Apple showing us that good products and innovation are achievable, by delivering a potential solution to the music industry quagmire. Not sure about you but I'd buy that for a dollar, um I mean 99˘
At second glance this brings me back to an earlier post in regards to web design and structured information. The new Apple music service takes this new approach by offering the music listings and purchasing of songs straight from the standalone app-iTunes. No browsing clunky HTML/standard browser interfaces, etc. No waiting for page refreshes, etc. Just quick access to the information.
Link:
http://www.apple.com/music/store/
Leave it to two design driven companies like Apple and Burton to team up and make an integrated weatherproof snowboarding/ski jacket. It's a bit pricey, but made with top of the line Gortex waterproof fabric and has controls for your iPod integrated into the jacket arm exterior. Controls are provided by SOFTswitch and utilizes an interactive textile data strip.
Links:
http://www.apple.com/ipod/burton/
http://www.softswitch.co.uk/SOFTswitchAbout.html
I came upon mention of iCommune from Todd Dominey today. The powerful use of this shareware struck me, more than the fact that Apple is trying to throw up a roadblock.
Essentially this app let's you stream music directly into iTunes from any mac with an internet connection. By accessing a structured song list of an iTunes playlist someone in San Francisco could play their friend's music in Atlanta as if the music was on their own computer in SF. I believe this piece of shareware has been removed from the iCommune site, but if you look around on limewire you might find a copy.
This got me thinking about the suite of other OS X applications like Watson, Sherlock, and Netnewswire. These apps are unique by offering a different approach to browsing the Web. Instead of heading to unique web sites users can view structure information within a self-contained application. This is general information like News, Movies, Stocks, Phone Numbers, Flights, etc.
To riff on a recent topic mentioned by Alex Wright, these apps make web sites look like custom typeset pieces, or "decorated directories". An application like Sherlock or Watson lets users focus on the task of information retrieval and quickly and consistently find results, like movie listings:
This could be a glimpse of things to come. Web site design is not going away, but good treatment of structured information will be crucial to create online services and experiences that last.
Links:
http://whatdoiknow.org/archives/000693.php
http://www.icommune.net/
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/internet_utilities/watson.html (Watson)
http://ranchero.com/software/netnewswire/ (Netnewswire)
Adam Greenfield re-launches his v-2 website focusing on Interface & Usability, Architecture & Urbanisim, and Media & Culture.
And other topics related to humans, our environment, and our artifacts.
Link:
http://www.v-2.org/
... and Peter Morville will be speaking at a FREE event in Berkeley on Nov. 1, Friday 7-9pm.
Links:
http://www.baychi.org/
http://www.baychi.org/calendar/20021101/
Nate Shedroff: User-centered Design is an approach (with many variations) to creating experiences (whether products, interfaces, events, or other media) for people with their needs in mind. Usability is one of the primary focii but only one of several. Others include usefulness, desirability, legibility, learnability, etc. The benefits are that these experiences are often easier to use and learn; more appropriate in terms of functions and use, and more compatible with existing processes.
Good overview article on UCD process. Also, some info on benefits and shortcomings of heuristic reviews.
Link:
http://www.digital-web.com/interviews/interview_2002-10.shtml
Good resource for search related issues, ranging from search technology to interface and IA solutions for search.
Link:
http://www.searchtools.com/index.html
This allows a right-click to open in new window if needed, and also allows user to bookmark the pop-up. Standard javascript pop-ups without an href do not allow for this.
Link from:
http://www.youngpup.net/?request=/articles/how-to-create-popups.xml
Another great article at Design Interact. This time on the Theban mapping project.
“In Egyptology, there’s a long tradition of archaeological recording,” he explains. “This is the first site that uses the Web medium to build on that tradition.”
But its real goal seems far more pedestrian: to build a database that maps and surveys every structure of archaeological interest in ancient Thebes—especially the 62 tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
Great example of how the web can be used as both an educational and informational resource.
Link to article:
http://www.designinteract.com/features/
Theban mapping project:
http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/
Great introductory article to interaction design, by Nico Macdonald at Spy. Provides historical context as well as resources for learning more.
Link:
http://www.spy.co.uk/Writing/Blueprint/ID/
Nice resource from Jenifer Tidwell.
Link:
http://time-tripper.com/uipatterns/
PDF document describing differences b/n gibson's and norman's descriptions of "affordances".
Link:
href="http://www.uedesignlab.com/uelog/archives/gi_2000_affordances.pdf
Alex Wright gets interface prototypes from recent Spielberg flick, "Minority Report"
Link:
http://www.agwright.com/blog/2002_06_01_archive_index.html#85202344
Checklist of principles of good user interface design.
Courtesty of Bruce Tognazzini
Link:
http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html
http://phoenix.herts.ac.uk/SDRU/Chetz/firstStudy.html#Overview
Haptic perception involves both tactile perception through the skin and kinaesthetic perception of the position and movement of the joints and muscles. For example, if we hold a cube, we perceive it through the skin of our fingers and the position of our fingers.
Cool stuff here at: http://www.setpixel.com/content/?ID=105 from v-2.
Jakob's original hint that maybe, just maybe usability might be improved by placing navigation on right-side of the page.
Piece (see page three) at Boxes and Arrows describes the Audi redesign by Razorfish. Usability showed that right and left navigation was not a large factor. Instead perceived affordances of nav elements were more crucial. Also, right-nav might actually cause users to focus more on the body content.
Michael Bernard has conducted two studies, which sought to better understand users’ expectations concerning the location of common objects on web sites and E-commerce site.
Some of the findings show that people expect:
- Links back to the front page to be located top-left of a page
- Internal links to be placed along the left side and external links along the right
- Shopping cart, account and help to be located along the top-right side
- Login to be placed top-left
Links:
The article Developing Schemas for the Location of Common Web Objects
The article Examining User Expectations for the Location of Common E-Commerce Web Objects
Thanks to:
Henrik Olsen
