Ergo Dada

Windows Live Calendar

2009-04-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Windows Live looks good. Somehow they got the design just right. Consumers looking to communicate with others and manage their lives have options from 2 fronts:

1. Email / Chat services such as Hotmail, Yahoo, and Google that have been adding more and more social functions so that you can do things with your Contact List.

2. Social sites such as Facebook that have added more and more direct communication functions such as Email and Chat.

Microsoft obviously has a tremendous amount of leverage (the 90% of computer owners who are Windows users) in attempting to tie your Internal World with your Outreaching to others. Yet, it stumbles. Despite the nice layout, the Live experience suffers from Things That Don't Work, Continued Confusion About Names and Relations to Other MS Products, and from insufficient integration with the Rest of the Web.

I will examine the new version of Hotmail / Live over the next week.

Here is the first, Thing that Doesn't Work: the new Calendar's Birthday calendar. It is supposed to populate itself with the dates of your Contact's birthdays. That's a great idea. It merges one product (a Calendar) with info pulled from an existing source (a Contact List). It's one of the things that only a big software company like MS could offer. And yet it's one of the things that only MS would botch: it doesn't work. Go ahead and enter birth dates for any of your contacts. They won't show up in the Birthday Calendar. :(

More to follow....

Cooking is Fun

2009-04-09T00:43:00.000-07:00

Cooking is Fun is a web site to share recipes and create shopping lists. The idea is to make a pursuit of cooking fun. The site features a large database of ingredients, the ability to add ingredients, predictive text.. and other Ajax features. A user can store recipes in a 'binder' and then take collective action on the binder: create a shopping list that is grouped by Grocery section, and printing a branded Packet of recipes.

The structure of a recipe is as follows:
I. Basic Info
Name, Output, Footnotes

II. Ingredient Groups
A group is something like "for the salsa."
A group contains items.
Items belong to a category such as Protein, Produce, Spices...

III. Preparation
Segments. Such as "for the sauce.."

***
That is the 'kernel' of the site. The search and social aspect comes from tagging of a recipe and scoring of other members' recipes. Tagging is provided for.. but the scoring will be handled by the Facebook API. Cooking is Fun will use Facebook Connect to integrate with the popular networking site.

It will be fun. I know this has been dry text... but the service itself will be a hoot. The demo version is now active. The next phase of development will involve Facebook integration, leading into a Beta Launch.

Here is the demo URL: http://cooking.phamper.com

* The default title is "Cooking with Sherry is Fun." When a user logs in, the name 'Sherry' is replaced with the user's first name. *

Hometown Throwdown

2009-03-31T23:54:00.000-07:00

I made this Facebook App in April 2008.

Facebook only allows One hometown in user's profile. With Hometown Throwdown you not only get to save multiple hometowns, you get to select a rap star name and "throwdown" a story (or rap) about the place, choosing its display colors. You can Judge your friends' throwdowns, from 1 (knit cap) to 5 (bomb diggity). Plus, you can view all throwdowns per a Town or per a MC.

Features

Facebook user data, Ajax, Jscript Color Selector, Rap Star Name Generator, Notifications of 'Being Served,' News Stories of Votes Given and Received.

Platforms

Facebook

Hipster Approval

2009-03-31T23:48:00.002-07:00

I made this Widget in May 2008.

Description

Show that you care what hipsters think--and that they DO approve of you (or your page). At install, user must take a short quiz to gain approval. In Facebook, user's music favorites are 'analyzed' and receive comment. Upon passing, user gets a Google Map listing dive bars in her area.

Features

Google Maps; Facebook user data: regional network, music; RSS feeds from Cool Tool and Pitchfork; Quiz, Javascript validation, FB News Feed.

Platforms

Facebook
Google Gadgets

Eeyore or Tigger?

2009-03-31T23:42:00.003-07:00

I made this widget to honor "Last Lecture" Professor Randy Pausch. In his speech, he said each of us must decide whether we are an Eeyore or a Tigger. It's the second Facebook Application I produced and the most popular.

The stats have been constant since Dr. Pausch passed away: 67% say Tigger; 22%, Eeyore; 10+% undecided.

Which are you?

The SmartSeller

2009-03-31T20:45:00.007-07:00

The SmartSeller is a shopping cart program developed by Neil McCorrison and me in 2000. I handled the UI and requirements; Neil did the code, in Mivascript, which was then a viable programming language. We based the 'cart' on the then market leader, Miva Market.

Our program was superior in several ways: it was web-based, it allowed for more categorization of products, it offered several ways to calculate shipping costs.... and there was continual work on the program into 2004. I was successful in leading Neil to implement several changes so that the program could provide for a businesses' web site (with domain support), and that it could be used by a "no-tech" businessperson as well as a web developer.

In 2001, I found a way to forward shopping cart orders to fax machines (using Ureach.com). I then made a revised version of The SmartSeller for restaurants, because I'd heard from many of them that they do not have a computer near the kitchen but do take fax orders. I was able to sign up a few restaurants, and tried to leverage that to create a Food Ordering site as part of a portal for Charleston, South Carolina. (inCharleston.net)

I am proud to have been an early integrator with Paypal.com; to have helped many small businesses get going online with a stable system; and to have worked with Neil, who is an outstanding developer and one of the good guys.

You can see the marketing web site for The SmartSeller via The Way Back Machine. (due to a problem at my old host, the web site was lost. If you would like the code for TSS, send me a note).

See also: inCharleston.net via The Way Back Machine

Wazitat Means Where is it At, yo!

2009-03-31T19:58:00.004-07:00

Wazitat is a web service I made to help people organize and to share their stuff. I came up with the idea in August 2007 when I moved from Hoboken to Manhattan, but was leaving some things in the basement. I realized I also had things at other locations throughout the many states.

And a hurricane hit the Gulf again, reminding me of the importance to know where your things are at, to re-allocate and share resources, and to reconcile with insurance agents.

LINKS
Wazitat Web Site
Wazitat Flash Demo

The general structure of Wazitat is:
Things belong to a space, spaces belong to a room, rooms belong to a place.

Wazitat was always meant to be a social application, perhaps even a parody of a network. I.E. "Gary declared you have his blue sweater. Click to confirm or deny."
"Your son, Matt, said that you have an attic and that it contains his yearbook. Click to confirm that you have an attic...."

But as I finished the first release, I realized how much more powerful Wazitat could be if tied into a network such as Facebook. FB offers a terrific API which provides for photos, notes, and connections, and events and a marketplace. Ideally, you could search your network to borrow an item, and to arrange for a move.

I began a FB version of Wazitat but did not finish due to lack of resources and incentive. It was mid August 2008, and I was pounding away at code each day... I asked myself: am I prepared to be responsibile for the movement of goods throughout the country? I let the domains expire and have shelved the project...but I might make a FB app that handles one of the specific functions such as "Arrange a Move."

Developing Wazitat was a great way to learn Jquery, and Facebook's platform. It also forced me to grapple with philosophical issues such as: Do things derive meaning from how they are used, or is meaning a condition for action? I also had to mediate upon and work through a strategy for the integration of virtual and real worlds. I'm sure that my findings and practice will be helpful to me.

Technology: PHP, Mysql, Jquery / Javascript / Prototype

The Bit Tracker 2000

2009-03-31T19:40:00.004-07:00

The Bit Tracker 2000 is a web service for comedians to track their bits over time. It allows for multiple versions of a bit, and the recording of scores and notes per each instance. The BT2000 allows comics to schedule sets (within shows), prepare set lists, print out cheat sheets and study guides, and record feedback.

url is Bittracker2000.com
or TheBitTracker.com

You may create a free account, or preview the screenshots and list of features.

Technology: PHP, Mysql, Jquery / Javascript

Earlier Posts (at The Freewheeler)
May 14, 2008
July 1, 2008

Google Search: Bottom's Up

2009-03-29T21:04:00.001-07:00

(first published Nov 11, 2008 in The Freewheeler blog)

I suggest Google put its Page of Results navigation (as seen here)

At both the TOP and the BOTTOM of each result page. Google tends to put such navigation only on the bottom. For example, I was in Google Calendar and chose to view calendar details/settings. Within the setting page, I couldn't find a way to exit -- and return to the calendar. The link "Return to Calendar" is at the bottom.

It would be convenient to have the option of jumping through results pages without having to scroll through each page. It would also give the results pages more consistency:

The text input field resides at both the top and the bottom. Actually, different versions of the search input appear in the top versus the bottom.

The top just has the simple search input field:

The bottom has search tips, filtering options and language tools:

Another issue, which I discussed in an earlier post, is the ambiguity of what the links "Web" "Images" "Maps" do. Are they links to other Google products/services (nouns), or search result filters (i.e. "show me results within Images."). If you experiment, you will find inconsistent results. For example, if I click "Gmail" it doesn't search my gmail for "gold" (search term), but if I click "Maps" it does. And how does the set of links above the Google logo differ from the set of links below the logo?

Trader Joes Checkout Line

2009-03-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

Trader Joes is an awesome store for many reasons. One of them is the way checkout is handled. The clerk takes your cart and empties it for you. That makes sense, and it removes that awkward discomfort of positioning yourself behind or in front of your cart as you strain to remove the objects. That's how it's done at "legacy" super markets. Most of the major chains have remodeled their stores over the past 5 years.

Many of these stores are very pleasant places... and yet the checkout lines remain narrow passageways where the shopper is left to remove the items and place onto the conveyor belt. It's got to change. Thanks, Trader Joes, for showing the way. And also, for those 3 sample coffees I had last week.

Google Calendar: Time Zone Snag - No Absolute Time

2009-03-29T20:47:00.001-07:00

(first published Feb 14, 2009 in The Freewheeler blog)

Google Calendar is terrific. But a major problem I've found is a Time Zone is set not to the Event, but to the Google Calendar User. Thus, any event that user creates, is set to his user setting timezone.

So, if I live in Los Angeles but schedule an 8pm Monday London event, it will show up as a 3am Tuesday event to Londoners. As long as my user setting is PST, I have to do this: set the event for 1pm. In Google Calendar, a user can have more than one calendar. Each calendar can have its own setting for Time Zone.

Thus, I thought a bad but working solution would be to temporarily set a calendar to time zone London. But, that setting just dictates the Display of the time, not the absolute date time start. The absolute is still based on the user's time zone.

The issue is all the more confounding because the Calendar gives much weight to an Event's Location field. It wants specific information so that it can map it and offer directions or other services. Yet it's not interested in the time?

Here I create a 9am New York City event. But to Google, it's a 9 am PST start -- 12 pm in NYC and 5pm in London.

Here's how it's published, in London Time:

The solution is: Google should let viewers / subscribers to a calendar set a timezone for "Viewing"-- thus all events are translated into a time relative to that user's view. In that case, if I'm looking at a 5pm New York event as a Californian (PST) I see it as 2pm.

The absolute time should be defined by the manager per event. When entering the time there should simply be a field to enter the time zone, which Google could 'predict' once location is entered (that would also require an alteration in the Form inputs so that Location is entered before Time).

Suggested:

As it is, Google Calendar cannot be accurately deployed by a manager of an entity that crosses time zones (sports teams, performers) or has subscribers across multiple time zones.

Oh Google! Yours is such an awesome, awesome company, and yet snags like these make me think you might spend just a wee bit too much time drinking your own Kool-Aid and not actually engineering for humans.

Phamper Presents a Magic Trick

2009-03-29T20:29:00.004-07:00

My pal Bill Chott told me a version of this trick, and I've used it to explain some basics about data and how I--as Phamper--can figure out a situation. * Flash required

Partial Fix: Myspace Friends Categorizing

2008-07-08T08:40:00.003-07:00

Myspace is now letting its users place their friends into categories that they create. That's a big improvement. I lamented last year (see post) about Myspace only allowing its users to place themselves in one category (Musician, Comic, Regular Person), and disallowing any labeling of a user's friends.

My suggestion was:
1. let users label their personal profile(s), and to also label their external profiles (friends) WITH MANY keywords.
2. Allow users to Sort their Friends based on the Labels.
3. Allow users to make Lists/Groups, a feature presently available in YouTube.

Myspace's recent change is an improvement. But, it still limits a user to categorize himself into a single, pre-defined Category. And it only allows you to place a friend into a single category.

The Myspace system apparently has trouble with such cutting-edge database structures as "many-many" relationships.

Even as it now is, though, it could greatly help a user navigate his list of profiles. At the least, she could have a Category: "Added for Quantity" and "Added for Quality (actual friend)."

New users will find this feature handy. But will legacy users, with thousands of friends, categorize all the existing friends? Only if it was Easy to do, or the user was aware of an Incentive.... Alas, and this comes as no surprise if you know Myspace, it is TEDIOUS AND TIME-CONSUMING to categorize existing friends... The user has to do it ONE AT A TIME!

Myspace's failure to recognize the value of multiplicity has failed it again.

Jott Reminders: A Failure of Translation at a Higher Level

2008-06-25T12:33:00.006-07:00

The service Jott is a terrific way to send yourself notes via the phone. It uses software and human ears to transcribe your notes aka Jotts. You can also ask it to send you a Reminder. This is where Jott gets a little full of itself: it refuses to follow your instructions. It always sends your reminder 15 minutes earlier than you request it. I looked into it, and discovered the reason: Jott assumes that when you ask it for a Reminder, you are really telling it about an Event. Based on that assumption, it assumes that your Event requires a 15 minute 'warning.' (And no, you can not adjust this default lead time in Settings).

As is, Jott cannot handle the fact that you simply want it to DO something at a particular time. It translates your request into a NOUN (event).. rather than leave the Nouns to you. What is worse, when Jott prompts you for a Reminder it Seems to be asking for a time to be reminded.. and does not mention that it views your request as a statement of an Event. Here is the Demo from the Jott web site:

Note the last (circled line): Jott's summary of just what happened and what Jott will do. Jott is not a Calendar or Event service, and yet in regards to Reminders, it assumes your Jotts are events.

Say you wanted a text reminder to move your car in 15 minutes. If you asked Jott for the reminder, it would immediately send you the word. Jott provides for a 15 minute "Snooze" -- which wouldn't be necessary if it simply sent the reminder on time. And it will require 2 phone texts (to and fro Jott).

For this to be fixed, Jott needs a "higher level" of translation. It's not enough that it can transcribe your words--it needs to UNDERSTAND what you mean by REMINDER. But unless Jott changes this Reminder System, you will have to get around it by requesting a reminder 15 minutes LATER THAN when you want it. Then, when Jott does its 15 minutes early-Big Brother-Father Knows Best translation, it will come out at the right time.

Here are 2 screens: one of me setting a Reminder for 5:30pm, and of me receiving the reminder at 5:15pm

Fix: YouTube Full Screen

2008-06-18T21:49:00.004-07:00

In an August 2007 post I criticized YouTube's full-screen mode because it restarted your video rather than continuing to play as Windows Media does.

YouTube now plays continuously when toggling to full-screen.

Invalid Login: Don't Explain Why

2008-06-06T09:35:00.005-07:00

Most web sites that require a login of username and password return an ambiguous error message when login is invalid.

The common message is: "Invalid username / OR password."

Well, which was it?

It's very easy for the program to give you more specific information. Here's what happens when you login:

The program searches the database for a record containing that username AND password. If no record is found, then login is invalid. Most programs just spit out that message "Invalid username OR password" because one of those 2 was the culprit. (Actually, both inputs could have been wrong)

To clarify the matter, the program only needs to do an additional call to the database, looking for a record of the username.

If it finds a record with that username, then it knows that the password was wrong.

If it does not find a record with that username, then both the name and password were wrong.

Then the system could return a specific response.

For examples of LAZY programming / ambiguous response, see Yahoo and Hotmail. (Hotmail screen is atop this post, here is Yahoo)

Google does a better job on this, by giving the message "Username and password do not match. (and then it displays what name you entered)"

But it's easy to offer 2 specific responses when login is invalid.
1. If both the name and password is wrong: "There is no record of a xxxxxxx"
2. If there is a user of that name: "The password you entered does not match..."

The only reason to withhold those details is as a privacy measure. Since most usernames are now equal to an email address, if any person in the world wanted to know if a given email address was a member of a given site, he could enter it and a random password, and then receive a yes or no.

In that light, the Google method is tops.

But anyway, here are 2 screens from a system I made:

Facebook Ad System: Go Clippers

2008-04-27T22:14:00.006-07:00

Facebook displays advertisements within its News Feed, listing an ad as if it was something personal, like your friends' quiz scores.

Facebook says that it collects "rich" user info, and thus can target ads. Sounds fun, but there is a glitch. The system gives greater weight to user attributes than to the advertisement object, producing irrelevant ads. Here is today's News post--with an ad to see the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. It is true that I live in LA, and enjoy basketball. But the most important fact regarding the Clippers is that the NBA is in playoff season, and the Clippers did not make it to the post-season (by far).

Oh, and by the way, I have no interest in the Clippers.

Bank Checks Hieroglyphics

2008-04-21T10:31:00.001-07:00

Bank checks have very hard to read digits to represent the Routing Number and Account Number. There is a character that resembles a digit that is used as a divider, but it is not clear what starts and stops on either end. The check number sometimes appears as the second item, and sometimes as the third item.

When you must provide a routing number and account number, the requesting institution (or phisher) provides a picture to inform you of how to find the info on a check. It is very condescending and ineffective. We know where the info should be. The instructions should be about Translation, not location.

It's best to keep handy this info (Routing # and Check #), extracted from a statement, welcome letter. Otherwise, you could be frustrated in an attempt to decipher the strange arrangement as printed by your Check Provider.

Pandora Could Sell Me Something

2008-04-14T18:34:00.002-07:00

I respect how the online music service Pandora is hands-off regarding pushing music sales. It offers links to buy each song in your stations. But it doesn't offer package deals.

Pandora collects a lot of information. Its user interface does not reflect the degree to which it could display the song information or your history with the song. You can view your Bookmarked Songs. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Pandora (wrongly) allows you to "re-bookmark" a song, rather than notifying you of the encore. It could not only alert you of the repeated bookmark, but suggest you buy it -- "You've bookmarked that song twice already. You must really dig it! We can offer to you along with these 8 other tracks for just $5.89." The other tracks could be related/suggested based on the song attributes, or could be from your list of favorites.

Pandora could generate packages and deals programatically and display on your homepage. "Click here to Purchase ALL your Bookmarked Songs for 70% off!"

Come on, Pandora. We're all rooting for you to succeed. Get smart with your marketing. You're doing a great job tying songs together; now sell them to us.

Facebooks Puts Enemies in Your Face

2008-04-04T10:39:00.006-07:00

** Updated 6/6/2008 ***
~~~ Facebook has added the functionality called for in this post. ~~~~~~

Facebook puts a panel in your Home page "People You May Know." It randomly displays 3 of the multitudes who share a connection with you, and links to a page that shows all such friends of friends.

For each of these people, there are action buttons such as "Add to Friends", "Send Message." But there is no button "Make Disappear." Some of these friends of friends can be Enemies: or at least, major dope bags. I'm not asking that they be smited from the face of the Earth, only that their face be wiped out from the face of my Facebook. There should be a button: "Don't Show this Person Again" or "Remove From List (Always)."

Facebook has shown a commitment to allow users to customize their experience. But for every feature and connection-promoter, there are more implications regarding privacy and peace of mind. To make this right, Facebook should allow for Hiding Content/Function Segments from the Home Page just as it allows you to Remove/Collapse boxes from your profile. Secondly, it should always allow the ability to Block an Individual: not just to prevent that person from viewing your profile, but to avoid any chance of you having to see their face.

eVite: terrible UI

2008-04-04T10:26:00.001-07:00

I had to send an eVite for a friend yesterday. Oh gosh, it is a terrible user experience. My next report will spell out the troubles.

Craig's List: No Reason to get account

2008-03-31T11:52:00.004-07:00

I just learned that even by creating an account with Craigslist, the site provides no means to Save listings (for later viewing). The only tool the site offers is the Email to a Friend, which 'savvy' users know can mean 'oneself.' Of course, one can also copy and paste into Word or a note pad. (See earlier post).

At Craigslist, an account is for people who POST, not look.

Not convenient at all... I reckon Craigslist doesn't have programmers building new functions. All the more reason they should at least pay to make the listings XML friendly. This would pave the way for easier Exporting of listings.

YouTube Profile Upload Picture Does Not Work

2008-01-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

(* Feb 5th: this issue appears to be resolved as of Feb 2 *)

YouTube gives mention on its users' homepage to new features, among them, the ability to upload a Photo to the profile page.

However, the system does not accept any images. Regardless of which file you input, you will receive the message: "File not provided for upload image operation."

Here are screen shots step by step:

Link to new feature:

Option of what to Upload

Input field to browse computer
Quick load... show preview (generic preview?), prompts to click "Update"The error message after clicking "Update"

Google Earth major diff from Google Maps Satellite

2008-01-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

In Google Earth, the very fine desktop program from Google, your mouse's third button/wheel works this way re. view: zoom out = wheel forward; zoom in = wheel back.

In Google Local / Maps (I believe the service uses both names interchangeably), the mouse's third button/wheel works this way: zoom out = wheel backwards; zoom in = wheel forward.

I prefer the Map technique. It is natural.

A new version of Google Earth was recently released. They should have adjusted it so that the mouse wheel works the same as in Google Maps / Local.

Pandora: New Design Same Problems

2007-11-30T08:28:00.000-08:00

Pandora recently expanded the user interface to include 'Pandora Extras.' But Pandora did not fix 2 irksome issues:

Lack of Running Time or Time Left/Time Elapsed per Song.
No enforcement of unique Favorites. You can bookmark songs and bands more than once. Pandora should either simply not re-enter the item, or it should give a little note such as "You had bookmarked X July 22, 2007." As it is, I bookmark an item, then click the link to Show All bookmarks, and then have to do a Control-F to see if it already exists. But then again, I guess this doesn't really matter, unless the favorites are weighted into the system that generates songs I might like.

Undisclosed at LinkedIn

2007-11-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

LinkedIn, a middling dowdy professional network web site, suffers from a number of shortcomings in its user interface. Today we address the issue of concealing your present employer. LinkedIn does not provide a systematic way to hide your present employer's name. Instead, you are left to use your own words to denote anonymity into the company name field. Some members choose "Undisclosed;" others, "N/A" or similar verbage. Thus, when you log in, and are informed of possible connections, you might see a message such as "50 new members at Undisclosed" because LinkedIn thinks that "Undisclosed" is a company!

All that is required is a setting, a switch, to show or hide the name of present company from Public and your network. HotJobs and Monster give members the option of such a screen.

Flickr and Blogger are on Speaking Terms, but not their Owners

2007-11-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

It's becoming common for computer systems to be on speaking terms, but not the owners. You may have noticed various social networks offering to search your email addressbooks in order to make it easier to enter those email addresses into the social system. It's a popular example of open-access, remote logging. You enter your username and password, and authorize the System at Hand to pull information or publish information to an External System. We can assume it is secure because the Big Heavies--Yahoo, Hotmail,Google--are cool with it. But what are we to make of one system that doesn't know the present name and condition of an external app, yet syncs with that system without a glitch? Doesn't the ignorance of that system's management erode our trust in its ability to connect to the other. That was my experience when I set up a Flickr account and permitted it to publish to my Blogger account. Flickr refers to Blogger as Beta Blogger, a status that has been inaccurate since Google upgraded it to 'live' 8 months ago.

What's going on? The machines are doing their jobs, but where humans are needed, the humans are failing. The system's are speaking to eachother via XML. Yahoo Flickr is properly transmitting to Google's specs. It knows the tag names. It knows how to authenticate users. So, we know that these things were set up properly by the engineers. But some things are not contained in xml. This would be information of a higher order, of a singular or irregular fashion. It requires real eyes and ears to stay in tune with such info, and to make manual edits to HTML content. Apparently, such content is not regularly reviewed by the likes of Flickr. The dismissal of the beta status was big news at Blogger and impacted its millions of users, but the news fell between the cracks at Yahoo.

Perhaps the news occured between Content Updates at Flickr. It's unfortunate. Each system need not trumpet any marketing initiative of the other, but each does need to be informed of the basics. Perhaps such basic info should be included in the XML, as a tag that is agreed to by the Heavies and other players. That way, the 'Name of Service,' or 'Service Image' would update itself. Otherwise, these various networks are going to have to hire folks to more often update HTML landing pages.

Google Wises Up: Link to iGoogle

2007-11-06T07:50:00.000-08:00

Google has updated its portal, there is now a new link "Back to iGoogle." As I noted in earlier post, the only way to get to iGoogle was by clicking on "Web" which also means 'web search results.'

In that earlier post, I describe how a simple search can produce errors and confusion. As well as Google has performed, it has probably lagged due to poor search user interface. If Google makes searching and navigation consistent, and does not generate errors, then it will enable an even larger share of searches. Meaning, more moolah.

Amazon Can't Combine Gift Certs and Gifts

2007-10-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

For some reason, Amazon just won't let you add a paper gift certificate along with some products in the same order. It's ridiculous. Is it not a common gift giving solution to purchase an item or more and to embellish it with a gift certificate?

Apparently, gift certs are an entire different animal, treated by a different system. Funny, because Amazon does a good job of grouping Amazon and non-Amazon products into cart. Yet, if you've already Added some items to Cart, and then choose to purchase a Gift Certificate, it ignores the Cart items, regardless of whether you seek to send an electronic gift cert or a paper cert.

I like sending paper certs. I would like to send one along with some books, or kitchen products. But in this present day of 2007, it can't happen at Amazon. I ran into this problem 3 years ago after my pal Eric married Jodi. I tolerated it because I figured, okay, still working out some issues... but now it's almost 2008. Time for Amazon to indulge this 'niche' gift idea.

Craplets: PC Makers on Drugs?

2007-10-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

PC Makers (OEMs) have decided to install multiple trial software programs, which load on boot, severely slowing down the time to get started. These trial programs have earned the nickname 'craplets,' and retailers offer to remove them at the time of purchase, often at a cost. This may have been noted elsewhere, but I must ask: isn't this crazy? This is the new reality? BestBuy sales people, in addition to extending to customers an extended warranty, must also state, with a straight face: "There's a lot of crap on this computer. Do you want us to remove it for just $30?" Such behavior seems the stuff of a monopoly (you can imagine a Phone Man coming to your parents' home years ago, offering to remove six bogus digits from the pad), and yet the computer industry is as competitive as ever, with a resurgent, ballyhooed Apple making machines in addition to the many Wintel and WinAmD OEMs.

Questions to consider:

What is behind this development? How much commission do OEMs get from these trials? Or, do the makers get the money upfront just for loading it on the machine? In which case, they may make money despite not selling the machine? Who are these craplet vendors? Is Apple behind it? Craplets have undermined the rollout of Vista... are OEMs so upset at Microsoft that they find self-destruction admirable so long as it helps knock down Redmond?

When Microsoft was being sued throughout the late 90s for its 'closed' operating system, OEMs were demanding increased ability to customize Windows. Are craplets what they had in mind? This is the result of the anti-trust settlement: the right to erode customer trust by selling slower machines?

iPod earbuds post un-tangle still Confuse

2007-10-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

The iPod's white earbuds would be easier to use if one of the earbuds was colored.
The only way to determine which piece is for Right Ear versus Left Ear is to hold one of the pieces close to the eye, turning the piece to view the single letter ("L" or "R") faintly marked on its inner-side.
Ironically, Apple celebrates its releasing of various colors for various products, but the lack of an additional color Within an existing item makes it less usable.
You almost get the feeling that the geniuses would 'rectify' this problem, by releasing an all-green ear buds....amen.

What you can do: use a marker to color one of the buds. Or, use high-quality stereo headphones.
In that case, the Left and Right sides is known / derived from the shape of the phones.
Even if still ambiguous, at least the quality sound makes up for the momentary confusion. Not something that can be said of the shabby iPod phones.
(My editor just informed me that any mention of iPod phones must include the word "ubiquitous." )

The iPod earbuds are ubiquitous but far from perfect.

Google Kind of Wants Us to Use iGoogle

2007-10-03T14:57:00.001-07:00

Google won cheers this summer by adding a set of context links to its search page, but due to a major flaw--a single Link that does 2 different things, an omitted Link, lack of Navigation Labels, the user is often stranded and confused.

At issue is iGoogle, which can serve as a homepage to house short cuts, collections of links, and RSS feeds. I like iGoogle. I have added some content to it. I try to visit when I can... but how do I get there? Hmmm. Well, I just had a hunch, and typed in "igoogle.com," which worked!

Once you login to Google.com, you can use the link in the top right corner to go to "iGoogle."
Terrfic. I see my homepage. I also see a row of links on the left corner:
Web (unlinked, because I am there) | Images | Video | News | Maps | Gmail More (drop-down list of other services)

So, I have gathered that "Web" equals where I am.. And that's the error Google made: it denotes "Web" to mean 2 things: iGoogle, but this same link also means a type of Search (regular web search as opposed to those other types of Searches:images, video,maps). This is both unintuitive and leads to inconsistent results.

Here's is a typical sequence of events:
1. I've gotten to iGoogle.
2. I click 'Images'.
3. It leads to Image Search.
4. I choose not to Search. I click "Web" to return to iGoogle (the only link to iGoogle).
5. I click Books from the "More" drop-down list.
6. From the menu of Book categories, I choose "Linguistics."
7. This auto-populates the Search Input field with 'subject:"Linguistics"'
8. I want to return to iGoogle, so I click "Web."
9. This brings up an Empty Search Results page, as if I had meant to do a web search for "Subject:Linguistics." (this will always bring up an empty search because, as the page notes: subject:" Linguistics " was dropped from your search because it is not supported for this type of search.)

** See Bottom of this Post, to see Screen Shots of the Above Sequence **

That is not a good experience, and it is due to poor design.

The heart of the problem is failure to resolve a common issue wrested with by web site designers: should links be Verbs or Nouns or Adjectives? It is important to be consistent at least within a given group of links? Usually, a designer thinks through the logical ramifications, and chooses One and Sticks to it. Google, although guilty of omitting a heading for its disparate groups of links, does offer consistent logic/English in its Left top corner grouping IF VIEWED IN ONE CONTEXT.

But, amazingly, Google gives the word "Web" two meanings: a Place (iGoogle) and a type of Search, and it uses the very same Link to enforce both meanings. A dedicated link to "iGoogle" would go a long way to address this (the company has bought up half of the Carolinas to house its new data centers--but it doesn't have 40 pixels of space for an iGoogle link? )

If you look further at that Left Corner group of Links, just within the context of Search Type, it is not actually sensible. What is Google implying by these words?
Does "Web" imply "web pages?" Or is it not the 'parent' of the other search types?
The word used for each link within a group should be able to fit into One commonly structured sentence, which need not be displayed, but can be inferred from the group heading. At Google Left Corner, what would that sentence be?
"Search the Web for Web ".. no. What if we use them each as adjectives for the word 'search?'
"Web search".... "Images search" .... Wait! Pluralize image? Is that consistent? Is that hip? (Aren't only older citizens charged with inappropriate pluralizing of words?) Maybe the unstated sentence formula is: "Search All (of the world's known) X for ____". That would make sense, because "Video" does not need to take the "s" to become plural. But again, that word "Web" doesn't fit.

This brings up the need for a Group Label. It is important for designers to Label things not only because it helps the user, but it then helps the designer by keeping him mindful of what he is doing/putting together.

The Internet is still new, and different organizations and users have different ideas and views. This is accepted by all, and thus, we expect and even embrace different arrangements, viewpoints--so long as the viewpoint is Clear and consistent.

Google has built up heaps of goodwill. Most people defer to it, and will give it a break. If it wants to organize a set of Links, or Methods to view content, in a given way, then users will follow the way.. The problem is, the Way is not Understood.

There is a limit to how much can be Implied, rather than expressed, in web site navigation. There is a lot of information and communication made available by Google: it enables self-expression and labeling/tagging, and it itself develops and rolls out a lot of content. Further more, Google provides a lot of FAQs, and How-tos throughout its services, such as this Blogger. For some reason, they let things slide on the single most visited page that contains the single most important function.

Google's stated mission is to organize the world's information. But in the rush to do so, it hasn't properly organized itself.

1. from iGoogle, went to Image Search

2. Used the Left Corner "Web" link to return to iGoogle. No other link visible.

3. Used the "More" list to go to "Book Search"

4. Clicked a category from the Left, which auto-filled the search input field.

6. Clicked "Web" to return to iGoogle. But, in this case, since the Form was auto-filled, and since Google took it to be a Search Request, it brought up a No Search Results page. (and always will, because of the syntax of Book search is not recognized by Web Search).

How Pandora Mimics The Worst Aspect of Cable's Music Choice

2007-08-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

Cable provides a valuable set of 24/7 commercial free music channels. These channels are only laughable when you look at the TV screen, which displays random artist facts and DMV-quality photography per song. For a more enjoyable Audio and Video marriage, VH1's "Popup Video" fared better. Maybe Music Choice should employ some of that team.

My main peeve with Music Choice's screen display is in how it provides basic song/album data. Its practice is to assign a song to an album on which it recently appeared, and its corresponding year of release. Such info is helpful if I want to walk down to the nearest Sam Goody and pick up the compact disc, but it doesn't convey the track's history. Here's a Music Choice example: while playing "Good Vibrations" it will show the album "Best of the Beach Boys (2002)." True enough--but when was the song recorded?

Many music fans like myself want to know when a track was recorded, and on what 'product' it first appeared (a single, EP, album, soundtrack). It is understood that over time, a track will be remixed, remastered, and appear on new compilations. We are told that we are in a "post-album" era. All the more reason to not assign a track to a random compilation or re-release--unless you give the full history. Since Music Choice is unmarried to commerce--not only does it lack commericials, but it has no means to 'click and purchase,' then you would think it would want to share History of the Track (and since it shares so much random artist info, i.e. "The Hart sisters ran a lemonade stand in Tennesse as pre-teens").

The web offers ample space to provide a full History of a track, and to list all available methods to purchase the track. iTunes does a good job of listing the many variations of a song, per release. (Search for 'Walk the Line')

Pandora does not.

Pandora is an excellent free web radio service that combines scientifically-inspired music research ("the music genome project") with personal preferences to play songs it thinks you will like. For all the work it does in correlating and suggesting similar tracks, it lacks track history. Odd, because even on a per track basis, it offers a lot of information: a Review, a list of attributes, a link to Band Bio. Somewhere it forgot to offer Track history. It should nail down the meanings of "Recording" "Track" "song" "cut" "mixed" and "record" "album" so that we know what we are learning and seeking info about.

The standard measurement, from which the others relate, would be 'track.' That way, Pandora could state:
"This track (Good Vibrations) was cut (mixed down to record) May 1966 (based on various recording sessions).
"It first appeared as a single May 1966."
"The first album on which it appeared: 'Smiley Smile', which is offered by Capitol as a 2fer ("Smiley Smile/Wild Honey") (note: that info is relevant only to offline shoppers, unless you're interested in record company packagings...although, those re-releases often coincide with remastering).
"This version is a stereo remix released 1990, when full album was remastered."
"You can purchase this version online via ...."
"You can purchase other mixes of this song,(click ->)."
"Other bands that have recorded this song include..."
"To view other recordings of this song..."

Whew. Lot of info... TMI? Welp, that's what the Internet offers. If one requests it ("More Info" link) one should be able to obtain this depth of info.

Now, in Part II I will explore the Pandora's limitations in seeking to assign each track to an album.

YouTube Full Screen View Means Re-Start

2007-08-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

If you are watching a YouTube video, and wish to view it in Full-Screen mode, you have to click an icon in the bottom-right corner of the Player. The icon, as well as the other icon in that corner, attempt to symbolize the concept of 'Go to Full Screen' (and the other, 'Go to Letterbox').

I would say that these buttons are not self-evident.

When you do go to full screen mode, a message overlays the video player: "Click ESC to exit Full Screen Mode." That is helpful information. Why then, not have a similar Text prompt, when in Regular mode?

"Click (x) to go to Full Screen Mode."

It would help. The bigger issue to address, re. Full Screen Mode, is that it returns the Playback cursor to the Beginning of the video. Why? Windows Media Player has for many years offered the 'Full Screen' method (also via iconography) which continues to play the video. Can't the Google Gang at least match that work from Redmond?

YouTube: As awesome as your awesome tools are, can you please make some tweaks that would enable users to easily find the way to Full Screen, and when they do so, to not have to restart the movie?

The Soft Terrorism of Tunnel Stoppages

2007-08-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

Summary:

The usability of our cities' bridges, tunnels, and subways is compromised when any and all users are granted a veto to shut down the system. Authorities must prevent abuse of the veto and screen perpetrators for potential to cause greater harm to the people and infrastructure.

****
Terrorists need not cause fatalities, only anger borne of inconvenience. It is possible that Al Queda has targeted bridges and tunnels in New York and other cities; not to destroy but to create roadblocks.

The Lincoln Tunnel, which connects New Jersey to New York City, has experienced delays the previous two days due to what's been termed "disabled vehicles." Who was the driver of the disabled car? Was the driver fined? It is not known. The media still only refers generally to these matters, under the Traffic segment of their programs. But these incidents might be a big story, marking a change in tactic by the terrorists who want to harm Americans. Certainly, the many thousands of commuters who depend on the Lincoln have been harmed, and will continue to be harmed, by these sudden breakdowns.

A car need not be broken to cause a roadblock. "Disabled" is only one of several explanations for an immobile car. There has to be a rewording of the situation. The media and the authorities are not only guilty of reporting too little; they report assumptions. We would all have a better sense of what is going on if the media and police discovered and reported on discovery. Just the facts, please.

Wrong: (present phrasing): Traffic is delayed 40 minutes in the Lincoln Tunnel due to a disabled vehicle.

More Accurate: Traffic is delayed 40 minutes in the Lincoln Tunnel because a vehicle in the right lane is not moving.

Most Accurate: Traffic is delayed 40 minutes in the Lincoln Tunnel because a vehicle in the right lane is not moving. The driver has cut off the engine and abandoned the vehicle.

The authorities must not jump to conclusions, prematurely exclude possibilities, or conceal specifics. We can not ignore the possibility that some people, for whatever reason, get a kick out of causing havoc with our roadways.

When a given action is neither difficult to execute nor punishable, then an actor, if he desires, will indulge in it repeatedly. The insurance industry calls such situations as causing a "moral hazard" of overuse. The simple action of deserting a car causes inordinate suffering to a city. The Port Authority of New York/New Jersey should investigate who is behind these disabled vehicles, and whether a punishment should be levied that would deter future occurrences. In short, the police must catch the perpetrators and be able to levy fines based on the degree of fault by the driver, and the resulting community inconvenience.

This would not just reduce the frequency of these small traffic disasters, but could catch plotters before they move on to bigger crimes. Car abandonment might be a gateway crime to car exploding.

Keeping Away "Deathly Hallows" Endings

2007-07-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

There's been much concern about filtering out 411 about the content of the final Harry Potter book.

The idea is to shut down potential 'channels' that could bring in the harmful information. It's been recommended to avoid news web sites, where eyes might chance upon a headline or blurb that gives the ending away.

If you use a news aggregator to gather your news, and only a news aggregator to gather your news, and if that aggregator allows for Filtering of articles based on keywords, then you could set it to keep out any "Harry Potter" stories.

In that way, a news reader, by virture of what it can keep out, would have a persuasive reason for adoption to those not yet hip to its ability to fetch. I know of no other News Source that would allow such customization of experience. In traditional media, there are 'self constraints.' We take it on good faith that Brian Williams will not suddenly blow the whistle.

Years from now, we might remark it as odd the dependence on voluntary restraint of a broadcaster. But that is how it is now. It means that we have a personal relationship with Mr. Williams. That is to be treasured because down the road, with comupter interfaces, you will have control but you'll be dealing only with systems, not persons with feelings, integrity, and values.

Ah, people. The opposite of the self-restrained advocate is the malevolent bellower intent on "runing it" for you.
In New York City, there are millions of human 'channels' and among them must be at least a few thousand MBs.If you travel with the Potter book you are a target.So, what can you do?

You can disguise your Potter interest by swapping book jackets. For example, replace Deathly Hallows with Great Expectations. If you cross paths with an MB, he could still try to ruin it for you, but unless you don't know Miss Havisham is the benefactor, you'll be unharmed?

But the jacket throw-off could backfire among benevolent restrainers. After all, the BR, wishing not to ruin someone's experience, will restrain when he detects the presence of fellows with potential for harm, but if he does not detect such danger, he may feel free to talk. Imagine being alone in a subway car, with your disguised book. The BR enters with a pal, eager to chat about Deathly Hallows. The BR scans the car, sees only you with the classic Dickens tale, and begins to talk about the "Hallows" subject matter. Your life is ruined.

Ah, then you would argue that the BR should have checked with you first or made a pre-statement (warning). Indeed, the BR in the above case, in practice is no different than a MB. It is not intent, but actions, that connect us in the big communication system. A failed MB is then more advantageous for your needs than a mistaken BR.

Moron Water

2007-07-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

Following up from most recent post, here is more on using water.

When you must add water into or onto an object where there is a threat of adding too much, then you should use a measuring pitcher (cups are for solids; pitchers, liquid).

If no measuring pitcher, then use another intermediary vessel--you'll have control if not accuracy. Add water from control device incrementally.

If you do not have or wish to employ an intermediary vessel, but are 'winging it' directly under water source (sink tap) then:

First, turn on the water source and set to a flow rate you deem prudent. A slow rate gives you control.*

Then, place the receiving object beneath the tap.

Keep the object beneath the tap until it collects a sufficient water amount.

You can remove, mix, and return to tap as you need.

[*More can always be added (so long as there's a water supply) but you do not want to have to Remove Water, and in many cases you can't.]

Success! Your casserole is going to turn out just fine! If you are going to be Adding Water regularly, then you might consider springing for a good measuring pitcher and cleaning it so that it is ready for use.

At the Hand Wash

2007-07-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

A well designed wash area will not leave you wet. But many patron bathrooms (I use this term instead of public restrooms, which are usually larger, and free to non-customers and customers alike), even when amply supplied with drying devices, cause an irreversible water flow ("Water Trickle") onto the arm.

Here’s how:

1. Wash area is in small 'one man' bathroom, as you might find in a restaurant.
2. Wash area uses paper towel dispenser (it is irrelevant how the sheets are dispensed).
3. Dispenser sits on the wall next to sink, about shoulder to head high.
4. User is wearing a long sleeved Oxford shirt.
5. After washing, user raises arms to retrieve paper sheets.
6. Position of arms (vertical) causes water from hands and wrists to trickle down, under the sleeves of shirt.

The problem is the location of the paper towel supply. It is too high. A smart user knows to arrange drying material before starting the wash. That is, to pre-pull or pre-prompt (depending on manual or automatic). The effect is to minimize the post-wash 'wetfetch' period.

But despite this planning, the user is penalized because the very act of collecting the pre-pulled towels causes the Water Trickle. A user can get around this, if there is a place BELOW chest-level to place the towels. If a restroom is small, of the restaurant one-shooter variety described above, then it should:

1. Set some loose (freed) towels on a low-level, near the sink.

If such a bathroom neither has a ready supply at low-level, nor has ample space on or near sink for the user to place pre-collected towels, then the user may avoid Water Trickle:

1. Manually or auto ready a good stretch of sheets.
2. After washing, reach for the towels avoiding raising arms.
3. Tack horizontally, hands first.
4. OR: One efficient maneuver is to press hands together as in prayer--ELBOWS OUT.
5. Then raise hands toward towels, like a pincer.

Good luck.

Home bathrooms have it right regarding the level of the towel. The rack is positioned at just the right height, allowing for a quick dry-off....so long as there is a clean towel to which the user believes he is entitled to use.

Craigs List: Red Marker in hand, where do I circle?

2007-07-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

It's not easy to criticize Craig's List. Most everyone wants to meet Craig, lock his head endearingly, and order him rounds of Brooklyn Lager. And his list? Oh gosh... the original copy should be under glass alongside the Constituion. Three Cheers for CL! Buyers love it. Sellers adore it. Designers cite it as an example of 'what works'... made by people 'who get it.' Get what? Clean, simple, oh so elegant design. Outkast perhaps had CL in mind when writing"So fresh and so clean clean." But there is room for improvement.

Users who want to save a Posting to read later have only one choice: "Email this Posting to a Friend." Savvy users know that they can Email themselves. But what a chore! It's a 6 step process::
1. Click link "Email Posting to Friend."
2. Input Friend address,
3. Input Your address.
4. Click Submit button.
5. View Confirm page.
6. Click to return to listing (or use Back button 2 steps).

What a drag. After doing that for each Posting, you can then log into your email, and check out the posts. And what if you seek to view the postings offline? Often when reading posts, I like to make a copy for my Desktop, to view in Word. How do I accomplish that? Well, by Copying and Pasting of course. And yes, there is room for error! Often I forget to grab the headline, or contact info. My bad, right?

Or, maybe it's Craig's bad. Maybe his list is not perfect. Perhaps endless rounds of free beer are not the best medicine for designing user interfaces. Welp, Craig. Let me be give it to you straight (as unpopular as that term may be among your list's social set):: it is high time you make it easy to SAVE POSTINGS.

When scanning Print ads, users circle ads. We should be able to do so here too. Here's what I suggest:

1. The mouse is a Red Marker. (This is easy to accomplish. Yes, it is a graphical enhancement, but it doesn't affect load time or screen appearance, just the mouse).
2. To 'circle' an ad, the user can 'make a circle' (in practice, click anywhere on the headline) or click a "save post" link atop and below the posting.
3. A right column on Screen: displays saved ads.
4. Right column contains links:
Send saved ads to Email.
Save to Desktop (Word or Text Doc)
Delete (checked) listings.

Oh, Craig. You can get this right. Hasn't EBay given you any advice? No. Just a lot of beer. What?! You prefer Anchor Steamer?! I, I didn't know. I just assumed you dug Booklyn Beh. I forgot you're from San Fran. Well, you've got kindred spirits out in Booklyn. Make it easier to save posts, and you will be all the more loved!

Pandora: How Long Can We Sing this Song?

2007-07-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Pandora is a wonderful service. If you haven't already begun using this nifty Music Genome based personal radio player, you ought to.

Today I point out one glaring problem with the player :: it does not list the running time of the songs it plays. This information could appear within the individual song box which contains the album art, song title, album title and artist. Or it could appear in the Music controller, which is just a Play / Pause toggle button. Since most media players include total time, as well as elapsed AND time remaining, Pandora would be wise to do so. Hec, even to just mimic iTune's interface.

Another omission is Year of Release. It would be nice to know the year when each song was produced or released. For select songs, it appears in a Detail Page. But for some reason it doesn't appear for most songs. And it never appears in the song's box (above). Pandora invites users to "Guide Us." But, Pandora could do a little more guiding itself.

Talkin Wall Street Journal Blues

2007-07-09T14:38:00.001-07:00

The WSJ Online has long been cheered for its ability to charge and collect subscription fees, and for its heaps of information. I'm glad to fork over $10 per month. The site refreshes and reloads every few minutes with breaking news that often directly effects my investments in Big Business.
There are a couple Interface Issues to call out::

1. iFrame on homepage doesn't Auto-Reload. While the homepage refreshes itself--and timestamps itself, its right column iFrame, which contains each user's "My Journal," a personalized collection of links and news, does not. My "My Journal", lists certain stock prices. When I see the time stamp on the homepage, and then look at my stock list, I am inclined to assume I have the latest prices. The iFrame should reload. Also, the list of stocks should be Time Stamped as well. No reason this important piece of info should not be included atop EACH quote.
Example: "price as of 3:24pm"
Some other news sources just give the vague, relative "up to 15 minute delay." Useless. Just give me the time at which that info was collected so I can compare it to present:
Example: "Time is 3:24pm EST. Price as of 3:18pm EST"

The WSJ does give the time stamp when you search a company's quote. Just not in the "My Online Journal" portfolios.

**
The second 'issue' regards the online journal using the exact copy as the print version. It is common for the Editorial Board to refer to an accompanying column. They accomplish this, in print, with a parenthetical "See Above" or "See Below." Example: ("for more on why lower taxes are always best, see Mitch Wagner's piece above")

Ummm, hello? On the Internet, that is exactly the kind of reference that could be LINKED. The accompanying piece is not "above" or "below"--it simply is where it is, and can be goten to through a hyper link. By leaving it as is, the Online Journal turns the paper's helpful hint into a confusing challenge. Perhaps the Journal could hire someone to vet the articles for possible hyperlinks.

**

The third problem is a style 'issue.' At the top of each page, there is a link to see a Print Friendly version. This helpful feature is cleverly sponsored by "Toshiba" which apparently is hoping to make inroads in the printing 'space.' (Hey, good for them. Why desert an entire industry to HP just because HP is kicking butt. DONT give up!) Congrats to the WSJ account exec who brought in that deal... Anyhoo: the problem with the Print Version of a Page is that it needlessly includes some Elements that SHOULD NOT PRINT!!

Prime Example: Video Player. Many articles have an embedded Bright Cove video player to play a clip related to the 'piece.' If the user aims to Print the Piece, then she does not need to see a picture of a video player. This element should not be displayed.

Maybe the new owner of the WSJ will demand a new style sheet. Or, maybe the web team will insist on complete Independence from Ownership, as a condition for signing onto any deal. Yeah, that seems fair-- a CSS oversight committee.

Blogger Profiles: Only One per User

2007-06-02T13:36:00.001-07:00

Ahh, Blogger. I'm back! I've been away for a week, in Ireland, and in that time I have forgotten one of the things which bugs me about Blogger: it allows just one profile per user, rather than multiple profiles, to be assigned to various Blogs to which the user contributes.

Pretty confounding, the policy. A blog is specialized, geared to a particular interest from a unique point of view. Should not the Profile likewise be customised to fit the blog?

I have a second blog, in which I ramble about most anything, in a 'freewheelin' manner. The blog can be a bit informal and insulting, providing a bulwark against me ever obtaining employment by a company that has U.S. government contracts. Readers of the blog who click "About Me->profile" will see that I'm a "user interface designer." Why? Because that is the profile I created when creating this here blog. When I realized Blogger was all about a UNIFIED BEING, enforcing a one to many relationship among profiles and blogs, I retained the new profile.

Now, I think I'll remove the "modular" altogether, and insert custom HTML in each blog's pane, that identifies a unique profile.

In the meantime, the brains at Google might consider allowing multiple profiles.

Cancelling Elevators: Part II

2007-05-21T13:26:00.001-07:00

I am still formulating an efficient solution to the elevator issue from the previous draft, but I will share my thought process, and the solution I am exploring.

Summary of Problem:
People call-up / request each Elevator Car to their lobby. When the first car arrives, the person enters. But the other cars eventually arrive, often with passengers who are delayed for the unnecessary stop. We are seeking a way to Cancel the Call to Cars when request is already filled; no need for the other cars to arrive.

Line of Thought:

1. Passengers will not go out of their way to cancel without being rewarded.
2. If a cancel button or toggle off switch existed on each request button, then customers would have to go out their way to cancel, because 'their way' is towards the first arriving car.
3. Our system is not set up to provide rewards to passengers.
4. If system will not give rewards, and passengers will not go out of way, then cancel mechanism must not require an action of the passenger that takes him of his way.
5. Cancel button/toggler cannot be on the wall, next to door, as the request buttons are.
6. If a cancel button/toggler need not be on the wall, then neither do the request buttons need to be on the wall.
So, the solution to the Cancel mechanism could be a solution that also provides for requests. We can reword our need to incorporate that.... : "Call and Cancel Mechanism."
7* One solution is to provide a 'remote' clicker to each building member. The clicker would be used to request and cancel the cars.
- The clicker :
A. Requires extra equipment to be maintained by users.
B. Does not provide for non-members.

8. The clicker is not a good solution.

9. One of the reasons the clicker is a bad idea, is because the passengers must do actions that are not related to the core activity of traveling up or down the building.
10. The remote would have buttons, and the remote adds extra activity; the wall buttons are buttons, so it could be that all buttons are unnecessary.
11. An ideal solution would require minimal action of passenger. The status should be a byproduct of their single, true desire (up or down) rather than require any further input than the statement of the single, true desire.

**** At this point, I am studying the feasibility of a Floor Mat, with alternate colors for "Down" and "Up." A car moving in the direction X will arrive at a floor if at least one Foot is atop a floor section for X....

*******

I am heading to Ireland for a week. I will resume this exercise later...

Cancelling Elevator Call Requests

2007-05-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

I work on floor 22 of a 25 story building serviced by 3 'cars.'

Often during high traffic elevator periods, such as 5:30pm, when descending to the lobby, the elevator stops at a floor and opens its doors to an empty lobby.

It occurred to me that the people waiting on those floors received a better offer. Having pressed each car's call button, they boarded the first arrival--and departed. It was wise of them to hedge their bets... but it needlessly delayed my car and its population.

I envisioned a 'cancel' button placed next to each down and up button in the lobby. Today a "cancel button elevators" Google informed me that a Mike Golding at 'whynot.com' had the same idea. The comments on that page reveals that some elevators, inside the car, have a deselect function for any button. Pressing it once 'selects;' twice, deselects. Practical idea.

If the lobby 'call' buttons had that same feature, they wouldn't need an extra button--just the same double-click deselect ability. But I do not think a Cancel function would solve the problem of 'deserters' aka 'phantom callers', because it requires humans doing something without self-incentive. What would the caller gain by cancelling his request? Indeed, he may even endanger his acceptance into the 'white night' elevator, by taking time to cancel the other calls. [ Picture how callers center themselves before the row of elevators, again 'hedging their bet.' When the far-left lift arrives, would they time or inclination to shuffle over to cancel the far right call? Unlikely.]

I have some ideas how to solve this issue, and will share such fruits in a future post. Please chime in with your own.

If you can call your profile 'Al', I want to Label you a 'Fraud'

2007-05-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

I've been writing a lot recently about 'Labels' aka 'Tags.' In the previous post, I noted that Google's Gmail does not allow you to Label your Contacts. That is unfortunate, but not uncommon--most other big services disallow the labeling of friends and colleagues. The new darling "LinkedIn" gives you an Alphabetical list of Contacts, and allows you Filter based on Industries/Professions that each Contact has assigned himself to. But no labels. Similarly, Myspace, owing either to a unimaginative project team or an old Christian disinclination to tag people, offers no method to sort your Friends. Indeed, the term Friends is generic and often inappropriate. (I use the term "profile" synonmous with 'friend' because just as you have your own personal profile, the other inhabitants of Myspace have Profiles. It's a good term to mean an online representation/page pertaining to a person or persons who are you or not you.)

Here's how it goes in Myspace:

1. A Request for a Friendship (should be Relationship) comes into your inbox. Sometimes it is noted that the requesting profile is in your 'Extended Network' - meaning you have a common profile, but it does not say who or what that is.
2. You Add or Deny.
3. If Add, the profile is in Your Group of Friends ("External Profiles" ).
4. That's it.

In the Myspace world, there is no distinction between Profiles you don't know but charitably accepted versus Profiles you are almost certain represent your girlfriend. The only method to quickly view the page of often visited pals, is to put them into your Top 8/16/or 24 friends, and then jump to them from your public profile. Bogus!

When logged in, you should be able to sort your Profiles into any number of different groupings, based on attributes each profile assigned to himself as well as those you've assigned to the profile. Sign-ups to Myspace have to assign themselves to a Single master group/genre such as Comedian, Band (funny, eh that they insist on that name rather than musician). That is bogus and suprisingly narrow-minded in this day of multi-tasking. Geez. Myspace offers no suggestions to users who want to do Multiple artistic pursuits...

The big problem is, Myspace demands that users identify (label!) themselves as one and only one Type of User. And then it does not allow members to even sort their Profiles by that User Type!

The FIX:
1. let users label their personal profile(s), and to also label their external profiles.
2. Allow users to Sort their List of Profiles based on the Tags.
3. Allow users to make Lists/Groups, a feature presently available in YouTube.

In such a scenario, I could login, view a list of Best Friends, Bands I Like, view All Musicians I Know, sort by Number of Stars I've given music, show my friends by hair color, age.... It'd be very convenient.

Indeed. Returning to the subject of labeling contacts in general, throughout the many services, I'll say that Google has the best potential for devising an ideal set up of Contacts, if it can merge several of its technologies (there's no word yet whether Google/Gmail Account holders will be able to merge youtube accounts into their Google account).

Here's what I want:
1. A List of Profiles, which contain Contact Information and link to Public Profile Pages.

2. The ability to Sort those contacts based on Labels and Lists that I have created and based on the user's own tags, groups.

3. To see, at a glance, what new Output the contacts have created, or Events they have planned (that I'm not uninvited to...)

4. With a click, see the Conversations we've had, and to Start a new conversation.

Google can make it happen for these reasons:
1. It deploys Labeling through much of its services.
2. It's YouTube allows you to assign contacts to Lists you create.
3. It understands that Each Party in a Relationship can represent him/herself as well as the other. This concept is evident in Gmail's "Add Photo" feature of Contact Editing. You can upload your own photo of that contact, as well as view the Photo that the contact uploaded of herself.
4. In Gmail you can show mail based on labels, or search using a pronoun as keyword.

I hope Google pulls it all together soon. If you've seen their site recently, you've noticed that it has given a 'name' to its personal homepage: "iGoogle." That is a key step. With a name comes definition, which can expand and change... I believe you'll be seeing more streamlining of Google's user profile-based properties (youTube, picassa) so that you can assign one or more of them into your iGoogle. When that happens, you'll see the stock go back up.

Gmail Filters: Disallows Multiple Values per Criteria and Labeling of Contacts :(

2007-05-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

Oh, Google: you keep sprinkling killer apps with AJAX and Comet to make the interface really 'fast' , and yet by overlooking how the tools are employed by us humans, you waste so much of our time! Take for instance, Gmail Filters (cited in the previous post for its usefullness). As you may know or can guess, Filters are like MS Outlook Rules-- your instructions to the program to Do things to Incoming Messages. First, you define Criteria by placing a value in any of the following inputs: From, To, Subject, Has the words, Doesn't Have (the words).

Then you Choose an Action to be run on the targeted messages:

The weakness lies within the Defining of Criteria. For starters, the input fields do not use the auto-fill / display of likely matches service which Google deploys in many of its other apps. This oversight is especially unsensible in the 'From' field, because Gmail Contacts are already stored. When I typed in my brother Kevin's address, I had to type it in its entirety, which might have caused a wrong address. A prompt, or list of addresses matching a nickname or first few characters (which Yahoo Mail provides) would be helpful.

The major problem with the Criteria Inputs is they don't allow multiple values. I wanted to create one Family filter. In the 'From' field, I should be able to "kevin OR rowland OR clyde." Why are web services Inputs void of Boolean definitions? Remember those advanced Searches we learned in college to query library databases? They would be very helpful nowadays, too!
Say I have multiple siblings each with the same last name, and also, an unrelated friend with same last name. This would do the trick:

[From: contains] 'hanley BUT NOT cindy';

And in the case where I have four sisters who are married, and have different last names, I would like to do this:

[From: contains] 'clyde' OR 'christine' OR 'kathleen'

Instead, I have to create a NEW FILTER FOR EACH sibling!! Hey, I do want to make multiple filters, but to hanle a myriad of business and personal relationships. One filter should handle the fam.

An indirect, alternative method to accomplish that wish, would be to first: Tag each of your Contacts (assign a label/keyword). Then, when creating a filter, use a Label as a Criteria.
Example:
[From: labled]: 'fam'

However, this method is impossible as well--Gmail does not allow you to Label Contacts, nor does it allow Labels to be a Filter Criteria! But Gmail does offer to Assign Labels as a Filter's Action.
If [From: kevin]: Then : label 'fam'

Gmail Filters are a helpful tool for deleting or forwarding targed communications. But human users want to organize / sort messages based on Types of Contacts. The easiest way to offer that, would be to allow users to Label each contact. Gmail adds a layer of complication by not allowing the labeling of contacts, and then demanding a unique Filter for each Contact.

Email Filters are Helpful Tools

2007-05-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

One of the sillier things I've done in the music scene is ask my old guitar instructor to remove one of my addresses from his mailing list (he was that type of entertainer guilty of importing into a blaster every address from which he received a message). My request was unnecessary, and (directed as it was to an egomaniac) insulting. Also, challenging. I was asking him to do something, period. If he was interested in granting the wish, then he would have had to learn how to remove an email address from his blaster. Although that is probably easy, the thought of learning can induce a headache.

All I needed to do was set up a filter or ‘rule’ in my Email Program to siphon off any incoming messages from the blaster—which is what I did two weeks of invites later.

Note the faulty logic which led to my request:
I do not want Ben’s band invites in my gmail inbox. I am going to take action—by asking him to stop. (Because I have no control over what arives in my inbox, I must depend on the senders. )He is sending the invites to both yahoo and gmail accounts. I will ask him to only send it to yahoo account. (Yeah, and contact each and every spammer in your Bulk folder and ask them to stop too).

Here is how I should have thought through the matter:
I do not want to see Ben’s band invites in my Gmail inbox. I must preserve the Gmail inbox as a spam-free family and friend zone. How can I prevent the trespassing? What tool(s) may I access to control my Gmail experience?

The answer: Filters. Filters is the fourth tab in the Settings Panel, which gmail users may access through a link from the top right Header. Remember users: gmail, yahoo mail, hotmail are each Email PROGRAMS. There is more to them than just what Displays upon log in: Inbox and Left Navigation. Programs Do things, and give you a level of control in how things are done. Look into it… Filtering is how these programs keep away spam, or direct it to a Bulk folder (Yahoo). You can do it too!

Another lesson: when dealing with man-machine hybrids such as a distant friend/colleague using an Email Blaster, it is best to mediate issues through a machine of your own. Although I could not (and probably should not have tried to) directly contact Ben, I could adjust my machine to overpower his machine. Not only did my filter nullify his blaster’s action, but it required no work on Ben’s part. Therefore, he has that much more time to book awesome shows in venues such as that rockin’ place in Dover, N.H.

Shall I Label that Tag?

2007-05-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

Technology writers love to compare standards competitions to the famed Beta / VHS duel. Recently this nostalgiaparison was gucked onto the Blue Ray – Super Duper DVD battle. It could also be applied to the burgeoning divergence between the Widget and Gadget delivery systems. Will Google buy its way out of its unusual position of being the less accepted technology? Will staid platforms like Myspace learn that Javascript modules are the Least of their worries (far less damaging to user experience than the megabytes of ads)?

There is another high-exposure conflict in the tech world. In a limited view, it is a name game: Labels versus Tags. Both words are taken to mean “keywords”: any number of adjectives, nouns, verbs (y’know; the ‘Big Three’ of words) that are descriptive of an object, or symbolize analogous and related objects. At least, that is MY take on the purpose of a Tag aka Label. Although producers and consumers are increasingly encouraged to tag and label objects, most venues do not provide instructions. Indeed, for a prompt, usually a short example is all we get. This is what Google’s Blogger (yes, the very tool I’m using now) gives as a prompt:

“Labels for this post: (e.g. scooters, vacation, fall)”

Not much, eh? On the other extreme is Amazon.com, which gives a thorough education in Tagology. At the bottom of each product detail page is a heading “Tag this product” accompanied by the intuitive ‘What’s this?’ link, opening a pop-up page that includes an introductory paragraph followed by answers to “So how can I use tags?” and other questions. Since Amazon is heavily invested in tagging, it should place tags (and the ‘add a tag’ feature) atop the page, next to the image and product title.

When adding a tag at Amazon, the prompt itself is helpful. It reads: (“Separate multiple tags using commas”). There are 2 things important about that message:
1. It explicitly states how to separate multiple tags, compared to the Blogger prompt, which merely implies via an example.
2. The reality it conveys: commas as separator. Comma Separation of values works great for tags and labels (but not for all records of data—text that includes commas causes Quirks when separating with same. That’s why I’m a pipe delimiter).

Some tagging and label venues do not use the comma separator, but demand a Space between each tag. Ridiculous, isn’t it? The venue gives no explanation for this decision, nor any guidance for what to do with compound words. It is especially harmful, because tags are also used as a Search tool. And when searching, a consumer prefers to use plain English. Is the consumer expected to seek out “fishingRods?” I don’t know what these venues are thinking. Among them is the popular bookmark service “del.icio.us” If Delicious gets swallowed by Google Bookmarks, it will learn that “inferioirTechnology” can outdo a “headStart.”

Navigate Blogs via Labels

2007-05-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Imagine if your favorite website was only navigable via the Dates that the pages were updated. So, if you were at NY times, you wouldn't see 'Sports', 'Business'... you would see 'April 5, 9:30am', 'April 5, 9:42am'..... Ludicrous, right? And yet most bloggers leave a Year – Month archive as the only way for readers to find content (past posts).

Blogger now allows its bloggers to insert a module that displays "labels", the descriptive keywords that the blogger attaches* to his post. I just added it to this blog, this past week. Labels are more relevant to a reader's aims than just the Numbers which are Dates. Sure, a date can imply content. A December 06 post is a likely spot to find rambling about, oh, Christmas... snow. But there is no need to limit the imagination and interests of our dear readers! Labels aka tags (I'll write a post about those synonyms and various syntax of same Friday) cut right to the subject.

Hopefully, the Tag Module will catch on. Today, a random survey of 15 blogs found just 2 which offered Label Navigation. Blogger should promote it upon Login. Heck, otherwise, the blogger only finds it by clicking on Template and browsing the possible Page Elements. And heck, as long as I'm in 'tell Blogger what to do' mode, add this:

* Let Readers label posts, as well as the author. When readers come to a blog with Label Navigation, they would be able to view, together, both the author and other readers' labels.

YouTube Fixes "invalid parameters"

2007-04-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

Update on the post from April 23rd: the issue has been fixed.

But see how I just linked to a previous post? It wasn't easy. Blogger makes users enter a URL just like any link. There should be a way to reference earlier posts. Both your own posts, and posts belonging to fave / bookmarked fellow bloggers (note: there is no such Bookmarked Blogs built into Blogger, but there should be!).

A 'reference post' button would pull up a list of past posts.... check the one you want. Wouldn't that be helpful?

Here's what I had to do instead:
1. open my blogspot (View Blog link) in new Tab/Window.
2. Click on the post I want to link to.
3. Copy the Address.
4. Return to Edit Blogger Post.
5. Highlight text.
6. Click "Link" button.
7. Paste URL.
8. OK.

Help Me, Blogger (Yeah)

2007-04-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

When logged in users browse BlogSpot (which displays published view of users’ blogs), the site’s Header links to the user’s Dashboard, and to Sign Out. That is helpful. So, if you are reading someone else’s blog, you can jump right to your control panel aka ‘dashboard’ which lists and links to edit each of your blogs and profile. Here’s a screenshot:

But if you are viewing a BlogSpot page that you own (or to which you contribute), the Header links to “New Post,” “Customize,” and Sign Out. A link to Dashboard would be desirable here. Also, instead of, or next to, “New Post” there should be a link to “Edit Posts.” It is this link, which exists elsewhere in your dashboard, that displays the titles and previews and the # of comments of each of your posts, and has a button to ‘add new.’ A more suitable term is: ‘Manage Posts’ which conveys that you can edit/view existing posts as well as make an addition (The term 'Mangage: Links' exists on Dashboard).

Even if you contribute to just one blog, it would be convenient for the Header of the your blogspot page to link to ‘Manage Posts.’ And if you contribute to more than one blog, the link to ‘Dashboard’ would be of great help

YouTube: Invalid Parameters

2007-04-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

When users login to YouTube, at the top of the screen, displayed prominently, is a message: "Invalid Parameters." What does it mean? I have been greeted in this manner for at least one month. How remarkable that the YouTube traffic continues to grow, despite an explicit insult on Page One. The user has reason to exit the site--and the 'Net--to determine what it is about him or herself that is Wrong. Readers: fret no more; it is the Google YouTube login script which has the problem. So, why is it, after at least 3 weeks, that the BUG still exists? The user believes one of the following is true:

1. The engineers are not aware of the problem.
2. The engineers are aware of the problem, but are unable to fix it.
3. The engineers are aware of the problem, but do not wish to fix it.

None of those possibilities boosts one's confidence or regard for the Google team. Indeed, #3 directly contradicts Google's "don't be evil" creed (whereas #1 implies that the makers don't use the system themselves or have a "Quality Analysis" staff; #2, incompetence).

Perhaps somebody there isn't too busy counting money, and can fix the issue.

The biggest problem with the message is that it is displayed regardless of what the user did. We might as well also discuss the error message in general. That is, if and when the message is displayed as a result of an invalid parameter entered by a user.

Problem #1: syntax. Sure, we are all aware of the word parameter, but we seldom use it. It's coder-speak. Fine and dandy for the internal methods of the coders, but the function should spit out 'Plain English.' If "parameters" was part of the local (YouTube) lexicon, it would be permissable here of course, but I don't see the word showing up**...

Problem#2: lacks specifics. If a user does something wrong, she should be informed WHAT it was she did wrong, and, if not self-evident, CORRECTIVE MEASURES should be identified and displayed.

** A YouTube search for "Invalid Parameters" displayed a short video from a young user who stepped up and asked the community "What's up?" As she mentions, there is no word about it in Help. Check it out (note: she pronounces 'parameters' like 'para-meters' but she means the same thing:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjUZ3SI9htw