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user experience

See all posts on posterous with this tag ยป
 

The browser is dead, long live the browser!

Ok, that may have been a bit melodramatic. The point is whether the web "browser" as it appears today is ready to be replaced. By not another browser, but another paradigm in how we access online apps and info.

I was reading about Google Chrome, Google's browser, (actually, the comic version, which I thought was really cool). I was impressed. It is what grown-up browsers should be, although I've yet to try it first hand (Mac version not yet available). Of course, all the bugbears of web access is covered (phishing, malware, privacy, etc) - this is I think a consequence of being able to rethink the browser and create something from scratch. The real leap however is in building something that will handle web apps well. This means rethinking the Javascript engine and memory management, which is what they have done.

While Chrome is an evolution, it is still an evolution in browser technology, not in the way we access information and apps online. An ideal scenario is when the browser completely 'disappears' from the user and allows us to just get on with using apps and access data straight form the the device or OS. In this way, the browser becomes just the engine behind it all. Perhaps this is where Google is getting to, but using Chrome as a transitionary technology, as they did mention this:

"... In the case of webapps, we've made it so you can launch them in their own streamlined window, without the url box and browser toolbar. ... We don't want to interrupt anything the user is trying to do. If you can just IGNORE the browser, we'de done a good job."

Google's decision to use Webkit is key IMHO. Webkit is the rendering engine behind Chrome and Webkit can be embedded in all sorts of things, not just Windows, OSX and Linux. Once we start seeing something like Webkit (plus things like the V8 Javascript virtual machine that Chrome uses) being part of the device or OS, then I think we'll start to free outselves from the confines of the browser.

Perhaps Mozilla's Aurora concept is a glimpse of this vision.

Code snippets will not render properly in feeds, so please see original article.

Filed under  //  browser   chrome   google   user experience   web  
Posted by Farez Rahman 
 

tripit.com - a model for online service

If you travel a lot but have not heard of tripit.com, then you need to sort yourself out. I wish I do travel a lot if only to be able to use this service.

What is it: a tool to manage your travel details and other related information. Like Dopplr and Tripadvisor, it also lets you invite friends into your network and discover if your paths might cross next time you're out and about.

The best thing about Tripit is it's user interface - you don't need one. Remember all that confirmation emails you get from flights, car hire companies and hotels? Just forward them to plans@tripit.com and it does all the rest... full itineraries, recommendations, the whole lot.

This, to me, is what really useful online services should look like. No bell, minimal whistles and leverages the Internet to do what was not previously possible without it. Key points here are:

  • Ask for minimal input form the user: email is good enough
  • Do all the work in the backend: use intelligent data gathering to mash-up personalised info for the user
If we're moving to a more mobile and less deskbound world, then new apps will do well to follow Tripit's lead.
Code snippets will not render properly in feeds, so please see original article.

Filed under  //  SaaS   dopplr   travel   tripadviser   tripit   user experience  
Posted by Farez Rahman