BarelyBlogging » usability

remember me

pat — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 17:09:07 +0000

Many sites have a “remember me on this computer” checkbox when logging in, which saves a cookie on your computer so you remain logged into the site. Slashdot actually makes the cookie opt-out: you must select “public terminal” if you don’t want to save a cookie on the computer.

Today I saw an interesting feature on the AAA Auto Club web site. It had the typical “remember me” checkbox when logging in. I logged in but did not select the checkbox.

Then on the “my account” page, it presented the option again. This is the first time I have seen an option to save your account cookie other than on the log-in form. It also gives you the ability to delete the cookie. It’s a nice detail.

Fun experimental interactive system

pat — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 21:44:53 +0000

FauxJAX: An AJAX Framework for Idiots

pat — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:26:11 +0000

Introducing FauxJAX.

Want to get your hands on some crazy delicious Web 2.0 venture capital, but don’t have mad AJAX skills? If you can copy and paste, you too can have a website that looks oh-so two thousand and six!

Simply use our framework to display content on your site, and we’ll do the rest. Don’t worry about outdated server-side technology because FauxJax is beyond all that. Way beyond. Like in the next century, you have no idea.

Get FauxJAX today!

STOP YELLING: The Flickr Newbie Muzzle

pat — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 17:55:27 +0000

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT EXPERIENCED INTERNET USERS HATE IS WHEN SOMEONE TYPES IN ALL CAPS… IT FEELS LIKE THE PERSON IS YELLING!

I noticed on Flickr that they have implemented anti-yelling technology – so if you enter a comment in all caps it automatically changes to lower-case and even attempts to capitalize words based on sentence position.

BEFORE:

TESTING COMMENT. WOW! IT WORKS!

AFTER:

Testing comment. Wow! It works!

This is cool, although if you really want to type in all caps it won’t let you. In my mind it’s a good tradeoff.

Update: it would have been even better if they had provided a notification that this was being done, and perhaps a way to override it if you really wanted all caps.

Screencast: Judge a Web App By Its Title

pat — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 13:02:15 +0000

The second episode of “You’re Killing Me Here!” (usability and design screencast series) discusses various uses of the page title (HTML TITLE element): in particular how you can use it to communicate with users of your web application.

View the Screencast (2.5 minutes)

You’re Killing Me Here! Web Usability Screencast

pat — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:18:56 +0000

Introducing “You’re Killing Me Here!” a series of screencasts discussing web site and web application design, accessibility, and usability from the perspective of a power-user.

The first episode discusses “type ahead find” in the Firefox browser and the design implications that come along with it.

View the Screencast