Design Challenges

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Cuil

Cuil is officially launched and the buzz is in, the word, Google should be afraid. I don't think Google has anything to worry about as of yet. So what if the founders of Cuil where key engineers at Google. So what if Anna Patterson orchestrated the latest algorithm that Google is supposedly currently using.

I test drove cuil, I think they offer a great interface for the results, but I don't see where their claims that their algorithm is much more sophisticated than that of Google's. I found it to be quite inaccurate. Don't get me wrong, I'm far from being Google's fan. I think Google is quite sophisticated and offers great search tools that have been gamed and manipulated by scammers and skeemers to skew results. I'm still able to find solutions via my queries, that which I tried on Cuil and was unsuccessful.

I recently read a book that stated that just because you have the technical know how on performing a specialized task, does not mean you have the skills needed to run a company. Anna was the architect of Google’s large search index, but is she simply a search technician and coder or does she carry the ability to run the business while having other create and manifest her vision?

The bottom line is that many more powerful companies have try to take the Giant down and the giant is yet to loose. The numbers don't lie, Google has 50% of the search market share, while Yahoo possesses 20%. These numbers sound familiar, they should, think Coke and Pepsi. Others like MSN, AOL, LIVE, ASK carry the difference in the search engine space. Another search engine that had a big debut was Mahalo. It came out with an interesting concept of taking the machines out of the equation, but the buzz quickly ceased and I doubt that it will ever produced or come to full fruition. I won't hold my breadth on Cuil, but I'm glad to see competition as it will only make Google come out with a stronger search product. My prediction is that Cuil will be cool for a week or two.

Labels: Design, Google, Search Engine, SEO

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Div Container Width

I have become a great fan of CSS and fluid design for the past couple of years. Tables are a thing of the past. The problem is that even though most Web designers have evolved, browsers have not.

You see browsers are put together by coders, developers if you will. Those types only understand 0 and 1s and have very little time to worry about nuances that pesky designers would devote their time to calculating. One of those nuances are containers like div.

Originally designed to serve as layers, again for Web and Graphic designers, div have become very useful as not only can they float and be positioned, but they serve as containers for content on the Web page.

Here comes my issue, I been having some problem fitting the content on a multi-column site. After some quick Googling, I came across a forum thread explaining that the total outside width of a div box is the sum of the values for the following properties:

margin-left
+ border-left-width
+ padding-left
+ width
+ padding-right
+ border-right-width
+ margin-right
= total occupied width of any {display:block} type box

This makes no sense to me. Although Firefox does follow standards and many accuse Internet Explorer of breaking rules and misbehaving; IE6 and IE7 follow rules much more closely to how designers work. When I designed a page I typically render it in Photoshop, then I translate the work into HTML and CSS. When I measure my drawings in Photoshop, IE follows suit, while I have to more intensely calculate when it comes to Firefox.

The bottom line is that it is unfortunate that browser creators can't come together and be unified so that we, as Web designers, don't have to patch holes cause by the multitude of browsers. Perhaps one day the W3C will succeed in unifying browsers with coming up with standards and rules. As for me, I'm just waiting for Google to come out with their own browser, take over the world, and keep making us drink their cool-aid, until then, I'll keep plugging the holes and hope to stay afloat.

Labels: CSS, Design, dreamweaver, Google, Search Engine, SEO, Web Design

Monday, May 05, 2008

Teabagging

Teabagging is a slang term for the act of a man placing his testicles, specifically the scrotum, in the mouth or face of another person, often in a repeated in-and-out motion. The practice vaguely resembles dipping a tea bag into a cup of tea.

I first heard the term on Howard Stern and his filthy unrated show.

Most recently however, someone told me that simulations of teabagging are often used in video games. Sure enough, a quick Google search turn up a Wikipedia entry describing that simulations of teabagging are often used in video games, specifically first person shooters such as Counter-Strike, Resistance: Fall of Man and Halo, the last of these in which it is sometimes referred to as the "Halo Hump" or simply "corpse-humping". "Teabagging" is performed by repeatedly crouching down - a common movement in FPSs - while on top of an enemy corpse. The act is a form of victory dance to show ownership and to humiliate an enemy player.

I was not only left with my mouth wide open in disbelief, but with a sour taste for these types of video games. After all, I have young nephews and friends with small children who enjoy these games. The rating of the games may note that the game is inappropriate due to violence, but this is more than just violence, it is simply inappropriate sexual behavior, these games are to be rated NC-17, not just M for mature audience.

The bottom line is that although I'm far from a prude, I think that when it comes to the young minds we ought to draw some sort of line. I recently made a statement on how I disapproved of the computer age. I think what started out as a great method of communication and idea sharing has let to corruption of our society and a loss for moral values. What thinks you?

Labels: content management, Design, Google, video, Video Games

SEO Hackery and sales tricks

I was recently reading an article on SEO Chat, a large provider of SEO tools, articles, and news. I have been exploring and toying with the idea of hiring a consultant/ helper to get better rankings on some terms. I have a lot of experience on SEO, and keep with with the space, but it is always great to get third party validation.

The problem is that when it comes to SEO, you have to open up your entire site to some folks who just may do a hack job or worst, get you banned. This is why I get wary of SEO, thankfully SEO Chat is able to validate my worries, this article speaks of Network Solutions, one of the largest domain name registrars.

It is sad to see such a powerful company diminish the trust of the community by offering trickery and half-ass SEO programs to turn a profit on the less savvy.

Another point not covered in the article is that you do -not- get to select the keywords you want to rank for. They go after low volume low traffic "low hanging fruit" keywords (the sort a crappy site can rank for with the addition of the term into the title tag)

Another bad practice by these registrars, also not covered in the article, but I mostly seen it in godaddy.com, is that they keep track of the domain names you search for. If you search for a domain name a few times, they consider it popular and will self register to themselves and then ask you for a lot of $$$ to sell it to you. I notice this in the past and was happy to see validation from some other users commenting on it at the end of this article.

The bottom line is that we have to be very careful on who to trust. Don't open up your site to just any hack that comes along, especially if the price is too good to be true. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you are in the search for an SEO consultant from the king of all Search Engines, Google.

Labels: advertising, content management, CSS, Google, Search Engine, SEO

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

iGoogle Themes

Last year Google introduced iGoogle, an addition to the Google Web site that allows customization, thereby creating an individual homepage for each user. You can login to your personalized page via the iGoogle top right menu on the Google homepage.

Not only do you get to use the predefined gadgets, but you can add your customized RSS feeds or create your own gadgets via the Web developer tools.

Today I noticed that Google was featuring theme images for the iGoogle homepage. It got me intrigued and I starting browsing the many themes available. Thus far I had been using the beach theme which changes it looks depending on the weather and time of the day. However, there are many other themes available. You can even give it a world and create your own themes. I haven't experimented yet, but hopefully I will be giving it a whirl soon.

The bottom line is that Google chooses to keep improving every product, first came iGoogle, then came Google Tabs, followed by Google Themes, now iGoogle social networking via design your own themes, user rating, user comments and FAQ. This company knows how to get things going and keep going. Google guys, forget American Idol, you are my new idols.

Labels: Alexa, CSS, Design, Google, RSS, Search Engine, Social Bookmarking, software, techniques, Web Design, Web Searches

Monday, March 24, 2008

New Google AJAX Language API

Google is one of those great companies who takes time to make great programs and tools to then turn around and give it away for free. That was the case for the Google version of Microsoft Office, Email platform, just to name a few. I read today the introduction of yet another tool, Google AJAX Language API.

The Google AJAX Language API provide developers with the tools needed to automatically translate content in their applications. I tested the English to Spanish version of the API on the Google Blog and noticed a 90% accuracy, granted I only tried a few phrases.

This is not only a great tool, but also a nice addition to the Google Family of Tools. In addition, it is an API so you're not limited to just using this on the Google site, but you are welcome to take full advantage of the API and create your own tools on your Web site.

The bottom line is that things at Google just keep getting and better each and every day. Although too many people have managed to game the search engine, and some have cause a great scandal in the fraud department of Google Adwords and Adsense, Google is yet to be stopped. How do you stop a 6 billion dollar powerhouse anyways? For more of Google Business Tools, visit http://bizsolutions.google.com/services/. For their consumer line, visit http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

Labels: Google, Web Design, Web Searches

Friday, December 21, 2007

Tracking Santa

Well the time is upon us. All the presents I was responsible for are under the tree and hopefully Santa will be fortifying those with more in a couple of nights. My folks flew in courtesy of American Airline miles. Have I mention how much I hate american airlines? I hate them so much that I used up all my miles to flight my kid in a few weeks ago just so I wouldn't have to feel guilty about loosing them, because I will never fly American Airlines ever again.

Back to Xmas, My first Xmas in Jacksonville has been off to a great start, except for a few days at the beginning of this week is been nothing but 70 and 80 degree weather and I don't miss shoveling the snow at all. I'm very happy is almost here, after all I get four or five days off and we had a great Xmas party at work today to get the weekend started, not to mention the very generous gift ($$$) we all receive from the Boss man.

The rest of the family is driving in and the vehicles are packed. The most distant one is driving a good 15 hours, but will be worth their while.

Santa is the last to arrive and we will be tracking his arrival via Norad. The NORAD Tracks Santa (NTS) program has been around for a long time, since 1955 to be exact! And while NORAD has the "history" and excellent technology to track Santa, NORAD cannot expend government funds on the program. Besides the short time a NTS Project Officer spends "managing" the program, NORAD spends only the minimal amount of funds on NTS. The NTS program is funded through generous contributions, this year one of the biggest contributors is Google.

The bottom line is that Xmas is the most wonderful time of the year and I hope you enjoy it with many love ones surrounding you. Don't forget to make your New Year resolutions as 2008 is only a few days away.

Labels: Florida, Google, Holiday, Jacksonville, Snow

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Blogger, Remember Me

I blog regularly using Blogger as my platform. I think its design is user friendly and have just enough features both in its "Compose" and "Edit Html" panes making it one of the easiest textboxes / HTML editors. I have use a few in the past like FCK editor and HTMLArea, but these type of editors offer the user too many options.

I also enjoy the "labels" area and, the recently added, save now button.

Google is known for designing simple to use, yet very powerful interfaces. Most importantly, they provide these free of charge.

The only beef I have so far is that the "remember me" check box in the blogger homepage never remembers me. I have cookies enable and other Google sites, such as youTube, Analytics/Urchin, iGoogle, and Gmail seem to remember me just fine.

The bottom line is that I'm very surprise that a powerful company like Google with unlimited resources has left this small detail sly. I understand that Blogger didn't start out being a Google company, but in the two years that I have been using the site, this has never worked for me, regardless of browser. Oddly enough I googled this topic tonight and didn't get too far in finding a resolution.

Update to previous entry: I received a Halloween Joke from a colleague, here it is:

A man was walking home alone late one foggy night,

when behind him he hears:

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

Walking faster, he looks back and through the fog he makes out the image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him.

BUMP...

BUMP..

BUMP..

Terrified, the man begins to run toward his home, the casket bouncing quickly behind him

FASTER...
FASTER...

BUMP...
BUMP...
BUMP...

He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him.

However, the casket crashes throught his door, with the lid of the casket clapping...

clappity-BUMP...
clappity-BUMP...
clappity-BUMP...

on his heels, the terrified man runs.

Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, the man locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps.

With a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door.

Bumping and clapping toward him.

The man screams and reaches for something, anything, but all he can find is a bottle of Robitussin!

Desperate, he throws the cough syrup at the casket... And, the coffin stops!

-- Thanks Mike.

Labels: Blogger, Design, Google

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Travel Sites

With the holidays soon approaching, it seems I'm getting a lot of calls from relatives and friends about booking trips. Of course, these all comes about because of our recent relocation to sunny Florida.

I typically turn to the usual suspects when it comes to researching flights and tickets, Expedia and Travelocity. These sites are designed to be easy to use and with the user in mind. Their designs and architecture are always improving. The most recent of updates is the ability to quickly search nearby airports to the destination or departure cities.

A new travel search engine is, however, on the rise. Kayak.com is designed to allow the user to not only get the cheapest tickets, but to run comparison of nearby airports. The site also allows you to use its interface to compare prices on Expedia, Travelocity and Hotwire, all with the click of a three checkboxes. The site also remembers your previous searches in order to save time on future searches. As you type in the city or airport code in the search boxes, a drop down similar to that of the Google toolbar comes up to aid you in locating your departure or destination cities.

Kayak is also designed to present a very user friendly results page which quickly allows you to select if you prefer nonstop, one stop, or two stops flights. As well, you can narrow down via flight times and price.

The bottom line is that I can now understand why Kayak.com is such an up and coming site, after all they have now achieve an Alexa ranking of 1782. Competition promotes better features and alternatives, while providing the best prices for consumers. Kayak.com is also a great example of conveniences presented to users. It is amazing what great design and information architecture can do for a site. Expedia (Alexa of 542) and Travelocity (Alexa of 781), better get up to speed on the technology back end or they will loose their placing among the travel sites.

Labels: Alexa, American Airlines, Expedia, Google, Travelocity

Monday, July 02, 2007

Google Adds more Services to their Powerful Offerings

Google's original mission was to organize the world's data. This mission is still the main focus, however, they now have expanded to not only organizing data, but providing many services which complement that mission.

Although they keep expanding and growing by the thousands, they only acquire companies which suit the same philosophy. One of the things I recently read on the Google Blog is that they have expanded their free 411 service to include maps and directions to any location. I wasn't aware that they provided the service to begin with, but it was great to find out that they designed the application to tie in with their free mapping options.

Another company they just acquire goes by the name of GrandCentral Communications. GrandCentral Communications designed a system which centralizes all your phone numbers into one. In other words, their system allows you to receive calls all in one account which can be checked online 24/7. The system is also designed to combine all voice mails received from all of your phones in one centralized web accessible location.

The bottom line is that Google is great and everyone wants to be part of them because they know what their core focus is and they are able to buy technology that further strengthens their suit of offerings. They are also able to provide all of these services and products free of charge to the public. Free is good, but good products are better. No wonder everybody is racking their brains to come up with the next good idea and have Google buy them off. Lotto is just to hard and this might be a good alternative for a well designed product to yield millions.

Labels: 411, Google

Friday, June 01, 2007

Google introduce Street Views

I was just browsing around looking for a street address on Google Maps, my destination for driving directions, etc., when I saw today that there's a new feature added named Street View.

I proceeded to play around with it and although only a few locations are available, I can see this being a great feature, once it goes global, specifically when you look at it from the Web designer's perspective where it can be used to create customs directions to any location and provide a picture of what the final destination is like. I can see many of my clients wanting this so that customers can find their way to the business fully knowing what the place looks like.

I can also see what the buzz is about in regards to privacy as the images do capture people in the streets. However, streets are public domain and if you just don't want your photograph to be taken then don't go out on the streets. After all there are a multitude of satellites rooming outer space constantly snapping photos and monitoring. My heart goes out especially to all those conspiracy theories out there who only see the man oppressing us down, total nonsense. Those folks are the first to cry out freedom of speech when it suits them, so understand that photograph are also a form of speech and Google is only looking to provide for the greater good.

The bottom line is that Google is constantly innovating for the public via its arsenal of free tools. It's time we provide them with the support and respect they have earned and keep them motivated towards providing for the general good of the public. Thanks Google!!!

Labels: Freedom of Speech, gadgets, Google, maps

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Powerpoint is next to go down

In an announcement yesterday Google started the talks of releasing Presentation, a PowerPoint look alike for presenting information, the difference, this program is Web based.

Google, who started challenging Microsoft early last year, is seeking the demise of the Microsoft Office Suite of Products one by one, first with its widely used Gmail mail client, followed by words, spreadsheets, and now looking to lure the business community with Presentations.

This company is hitting the mark picking up where others, like Microsoft, have fallen behind, taking advantage of their powerful Web presence and resources.

Describing the 'Presentations' software yesterday at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco Google Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said that the application will allow users to create and share business presentations over the web. Schmidt used a beta version of this new app to present his presentation slides.

The bigger question at hand is how is the company going to generate revenue from this product since it obviously cannot fill it up with their greatest revenue generator, adsense. Well, they seem to have now start to break off the freeware space as during the product demo, it was also announced that the Presentation software will come in two versions, of which “Premier” version with extra storage would retail for $50 per year. The product is expected to be available this summer.

The bottom line is that although adsense has given the Search Engine Powerhouse a lot of income and they have been able to translate and transplant the text ad model across many of its platforms, we can clearly see that the click fraud cases brought upon Google have taken a told and they have seen the light with the announcement of a charge for this product. What next, a Googal of email storage space for $5?

Labels: advertising, Google, Search Engine, software

Saturday, April 07, 2007

New Features for all Googlers

Google, always the innovator, has introduced a number of new features to it's search engine repertoire. For example, if you are in the market for a home, either for rent or for sale, simply click onto Google.com and search for "Milford real estate" if you are in the market for a home in Milford, CT and Google will display a box allowing you to specify whether you are looking to buy, rent, or want to see foreclosures in your area. The database is still small, but I'm sure it will build itself to be more and more accurate as people start uploading to it or as Google partners with Realtors.com and other real estate sites.

Another feature which I just noticed today is the "Note this" feature which allows you to select links from the search engine and add notes to them, share with friends, or simply go to your notes homepage and see all web your notes in one place. You can also download and add on and be able to note any Web page you come across. This seems like a natural way to extent your Web research and the use of the powerhouse search engine.

The last feature that I saw announced was the addition to Google Maps which now allows you to make annotations and drawings directly onto the map, this is great when planning a trip or sharing with friends as you can make notes of things to see and even make highlights, add pictures, etc of places to see along the way.

The bottom line is that in the competitive world of searches and competition for textual ads, companies have to stay sharp and find ways to entice users to use the free service in order to serve and deliver to the text ads marketplace. Google, you are one brilliant company!!!

Labels: Features, Google, inginuity, Search Engine, techniques

Monday, March 26, 2007

Google personalize page

This past week Google prove once agin that they are the master of design and usuability. Google upgraded their personalized page service to now include six themes.

These themes are composed of six different headers an user can select. Each header is designed to showcase the time of day and temperature outside once a US city and state or zip code is provided.

I found the feature to be quite unusual and distinct from anything I seen before as not only the sun follows the correct time of day, but also the headers for each of my "buckets" changes in color and shading base on time of day.

The bottom line is that Google is master of initiatives. They know how to keep their users happy and coming back. I been quite pleased with my personalize page as it gives me the one spot destination for all things i'm interested in. Google, your service Rock, but your search engine is going down the crapper so you best start getting inventive there too. This is not your fault, but that of many gamers and scammers who have mastered your algorithm.

Labels: Google, inginuity, initiative

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Cry baby Viacom is not part of the cure

Viacom, the parent company of MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, among others big networks, today place suit against Google after repeatedly asking youTube to remove unauthorized posting of video clips from programs from the aforementioned networks.

Google, which has already eliminated close to 100,000 clips from the you Tube library after the last Viacom incident, is facing a difficult time keeping copyrighted materials from the youTube.com site.

I think this is a frivolous lawsuit as Google itself is not the source of the copyright violations, and neither is youTube for that matter, but the blame lies on the users who post this clips. youTube is a victim of its own success. The site is successful because visitors can find clips of entertainment that they like where these networks web sites do not.

The bottom line is that in today's marketing jargon everyone talks about wanting to be viral. If Viacom and its network of sites wants to increase their page views, they can easily do so by opening their sites to allow visitors to upload their own network video clips. Better yet, they can put up a show in its entirety on their sites and allow users to select a particular segment to be saved so that those users can send to their friends. They can generate a lot of advertising revenue and fix the problem. In today's world most people are part of the problem as most people have become complainers instead of taking the approach of how do we fix problem. I have decided not to complain, but instead to offer solutions.

Labels: Google, lawsuits, marketing, Viacom