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There has always been a lot of talk about simplicity. "Make it simple" is a very common approach to creating better products. But, unfortunately a lot of people think that you can achieve simplicity by removing features and creating less. This is rarely the case.»

It is 2008 and time for my annual look into the foggy future of the thing we call "the web"»
The question of online privacy is a very hot topic. Many people have an opinion, many companies talk about it - but few really protect your privacy. »

I was recently pointed towards NSyndrome - a viral campaign for the new Nokia N95. »
Gerry McGovern recently wrote that the best websites are the ugly ones - he is wrong. Only cheap companies can have ugly websites.»
Imagine if we lived in a world where Blue was the only color. All our houses would be painted Blue, we would have Blue cars, Blue shoes, (Blue-ray), Blue refrigerators, and Blue sidewalks. Many people even have Blue hair and makeup. Blue is how the world works. »

We often discuss design. Should it be simple or complex? Should it be colorful or grayish? Do you make it low-tech or media rich? The answer can be found by looking at how design breathe.»

Carmine Coyote has written an excellent article on multitasking and how ineffective it makes us. »
Second life is undoubtedly a big phenomenon, and it is an interesting example of social interaction mixed with massive capitalism - which is by no account a bad thing. But it is not the next web. It is not going to change how we interact in general. It is simply a brilliant example of wasting time on a massive scale. »
Having the right tools for a job is just as important having a great idea - especially on the web. We see something new all the time and in many cases it is made with technology we know nothing about. »
How do you create great products? Those kinds of products people really like to use, that they want other people to use and that has long-term potential? »
Viral marketing (word-of-mouth marketing) is a really cool thing. Just think about it... instead of spending an insane amount of money on newspapers ads, TV commercials or banner ads, you spent nothing - and let your fans do all the work for you. »
As you might know, I got strange hobby. I design full-cover advertisements to put on cars, buses and even planes. Most of it never makes it out of the computer, but occasionally my designs becomes real. »
There has been a lot of buzz lately about "Google Apps for your domain". It is said this will move Google into the enterprise world, and Microsoft will soon lose its dominance. »
Should you publish at regular intervals, or does it really matter? In my opinion it doesn't. But, you shouldn't make your publication plan too irregular either.»
Also available in Spanish
How do you get a high ranking on search engines? Well, here is a story of how you don't.»
I have always been more or less addicted to the internet - and having to live without it for about a month is not something that I like. But, being offline has made me realize how much time I waste on the internet. »
We have all seen many articles about effectiveness, just yesterday; To-Done published yet another one. Each of these articles points out very interesting things... but, there are 4 basic elements that are far more important - feeling rested, not being hungry, having physical energy and keeping a positive state of mind.»
You would think that with all that money, Google should be able to launch a killer video store. But, in reality the only thing it kills are its users. Google Video is one huge lump of wasted efforts.»
A few days ago Google announced yet another offering from their seemly endless stream of products. This time it was Google Analytics - a free website statistics package. »
This week 37Signals released their latest product - Writeboard. It is a tool for writing - or rather to write and edit text collaborative.»
Update: See the tutorial on "How to make Car Advertisement Mock-ups".
Whenever I want to relax I start to design full body car advertisements. Yes, I know - It is a strange hobby, but it is fun.»
CNET News.com has a very interesting article about how people waste time at work.»
What is a milestone? What is the difference between milestones, tasks and phases? When is a milestone? How do you manage milestones? These are questions I get quite often and instead of replying to each one, I have summed up an answer here.»
How do you measure errors in e.g. your web application?»
In a stroke of irony, this article became more real than initially intended. It was supposed to be published on December 20, 2004 - instead we are now in January 2005. The reason - lack of buffer...»
Updated: May 28, 2005
Deadlines are an important part of any project, but some deadlines are more important than others. They all have to be finished, but some deadlines need a certain amount of flexibility, where others do not. »
How a simple thing can break a project - Part 1 (of 3)»
Success is the single most important thing that you must ensure when designing a new application, starting a project or in general working with people. I am not talking about success for you, but success for them. »
I hear a lot about failed information systems and it has made many people skeptical about the real value of information. But, information is still very important - it is what enables you to act before your competitors, makes you proactive, solve problems effectively and so fort. To make information work. »
Getting the right visitors to your site is very important »
News feeds are a wonderful thing and it might very well be the next generation newsletters.»
Picture this: A silent, deadly and very ruthless killer. He is dressed in an expensive Armani suit, armed with poison, silenced weapons and a good knife - he even drives a Mercedes. He is on a mission, and in order to succeed it doesn't really matter how many he kills nor if they are civilians who just happens to wear a coat he likes.»
We all know "spam"; it has been around for the last 10 years and is currently weakening the most effective communication system ever created - emails.»
First it was micro payments - now music downloads. Both started out with the promise of a cheaper way to get things, but turns out to be overly expensive.»
Back in 2006 I wrote the article "The Battle between Usability and User-Experience", where I illustrated that usability and user experience are two different things. Since then, I think, the problem has grown in proportion. »
Creating a usable product is one of the most important things you can do. Where would Apple's iPhone be if it wasn't because it was so damn usable? But many products have a kind of hit-and-miss approach. There is no overall plan; usability is done in areas that seem right at any given moment. »

Bloomberg is undoubtedly one of the biggest players in the financial industry offering a wide range of products for people in and around Wall Street. One of their products is the Bloomberg Terminal. It is a 17" dual screen setup that displays the financial information from Bloomberg Profession Services - all in one tightly packed system.»
Security companies and IT people constantly tells us that we should use complex and difficult passwords. This is bad advice, because you can actually make usable, easy to remember and highly secure passwords. In fact, usable passwords are often far better than complex ones. »
Making usable graphs is not as simple as it sounds because usable graphs are highly rich on detail, while showing a general trend. But, adding too much detail will make it hard to read, and you see the wrong trends if you don't.»
One of the worst things you can do is to not design for real people and real content. It is obvious in the same way that you will freeze if you sit in a freezer. That, however, doesn't seem to stop people from making a mess of everything. »

A while ago I looked into what browser sizes people use to... well... browse the internet. I have received a good amount of feedback both as comments on the website, but more so in form of emails. With this article I will try to make sense of it all, and explain why the whole discussion about fluid vs. fixed layout is irrelevant. »
Within the usability community we constantly hear the mantra "make it easy", but lately more and more products are made too easy for their own good. Take something like Apple's Remote. It is incredible easy to use, but at the cost of essential functionality. Just a few more buttons, and a few tweaks to the interaction would make it much better.»
Security are ruining our life. It is terrorizing user experience making "computing" less and less desirable. I think that instead of waging a "war on terror", we should wage a "war on security". »
Many write and publish on a daily basis - like the journalists at newspapers. But, whereas the journalists have an editorial staff, we have to do it all by ourselves. »
Update: The final report is ready.
For years we have seen statistics telling us the size of people's screens. We know that 1024x768 is the dominant screen size, and that large resolution screens are coming.»
I have been speaking out against the use of synchronous interaction principles on this site, and other places. It is has mostly been trough to use of words, but I really wanted to illustrate it instead.
The difference between asynchronous and synchronous interaction is that when it is synchronous you have to do each step at the time. You cannot do two things - or what is called multitasking. »
The main reasons why it is so hard to create usable products is that there is a conflict between a high-usability level and great user-experience. You might think this as strange, but there is a important difference between the two. »
I have now had the chance to use Office 2007, and I have created a number of documents with it and analyzed how much more efficient the new interface is. The verdict? It is a revolution in terms of efficient usability. »
In January I reviewed Google Video. In short I beat it with a virtual stick until I was satisfied that it was no good at all. Google Video is a hyped up piece of wasted efforts.»
Manipulating your computer is, in general, not a very efficient way to work. Using the keyboard to - say "print the first page, in 4 copies, of a document", involves around 6 to 21 keystrokes. Using the mouse is not much better.»
We have all been in a situation where we have bought something so far away that we need help getting it. This is where the great people of UPS, FedEx or DHL come in and take care of all the transporting. They even offer you a way to track your shipment as it travels - like this:»
The good people of Microsoft User Experience and Microsoft Typography have found that the minimum font size used on computer screen is too tiny for modern computer displays. The absolute minimum size used to be Tahoma 8pt (comparable to 11px on Mac OS X or on the web).»
A few days ago, I talked about the end of the usability revolution. Today, everyone knows that good products are easy to use, good looking and often highly advanced. »
Over 7 years ago I started advocating usability. Back then this "thing" was considered some kind of a lower life form. No developer or web-designer with respect for himself would touch the concept. Instead it had to be technical advanced and uniquely designed.»
Updated see below
Updated: Link fixed
Microsoft has released a preliminary draft of Microsoft Windows Vista User Experience Guidelines. »
Globalization is for me a reality. 95% of what all my activities are used by people outside the country I live in. But writing for an international audience is far from easy. There are so many conflicting ways to write e.g. number, dates, addresses etc. that you have to be lucky to get it all right.»
The usability of audio books is currently in a somewhat immature condition. Most audio books are simply books read out loud. This may seem right, but it is not a very usable way.»
Every time I have finished a web application, and every time I start a new one, there is one thing that people want - speed. I continue to hear things like "it is slow, I am waiting all day, and it is not fast enough."»
Voice and speech commands are getting more and more powerful, and I am quite excited about the future possibilities. But, many companies who build voice recognition software do not consider the effect this will have on how we work with computers.»
A friend of mine had to take the train from one place to another at 5:11am. I bought a ticket the night before because mornings are not a particular good time of day to be thinking - at least for some. »
Two weeks ago I highlighted the most important usability issues with XMLHttpRequest. This week we are going a step closer to see how you can mix the two - including a practical example, just for the fun of it.»

Jef Raskin
XMLHttpRequest is becoming more and more popular, and many people are currently exploring what we could do with it. Unfortunately this also causes people to reinvent old and forgotten usability problems.»
When testing a product, it is important to rate the severity of the issues found. This will help focus your efforts, and keep an overall summary of the current status of your product. This is nothing new, severity ratings has been around for a long time and has proven useful too. »
Many programs have the same kind of functionality, but they often differ greatly in terms of usability. The difference between just being able to do something and being able in a usable way is very important. A usable product is faster to use, gives you a higher user satisfaction and helps you keep focus.»
Warning indicators is something we all have on our computers. It can be from lowest variation - like you mailbox's task folder - to critical applications like an oilrig interface. Most of these programs do not really help you. They do indicate warnings, which are fine - but they fail to indicate which warning you should direct your attention to.»
From time to time I end up discussing Linux's ease of use (like this evening). On the "Linux is the best" side I often see a Linux advocate. This is typically a person with above average computer skills and one who likes to fiddle around with server settings using strange command-line interface.»
Many websites, not only Blogs, are increasingly using the blog format as their publishing platform. And, that is good business - it is easy, very quick to setup and cheap.»
There are many reasons why I do not like IBM, but the two primary ones are ugly design and complete lack of usability. The last reason (lack of usability) is rather strange because IBM has done extensive amount of usability research. They also a very good, and very popular usability section of their website. IBM should be one the front-runner in terms of usability.»
Notice: Updated version available
Regular readers would know that I advocate against hard-to-read text - either due to low contrast or because the font sizes are too small. I call this phenomenon Positive Fantasy Syndrome.»
Habit and expectations are two very important elements in good products. If you make a product, it will be perceived as good if it supports the habits of those using it. If it also works as people expect it too you are almost guaranteed that it will be successful. »
Breadcrumbs are becoming a standard way of telling the visitor where they are when navigating a site. For me it is one of the key "must have" elements in order to make a website usable. »
Last week Jakob Nielsen wrote "Change the Color of Visited Links", which caused quite a stir in the web-design community. Many tended to believe that Jakob was trying to destroy design and bring back blue links on white pages (it has happened before).»
Positive Fantasy Syndrome (or P-FANSY) is an illness, in fact a virus, which is spreading among web designers with rapid speed. It is highly contagious and sometimes fatal. P-FANSY is characterized by making web-designers believe that if they make the site hard enough to see, their readers would think it actually looks good. »
Zeldman's latest redesign is not that good (*cough*). Either he has more than perfect eye-sight, or he is using a computer with a very high contrast.»
Keith, over at Asterisk* asked the interesting question of the usefulness of font-size widgets. Those little things you can use to adjust the font size of your web page.»
I recently purchased NewsGator, a great news reader that sits right in the middle of Outlook - where I manage my personal emails, calendar, tasks and projects. Yes, I do also use NetNewsWire on my G4, but my Dell Inspiron has long been my primary system.»

Online backup has, so far, been a joke. Most online backup solutions either limit your space to a couple of gigabytes, and if you need more (like everyone does) it costs a gazillion dollars. But, now HP has released Upline.»

As you might have noticed this site has gone green - at least for the duration of this month. The purpose is to raise awareness to the "planet crisis", more specifically that we need to do something to prevent global warming. »
Adobe has pre-released a new version of the Flash 9 Player which includes support for HD quality video including hardware acceleration. This is big news for video on the Web but how close are we really to HD in our browsers? The short answer is... not that close. »
Comment spam is undoubtedly one of the most annoying aspects of running a website. It literally sucks the joy out of it. The spam is everywhere, and everyone has problems with it. But, there is actually a way to solve the problem. »
2007 is here, and so it is time to look ahead and provide some wild guesses as to what will come.»
Update: The final report is ready.
I am going to publish my report on "Actual Browser Sizes" (see preview) in a about week. While you wait, I want to answer a question many people have asked: "how do you collect browser size statistics". »
Digg.com is a fantastic site, it has an amazing influence on making stuff popular. But, it is also a constant burden on website owners. If you get "dugged" you got to have a very good hosting plan in order to stay online.»
As you might have noticed this site has gone pink, and it is not because I have suddenly developed feministic tendencies - it is about something much more serious. Breast Cancer Awareness Month.»
Updated: Added fun comic...
Andrei and Design by Fire is back. That is a good thing because he always has some interesting views (although I do not always agree with him). Like in his "I'm back" post where he takes a swing at a number of popular web services.»
Windows Vista has been released for public testing (last week). But, none of the major anti-virus companies support the new operating system - yet.»
Today is big day. It is redesign day. This particular redesign has been underway for more 6 months. »
Update: Download NY Times Reader for Vista.
Microsoft and New York Times have revealed a new "PC based software application for news distribution" - or in short a desktop application for reading the newspaper. They call it the "Times Reader", and it is so far limited to Windows Vista.»
In January I wrote about the coming ActiveX update that will change how embedded content will be handled in Internet Explorer. In short, things like Flash movies will have to be activated (clicked) before they can be used.»
Update: Apple did release an iPhone - see below
Will Apple make an iPod phone? An iPhone? »
I am an explorer - a virtual Earth explorer that is. It used to be with Google Earth and their nice coverage of satellite images from all over the world. Then came Microsoft with Live Local and their even more impressive "Bird's Eye View"»
A few weeks back I wrote a rather favorable review about parts of iLife 06. I said something like "amazingly", "most impressive" and other really nice phrases you would use for very good products. I even went to the extent of defending the product against fellow developers who did not think so highly of it. »
I have been using IE7 for a while and I really like it. It just seems simpler, safer and better than IE 6 - and it feels like a user-focused version of Firefox. »
Notice: Updated April 30, 2006 usable workaround, read below
As some might remember, in 2004 Microsoft lost a lawsuit to Eolas Technologies concerning a patent for "Distributed hypermedia method for automatically invoking external application providing interaction and display of embedded objects within a hypermedia document"»
Update: Apple iLife 06 products has turned out rather undone. Read the update.
In late-december 2005 I sat down and tried to guess what the future would be like here in 2006 - that is about a month ago. »
In August 2005 I published a few examples of "Car Advertisements" and since then a number of people have contacted me to ask how they where made. So here we go...»
2006 is just around the corner, and that means that it is time to bring some (vague) predictions for this web business we are in. »
Some of you might have wondered why I rarely refer to the term AJAX. The answer is quite simple. I rarely use it, but I often use XMLHTTPRequest. Let me explain that.»
I have finally been able to solve the problems with the newsfeeds on this site - and thanks to those kind people told me that it was broken! I really appreciate the feedback.»
You know, we can do many things with our lives. We can deceive ourselves with misleading statistics - or we can try to look past these false numbers and start to make real sense of things. »
Finally, some would say - Internet Explorer 7 is out as a closed beta to MSDN Subscribers.»
Update: Now includes Internet Explorer 7 (beta 1) performance test. Overall it does not change much. It does load pages faster, but varies greatly in how it handles changes to the DOM. This is good for normal websites, but worse for web applications.
If we compare web applications to other web-based activities, there is one thing that separates them - client-side workload. A web application requires the browser to handle more data, but also to process it directly on the client - where other web-based activities put the stress on the server. »
One of my very good friends sent the following to me just moments ago. I rarely like email jokes, but this one is special in that it illustrate the importance of new-thinking and simplicity. »
This is so much fun and the creator is right - it is very addictive. Guess-the-Google is a game very you will see a number of images, and you then have 20 seconds to guess what keyword that was used to find them - based on Google Image Search.»
Update: I did not complete the update as planned, due to some last minutes changes to the core of CMS system.
This site will become somewhat inaccessible from May 4-8, 2005. I am changing the backend CMS system to Baekdal.CMS 02.»
Statistics, and in particular website statistics, is a vital tool for any website. It can tell you where to focus, where not to, what you do well, and what you don't do well and it can provide you with much needed information about who your visitors are.»
More and more web development companies state they will no longer support anything but the latest browsers on the market. Some go even further and state that they will only support 5% of the market, e.g. Firefox. »
Having trouble getting out of bed? Are you constantly finding yourself pushing the snooze button on your alarm clock? MIT has the solution.»
After months of waiting, I finally received an insanely small, but hugely great piece of equipment - a Mac Mini.»
Sometimes a sign, in a special situation, is enough to make you laugh :) »
Update: Virginia Senate drops the bill. It seems the lawmakers makes sense after all.
We have all laughed at them, old crazy US laws that do not make the slightest sense to anyone. Here are few of them:»
Last spring I made a screensaver, or rather a series of images that you can turn into one. The images contain quotes from very ingenious people. And all quotes have an inspirational message - to do better, to change the way you think or to make you smile. »
It has been somewhat amusing to read the responses to the release of Firefox 1.0 - first from many blogs and later from the main stream media. Headlines like "The Browser war is back" and "Firefox is cutting into IE's lead" can now be found on essential any news site in the world.»
Notice: This article is not about any serious stuff like usability, management or branding. It is about something different altogether - let's call it "Fantastic Life"
I am constantly amazed by the world we live in. The possibilities, the advances we make and the number of strange little things happening everyday. It's marvelous; it's fun and thrilling in all sorts of mind-blowing ways.»
Google is undoubtedly the best search engine around. Not only is it the most user-friendly, but it is also the best from a technical perspective. »
Here is an exciting product - the strapless, backless bra. It is a great invention for women - and it is going to be a huge tease for all us men when we see them at the beach. »
After writing "News Feeds, the Future of Newsletters", I realized that there was one thing missing - branding. »
Most of us have statistics for our website, but what if I tell that you, me and every one else has inaccurate statistics? I am not talking about minor deviations; I am talking about that roughly 90%, if not more, are directly misleading. »
Baekdal.CMS now also supports Atom and RSS feeds. So now your newsreaders can correctly update the two feeds.»
Before I begin I would like to point out that TypePad is by no account a bad product. It fully supports what it is intended for - being an easy to use, hosted, blog solution. I was very impressed with TypePad during beta testing and I am still impressed how easy it is to setup blogs and start writing to the world. »
After struggling with TypePad's CMS system for quite a while, I finally decided to stop using it on this site. Instead this site is now powered by Baekdal.CMS - and a very unusual way to use 404 error handling. I will publish more information about Baekdal.CMS - and why I quit Typepad the next couple of days.»
All over the world, people are getting killed, arrested and pacified under the cover of terrorism. The world's hotspots are suddenly filled with terrorists - and the world is at rage.»
I found this article on BBC's news website, and it made me feel good. It is about SMS, and how it can help an 81 year-old father and her deaf daughter communicate.»
The question is not "can everyone see the site, regardless of system/browser?" Instead it is "how do I make my site great for my expected audience?"»
Rice was asked if Bush focused on Iraq - and answered "not a single one of his principal advisors advised doing anything against Iraq". Does that not mean that Bush did indeed focus on Iraq (we did invade...) despite that his advisers told him to focus on other issues?»
I am constantly amazed how government institutions can spend millions of dollars on web-designs that is down-right user hostile and inaccessible on any other system than Windows.»