22 June 2008
What is a Browser for?
25/06/08 10:17 Filed in: Visual Literacy | Gadgets
Of course Firefox 3 has just been released, and it’s being loved, or at least liked by a lot of people. It does things very well and makes for a nice browsing experience. But what about future browsers, like AT&T’s Pogo?
I understand that the screen cap doesn’t really do it justice, but the Pogo environment seems to be interesting in that it uses the illusion of space to help show and organize one’s browsing experience. But how dynamic are the thumbnails? Do they refresh? And if so, does it make sense to use them as bookmarks?
More importantly, to me, is the question of portability. Pogo may be wonderful on a new, 23” monitor with a 16:9 aspect ratio, but what about on a device like a phone? Does it translate to a 3.5” screen? Is it usable?
Will the web stay on the desktop, or will it move to our pockets?
I understand that the screen cap doesn’t really do it justice, but the Pogo environment seems to be interesting in that it uses the illusion of space to help show and organize one’s browsing experience. But how dynamic are the thumbnails? Do they refresh? And if so, does it make sense to use them as bookmarks?
More importantly, to me, is the question of portability. Pogo may be wonderful on a new, 23” monitor with a 16:9 aspect ratio, but what about on a device like a phone? Does it translate to a 3.5” screen? Is it usable?
Will the web stay on the desktop, or will it move to our pockets?
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In Plain Sight
24/06/08 09:05 Filed in: Visual Literacy
My computer was borrowed for a moment yesterday, when someone wanted a quick peek at the upcoming weather. Their process was to open a browser window and type in a URL (weather.com), then enter a ZIP code and read up.
Why go through all that trouble? Because their awareness wasn’t tied into my system. Sitting on my desktop at all times is the Yahoo! Weather widget:
Quick, at-a-glance information, persistent and therefore, perhaps, invisible. How often do we overlook that which is right there? How, as designers, can we plan for this oversight? Where does redundancy come into play? And is such persistence elegance, or invisibilty?
Why go through all that trouble? Because their awareness wasn’t tied into my system. Sitting on my desktop at all times is the Yahoo! Weather widget:
Quick, at-a-glance information, persistent and therefore, perhaps, invisible. How often do we overlook that which is right there? How, as designers, can we plan for this oversight? Where does redundancy come into play? And is such persistence elegance, or invisibilty?
Hiding. Seeking.
22/06/08 11:22 Filed in: Human Interaction
A house full of kids all about the same age leads to certain universal activities. At some point, a game of “hide-and-seek” erupts, and it amazes me that the difficulty level is set so low: instead of having the “seeker” count to an agreed-upon number, the “hiders” announce when they are ready to be sought.
As the game is being played indoors due to inclement weather, the “seeking” process is fast. The average life of a hider is something like fifteen seconds, which does have an interesting side effect - everyone feels like a winner.
It brings back a lot of memories, having games like this taking place on a sultry afternoon. And there is nothing so wonderful as pure child laughter.
As the game is being played indoors due to inclement weather, the “seeking” process is fast. The average life of a hider is something like fifteen seconds, which does have an interesting side effect - everyone feels like a winner.
It brings back a lot of memories, having games like this taking place on a sultry afternoon. And there is nothing so wonderful as pure child laughter.