The Original Live Tile: Day 21
When Windows Phone 7 was released late in the fall of 2010, it showed a new direction of Microsoft's core design strategy. A major part of this was live tiles. They now appear in Windows 8, WP8, and Xbox Start Screens. Back at its announcement, dynamically updating boxes on a screen showing you the latest data available to the app seemed like a whole new idea...but was it? Many might point to Android's widget ability, included by Google since version 1.0, two years prior in 2008. Even though I don't see this a direct descendant to the Live Tiles, there is a software platform that included updating tiles on a homescreen since 2006. There is a good chance you even own one of these devices: The Nintendo Wii. Yes, that's right. During my research on this topic, the Wii's main screen was the first mainstream use of a "live tile." The Forecast, News, Nintendo, and Everyone Votes channels all are not only animated, but pulled data though WiiCo...