Accusoft's Blog

If you’ve been keeping up with technology, you may have heard the term Natural User Interface, or NUI. Its use in marketing material has somewhat blurred the definition of it, but it’s probably best described by stating the term’s objective, which is to allow humans to interact with computers using instinctive, or natural, elements. The success of any NUI can be measured by the amount of time a user can move from being a novice to an expert. The best designs will require little to no learning by the user to effectively interact with the computer. Pinch to zoom and panning with your fingers on a touch screen are a good example.

Now that the stuffy definitions are out of the way, we can talk about what NUI really means to us. Since the early days of computing, humans have been abstracted away from the computer by peripherals like keypunch machines, keyboards and mice. The use of these devices cannot be considered “natural” to a human being. Afterall, Mavis Beacon has made a killing from teaching people how to type. A natural user interface aims to eliminate this layer of abstraction. To do this well is not simple. It requires the use of both hardware and software to enable the computer to constantly monitor its interaction environment, and recognize the input it’s being given by the human user. Effectively, we need to teach the computer “how to type.”

Read more to see how several devices have emerged to take on the NUI challenge, including Microsoft.

Visual Studio Magazine has awarded Accusoft two Reader Choice Awards for ImageGear for .NET and Barcode Xpress for 2012.

“We’re honored to once again be recognized by Visual Studio Magazine for our image processing and barcode SDKs,” said Jack Berlin, President of Accusoft. “ImageGear and Barcode Xpress have been staples of our organization and I’m excited to see them continue to receive such accolades.”

ImageGear for .Net, awarded the Reader’s Choice Silver Medal, is an imaging sdk with ASP.NET HTML5 controls that can be used to display images and thumbnails of over 100 different file formats including Microsoft Office formats and PDF files.

Barcode Xpress, awarded the Reader’s Choice Bronze Medal, is a barcode sdk for 1D and 2D barcode recognition, writing and reading.

Accusoft has received several Readers Choice awards from Visual Studio Magazine dating back to 2003 when ImagXpress won. 

The Visual Studio Magazine Readers Choice Awards are based on the responses of hundreds of select VSM subscribers. The online ballot, which was compiled by the editors of Visual Studio Magazine, included more than 400 products. 

The full list of winners is highlighted in the November 2012 issue of Visual Studio Magazine. Visit Visual Studio Magazine to see the full list.