How Do I Use a DIGITABLE?

And that's a wrap, #FactFeb has finished! Every day in February nsquared released a video demonstrating the power of the DIGITABLE, features that you might not have known existed in each of our 15 nsquared tabletop apps. So how do you use a DIGITABLE? Check out our final seven short videos:

Did You Know that you can change the image and number of pieces in nsquared jigsaw?

Did You Know that you can save and email an nsquared notebook?

Did You Know that you can select the page type in nsquared notebook?

Did You Know that you can select the page type in nsquared notebook?

Did You Know that you can display multiple floors of your building in nsquared rooms?

Did You Know that you can reserve a room straight from nsquared rooms?

Did You Know that you can save documents as zip files with nsquared sharing?

nsquared produces innovative multi-user software and hardware with cutting edge technology: smart tables for smart solutions. Intuitive technology with a unique user experience, each of our touch tables has been intricately designed to compliment and enhance your team work flow. Rethink the office table. With a range of touch screen meeting tables available, from smart conference tables and interactive desks to coffee touch tables, nsquared has the tools for you to transform your old workspace into a paperless office in the digital age.

Follow nsquared on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook for updates on cutting edge multi-user technology.

A Digital Table...?

Creating a unique product like a Digital Table sometimes makes it hard to explain to people what we actually do.

So, what did we do about it? We made a #digitable infographic.

nsquared produces innovative multi-user software and hardware with cutting edge technology: smart tables for smart solutions. Intuitive technology with a unique user experience, each of our touch tables has been intricately designed to compliment and enhance your team work flow. With a range of touch screen tables available from smart conference tables and interactive desks to coffee touch tables,  nsquared has the right digital experience for you.  To see what the future of work looks like, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook

The Challenge of IoT: Multi-UI Design

 This blog was written by one of our digital designers, Morgan Stokes.

Picture that you are a furniture designer and you want to make a chair and a bench. You’ve already designed the chair, can you just stretch the chair to design the bench?

The answer is no! Think of the strain that piece of wood in the middle will have to endure. You have to start again, take elements from the chair and adapt them into the bench to create a design that pleases not only the individuals on the bench, but also the gestalt; you have to consider the interactions to be had between these individuals as a result of this multi-user bench, how you want them to engage and socialise.

Following on from my blog last week on The Challenge of IoT UX: The Future of Digital Design, where I lament over the absence of quality of multi-user design discussion on the interwebs, this week I will be covering what makes good Multi-User Interface (Multi-UI) design.

As a digital designer for digital tables, my job is pivoted on the challenge of designing for multiple people. It might seem intuitive to take the UI design on your mobile and bang it onto a tabletop’s surface, but like the chair/bench analogy on steroids, that is just not possible. The thought of it makes me a little sick. The whole experience would be so individual-centric and isolate all but one person standing around the table, obliterating any hope of collaboration and discussion.

As most of us have developed anxiety around leaving the house without our phone, it is safe to say it is the phone’s interface we are most acquainted with today, and I will use it as a comparator with the multi-user table. I have divided the key differences between Good Multi-UI Design VS Good Solo-UI Design into four categories: (1) User Count, (2) Location Factors, (3) Accessibility and (4) Screen Size & Ergonomics.


(1) User count

The most obvious difference between the two devices: the physical number of people using an app. Phone’s single user screens require single user apps (duh). As we are social animals, we like to share things. Phone apps are very social media heavy and rely on messaging to communicate with friends. We are familiar with this in all our apps; the share functionality down the bottom of our News Apps, favourite websites, in fact all websites. On the flip side, table app design should encourage in-person socialising to deliver a rich social experience, leveraging the multi-user aspect of the table. This could be through having an open drawing canvas with infinitely spawnable menus to accommodate however many users are surrounding a table.

(2) Location Factors

The hardware itself is a hugely significant driver for design. One device is meant to go everywhere, the other is rooted in one specific space. Geo-location allows apps like RunKeeper or Snapchat to offer very specific detailed data customised features for its users. The Age of Context by Scoble & Israel outlines how our personal devices are increasingly able to anticipate our every move as they learn about us. Likewise, a table that is situated in a shopping centre can offer very specific navigation tools, or offer deals for nearby stores, especially as devices become more aware of one another.

(3) Accessibility

The privacy of a mobile versus the privacy offered by a public table is very different. This is especially important to understand because apps which are on your phone might not translate as an app onto the table. You would certainly not want to be banking on a digital table. Similarly, entertainment apps function differently on a shared device. Watching a YouTube video on your phone takes advantage of the single-user nature of the mobile, while a multi-user game will bring people together to create a social form of entertainment on the table.

Phone apps are specifically designed to deal with private micro-tasks, whereas table apps strengths lie in bringing people together to begin discussions. Because of the open accessibility of the table with a chance for a high number of amateur users, apps must be easy to learn (“intuitive”) and immediately understood.

(4) Screen Size & Ergonomics

The most exciting of the difference between these two devices, in my opinion, is the opportunity presented to the UX/UI designer by the sheer size of the screens. Design is the creative exploitation of constraint, and that constraint is especially constrained in the tiny little mobile screen. For the mobile, apps must designed to be used single handed (factoring in portrait or landscape mode) with thumb accessible buttons and simple and manageable navigation tools. A table, on the other hand, has an expansive screen for many hands and endless possibilities. The constraints are somewhat considerably relieved. The complexity of gestures able to be recognised is enormous - imagine whole hand swipes, five finger pinches, TWENTY FINGER APP MITOSIS.

Because of the expansive, horizontal nature of the table, however, apps must also have 360 multi-user usability, with the ability to be rotated, scaled and moved as the user desires. Believe it or not, apps being too far away are often a problem in tabletop UI design. Ways to get around this could include a tap-and-hold feature to bring apps closer to you, or a fist pound in the corner to slant the UI and make the app ‘roll’ toward you.


Redesigning the chair into the bench is the challenge that I try to tackle everyday, but Multi-UI Design is just one challenge presented by the IoT.  The above is just a guide as to what our research at nsquared has revealed, and my goal here is to inspire more discussion around how to make Multi-UI great. If you want, please check out our website or visit one of our social media channels to keep in touch.

Introducing the DIGITABLE PLUS

 

The DIGITABLE PLUS is the ultimate in meeting space technology

Multi-user technology is the next step in technology. This has been the unshakeable vision of nsquared for the past eight years.

Collaboration is a powerful  agent for productivity. Well-designed modern workplaces have ‘anchor points’ to encourage planned and unplanned meetings. These are key to encouraging and harnessing creative team thinking and organisational innovation. 

Eight years of research, one year of meticulous designing and six months of solid perspiring has led us to the point where we are today.

And today, we are excited to announce, marks the launch of our newest and best digital table to date: the DIGITABLE PLUS.

The DIGITABLE PLUS has been designed to be the ultimate ‘anchor point’. Researched, designed, prototyped, and tested to within an inch of our lives here at nsquared. We are excited to announce that it is now available to purchase for your workplace to get your collective juices flowing. Start having truly productive meetings. Work. Together. Better.

To learn more, watch the video below and send us an inquiry at info@nsquaredsolutions.com.

For updates on digital tables and multi-user technology, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

Activity Based Working: The Future of The Office

 The Ogilvy & Mather Office has a variety of places to work Picture: Future of Work

The Office has seen a number of transformations over the past thirty years. The cubicle farm of the 1980s, fraught with privacy issues and distractions, eventually broke down its walls to make people feel more accessible and lessen these distractions. The detest of the cubicle farm led to its exact opposite, the open plan office. Just destroying the cubicle walls as a solution for distracted employees and a lack of transparency meant a number of new flaws itself. Studies have shown that people (especially introverts) find the open plan office can actually hinder or intimidate lowering productivity and teamwork, and more often than not, other people are a significant source of distraction.

    

The approach to the office space of 2015, which has been favoured by nimble startups such as Dropbox and even huge corporations such as Google, is the idea of ‘Activity Based Working’ (ABW). ABW is a style of working which is team-oriented and allows for a significant degree of flexibility for workers. There is no fixed desk for any individuals, who position themselves wherever they like within the office depending on their preference and work from laptops. 

    

Why are office architects designing in this way? Steven Hodder, president of the Riba and chairman of Hodder and Partners Architects, put it this way - "The idea that the desk is a unit of productivity is changing very, very rapidly. Your productivity is not measured by the amount of time you sit behind a thing called a desk. It is what you do. It is about your output.”

Open, fluid spaces means people can sit themselves where they would like depending on their mood that day: stressful project due tomorrow? Private booth it is today. Creative brainstorming of a product needed? The beanbags near the kitchen it is. 

   

This concept of ABW is beginning to be more freely accessible as technology progresses: we are no longer confined to landlines plugged into a single person’s desk. Computer software means the same level of communication can easily be achieved wherever a person has their laptop. 

When you go to ABW, however, you lose the idea of 'your own space' in the office: having your pictures on your wall, your snacks in your desk drawer, your favourite pens on your desk. In ABW, you personalise your environment to suit your personality. This is a look beyond technology which often, and mistakenly so, mediates communications. Going to a pure digital world is often a fallacy, and overlooks the joy we get from physical spaces and objects, which is why the importance of human interaction is so vital to the modern office. 

   
And so, most importantly, this kind of fluid space takes full advantage of a team atmosphere by providing designated spaces for interaction and collaboration. As Steven Hodder put it, “there are great stories of researchers having incidental space and just bumping into one another and having ideas.” Anchor points, for planned or accidental meetings, are key to harnessing and encouraging innovative team thinking. Collaborative technology like digital tables are designed specifically for this purpose, to achieve a real, dynamic and interactive activity based work space, to enhance collaboration and communication instead of controlling it. 
  
 ABW is an exciting next step for offices moving to a social, collaborative approach to work. AB provides more productive employees, which is good for business, and happier, more satisfied employees meaning a better outcome for everyone.  
  
 To learn more about collaborative technology, visit nsquaredsolutions.com or follow nsquared on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Users collaborate on a DIGITABLE PLUS

How Do You Emotionally Engage Your Audience?

 

Windows Hello uses Iris detection technology source: Mashable.com

Humans are animals. Sure, we have a consciousness that our primate counterparts might be lacking but we are still driven by instinct. We still have no control over our emotions.  Our emotion is what drives our behaviour - and it is for this reason why brands need to consider engaging on a deeper, emotional level if they really want to reach their audience meaningfully.

Engagement involves understanding what your audience wants, grabbing and sustaining attention and keeping ideas simple. But emotional engagement is a whole step up from this.

So how can brands meaningfully engage with audiences? There are many different ways, dependent on both brands and audience.

Microsoft has focused their energy on creating a more personal computing experience for their customers. Recently, this has involving the release the Windows Hello. Windows Hello means your computer or device is able to recognise your fingerprints, face or iris. As well as enhancing peace-of-mind by significantly improving security, the device becomes a highly personal and personalised piece of technology. Windows Hello authenticates applications, enterprise content and customises online experiences. The technology adapts to the user instead of the other way around.

Microsoft is a great example of the application of technology into peoples lives to impact them beneficially. With beneficial impact comes emotional engagement. As technology becomes increasingly sophisticated and the digital and physical worlds meet on the edge, this beneficial impact becomes more of a possibility.

This edge of the physical and digital world is an exciting step for engagement as brands have the opportunity to talk back to people. A static marketing brochure can suddenly become an exciting choose-your-own video journey, chosen through an immersive touch screen. Interactive media is up to 41% more emotionally engaging than regular static media. This is because people treat interactive media like a person, we suspend our disbelief of the virtual world and brand messages becomes a two-way, dynamic conversation.

Digital tables are the result of advancements in technology; delighting, engaging, two-way interaction. The digital table is a phenomenon because, unlike other forms of technology, it is designed for many people at once. Multi-user interaction means conversations happen in-person with friends and family, creating deeper emotional engagement. This is because as we interact, chat, share and laugh, we unconsciously draw these emotional connections.

The gradual meeting of the digital world with the physical world, with more personalised computing and the application of technology to enhance peoples lives, represents an exciting step in user interaction and emotional brand engagement.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter to learn more about digital tables or other emotionally engaging multi-user solutions.

 

Users interact on a digital table

 

Microsoft Surface Hub: New Collaborative Technology

Collaboration is increasingly being recognised as a powerful agent of productivity. We are told to have a laugh with coworkers and to help coworkers integrate into company culture to better retain staff. This is great because it's better for everyone: we get to have fun and the company gets more productive employees.

Image: Microsoft

This week Microsoft announced the launch of the Surface Hub, a collaborative tool to increase productivity for business meetings. While we at nsquared have been going on about the benefits of collaboration since 2008 (in fact, our whole organisation is built on the power of collaboration), this announcement shows the power of multi-user technology is beginning to be recognised, and on such a huge scale too. 

Microsoft is said to have billed it as a "large-screen collaboration device" which will automatically sync with OneNote, have an endless whiteboard for team brainstorming, as well as a number of large-screen apps. The device will be available in either a 55- or enormous 84-inch screen, and will be mounted vertically like a television. With Microsoft starting to take orders in just three weeks from 24 markets around the world, Microsoft's vision for the collaborative meeting space is truly at our doorsteps.

It is exciting to see steps forward in the collaborative sphere as the technology nsquared has been pioneering gets recognised as forerunners in this field. While a wall-mounted touch screen is great, there are of course limitations: Standing and arm fatigue means the meeting times would have a short life span. Only one or two people can interact with the screen at one time (in one physical location) means that annotating and brainstorming is limited to those at the front. nsquared technology specifically addresses these problems with our 360 degree immersive and inclusive DIGITABLE range. The DIGITABLE already has potential to share from tabletop to screen to create an immersive environment. Imagine the potential of the engaging conference capabilities of Microsoft Hub in combination with the collaborative interactivity of the DIGITABLE.

Users interact on an nsquared DIGITABLE

The future of meetings has arrived. While Microsoft may have taken a while to get here, we embrace new, intelligent technology that has real potential to improve peoples lives. If you would like to learn more about our collaborative DIGITABLES, or other intelligent business solutions, click on the respective links or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Have a collaborative week!

Introducing the DIGITABLE

We have had an exciting past few months at nsquared. We launched a whole new and improved interface with radialshell. We had the chance to attend the Easter Show with our friends from Lockyer Valley. Neil was a speaker at the Corning Realising the Vision symposium. We are constantly updating and improving our software; over 30 multi-user apps, that keeps us busy non-stop. Also we have had a number of great new members join our growing team.

Now, we are excited to announce, we are launching the DIGITABLE.

The DIGITABLE is a collaborative tool that combines leading edge, award winning technology, carefully crafted to encourage greater productivity in meetings. This product is now available at an incredible price, learn more here.

We have launched a new video with our friends from Haworth to walk through the DIGITABLE - check it out below!

This is the start of an exciting new range of tables nsquared is developing specifically aimed at increasing productivity in meetings. Work Together Better. Stay tuned for more announcements soon.

Welcome to nsquared

 

nsquared is a small, devoted team of tech & design heads based in Sydney, Australia that all believe in one thing: more collaboration and sharing will improve our lives. For this reason, we spend our lives working with and trying to harness cutting edge technology, whether it be digital tables or Microsoft Kinect, in order to help bring people together.

We also realise that it is a good idea to take a step back to remember why you are really doing things sometimes. This week we launched a new Introduction to nsquared video to help explain our vision to the world - have a look and let us know what you think! Conversation is what we love best.

Wrapping Up The Easter Show

After nearly two weeks of fun, and swollen from showbag goodness, yesterday nsquared wrapped up our time at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. What were we doing there? Lockyer Valley Regional Council was looking for an engaging display to set them apart from the mass of stands, and we were there to give them the solution they were looking for. We provided our friends at Lockyer Valley with one of our digitables complete with a range of nsquared apps and the response was overwhelming.

 As Australia's largest annual event, the Show had a huge turnout, nearly 900,000 people passed through its gates this year. Based on the rate of people coming through the Lockyer Valley stand, we would guess a large portion of Showgoers got their fingers on our digitable too. To demonstrate the great response we had, here are some estimates from our time at the Show:

4,420 pairs of cards matched in nsquared Snap

2,300 words made in nsquared Makewords

11,220 animals counted in nsquared Herding

254 masterpieces painstakingly composed in nsquared Paint

7,560 beautiful photographs and videos of Lockyer Valley scrolled through and engaged with on our nsquared Attractor app

Such a fantastic turnout with great feedback from both old and new friends is exciting for the whole nsquared team. It's always great to see new people collaborating and connecting on a table together. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

Sydney Royal Easter Digitable Show

 

There is no doubt about it, roaming the swathes of booths at the Sydney Royal Easter Show makes you feel like a little kid again. All the food, rides, noise, lollies, smells, food processing units… it's as if the Show hit Ctrl+C from your memory and pasted itself straight into Olympic Park. This year there is something new, however, something you might not be expecting…

Lockyer Valley has decided to add an exciting immersive element to their display. Instead of a standard PowerPoint scrolling in the background, the folk at Lockyer Valley have put one of nsquared's digitables at the centre of their stand. An exciting bit of technology to make anyone feel like a kid again, Lockyer Valley are using nsquared apps to draw in the crowds. A fun interactive display of photos, on our nsquared attractor app, of life in Lockyer Valley, enables the crowds can flip through images at their leisure. Lockyer Valley has also included a collection of immersive farm games to keep the hoards of kids busy; nsquared paint, nsquared makewords, nsquared herding, and nsquared snap.  Check out the photos from the first day of the event. If you're at the Easter Show this year be sure to come say hi and check out our digitable! 

The Sydney Royal Easter Show gets collaborating

It's that time of year again! The Sydney Royal Easter Show is back and bigger than ever! Joining the excitement this year will be our client Lockyer Valley Regional Council. Lockyer Valley is a major hub for agriculture in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range near Toowoomba in Queensland and they are here to show off their delicious goods.

Lockyer Valley Regional Council has decided to include nsquared's tabletop software on a digital table to show off their region with an immersive display. They will be using our software developed right here in Sydney to display all the rich and diverse produce coming out of their region. The applications they have chosen to run include nsquaredattractor, nsquaredpaint, nsquaredmakewords, nsquaredherding, and nsquaredsnap.

Come and see us at the Home Garden and Lifestyle arena at the Sydney Royal Easter Show between the 26th of March and 8th of April to get the full nsquared experience!

Our new and improved interface

2015 has seen the release of  nsquared's new radial shell. Integrating web, documents, and content sharing has allowed multiple users to collaborate and share, all at the same time, on the same screen.

We noticed that users wanted to run multiple apps at once, as apposed to a single purpose app. Now with our redesigned interface, you can browse the web and present content simultaneously.

See how Sydney's Novotel, Darling Harbour is using nsquared radial shell

If you want to get hands on with nsquared's radial shell, get in contact with us and find out if there is a location near you that has already started using nsquared's new radial shell.

Collaborating with Microsoft Office files has never been easier

nsquared documents is excellent for bringing content to your meetings. Gather your team around your nsquared digitable and discuss information stored in your Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint files. Your files can easily be explored on the table from the network or a USB drive. Make nsquared documents your focus point at meetings. Get your team or clients engaging with the content and collaborating together.

nsquared documents enables:

1. Support for most common Microsoft Office file formats
2. Simultaneous multi-user exploration of file content
3. Access to files on the network or a USB drive

To find out more check out the product video here. 

Did you know that we are creating a new content pack every month?

We have a dedicated software development team here at nsquared who create a new and exciting content pack on a monthly basis. These content packs are made for our educational and games applications: nsquared makewords, nsquared herding, nsquared snap, nsquared missing card, and nsquared jigsaw.

Each month we send our existing clients a notification advising them of the new content pack. Additionally, customers have the option to create content packs themselves using nsquared's online education admin portal.

Here is a quick synopsis of these applications:

• nsquared makewords: promote collaboration and competition by teaching your students how to spell.
• nsquared snap: a fantastic exercise for the classroom to get young minds thinking and their memory working.
• nsquared herding: a multi-user game that teaches object recognition and counting.
• nsquared missing card: help students solve maths problems using this pattern-matching game.
• nsquared jigsaw: get the students working together to put the pieces back together.

Get your students excelling with our latest content pack, 'Difficult Animals'!

If engaging your students is important to you, contact us for more details on 02 9262 3386.

nsquared's new meeting room table

The Porter is Sydney's exclusive business lounge, located in the CBD. We're very excited to announce that our new meeting room table is now part of their lounge space as of this week. Members are free to use the table as a collaborative tool in their meetings to increase productivity and engagement.

Our vision is to enable you to gather with your team and work as one. Why not see for yourself by leaving your personal devices and print outs behind and experience the difference in engagement first hand?

 At nsquared we believe the actions involved in a meeting are made more efficient when using a digital table.

Here are the benefits we have already discovered while communicating around our digital table:

• Collaborating. Working with the content as well as the people is a crucial part of any meeting. 
• Brainstorming. Solving problems, creating solutions, and conceptualising ideas has never been easier with the use of a digital table.
• Presenting. Creating presentations and integrating other digital devices has become seamless.
• Sharing. Sharing media and documents with your team can be done with the touch of a finger.

Want to see the latest nsquared digitable in action?

Contact us for a demo

02 9262 3386

@digitabletweets

Get collaborating with interactive meetings

How important do you think collaboration is? We've noticed that our personal devices have been leading us in the wrong direction when it comes to engaging in meetings. They give off a sense of solitude and seclusion.

Why not turn presentations into collaborative meetings? Get your clients or colleagues engaging with the content rather than just presenting it to them. Keep their attention by creating an emotional attachment between themselves and the information you're presenting.

Occasionally people with outstanding presentation skills can keep us focused on the content. Most of us are not great orators and need a lot of help to keep our audience engaged.  However when you are involved in working together as a team, you find that you stay focused for longer. The benefit of keeping people engaged is that everyone participates and remains focused on the content being discussed. The conversation becomes something that the participants will recall even when the meeting is over.

Get your hands on a digital table and watch your meetings become a lot more affective and concise. Leave your isolating meetings in the past and get collaborating on an nsquared digitable!

This year, make time for the important things

At this time of year we often think about setting new goals and resolutions, and how this year will be better than the last.

We at nsquared believe that we need to use our time efficiently throughout the day. During meetings our minds can be easily led astray and attention can be lost by distractions on our personal devices.

To have efficient and engaging meetings, you need to think about how people are interacting and engaging with each other as well as the content.

There are a number of things you can do to help people put their devices away. Here are a few tips and hints that we live by:

• Interesting Content. One of the easiest ways to keep people focused is to feed them content that keeps their ears open and wanting more.  

• Personal devices are forbidden. These are high contenders of worst distractions to have at meetings. Take it from the pros, and leave your tablets, phones and laptops at your desk next time you go to a meeting.  

• Invest in an nsquared digitable. We've managed to keep our meetings exciting by getting our team collaborating and engaging around a digital table. With a digital table, you can be assured that all eyes will be focused on the same content, and interaction levels will go through the roof.