‘Technology’ Blog Entries
As the adoption rate of RSS and news aggregators increases it is interesting to see how people’s use of the Web changes because of this simple technology. Although, are we approaching information overload? Is this a technology which average users can use? And more importantly, does the Web browser need to change to incorporate this new method of Web browsing.
Handling the Overload
As I sit here typing this I currently have 251 unread articles in my news aggregator. More often than not I end up hitting the Mark All as Read button at the end of the day. Not because I’m not interested in those articles but more so that there is a lot of noise. The news aggregator acts as an aggregator of link aggregators, so you get the point.
How can we cut through the noise and get at the news which interests us. This is a problem I always think about when I hit that Mark All as Read button. Because I constantly think I’m passing by a good article which would be worthwhile for me to read. If Apple Mail can successfully filter out junk mail based on my tastes why can’t a similar method be employed to solve the RSS glut problem? Through analyzing the articles which you do read it can build a profile of your tastes and highlight those articles so you don’t miss a beat on what you like. Granted, I may need to investigate the essence of how a Bayesian filtering system works. This seems like a next logical step and I’m surprised I’ve yet to see any of the major news aggregators implement it.
RSS for the Rest of Them
There has been talk about the methods by which a user subscribes to an RSS feed. From a user experience standpoint it is quite pitiful. The typical user does not know what XML is nor do they know what it looks like or what to do with it. Upon clicking an RSS link the user is presented with what seems to be giberish and is provided with no direction on how to use what they have been presented with. Method such as the feed:// protocol and plugins have attempted to solve this problem. But these still do not make reading and subscribing to RSS as easy as it should be. Total integration with the Web browser may be a better alternative.
Fitting in the Web Browser
The only reason I’m leaning more towards the Web browser as the RSS aggregator is because of the realization of how I use my own news aggregator. Originally, I had a few subscriptions and relegated my news aggregator to a small window, shown in Figure 1, which I checked occasionally. Over time I have expanded the news aggregator to a size larger than my Web browser window. I began to more frequently use my news aggregator as a Web browser, even downloading files and checking email in it.
Figure 1. Progression of the News Aggregator
FireFox has limited RSS capabilities and Apple’s forthcoming Safari RSS doesn’t seem to go all the way either, for me at least. But, I do think these implementations are a great simple way to get average users into the RSS technology. So this does leave an open window for the current news aggregators who will continue to innovate through things such as Podcasting and features for advanced users.
03.01.05 — Technology
Google’s recently released Maps beta is likely to be considered more innovative than their GMail product. Especially when looking at the markets for each product. While GMail provided an unheard of, at the time, 1gb of storage, the competition quickly responded. This isn’t to say that GMail didn’t have an assortment of other great features, but with Google Maps they have completely changed the online map paradigm.
Figure 1. The new Google Maps.
One of the major drawbacks of map services such as MSN Maps and Mapblast is merely due to the nature of how the web works, a lack of continuous communication between client and server. Using typical online maps is like using a real map that you are not allowed to completely unfold, requiring requests to the server to unfold another piece of the map. Through technologies such as Ajax (XMLHttpRequest) Google Maps are draggable and easy to work with, without the need for page reloads. You could scroll from the East Coast to the West Coast if you so desired. When page reloads occur it is not uncommon for users to lose their location focus, requiring users to have to waste cognitive resources to reorient themselves.
Some Hidden Features
A feature that will probably go unnoticed by many is the dynamic resizing of the map area. Upon resizing the browser window the map view changes accordingly to fit the space. This is a great feature if you are a person with a high display resolution, as you will be presented with a large map automatically. This eliminates the need for Map Size buttons.
Just like in GMail, Google has added keyboard shortcuts for Google Maps. This is especially nice for scrolling around a map, by way of the keyboard’s arrow keys.
Figure 2. Local Search Bubble.
Location bubbles provide the user with a direct one to one connection between possible actions and the object which they will be applied to. This is currently only used for directions but could easily include Local Search features. For example as shown in Figure 2, Find great sushi near this location
Areas of Improvement
There are still a few quirks in need of fixing though. The fact that a user is forced to click a link to get a URL for the map is a bit of a hassle. Especially since most users are accustomed to being able to just copy the URL from the browser’s location bar. Additionally, it is always a bad idea to ask users for information which the system already knows. When a user has searched for a particular address and is now looking for directions to it, the application should employ some basic assumptions. The user is likely to be traveling from a fairly local location, (i.e., do not force the user to have to enter the city and state again for the origin location). This is not a problem exclusive to Google Maps, but an annoyance I have with all the map services.
Google is definitely hard at work on this product. In a short period of time I’ve noticed a fair amount of tweaks such as the altering of the Example Searches and better support for Apple’s Safari browser. What will be more interesting is how the competition responds to Google Maps, since it seems there is already a lot to catch up to.
Related Links
Update: It seems there is some discrepancy as to whether Google Maps uses Ajax or a method which uses a hidden iframe. According to other sources the hidden iframe method appears to be the most likely answer. This method seems to be similar to a technique which we used at Harvard called JSRS from Ashley IT.
02.27.05 — Technology
There has been a lot of talk about Flickr lately, but what I found the most intriguing is seeing how people are using it. The central component of the service is its ability to allow people to finally share their digital photos in a more easy and natural manner. It is pretty common for me, and many people I know, to take digital photographs and then do absolutely nothing with them. Since the onset of digital photography this problem has been sought to be solved by a multitude of different software applications and services. So what are they doing wrong and why is Flickr a step in the right direction?
Applications such as Apple’s iPhoto did give me the ability to manage my photos but still only provided me with limited sharing of photos through email, the for pay .mac service (for web publishing), or the printing of a photo album. But there is still something about these methods of sharing photos that are just so sterile, boring, or just time consuming.
One of the things about looking through a physical photo album is the discussion that results from looking at the photos. We talk about the events and the emotions and stories that go along with them. Yet many of the current digital photo services offer little in the communication and sharing component of viewing photos–it’s currently just one way mostly. Although, Flickr–borrowing from the blog format–allows for all photos to be commented on, providing a simple means of communication to discuss a photo. But one of the more interesting aspects about Flickr is group photo sharing. It is fairly common for friends to make doubles of their photos so that they can share photos with friends who may have been at the same event. Flickr groups goes along the same idea, friends can all submit their photos to a particular group thus giving the photo album of an event a broader scope.
Flickr offers a great deal of other cool features as well, which are worth checking out, but more importantly it is great to see that digital photography is beginning to be used more effectively. While we can’t hold these photos in our hands, we certainly can do a lot more than just having them sit in a photo album on a shelf.
Related Links
12.21.04 — Technology
No where else have I seen more iPod Minis than on the women of Northeastern campus.
Why has the iPod mini become such a success when all the technology pundits hailed it an instant failure when Apple announced it?
Why the Technology Pundits Were Wrong
The majority of those commenting on technology are men. I myself questioned Apple’s decision with the iPod mini. It looked cool but the price and capacity just were not enticing to me. There in lies where the failure speculation occurred, like me, other men saw the same faults. But we all seemed to forget that not just gadget geeks use these devices.
Why Women Love the iPod Mini
If you look at the shopping trends of women you can see that functionality is not always their top priority. This is not to say that the iPod does not have top notch functionality but that aspects such as battery life and hard drive capacity take a much lower priority than aesthetics.
The iPod mini is the ultimate digital accessory. It is compact enough to fit in a purse and comes in a variety of colors allowing for a more individually tailored component.
Related Links
09.27.04 — Technology
About a year ago I had come up with an idea where your watch communicated with your mobile phone, via bluetooth, to display information such as caller id. The reasoning is that I hate having to pull out my mobile phone all the time to see who is calling. I also frequently leave my phone at my desk which sometimes puts me out of range to hear the phone or forces me to run to my phone just to see that it is a phone call that I don’t want to take.
None of the major mobile phone makers have seemed to come up with this idea–most haven’t even put bluetooth in their phones.
Nokia is getting close though. They’ve just announced a device which is akin to a “digital locket” of sorts. The HS-13w communicates via bluetooth to your Nokia phone and gives you the means to browse through phone book contacts, display images, and actually make and receive calls.
Currently Nokia seems to be the only mobile phone maker to push the technology and innovate. While I can’t say I would use the “digital locket” I feel that the concept is in the right direction. I’m sure it is only a matter of time before Nokia makes a watch, thus fulfilling my original idea.
09.10.04 — Technology
I’ve come across a few good articles which I think are worth reading if you are interested in software development and in particular how rich client programming is declining as web client programming is increasing.
Joel Spolsky has written a lengthy analysis of How Microsoft Lost the API War. It definitely opened my eyes a bit as it discusses some of Microsoft’s missteps and just plainly how the industry is changing.
The Guardian discusses the New Browser War, which ties in very well with Spoolsky’s commentary.
Some real-world observations
My roommate Kevin had told me about how Steve Ballmer was upset that people and companies were not buying the latest version of Office. Ballmer had attributed it to poor marketing but Spoolsky hits it on the head, it’s not about marketing but about the saturation of computers. Everyone has a PC and we’re doing just fine with the current version of Word. In the early days people were buying new computers more frequently or even just buying their first. Those new machines came with the latest and greatest software from Microsoft. Unfortunately today people aren’t buying new computers as frequently, especially companies. Thus that new software isn’t getting into the hands of users.
My number one application on my computer is Safari, my web browser. That says a lot about where things are going, as if many people haven’t already realized that. I use more web-based applications than I do rich client software. I’m writing this post in a web-based application. Web applications will get better and I think with projects like Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group that is a good start. Eventually our web apps will look and work more like regular applications, look at Apple’s Dashboard technology which is based on open web standards.
07.16.04 — Technology
I spend a lot of time reading and browsing through lots of information on a daily basis and often feel that much of this information is lost due to management and organizational issues. Bookmarks don’t provide the necessary capabilities to really organize information. A lot of times I feel like I want to catalog everything I know so that I can easily refer back to it for a refresher. Unfortunately as of now my best cataloging tool is google. I’ll punch in bits of what I remember in hopes of finding some obscure information. That kind of strategy wastes a lot of time and is not an absolute guarantee. This got me to thinking about a searchable archive of my own knowledge.
Michael Angeles at urlgreyhot has posted a discussion on using wikis for personal knowledge management. Being that wikis are fairly light weight this could be what I’m looking for to begin cataloging information which I find could be useful in the future.
06.23.04 — Technology
Just hours after I posted the entry about the Sonos System Apple releases Airport Express. The unit is basically an access point but Apple added some really nice features to it. The one that is in reference to the Sonos system is the audio out jack to a stereo. Plug in the unit next to a stereo and plug the line out into the stereo’s line in. Now in itunes you have the ability to stream music to that access point which in turn plays on the stereo via a feature Apple has dubbed AirTunes.
The kicker is that the unit is only $129 as opposed to $1200 for the sonos system (granted I am not including the cost of purchasing a mac but it is assumed you have a computer).
Some of the other features include a usb port for hooking up a usb printer and also wireless internet access.
Another great thing I love about some of the Apple products coming out as of late is that they are standardized for the most part. If you own an iPod or a Powerbook you’ll surely know what I’m talking about. They have these easily interchangable plugs which can be swapped for the extension cord plug or even to different country plug formats.
06.07.04 — Technology
If I lived in a large home this would be the first thing I put in it. I am constantly listening to music where ever I am and having the ability to have your entire library of music throughout your house is just unbeatable. I don’t live in a big house and as of right now the system is only available for pre-order at $1200.
The controller for the system has a very iPod-like sleekness which from an asethetics point of view gives me the impression that the device would be a joy to use. The UI also looks to be very easy to use but only a test of the unit will determine that.
On the technical specs one of the things I found to be a definite plus is that it supports AAC which is what I am encoding all my new music in.
06.07.04 — Technology