BMW R1250 GS Display

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Many BMW boxer hours have been logged here at the bivouac, but the 2019 BMW R1250 Adventure represents a serious step forward in development and refinement. Even coming from the world of the superlative K1600GT, the new telematics and interface options for 2019 seem leaps and bounds ahead.

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With a crisp and bold Thin-Film-Transistor (or TFT) display, BMW has upped both the functionality and legibility of their displays and they are making them standard across many more models this year. With robust integration of phone features, including playing audio and providing turn-by-turn navigation prompting, plus a slew of adjustability and informational displays about any given bike setting, this seems like a must-have feature that quite a bit of design effort and development has gone into.

Significant Redesign: The 2019 GSA has a redesigned boxer engine with shift cam technology and a revised powerful TFT display.

Heads Up: The TFT display has been designed for easy access to information and glanceability and configuration.

Clearly Ahead: The display technology works across a variety of lighting contexts.

Building on the Past: A fond view at the bivouac, the K1600GT’s configurable display is still solid but is starting to age. In its initial instantiation, the clocks always had legibility issues which were addressed to some degree with a refresh. Any such issues on the GS line have been clearly solved with the new the R1250GSA instrumentation.

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Information Visualization: The Impact of War

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Although it has been around for a while, The Fallen of World War II does a fine job of visualizing the number of lives lost during the conflict. It is always sobering to see the scope of the war visualized, and pieces like this help us to remain ever mindful of those who sacrificed or lost their lives in a civilian context so that the relative peace we have today is not taken for granted.

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Ground Control to Major Tom

Reentry: An Orbital Simulator is a captivating and immersive video game that allows players to experience the intricate challenges of guiding a spacecraft through Earth's atmosphere and safely landing it. This simulator provides a realistic and educational environment where players can test their skills in controlling spacecraft during the crucial phase of reentry and landing.

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The game places a strong emphasis on physics and accuracy, making it a valuable tool for both space enthusiasts and budding aerospace engineers. Players can gain insights into the complexities of reentry, orbital mechanics, and the precise timing required for a successful landing. Reentry: An Orbital Simulator not only offers a thrilling gaming experience but also serves as an engaging educational platform for understanding the intricacies of space travel and reentry.

AI-enhanced article

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Danny Goodman's Macintosh Handbook

Many fond memories of shaping early interaction design courses in 1993 persist here at the bivouac. I was fortunate to enter the field at a time when computing had matured just enough to become accessible to a broader range of creatives. I was also lucky to teach both introductory and advanced courses in computer visualization.

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For the introductory course, I relied upon Danny Goodman’s excellent Macintosh Handbook Featuring System 7. Bringing together Danny Goodman and Richard Saul Wurman, this publication was and remains an exceptional example of accessible and visually delightful educational material. The illustrations are clear and inviting, and they demystified the breakthrough technology on offer from Apple at the time. For other inspirational publications, check out the bivouac’s list of design-related readings. Overall, Danny Goodman’s Macintosh Handbook remains an outstanding exemplar of explicit and inspirational instructional reference material. It passes the test of time in a fast-moving technical context. For a first-hand account of what went into creating the publication, visit Nathan Shedroff’s site article.

The book is innovative in other ways as well. Information and terms are supplemented with hypertext-like cross-references to related content in different book sections. This is an excellent reminder of the heady days of the dawn of the Macintosh and the promise of newly accessible computing for all creatives to enjoy. The publication visuals mimic the Macintosh operating system visuals, including a “finder” menu along the top of many pages, to further demystify the new world of Apple technology.

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