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I used to be a OneNote fan. From a minor detailing on a simple rewrite rule to a lengthy note taking on a major front-end revamp was captured on OneNote. Well, those days are gone. Surfaced again is the product Microsoft (almost) killed with their vivid note taking tool OneNote; EverNote. This time however it has bubbled with all the right and timely features. You can write a note once and access it from anywhere in the world. But if you prefer not to put your sensitive data up on the cloud, the facility of simply syncing your notes with a portable USB drive is also part of the package. Long live the notes war!
I often observe how other people use products and services in their day-to-day life. This has helped me to identify user experience blunders in other products and remember not to do the same in mine. A recent observation made on Facebook made me realize the importance of context in natural interaction flow.
Apparently everyone is in a hurry to give their site a new look and Mozilla falls no short. Check out the new Firefox Add-ons site with the hip search bar and pretty inner pages. Although the previous website didn’t have any serious usability pitfalls in its design, the new look-and-feel is very compelling to use. I love the fact that they’ve decided to show a couple of thumbnails on the main page and provide a clear rating and reviewing panel on the convenient right-hand side of the page. Furthermore that green color search box somehow invites me to explorer more. Another good example for effective use of color to uplift the usability of a design.
It is also worth mentioning the drop-down categories list on the left hand side of inner pages that is so well designed that it is not one of those “hover me and I’ll show you myself” kind-a-design. A note to all you AJAX loving, “I’d do whatever the dudes do” web designers, learn from the pioneer.
Microsoft is the best source when it comes to good windows user experience etiquettes. This post is about another good example from Microsoft on providing appropriate feedback to the user.
I experienced this as I was installing the Windows Live Mail program on my laptop. After I started the setup program I notices two very interesting messages appear on the setup dialog box that actually made me smile.
I managed to squeeze some time to write about the ‘edit post link’ despite my laziness and lack of time to write the article on ‘Breaking the Blog Paradigm‘. WordPress theme developers are probably familiar with the edit_post_link() template tag that I have mentioned above. Although the only thing this tag does is to create a link (see screenshot) to edit the current post (or page) that you are looking at (given that you are also logged in), has a very user friendly aspect to it.
I stumble upon many software packages with silly names. In my opinion the name is the single most important attribute of a software package. Despite its brand value the name should be clear, legible, and easy to use. The name should signify the type of usage. In layman’s terms the name should say it all. Names like ‘Child Control’, ‘Ape Ripper’ and ‘IsItUp’ would possibly confuse the user on the corresponding software package’s typical usage. Read the full story →
I’m somewhat new to blogging. When I decided to change my static site to a dynamic site I ended up using WordPress as the engine. The designer in me however didn’t allow me to use someone else’s theme but to make one on my own. The current theme1 you are seeing on this site is the fifth iteration of the effort.
When I started designing this theme, I didn’t have any expertise on WordPress. The principles of blogging were completely new to me. I looked into many other blogs to figure out the essentials of theming. Ironically most themes were structurally the same except they looked different in presentation. But is this commonly accepted structure really usable? This is what I discovered. Read the full story →
Note: My attempt here is to show the negative impact of Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage program on users. I do not hate Microsoft. I love most of their products.
I despise Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA). Even cooperates are uncomfortable with the extra burden. In my opinion WGA is an annoyance to users. The simplest update or hot-fix available on the Microsoft website requires a validation.
There have been numerous gigs on “what if Microsoft made …” – the most circulated being a notable urban legend with a comment made by General Motors in response to the Bill Gates’ COMDEX address where he compared the auto industry to the computer industry. This post is about what if Microsoft made automobiles with WGA. Read the full story →
