ben Bederson and his colleagues in the university's Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (HCIL).
"DateLens provides an interface that uses the same source code to execute on multiple devices -- such as Pocket PC, Tablet PC and the desktop. They have different processor types, different display resolutions and radically different interaction models," said Bederson.
"Our efforts to bring this new calendar tool to PDA users has been greatly aided by our collaboration with Microsoft," said Bederson. "By working closely with Mary Czerwinski at Microsoft Research, we were able to conduct a study that showed precisely where DateLens provided benefits over the more traditional calendaring approach."
"And that collaboration has laid the ground work for a new three-year collaboration between the University of Maryland and Microsoft Corp. in the area of human-computer interaction design."
Bederson noted that the university recently dedicated a new Microsoft Center for Interaction Design and Visualization at the HCIL. The center is being supported with a three-year, $1 million grant from Microsoft. "Professor Bederson and his team at the University of Maryland HCI Lab exemplify a refreshing balance between unrestrained research exploration, and elegant software engineering," said John SanGiovanni, Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Research. "These proficiencies, together with a deep fluency of Microsoft platform technologies provide a great foundation for this exciting three-year collaborative research partnership."
The desktop version of DateLens is available for free from the university at
http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/datelens/. A Pocket PC version is being marketed through Windsor Interfaces, Inc. (
http://www.windsorinterfaces.com/), a start up company created by Bederson and HCIL colleagues.
For more information, go to
http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil and
http://www.research.microsoft.com/.
01-28-2004, 09:49 AM
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