The importance of packaging June 15th 2009
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in design.Tags: apple, macbook, packaging
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Your experience with some products starts as soon as start you tearing the shrink wrap around them.
This is what happened to me last week. I just bought a MacBook and I had been second guessing my choice since I pressed the “Submit” button on the order form.
A few days later, when I received the package from Apple, I was quite curious to see if my new laptop was worth all the money I paid for it.
The feeling I had when I opened the box was impressive: it was not because the package itself was nice to see, but because there was nothing between me and my laptop. I opened the box and the only thing I saw was my shiny new MacBook, without any additional clutter.
It was totally different from what I was used to: the previous laptop I bought came in a bulky cardboard box and I had to get rid of a ton of “READ THIS FIRST” papers before even being able to see my PC.
Even if it’s not sufficient by itself to make a good product, packaging certainly made a huge contribution with my experience with my new MacBook.
Although I was impressed by the stylish package, being logged in a couple of minutes after opening the box is what contributed most to my good impression.
For those of you that may be questioning, I’m not an Apple fanboy: I’m still spending most of my time on PCs. 
Update: I just returned my MacBook to buy a new MacBook Pro, so I’m still waiting for a package from Apple.
Bittorrent video streaming on Bitlet May 6th 2009
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in web.Tags: bitlet
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We recently updated bitlet.org to add support for video streaming via bittorrent.
The applet allows you to watch videos while you are downloading them and doesn’t require the installation of any third party application, except for Java.
Although still experimental, you can try the new feature by visiting this page.
Maps for public transport users January 25th 2009
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in Uncategorized.Tags: maps, mobile
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Even if modern trains are getting more and more friendly to passengers, many of them are still terribly lacking if we consider this aspect, at least in Italy.
As I’m writing this post I’m travelling through Tuscany on the railway. I’m not familiar with the landmarks, the train doesn’t announce its stops and it’s dark outside, making it impossible to read the names of the stations until it’s too late to jump off.
If you have ever been in such a situation, you do certainly understand how annoying it can be.
This is where mobile maps come to help: you just have to take a look at your phone and know instantly where you are.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could see stations, timetables and trains as well? Although it is one of the most challenging projects we can conceive, something like an interactive transport map certainly has the potential to be a killer application.
The only drawback… is that you’d certainly end up being distracted from the conversation with that pretty girl sitting next to you. 
A new use for margins January 19th 2009
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in web.Tags: design, iphone, mobile, web
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While I still read books on my way to work, I recently started reading online articles and blog posts using my phone as well.
This morning, while I was reading a column on Alertbox on iPhone, I noticed with pleasure a small detail: the left and right margins of the page have more than a merely aesthetic purpose.
As anyone who ever used an iPhone will certainly know, you usually slide your thumb along one side of the screen to scroll the page you’re reading.
Now, look at the screenshot below (red margins were highlighted later): because of the empty space at the sides of the page users are able to scroll without hiding text under their fingers. That’s relevant if you have the habit of scrolling and reading at the same time. 
I don’t know if Alertbox is styled like that by chance or by design, but I appreciate the result nonetheless.
As a side note: Alertbox is one of the most mobile-friendly websites I read. As such, it’s perfectly readable even on the small screen of my Nokia E71.
Pagination directions December 21st 2008
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in web.Tags: design, pagination, web
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Although pagination is a widely diffused pattern, some times it can still be a bit confusing, when it comes to blogs.
Most blogs (and many news sites) have a couple of links at the bottom of the page, newer and older posts or articles. Of course, there are two opposite ways to arrange those links: put the newer link on the left and the older one on the right, or just the opposite. What I consider to be annoying (and confusing), is to find both alternatives used inconsistently across blogs and websites.
For example, the Google Blog puts the Newer Posts link on the left,
while the Worpress Blog places Newer Entries » on the right
Confusing, isn’t it? What is the right way to show those links?
Pagination by itself is quite clear: most web users have long become accustomed to Google search results pagination,
and Yahoo’s Design Patter Library states it clearly:
- Present links in the following order: ‘Prev’, page links, ‘Next’.
- Display a left arrow after the label ‘Prev’.
- Display a right arrow before the label ‘Next’.
In other words, previous goes to the left, while next goes to the right.
The problem with blogs and articles is that it’s not clear what should we consider the “previous page”.
Is it the one with the older (previous) posts? Or, since articles are listed starting from the more recent ones, the page with the more recent posts?
I think any answer would be debatable, and that’s the source of all the confusion. What would you say?
Itsme: is the desktop metaphor really over? December 15th 2008
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in design.Tags: desktop, interaction design, ui
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Last week a friend of mine, knowing my increasing interest in interaction design, forwarded me the poster of a talk held in University of Milano-Bicocca about a new project named itsme.
Since I always welcome any excuse to visit my alma mater and one of the speakers has been my professor during my studies, I took half a day off work and went to attend the seminar, filled with curiosity.
According to its creators, itsme tries to move away from the desktop metaphor towards a new one, focused on “stories and venues”. Trying to sum up the ideas behind the project (I suggest you to visit their site for the full story), stories are linked to the purpose and motivation behind the actions we perform on our workstations. Venues are a sort of virtual place that collects all the files, documents, media, contacts and information in general which are related to a story.
I really like the idea, because it can be an effective way to organize heterogeneous information, which is something we all try to do. Advanced computer users need to catalog a huge volume of data in a way that suits their own needs, and each of them ends up developing a unique set of tricks, expedients and conventions to make this task easier.
But that’s a challenge that becomes more and more overwhelming with the growth in complexity and diversity of the information to aggregate (think about audio messages and IM, for example). That’s where a decent support for venues would make a serious difference. And that’s why I like the general idea behind itsme.
There is one point that leaves me perplexed, though.
Although it always sounds cool to be radical and challenge the status quo (as Seth would say), I wonder if leaving totally behind the desktop metaphor is really a good idea after all. The vast majority of computer users are familiar with it and, although often ineffective for some complex activities, it’s adequate for a lot of the simpler ones.
Certainly they considered augmenting, rather than replacing, the desktop metaphor with stories and venues. I’m curious to know what led them to choose the latter option.
Wasn’t it possible to implement their vision on top of existing Operating Systems? Frankly, I doubt it.
Moreover, I am curious to learn how (if) they are planning to handle sharing and collaboration: the speech and all the material I saw sounded pretty vague about this subject.
Just a note: the project is due in 2010. If itsme were a web 2.0 project it would be an eternity, wouldn’t it?
If you can’t get what you want… December 12th 2008
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in Uncategorized.add a comment
…maybe you just don’t want it strongly enough.
CxO humour December 7th 2008
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in Uncategorized.Tags: humour
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One of the last books I read contained a brief glossary at the end, with definitions of frequent and common terms in the IT business.
In particular, what it said about CxOs made me smile:
- CEO
- The guy/gal in the big office. This is a tough gig. CEOs are usually busier than you can imagine.
- CFO
- The guy/gal who tells you how many PCs or Macs you can buy
- CIO
- The guy/gal who tells you whether you can use a Mac or a PC
- CTO
- The guy/gal who tells you which is better, a Mac or a PC
Does it sound familiar?
If you’re curious about the book, it’s Managing Humans, by Michael Lopp.
Augmenting cityscape December 1st 2008
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in design.Tags: architecture, city, design, light, real life
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I had the inspiration for the subject of this post this summer, while having a walk in Milan with a friend. As we passed in front of the XIV century Sforza Castle (italian: Castello Sforzesco), we noticed it was lit by coloured lights, which gave it a quite peculiar aspect.
Castello Sforzesco by night. Photo by --Nick-- on Flickr.
The most notable aspect, however, is that the colour of the light can change over time (this is what is called dynamic lighting): the following time I was in the square in front of the Castle, it was lit by purple light.
The usage of lighting for aesthetic reasons is widely diffused as it’s an important aspect of architectural design. The illumination of the Sforza Castle, for example, was designed by light+, a design studio specialized in lighting for architecture.
While I like the idea of dynamic lighting, though, I’d love to see a different usage of illumination.
For years, light has been used in signaling, to carry some message across distance (on board of ships, for example). Nowadays, a lot of electronic devices include LEDs to communicate meaningful information to their owners.
Architectural lighting can be used to communicate as well: for example, the colour used to illuminate of a given landmark could change depending on the weather forecast for the following day.
While this is a trivial example, light can be used to enrich city landmarks to broadcast some message to anyone seeing them. While maintaining its decorative purpouse, light can transcend mere aesthetics, and used to bear a meaning by itself.
Just as in the past centuries, when people used to look at clock towers to get information that was relevant to them, we can make people see buildings and monuments under a new light. Literally.
If you know of any example of this approach, please let me know.
Why Mac menus are on the top November 27th 2008
Posted by Alessandro Bahgat Shehata in design.Tags: design, ui
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Disclaimer: despite the title, this is not a post about junk food.
I always wondered why Apple decided to place their menu bar on top on the screen, rather than inside the window it belongs to. I couldn’t find any good reason for that choice until last week, when I spoke with a couple of colleagues.
It turned that not only there is a reason, but it’s also quite clever! And it’s the same that led Microsoft to put the Start menu on the bottom left corner: stuff on the edges of the screen is just easier to hit.
Almost no aim is needed to bring the mouse over something that lies right on the border of the screen: you just have throw the cursor in the right direction and it will stop by bumping against the frame of your monitor. It makes things a lot easier, especially for those users who are not that nimble with the mouse.
Back to Mac OS menus: if you move the mouse cursor up on the screen, it stops right over the menus. Clever, isn’t it?
Now that I understand that I can’t help but consider the title bars of maximized windows on Windows a waste of potentially high value space. But there are at least a couple of notable exceptions.
a. Microsoft Office 2007, which allows users to put buttons on the title bar
b. Google Chrome, which dropped the plain old title bar and uses that space to display tabs
Could that be the beginning of a trend?
