Eye tracking Web usability by ZDNet's Dan Farber -- User interface guru Jakob Nielsen of the Nielsen Norman Group is on the road, giving seminars based on a recently completed an eye-tracking study that indicates how users consume Web pages–such as where people start browsing on a page, whether they have banner and text link blindness, where users look for navigation, how they react to [...]
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Change vs. Stability in Web Usability Guidelines
Summary:
A remarkable 80% of findings from the Web usability studies in the 1990s continue to hold today.
As Web usability testing enters its 14th year, it's worth asking how early results have held up to recent user research.
10 years ago, I wrote an article on the changes in Web usability from 1994 to 1997. A few of my original findings were no longer valid a mere 3 years after they were issued. But most of the 1994 guidelines held true in 1997 -- and they're still correct today.
More details about this topic - Usability Guru (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/guidelines-change.html)
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Google double their attachment limit
GONE are the days where you can only send a maximum of 10MB as an attachment on gmail, make way for the new 20mb limit!
Starting today, you can now start sharing more of those home videos, large presentations and files that were simply too big to send before, making your gmail space even more useful. This also makes gmail much more useful and practical for sending multiple attachments.
Yahoo, the leaders in online email (however that happened) currently only offer users attachments totaling 10MB unless you fork out on their premium service in which case you get up to 20MB.
Now that gmail accounts beat that, will we see a change in the market leader?
Friday, May 4, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Jakob Nielsen's - The Ten Most Violated Homepage Design Guidelines
Summary:
There are ten usability mistakes that about two-thirds of corporate websites make. The prevalence of these errors alone warrants attention, especially since they appear on sites with significant investment in usable design.
There are ten usability mistakes that about two-thirds of corporate websites make. The prevalence of these errors alone warrants attention, especially since they appear on sites with significant investment in usable design.
- 1. Emphasize what your site offers that's of value to users and how your services differ from those of key competitors
- Use a liquid layout that lets users adjust the homepage size
- Use color to distinguish visited and unvisited links
- Use graphics to show real content, not just to decorate your homepage
- Include a tag line that explicitly summarizes what the site or company does
- Make it easy to access anything recently featured on your homepage
- Include a short site description in the window title
- Don't use a heading to label the search area; instead use a "Search" button to the right of the box
- With stock quotes, give the percentage of change, not just the points gained or lost
- Don't include an active link to the homepage on the homepage
Please read the full description here - http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20031110.html
Monday, April 16, 2007
Ten Important things every Web Developer/Author should know
This list contains ten things every Web author should know:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1. The Web is not WYSIWYG.
It's frustrating but true. The Web is not What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get. Well, actually, that's not exactly true. What you see is what you get, of course.
The problem arises when you mistakenly assume that what you see is what everyone else gets. The key thing to remember here is that there are millions of Websurfers out there who don't use your favorite browser, your video card, your screen settings, or even the same kind of computer as you.
2. HTML is a structural markup language, not a page-description language.
When you write HTML, you are defining the structure of a document, not specifying its layout. Yes, HTML does include some basic formatting and alignment tags. But it's very easy to misunderstand and misuse these tags.
You heard right -- it's possible to misuse HTML tags. In HTML, there are actually rules for what tags are okay, and where they are okay. There are even tools available to check your pages to see if they follow these basic rules of HTML.
******* Read more http://www.pantos.org/atw/f-35426.html
- The Web is not WYSIWYG.
- HTML is a structural markup language.
- Web authoring is not word-processing.
- Not everyone browses graphically.
- Most "cool tricks" -- aren't.
- Gear only goes so far.
- Original content is key.
- It doesn't matter how popular your browser is
- Readers love fast-loading pages.
- And Hey! Let's be careful out there.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1. The Web is not WYSIWYG.
It's frustrating but true. The Web is not What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get. Well, actually, that's not exactly true. What you see is what you get, of course.
The problem arises when you mistakenly assume that what you see is what everyone else gets. The key thing to remember here is that there are millions of Websurfers out there who don't use your favorite browser, your video card, your screen settings, or even the same kind of computer as you.
2. HTML is a structural markup language, not a page-description language.
When you write HTML, you are defining the structure of a document, not specifying its layout. Yes, HTML does include some basic formatting and alignment tags. But it's very easy to misunderstand and misuse these tags.
You heard right -- it's possible to misuse HTML tags. In HTML, there are actually rules for what tags are okay, and where they are okay. There are even tools available to check your pages to see if they follow these basic rules of HTML.
******* Read more http://www.pantos.org/atw/f-35426.html
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Intranet Innovation Awards
The Intranet Innovation Awards are global awards that celebrate new ideas and innovative approaches to the design and delivery of intranets. I’ve agreed to lend my name and Prescient Digital Media’s support to these first annual awards as I customarily highlight and regularly document and write about award winning intranets on this site.
The goal of the awards is to recognize innovative intranets (whether large or small), and to share them with the wider intranet community. Uniquely, these awards recognise individual intranet improvements, and not intranets as a whole.
The Intranet Innovation Awards are now open for submissions, which must be received by 15 May 2007. Full details on the awards (including the entry form) are at: http://www.steptwo.com.au/iia/index.html
The Intranet Innovation Awards have been created by Step Two Designs, a recognised thought-leader in intranet strategy and design. These are also truly global awards, supported by a network of intranet-savvy organisations from the US to the UK, Europe and beyond.
“Intranets must innovate in order to prosper; they must constantly grow and evolve to better meet the needs of the organisations they serve,” says Step Two’s James Robertson. “While there can be no single 'best intranet', there are innovative ideas and approaches that warrant recognition.
The Intranet Innovation Awards have therefore been established to celebrate the great work done by intranet teams across the globe, to give them the recognition they deserve.
Gold Awards are given across four different categories, each focusing on a specific aspect of intranets. Platinum Award winners are then chosen to recognise the most extraordinary entries for the year.
These awards are about improving all intranets, by increasing the pace of innovation across the whole of the intranet community. Every idea, no matter how small, adds to our understanding of what it means to have a successful intranet.
Read more about the awards and download the entry form.
The goal of the awards is to recognize innovative intranets (whether large or small), and to share them with the wider intranet community. Uniquely, these awards recognise individual intranet improvements, and not intranets as a whole.
The Intranet Innovation Awards are now open for submissions, which must be received by 15 May 2007. Full details on the awards (including the entry form) are at: http://www.steptwo.com.au/iia/index.html
The Intranet Innovation Awards have been created by Step Two Designs, a recognised thought-leader in intranet strategy and design. These are also truly global awards, supported by a network of intranet-savvy organisations from the US to the UK, Europe and beyond.
“Intranets must innovate in order to prosper; they must constantly grow and evolve to better meet the needs of the organisations they serve,” says Step Two’s James Robertson. “While there can be no single 'best intranet', there are innovative ideas and approaches that warrant recognition.
The Intranet Innovation Awards have therefore been established to celebrate the great work done by intranet teams across the globe, to give them the recognition they deserve.
Gold Awards are given across four different categories, each focusing on a specific aspect of intranets. Platinum Award winners are then chosen to recognise the most extraordinary entries for the year.
These awards are about improving all intranets, by increasing the pace of innovation across the whole of the intranet community. Every idea, no matter how small, adds to our understanding of what it means to have a successful intranet.
Read more about the awards and download the entry form.
The Five Essential Elements of an Influential Blog
Copyblogger has put up another one of his list posts this time explaining what it takes to be an influential blog, breaking them down into five simple tips, that pretty much everyone can agree with.
1. Simple
2. Unexpected
3. Concrete
4. Credible
5. Story
The last one in my opinion is pretty much the most important one, though you have to follow the others to really make the last one work for you.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What makes a blog influential?
Influence is often attributed to traffic and readership levels. But in reality, those are actually benefits that are symptomatic of something that precedes them.
How do we get people to pay attention to what we say in the first place?
Ultimately, a blog catches on just like any other idea spreads—it must somehow speak to people in a way that they want to hear. Your posts must fill a human need, and that will most often be at an emotional level, no matter how practical we think our subject matter is.
Read the details on all the tips as well as a short commentary on it at Copyblogger.
1. Simple
2. Unexpected
3. Concrete
4. Credible
5. Story
The last one in my opinion is pretty much the most important one, though you have to follow the others to really make the last one work for you.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What makes a blog influential?
Influence is often attributed to traffic and readership levels. But in reality, those are actually benefits that are symptomatic of something that precedes them.
How do we get people to pay attention to what we say in the first place?
Ultimately, a blog catches on just like any other idea spreads—it must somehow speak to people in a way that they want to hear. Your posts must fill a human need, and that will most often be at an emotional level, no matter how practical we think our subject matter is.
Read the details on all the tips as well as a short commentary on it at Copyblogger.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
How to Get A Million Visitors to Your Website
This information sold on eBay asHow to Get A Million Visitors to Your WebsiteDetails
The ebook can be downloaded here howtogetonemillionvisitors.zip
In this e-book you’ll find the complete transcript of the interview Louis Allport had with NeilShearing specifically on just one subject:
How To Get At Least A Million Visitors A Year To Your Website!
Here are some quotations from the e-book:"Neil started on the internet selling a little report called "How To Make Money On The Internet" (which he now thinks is a really cheesy title!) ... and that was just to make a bit of extra money while studying at university.
Five years later, Neil’s online business has grown so much that he now has 4,000 affiliates ... 2,500 customers, and over 32,000 people subscribed to his newsletter. What’s most amazing is that it all started from a business running off free web space!
The ebook can be downloaded here howtogetonemillionvisitors.zip
In this e-book you’ll find the complete transcript of the interview Louis Allport had with NeilShearing specifically on just one subject:
How To Get At Least A Million Visitors A Year To Your Website!
Here are some quotations from the e-book:"Neil started on the internet selling a little report called "How To Make Money On The Internet" (which he now thinks is a really cheesy title!) ... and that was just to make a bit of extra money while studying at university.
Five years later, Neil’s online business has grown so much that he now has 4,000 affiliates ... 2,500 customers, and over 32,000 people subscribed to his newsletter. What’s most amazing is that it all started from a business running off free web space!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
New version of FLASH Professional
Check out the New version of FLASH.........
With the next version of Flash, the integration is especially evident with both PhotoShop and Illustrator importers. And when they decided to finally bridge that gap, the engineers at Adobe did it right with custom designed panels that give you full control over importing layers, assigning instance names and even allowing for individual compression controls. And as an extra degree of integration, you can also copy and paste right from Illustrator into Flash.
( http://www.flashmagazine.com)
New Look and feel for FLASH 9 - check the Screenshots..!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is the Action Script Palette.......:(
This version of Flash not only marks a truly integrated application, but also a sign of things to come from Adobe......
check our for more informations - http://www.flashmagazine.com
( http://www.flashmagazine.com)
New Look and feel for FLASH 9 - check the Screenshots..!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is the Action Script Palette.......:(
This version of Flash not only marks a truly integrated application, but also a sign of things to come from Adobe......check our for more informations - http://www.flashmagazine.com
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Titanic song remake for Orkut~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every time in my orkut
I see you. I scrap you.
That is how I know yougo on...
Far across the Scrap Book
And testimonials between us
You have come to show you. Go on..
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the friends list does go on
Once more you logged on
And you're here in my scrap book
And my scrap book will go on and on
Testimonials can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go till we're friends
Love was when I saw your friends list
One true time I held on her 'about me',
In my life I'll surely view her/his profile
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the friends list does go on
There is some amazing profile that will not
go away....
You're here, there's so much to fear,
And I know that my friend will know I checked her/him out
We'll stay forever this way
You are safe in my friends list
And my friends list will go on and on...
Every time in my orkut
I see you. I scrap you.
That is how I know yougo on...
Far across the Scrap Book
And testimonials between us
You have come to show you. Go on..
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the friends list does go on
Once more you logged on
And you're here in my scrap book
And my scrap book will go on and on
Testimonials can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go till we're friends
Love was when I saw your friends list
One true time I held on her 'about me',
In my life I'll surely view her/his profile
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the friends list does go on
There is some amazing profile that will not
go away....
You're here, there's so much to fear,
And I know that my friend will know I checked her/him out
We'll stay forever this way
You are safe in my friends list
And my friends list will go on and on...
Friday, March 16, 2007
Approaches to design
A design approach is a general philosophy that may or may not include a guide for specific methods. Some are to guide the overall goal of the design. Other approaches are to guide the tendencies of the designer. A combination of approaches may be used if they don't conflict.
Some popular approaches include:
User centered design, which focuses on the needs, wants, and limitations of the end user of the designed artifact
Use-centered design, which focuses on how it will be used with less emphasis on the user than user-centered design
KISS principle, (Keep it Simple, Stupid), which strives to eliminate unnecessary complications
There is more than one way to do it (TMTOWTDI), a philosophy to allow multiple methods of doing the same thing
Murphy's Law (Everything that can go wrong will, so plan for it beforehand)
for more details - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design
A design approach is a general philosophy that may or may not include a guide for specific methods. Some are to guide the overall goal of the design. Other approaches are to guide the tendencies of the designer. A combination of approaches may be used if they don't conflict.
Some popular approaches include:
User centered design, which focuses on the needs, wants, and limitations of the end user of the designed artifact
Use-centered design, which focuses on how it will be used with less emphasis on the user than user-centered design
KISS principle, (Keep it Simple, Stupid), which strives to eliminate unnecessary complications
There is more than one way to do it (TMTOWTDI), a philosophy to allow multiple methods of doing the same thing
Murphy's Law (Everything that can go wrong will, so plan for it beforehand)
for more details - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
My first Blog
It’s with great pleasure that I posted my 1st blog, because I enter the game way after many others. Because others have been practicing and posting their writing on a daily — or somewhat daily — basis for 24/7 in 365 days. The size on some of their blogs makes me feel like I’m sitting down idle as other do millions of things at a very short perood of time. I’ve delayed and procrastinated the start of a blog mostly because I’ve wondered if I really have enough thoughts that pass through my head and are worth writing down. Or if write would actually give some merit to anyone in this world. simply writing something and posting usesless craps will waste few bytes of server space somewhere in world.
Somehow I convinced myself and started my 1st posting now...
“yes” - even i'm checking myself is this real??? or am i DREAMING.
The fact that you’re reading this Blog only because of Krishna shasankar and the "BIG" Aditya sanyal were my motivators: So here’s to the start of something new(may be old). The thoughts, visuals, findings, and news here will mostly be related to design and my personal experience as a designer and freelancer. But I’m sure I’ll also refer other people, places, and ideas that influence who I am and how I think and work smartly.
I beleive most of our thinkings were thoughts of someone before that we might not know.
This blog of thoughts is mostly for my own record, but if you’re along for the ride, you are always welcome.
Somehow I convinced myself and started my 1st posting now...
“yes” - even i'm checking myself is this real??? or am i DREAMING.
The fact that you’re reading this Blog only because of Krishna shasankar and the "BIG" Aditya sanyal were my motivators: So here’s to the start of something new(may be old). The thoughts, visuals, findings, and news here will mostly be related to design and my personal experience as a designer and freelancer. But I’m sure I’ll also refer other people, places, and ideas that influence who I am and how I think and work smartly.
I beleive most of our thinkings were thoughts of someone before that we might not know.
This blog of thoughts is mostly for my own record, but if you’re along for the ride, you are always welcome.
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