As much as I love Apple and freely admit they make great products, I also have concerns with Apple’s closed-system approach. While there are some valid points to Apple’s ‘let us do the driving’ philosophy, I think users are better served when technology platforms are open. So how cool would a Google tablet be? After all, if they want to beat Windows at its own game, what better strategy than ripping off an Apple idea?
Keep Your Graphic Designer on a Short Leash in this month’s Website Magazine suggests that elements such as wild background colors, garish text, visual embellishments (eye candy) and animation/video distract website visitors from important content. In a case study of a redesign of the CREDO website they found an 84% improvement with a simplified design. The case study used a new service called AttentionWizard.com which uses computer algorithms to approximate eye tracking studies of a web site. The idea is these will reveal what point on the page the visitor’s eye should land on. If it is what you want them to see — like a buy now button — bingo, you are doing well. If their eyes don’t land anywhere, or on the wrong things it is time to make some adjustments. I thought it would be fun to compare the Yale and Harvard main websites using the service.
When I’m working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. Fuller, R. Buckminster (from QuotationsBook)
A recent opinion article in Computerworld ponders the role of org charts and what they reveal about an organization. They are useful in detailing who reports to whom and which department pays the salary. But the very act of viewing an organization through this type of chart perpetuates an outdated way of thinking, with a silo’d, hierarchical structure that often fails at meeting client/customer expectations or responding quickly to changing conditions. So what to do? Some massive reorganization?
Web page design best-practices used to dictate designer for a monitor of 640 x 480 pixels, then 800 x 600 pixels, and at a recent meeting I heard one of our schools lead web designers say they’re new minimum is the 11xx screen width. Which with browser windows, toolbars, etc. give an effective width of something like 960 pixels. But want to be sure? Take a quick tour around the Google browser sizer .
Packt publishing has a new WordPress book out: WordPress MU 2.8: Beginner’s Guide. WordPress MU, especially with the BuddyPress set of plug-ins, is a powerful and flexible framework that power a company blog or social networking site. Just check out SUNY’s new Academic Commons for a fantastic example of what can be done with this combination. WordPress MU 2.8: Beginner’s Guide overall is a good introduction to these tools, and even for an experienced WordPress person I found some useful tips and valuable additions to my WordPress ‘tool belt’. But the book is also not without its flaws.
Randall Rode's online home for thoughts, notes, and experiments with a wide range of technology topics. Visit the about page for info on my recent projects and professional background. I welcome your comments!
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