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Keyboard for Apple tablet already here?

2010-01-23T14:36:00.000-08:00

Written by CNET (Credit: Apple)

Recently, my colleague Rafe Needleman wrote a column titled "Why consumers won't buy tablets." The article was a direct reference to the long-standing rumor that Apple may be releasing a slate-style, jumbo iPod Touch this fall. Rafe doesn't really believe Apple would be misguided enough to release a tablet and that if it does put one out in the rumored $700 to $800 price range, "it will die." He also believes that, "This whole category is a nonstarter."

I tend to agree with Rafe on a lot of his points. I think tablets and tweener devices--like Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs)--that are too big to put in your pocket, cumbersome to operate, and overpriced, are problematic and have no place in the marketplace.

The reason why Netbooks have been successful is that they're cheap, and their form factor makes sense, especially for those looking to take a basic, lightweight computer out with them on the road--or just out to the patio. It's a pretty simple equation and you'd think that Apple would just follow the Netbook trend and come out with something that didn't break the mold but was sexier, a little zippier, and cost an extra $100-$200 in so-called Apple tax. What I'm talking about is a 10-inch $600-$700 Apple Netbook with a keyboard.

Alas, that probably won't cut it for Apple. Low-end computers just aren't in the company's DNA, so rumor has it we're looking at a $700-$800 tablet, which, to guys like Rafe and me, doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense. But at same time I also have enough faith in Apple to realize that if it's going to come out with such a product, it's probably going change the tablet's paradigm to the point where it suddenly makes abundant sense.

To find out more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10307561-82.html

Google Wave Review by cNet

2009-12-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

Google just opened up to a limited audience its very interesting communications experiment called Wave (news stories). Our hands-on evaluation: there's a lot to like. It really is a more contemporary take on communications. But it will knock many e-mail users off-balance.

Even Wave's own Software Engineering Manager Lars Rasmussen told me, "It takes a little getting used to," and, "We're still learning how to use it." Imagine how everyone else will feel.

If you want to try Wave, you'll have to wait. Google is making access to the service available to some developers and press, but full availability will not be until "later this year," Google says. The version we tested was very raw, still in development. Many features were not implemented and the system threw us a few errors. But the framework and philosophy is clear to see, and that's what this evaluation is based on.

You can read more here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10255402-2.html

Web Design Techniques

2009-11-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

Listed below are some useful and rather important tips for designing a professional and high quality web site: Neat and Easy Navigation: Navigation of links on your site plays a big role in determining the stickiness of your site (how long your visitor stays and explores your site). Ask yourself this, What do visitors do as soon as they open your site? They would probably read the content of the present page and then look around to find any other page that interests them.

Clean Layout Design: A clean layout that uses a lot of white space enhances a site's looks. Try to keep the focus on your content, use a template for this. Use fonts that will be available on all computers to prevent your site looking messed up. Optimum Load Time: Make sure your load time is low. For this you must: Minimize Graphics, Flash and scripts: They hugely increase your file size. Optimize your HTML & script code: Make sure that your site doesn't have any unwanted tags or unused scripts. Use Server Side Include (SSI) files where ever possible. SSI files once called from the web server reside in its cache so on subsequent requests they load faster. Design for all Screen Resolutions: A site that is easy-to-use always encourages visitors to stay and read your content. For site with long pages of content this is very crucial as the amount of scrolling required is reduced. Suppose your site doesn't look good for a particular resolution it is very probable that the visitor will close the browser window feeling that the web page is not for their viewing. Designing stretch layouts that fit any screen resolution ensures that you know all your visitors see a visually appealing and professional site. Ensure Web site scalability: Make sure your code and design is scalable. As technology advances and configuration of computers & their monitors keep increasing and varying it is impossible to test your site in all screen sizes and platforms. Cross Browser Compatible: Make sure you check your site for Internet Explorer 5+, Mozilla Firefox 1.0, Opera 7.0 and Netscape Navigator 6+ as they constitute 95% of the worlds browsers.

Design for print and the web.

2009-04-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

Many people might think that it's easy to convert a print brochure to a website and vica versa, but it's not that easy at all. Things to take into consideration would be the following:

Resolution of artwork

Print resolution is generally higher than web (72dpi) and therefore images will appear much larger in 72dpi (screen) resolution. You have to ensure that you adhere to general browser restrictions.

Fonts

Many nice design fonts won't work on your website except if you keep them as images. This has pros and cons. The pros are that you'll have nice looking fonts, but the cons are that search engines can't read the text and you'll be shooting yourself in the foot. It's also much harder to update images than simple HTML text.

With general HTML fonts you're limited to only a number of fonts. The reason for this is because you want to be using fonts that most users have on their computers (whether Mac or PC).

Scales

A simple brochure might not be designed to the same scale requirements to fit as a website. A lot of cropping might render the artwork useless for use on the web, so make sure you have a designer that's up to the job of taking the concept and applying it on a website design.

It's never as simple as it might seem

It's important to remember that it's never as simple as it seems to take a print concept to web, so always keep in mind that converting a print design to a website might require some advanced skills!

Web Design Tips - Useful Tips for Effective Web Design

2009-04-11T10:52:00.000-07:00