THE WEB CAN BE A BETTER PLACE TO SURF AND DO BUSINESS !
Last Updated: October 30, 2004
[January 31, 2002]
philosophe.com: Messages For The Users - "The obvious method to convince users to buy from your commerce site is to provide the customer with a pleasant experience. Reduce the chances of negative events, or the misapprehension of events as negative."
[January 30, 2002]
WebmasterBase.com: Diary of a Webmaster Part 1 - My Site Design Checklist - "Here are the basic elements I consider each time I design a site -- using these as a checklist, I can be sure I've covered all the Web design essentials in each design I complete. Try these tips, and check off each point in the list when you create your next site!"
USA Today: Software blocks deluge of pop-ups - "The sites that use pop-ups to view a new window in a smaller screen or to sign up for a newsletter are OK," she [Fresenius, CEO of Panicware Software] says. "The confusion is when the pop-ups aren't part of the site. You click on it and end up somewhere else. Schools have a real problem with that."
Newsbytes: Companies Still Struggle Using The Web For Business - Study - "A Web site, when used correctly, can be a critical part of a company's marketing, advertising and sales efforts. According to a new study by the Yankee Group, a lot of companies do not understand how to properly use the online channel to enhance their business."
[January 28, 2002]
Business 2.0: A Riddle: Why Does Netscape Still Exist? - "Netscape's browser used to be light and zippy, but now it's heavy and sluggish."
Chris Raettig: "If every hyperlink used on the web required parties at both sides of the link to enter into a formal agreement, I sincerely doubt that the web would be in existance today."
"NTBugtraq is a mailing list for the discussion of security exploits and security bugs in Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP plus related applications."
[January 25, 2002]
Guardian Online: On the paper trail - "In the current climate, with increasing demands for savings and returns on investment, the need to use the internet to streamline processes has never been more urgent."
[January 24, 2002]
O'Reilly Network: Bioinformatics Meets Mac OS X - "Many of the important bioinformatics applications that previously existed only for Unix platforms are now being brought over to the Macintosh, thanks to Mac OS X and its Unix underpinnings."
Geek.com: Linux desktop usage: 0.24% - "However, I think Linus Torvalds had it right when he said that the kernel was about as optimized as it will get and the Linux community needs to focus on the UI more."
[January 23, 2002]
Intranet Journal: Web Site Ergonomics and User Tests - "In the context of Web sites, ergonomics is a discipline that brings together human physiological and psychological aspects, and can be applied to Web site design, evaluation, utilization and maintenance in order to ensure that they are efficient and comfortable for different people to use."
Digital Web Magazine: Tutorial: Flash Usability - "Just because you know how to use Flash doesn't mean you should use it or break the usability rules."
Digital Web Magazine: When Design Motivates - "The important thing to remember when dealing with motion design is where it motivates the users to go. If it convinces them to go deeper into the site and tells them that it is imperative that they go in and purchase your wares, then you're succeeding. But I've never seen a site like that built with Flash."
Color Schemer - Online Color Scheme Generator
"Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software." (via winterspeak)
[January 22, 2002]
SecurityFocus: The Simplest Security: A Guide To Better Password Practices - "Managers and administrators can enhance the security of their networks by setting strong password policies. Password requirements should be built into organizational security policies. Network administrators should institute by regular changes/updates of passwords. They should also regularly remind users of how easy it is for hackers to get their passwords through social engineering and online attacks. New users should be taught about good password practices."
[January 21, 2002]
Enigmous: Bill Gates Does Unthinkable: Says Security Is First! - "Hopefully, if MS is as committed to security as Bill says, they'll have to slow down their process and we'll all end up with better products."
Technology Source: Nine Rules for Good Technology - "Simplicity is a slippery concept, but the best technologies can be learned by looking at the input device, not by studying a manual."
Joel on Software: "Don't let anyone tell you that as a programmer you don't have to make moral or ethical decisions. Every time you decide that making users feel stupid is better than fixing your code, you're making an ethical decision."
Robert X. Cringely: "After years of watching their customers suffering billions of dollars in losses caused by security problems, why is Microsoft suddenly changing? Why now?"
[January 18, 2002]
Federal Computer Week: State portals miss usability mark - "The report outlined several recommendations, including emphasizing customer service; organizing services by event rather than department; allowing for customization; recognizing the diversity of visitors; and including features to enhance the legitimacy of the portal."
Usability News 4.1 January 2002: Where Should You Put the Links? Comparing Embedded and Framed/Non-Framed Links - "Therefore, it is suggested that providing redundant links that are both embedded and corresponding to the document is generally superior to just embedding them within the document or listing them on the left."
Mac Links
SatireWire: "In a surprise settlement today with nine U.S. states, Microsoft agreed to be split into two independent companies — one that will continue to make Microsoft operating systems, browsers, and server software, and another, potentially larger company that will make patches for Microsoft operating systems, browsers, and server software."
[January 16, 2002]
John S. Rhodes: Information Architecture for the Rest of Us - "The purpose of this article is to explain information architecture in a very simple and clear manner. If you have been confused about information architecture and what it is all about, this is exactly the article you should read. An analogy is used to get at the core concepts and several useful examples are provided."
Music in the Age of Free Distribution
Video-On-Web Will Take Years to Get to Fast Growth
[January 14, 2002]
Gerry McGovern: Think twice before re-designing your website - "The essential 'look and feel' of Yahoo has remained the same too. Why? Because millions of people are used to it. The behavior of people on the Internet is conservative - they go to less and less websites. Yahoo visitors have invested time and energy learning how to get around Yahoo. This very investment is what keeps many people using Yahoo, rather than going to another portal."
"The number of viruses and other types of attacks making rounds on the Internet, and the number of security vulnerabilities discovered in software, climbed dramatically in 2001, according to newly issued statistics by the Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center (CERT/CC)."
Guardian Online: Working the web: Keeping a diary
[January 13, 2002]
BusinessWeek: Come On, Steve -- Think Beyond the Mac - "Apple's market share will keep shrinking unless it applies its design genius to other areas, like a wireless, networked media center"
Dave Schroeder of Pilotvibe Talks About Sound Design for Interactive Multimedia - "Sound is the invisible font pack. It's also a way for developers to give their work a presence beyond the monitor. Sound comes into a room and moves around. It becomes part of the user's environment."
[January 12, 2002]
E-Commerce Times: The Gold Standard of E-tail Web Design - "For all kinds of sites, ranging from e-commerce to personal finance, experts agree that customer service remains Web design's biggest problem area because users often have to spend too much time searching for basic information."
[January 11, 2002]
Techniques & Tools for Using Color In Computer Interface Design - "Color can be a powerful tool to improve the usefulness of an information display in a wide variety of areas if color is used properly. Conversely, the inappropriate use of color can seriously reduce the functionality of a display system."
John M. Grohol, Psy.D.: Definition & Scope of e-therapy - "E-therapy is a term I coined to address all current online modalities of helping people with general life and relationship issues, via a text-based interface."
John M. Grohol, Psy.D.: Psychology of Weblogs
[January 9, 2002]
Geek.com: 4 keys to a safer Internet -
- Microsoft needs to be more serious about security in its software
- Firewalls should be mandatory for all (DSL and cable modem as well as small business)
- Routers should be locked down (secure Border Gateway Protocol)
- Government cyber security should be tightened
[January 8, 2002]
Gerry McGovern: Web design basics - "Web design is primarily concerned with the organization and presentation of text-based content. This requires metadata, classification, navigation, search, layout and graphic design skills."
Gerry McGovern: The Web was invented as a communications medium for publishing content.
Cameron Barrett: More About WebLogs (1999) - "The Internet is about personalized and customized communication."
Jakob Nielsen: Site Map Usability - "One of the oldest hypertext usability principles is to visualize the structure of the information space to help users understand where they can go. On today's Web, site maps are a common approach to facilitating navigation."
[January 5, 2002]
Back to the User: Creating User-Focused Websites (by Gary McClain, Tammy Sachs) - "Back to the User integrates Web design, navigation and content considerations with effective branding and marketing guidelines. By teaching those that create websites how to think like the people who use them, this book enables web marketers and developers to create sites that people want to, and can successfully, use. The authors offer their readers an approach to engaging target users in the development process early on and in a meaningful way so that the very premise of a site is driven by the needs and desires of its users." (This item will be published on January 15, 2002.)
[January 4, 2002]
Web Techniques: Domain Names for All Nations - "The Internet opens up your business to customers the world over. But many of these customers speak languages other than English. Your site can too, but as John Yunker shows, DNS doesn't. At least, not yet."
"Take the time to ensure your web site incorporates quality graphics, good sales copy, and a strong call to action."
[January 3, 2002]
Darwin Magazine: Ten resolutions that will wring more results from your website. - "If your homepage includes a zoomy 974K Flash movie that visitors are forced to watch every time they come to your site, ask your designers why people who already are interested in your company must be required to watch an ad for your company before they can get information from your company."
Cameron Barrett - "Don't pay good money for shitty software. Most of the time there is an open source or low-cost alternative that does the same job ten times better. Ask around."
[January 2, 2002]
Gerry McGovern: Predictions for 2002 - "Information architecture will become the crucial discipline in website design. This means a greater focus on getting your metadata, classification, navigation and search right."
The Register: UK corporate Web sites 'woefully inadequate' - "The home pages of the UK's top companies were judged on a number of criteria including the availability of key information, overall design, navigation and technical performance."
Michael Lesk (1997): How Much Information Is There In the World?
Home Archive Index
Location: Netanya, Israel. My email address is LucDesk.
Privacy Policy. © 2000-2006 Lucian Millis.