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2010-04-29T08:13:00.001-04:00

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Thinking About Mobile

2009-04-29T21:13:00.007-04:00

The idea of the "Mobile Phone," has morphed and shifted into the new reality of the "Mobile Web." This has largely occurred largely on the shoulders of a single company. That company? Who else but Apple.

Think back 2 to 3 years. Look at any mobile carrier and compare any regular or smart phone to the iPhone. If you're honest, you realize how mediocre the hardware and software has been. Add to it that going to a mobile carrier like Verizon was akin to taking a trip to the DMV. Going in, you had the knowledge that when you walked out the doors, there was a high degree of certainty that you would come away irritated, pissed off and maybe even a little helpless, cause you where at their mercy.

And that is how Apple has been able to gain so much traction in the market so quickly. All they really had to do is stay, "Apple." What does that translate into? Words and principles like, "Experience economy, quality, elegant, ease of use, functional, intuitive, High quality customer service and comfort."

It might seem like a million years ago, but pretty much everyone scoffed at the thought of Apple even having the notion that they could walk onto the playing field. That notion was reinforced by a dismal product known as the Motorola "ROKR," that was Apple's way of seeing what the water temperature was like.

What was Apple's problem? Hadn't they heard the words, "Motorola, LG, Samsung, Blackberry, Verizon?" Every thought Steve Jobs was either, drunk on Apple culture, mentally insane or some combination of the two.

Looking back now, as people gleefully purchase their iPhone and download their favorite app(s), it all now looks so inevitable that Apple would succeed. How could you have ever lived without Safari, my Kindle App, Twitter, Skype, Epocrates and the 10,000 other apps that are available?

As I work on some applications and test the iPhone 3.0 Beta 4 software, I can't help but think, this is the new reality of "personal computing. Our data is ubiquitous (as long as we have a wireless connection). It really can be everywhere you are. This is especially true if you have Microsoft Exchange, Mobile Me or the fledgling Google contacts and calender "Push," enabled in your Gmail settings panel. The expression "Cloud," computing is truly meaningful within our lexicon.

To use a Bill Gates expression, the new mobile experience is about, "rich," immersive experiences facilitated by applications as the connector. It's about having hardware/software that is so well designed that when you don't have it you feel naked or discombobulated without it, because it seems so natural. It's having a phone where you don't need a book to figure it out, it just fits into your life.

The notion of "Just fitting into your life," is something that Apple does very well. On the horizon is the soon to be released Palm-Pre. Google Android, while a good first effort has had setbacks because the hardware has not been powerful enough to allow the software to shine. As we move along the technology curve, look forward to having richer, unobtrusive, connected experiences. In the future when you hear the words "desktop," or "lap-top," you'll put them in the same category as 8-track tapes or VCR's.

Mobile life is a good thing. Enjoy as much as you can, just drop the crappy hardware and software.

Jaye Morris

Verizon Hates Us All

2009-02-26T20:30:00.005-05:00

Here's the best summary of what it's like to deal with Verizon, that I've ever seen.

A Week With Windows 7

2009-01-18T11:02:00.002-05:00

Windows 7 Beta has been a pretty good experience overall. What seems to detract from it is Internet Explorer 8. Since so much of what we do is browser based, that makes its being so half-baked, so particularly disappointing. As a matter of fact, I'm making this post from Google Chrome, because of the numerous problems with IE8.

Windows 7 Beta as an OS itself is surprisingly good. Installing SQL servers, CF, Flex, etc... has been flawless and very manageable. The actual OS overhead is far better than Vista, where the systems can be "punishing," to use a word. That's the good.

Now for what might be bad. There are two area's to look at. First off, going from Windows XP to either Vista or Windows 7 is a dramatic change. Things are moved around, the work flow is very different. In and of itself, change is not a bad thing. The problem is introducing change without being intuitive. The end result is frustration for so-called "regular," computer users. They want to work on their task. They don't want to spend 45 minutes trying to figure out how to change their profile picture. It's relative to the system shock of going from Office 2003 and office 2007. I've had to help a lot of frustrated people because the paradigm shift was so extreme.

The second thing which is idiotic is the number of versions of Windows Vista and planned versions of Windows 7. Currently there are four (4) versions of Vista. That's ridiculous. Most people could deal with 2 versions of XP, home or pro. That made sense to people. Four versions is just opening a can of worms and introducing an elephant to a pool party. You don't want the complications. Anyone who knows me is aware that I'm a Apple fanboy, but there's a reason for that. Do you know how many versions of OS X Leopard there are? One. You can use it for the home network or corporate network environment. It doesn't matter. You pay only one price (99.00 USD). What could be better. Microsofties for being so smart are impressively dumb, when it comes to stuff like this. If they continue with the same pricing structure and confusion, it will be proof that Microsoft is not learning from their mistakes.

Jaye Morris

Getting Things Done

2008-12-28T16:28:00.003-05:00

Over at Fast Company's WorkFastTV, I caught a video with Robert Scoble interviewing David Allen, at GTD expert. Pretty cool stuff.

Enjoy,

Jaye Morris

Can you say Vlingo?

2008-12-17T16:30:00.004-05:00

Vlingo is an iPhone app that I just discovered, that does voice recognition. Since software version 2.0, I've been looking for a good "Voice Recognition," (VR) and have only been met with disappointment.

Prior to trying Vlingo, my last big attempt was using the "Google Mobile," app which was impressively lame. I was standing there tilting the phone to my ear, wait for the "duhn, duhn" sound, which was sometimes there and sometimes not. When I did get the VR signal sometimes I didn't speak fast enough and would get only a partial submission in there. It left me just feeling frustrated and angry that they could not get it right, after all they are Google, so I expect an Apple-like experience, not a clumsy piece of crap which left me feeling rather dumb.

Enter Vlingo. First off, I was willing to give it a spin for one simple reason. It's FREE! So by trying it, I'm not out of anything other than the time I invested on the install. Upon App start, Vlingo offers a series of tips under the title of "What can I say." This is really important, since it helps you with all the key phrases, which are natural and easy to remember.

The key voice recognition phrases are "Search, Google, Yahoo, Call, Find, Map and Social." My example is "Map, Wicomico County Youth and Civic Center, " You tap the red button indicating that completes what you are looking for and boom, up comes "Map It," you press the key and there it is. Snap! You can say, "search adobe coldfusion," and search results popup for Adobe CF. by default the Yahoo! is the default search engine, but you can go into setting and change it to Google. There's no love for Ask or Microsoft Live Search, but that's how they roll. No big loss there. Everything works as expected and as it's supposed to.

The above said, there is a really cool treat. Remember when i said, you could say "social?" Well guess what? You can Facebok and Twitter update via VR. It's insanely easy to do. You configure our account, hit the social button, say what your Tweet is and your words appear on the screen, giving you a word count to boot. The accuracy is nothing short of astonishing. You hit the update button and it posts to your account. Nice.

If you are looking for Voice Recognition software for the iPhone, I really think Vlingo is it. I'm really impressed. Give it a try and post back here to share your experience. As I said, it's free and you can't beat that. Enjoy.

Jaye Morris

Interested in Getting Things Done

2008-11-15T17:51:00.011-05:00

I've always been interested in task management apps. I have way to many requests and demands on my time to easily remember things. Its also important to say that it's not that these tasks and requess are not important, but more like I'm in data overload.

Using the Outlook task manager was okay, but it also tied my to my laptop, which I don't always want to carry with me. When I had the MotoQ is was a litle better, but still somewhat clunky.

After I got my 1G iPhone, I was really bummed out, because there was zero task management available. But with 2.0 that was the first type of application I started looking for.

Enter OmniFocus. I ponied up with my 20 bucks. I felt that it was slow but robust. Some of the features and workflow was a little hard to figure out. But I was introduced to something that I was not familiar with... GTD (Getting Things Done). You can learn more about it from David Allen It's a methodology for becoming more productive and effective.

Since that time, I've been looking for an easy implementation to integrate into my life via my iPhone. I heard about desktop and iPhone application called "Things." The desktop version in available as a free preview. It's surprisingly impressive and feature rich for an alpha version. There is a really cool video demo on screencast.

Connecting both the desktop and my iPhone literally took about 30 seconds. That's no exaggeration. The iPhone app is guick and effective. It certainly doesn't feel as bloated at the Omnifocus and it's half the price (9.99).

The only drawbacks that I have found is that it does not have the "tags" like in the desktop version, but that's an easy fix. The other drawback is there is no "search" function. Those two things are kind of minor and it really is an outstanding app. And if you ask what my criteria was, in judging that, it's simple. I'm "getting things done."

~ Jaye

Get ready for a fire sale

2008-11-01T16:08:00.003-04:00

Circuit City just got a de-listing notice from the NYSE. They have fallen below the "criteria to be on the exchange and have 30 days to get it above 1.01 as an average. That's pretty big. You can read more at CNET.com. Personally, I hope they survive. They have a lot of employees that will be out of work and I do like them better than bestBuy.

Jaye

Thinking About Microsoft

2008-10-29T21:26:00.005-04:00

Beating up on Microsoft and picking them apart is nothing new. It's a religious right on any given day. I am primarily a Mac user, so I'm not one to drink the "Microsoft Kool-Aid." But there are some important to remind and encourage people about with certain products. Specifically, I'm talking about Microsoft Office.

MS Office is something that Microsoft does very right, especially Excel. I like to think of Excel as the "Swiss Army" knife of software. The application in and of itself is awesome. You can easily use it in a variety of ways. The obvious it calculations and formulas. The other is as a flat file database. You can do some really cool stuff that on the surface seems simple, but in reality can be a little mind bending. I can't tell you how many times I've used it to create and manage and been data through CSV files. I love that stuff. We don't talk enough about it.

As a matter of fact, people in tech world are famous for talking about how deep Adobe Photoshop is. But the truth be told, so is Excel. If you want to go in that direction, it's impressively deep in scope. I've seen some mind-blowing stuff that would meet the needs and demands of any serious business person. Unfortunately most people only use about 10 of the available feature set.

Word is Word. I've had friends write anything form novels to training manuals to automated forms. There are some interesting tools inside. You can do a heck of a lot more than design certificates with MS Word. The forms tool is pretty interesting to play with.

I'm not going to go into each application, but by now you have a feel for the direction I'm going in and what I'm talking about. The bottom line it that MS Office is something that the boys and girls at Redmond got right. If you look into it, you can find some cool stuff. Apple has a famous phrase. "Think Different." It would not be a false thing to apply towards the suite.

Let us know your thoughts. Happy computing!

Jaye

Productivity 2.0

2008-10-13T20:47:00.003-04:00

There is a great article on "Zen Habits," on Productivity 2.0. The article does a terrific job in contrasting old (usually ineffectual thinking) vs. New School (high quality employee output. Give it a read. There are some really excellent points in there.

Jaye

Styles Change, Style Doesn't

2008-10-12T15:14:00.002-04:00

Gotta love the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Enjoy.

// Jaye

A Little Disappointment in Life

2008-10-05T07:46:00.004-04:00

Recently I got a hold of a string of applications from the iTunes Apps store that just plain stink. From my perspective it wouldn't be so bad if they where free, but that's not the case.

A great example of sucking badly is TextGuru. It should be called Text-AntiTech-Counter-intuitive-Piece-of-Crap. First the reviews in the kindness light where miss-informed on the "ease of use factor," and at worst flat-out lies. It did not work as advertised which brings back my argument for trial-ware. It can certainly be done and I have no idea why it's not.

Text-Guru is supposed to allow you to "seamlessly" allow you to connect with your iPhone and move, share and edit basically any file format. Wrong. I still to this day have not been able to get the file transfer to work, despite being a pretty darn good geek, and in existing word documents you lose cut and paste functionality. The only documents that you can actually cut and paste are text files. That blows. They left out that little invaluable tidbit of information. There are a bunch of other clumsy things about the app and I'm not very happy. Why? Because if it happened once, I'd say okay, but it's happened multiple times.

Several other "Apps That Suck?" Ummmmm Chef, Pick & Choose Groceries, ATT Yellow Pages, What's On, Where and a few others but as I write, I'm just getting more upset. It's just too mind bending.

So to keep this from being a full on rant, Apple needs to do something about the process. As I said above, allow for trial-ware for goodness sake. Show little demo's movies, something. Come on this is the tech age. You can make our lives easier.

Jaye

Thank Gawd

2008-09-21T18:43:00.001-04:00

The Microsoft ads featuring Seinfeld and Gates have been officially cancelled. Thank goodness. Now if Gates could get some of that 10 million back from Seinfeld for sucking so bad and fire the marketing staff for lack of message focus. It's okaybto be cute, judy make sure that you are selling product. People are looking for reasons to buy. But ads like these Micosoft one's leave people confused and skeptical.

Jaye

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To Write Love on Her Arms

2008-09-14T11:23:00.006-04:00

There is a really nice video piece that MSNBC did on Renee Yohe the Social Movement, "To Write Love on Her Arms," who focus is helping people struggling with issues such as "cutting," and "drug addiction," and the barriers that can get in the way of people getting treatment. It's work the look.

~ Jaye

Real Genius

2008-09-13T18:44:00.009-04:00

I'm really pleased about the iPhone and iPod Touch 2.1 software update. So far since completing installations on several units, I have to say that none of the iPhones or Touch has crashed (as yet). Right on!

It's also notable that the apps are much snappier (with the exception of Twinkle - but that might be bad coding). They seemed to get a handle on issues like slow applications and keyboard lag. The push functionality in the MS Exchange and MobileMe is supposed to be much better. But to tell you the truth, I've been having a great MobileMe experience.

For those interested, the iPhone and iPod Touch seems faster in the backup functions and the App installs are way faster. Thank gawd. The previous backs took so long, I could microwave something and eat it and the backup would still be going. This is a true improvement.

The last thing to note is Apple Genius. This is interesting because you can select a single song and then then touch the "Genius," button and it creates a playlist based on what goes well with that particular song. And to tell you the truth, it's flat out amazing. It not only appears in you iPhone and iPod Touch, but iTunes 8 (which is awesome by the way). in iTunes, based on what you are playing it analyzes your music collection (no private data is kept on file) and compare it with what other users are listening to and then makes suggestions to you.

To be quite frank coming up with cool playlists and finding new material generally sucks. There are times I've wasted hours attempting to "discover," new music still only to come up empty. Genius has been offering some really good choices and introduced me to some things that I wasn't aware of. It's a Win - Win.

Let me know your thoughts. I look forward to hearing your experience.

Tech-On,

~ Jaye

You're A Beautiful Liar

2008-09-06T07:26:00.003-04:00

Sara Palin implied during the RNC convention that in an effort to save Alaska money, she "sold it on eBay." Turns out she listed it on eBay, but didn't sell it there, even after listing it twice. Check out the story on Valley Wag. Maybe she should have turned to an eBay powerseller for some tips and tricks.

~ Jaye

The Powerset

2008-09-04T20:24:00.005-04:00

I came across a great web application called Powerset. The website offers "natural language" search placed on steroids. It's been a really nice way to cut through the information chaos for me. Having used a lot of search tools, especially for research, I have to say that Powerset is a winner hands down.

On top of the enhanced and very easy tool set that it offers, in a paradigm you don't have to think very hard to catch on, they also offer an iPhone Webcentric page as well that is amazingly fast and cool. It has earned a place on my main "Home Screen." Give it a spin and let me know your thoughts.

~Jaye

Chrome Rims

2008-09-02T21:20:00.002-04:00

Google today launched it's newest weapon from their war chest, Google Chrome. I installed it over Parallels today, since there is not a OS X installation as yet. As it turns out, the installation was light-weight and simple.

Firing up Chrome, my first thought was "cartoon" like. The color scheme threw me off a bit, but given my design background, I'm probably a little more sensitive to that sort of thing than the average person.

The second thought I had was "lawsuit." The home page looked amazingly similar to the Opera "Speed-dial." I suppose plagerism errrr imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The third thought was, I found it interesting that Chrome is based on Apple's "Webkit." the reason that I find it interesting is that Apple releases almost nightly builds. The browser is always in a perpetual state of motion and iteration. With Chrome, average users probably won't be too happy to put up with that. Actually it's almost an act of God to get average users to update their Antivirus correctly.

All of the above said, doesn't mean that I don't like Chrome. In reality, I think that Chrome 's very cool (except for the suck color scheme). In the interface, I do like the tab positions. I also think it's smart that an individual tab might crash but the other tabs are in separate threads if you will and can remain working. That in and of itself is awesome. Also a nice little touch is that when you type in the address bar, it dynamically lists URL's, offering suggestions. Kinda web 2.0 feel to that little trick.

In all, Chrome shows real promise, offering a modest alteration to your normal web browser paradigm that will be east for most people to pick up on. It will be interesting to see how people take to it, especially since it contains Googles usual minimalist approach. If you've downloaded and tried Chrome post back and let us know your thoughts.

~ Jaye

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Captivate 2 - Mis-Take 2

2008-08-30T06:25:00.004-04:00

I came across a situation this week where a client needed me to convert a SWF to an FLV. I thought to myself, simple enough - they probably didn't realize that they could directly export it to FLV from captivate. This comes up all the time with MS Word and Excel document versions.

After looking into the situation, I got a surprise. Adobe...errrr Macromedia.....errrr Adobe did not include the FLV file format export. Are you kidding me? From a programming standpoint that is definitely what we call a "missed requirement." That's just plan terrible, dare I say - unthinkable.

Upon more research the most concise instructions I could find was from a developer called Dexterous and it goes something like this...

1. Create your project in Adobe Captivate 2 (Note - Create your project only as demonstration, do not include any interactivity in it)
2. Save the project.
3. Open Macromedia Flash and create a new file with the same dimensions as in your Adobe Captivate Project.
4. select File -> Import -> Import to Stage, browse and select the CP file.
5. In the options for importing DO NOT import the playback controls and DO NOT select 'slides as movieClips'
6. Export from Flash as an AVI (File -> Export -> Export Movie)
7. Now from Macromedia Flash 8 Video Encoder or any other AVI to FLV converter, you can easily convert it into an FLV.

Now if you ask me, that's just a wee-bit convoluted. It takes something that should take about 30 seconds and turns it into an hour long expedition and quite frankly I found this to be surprisingly weak and uninspiring on Adobes part. They need a fix, patch, update or whatever. Not being able to natively FLV stinks. I'll step-off h soapbox now.

~Jaye

Brand Rehab

2008-08-21T21:20:00.004-04:00

It's been an interesting watch to see how Apple has been dealing with the negative press around the iPhone, the related firmware updates and MobileMe. Part of it has been of their own making. My impression is that Apple bought in the their own halo spin and elevated their arrogance and just plain unrealistic hype.

The latest example of Apple in brand rehab is their something Apple has not been very good at... Communication. Their great at image, but actually having a dialog is new for them. They are used to telling companies and people how it is, not actually listening. It will be interesting to see if Apple maintains this over the long haul. Only time will tell.

Another thing that they have been doing is acting "humble." The MobileMe team has repeatedly admitted they "screwed up." Recently Apple without any special request gave users who signed up before August 18th another 60 day extension. In an email they literally said, "MobileMe was not up to our standards," and stated that they have been working diligently to make things better. This is un-Apple-like and is a major shocker.

I can say this first hand, because I've had at least three horrendous experiences with Apple over the last 7 years I've been using their products. One time I was so made, I literally almost poured lighter fluid over my laptop to set it on fire. thank gdness my wife took away my lighter fluid and matches.

A finally Steve Jobs made a startling admission as to "buggy" iPhone firmware stating that by September they will deliver "crash-free," software. That was amazing that Jobs did that and nearly unheard of. He is a CEO who is not glossing over things , trying to hide or send some fool out to the masses to repeat what he needed to answer to himself. Finally a CEO earning his money and taking responsibility.

All-in-all is appears that Apple is making a "serious" good-faith effort to get things right and live up to a more positive reputation. Instead of being considered the champ, they seem interested in living the role. That's a refreshing change. They are definitively on the move to rehab their brand. Why? Maybe their realize that they really do need their customers, if they intend to move forward as a global corporation.

// Jaye

Push comes to shove

2008-08-11T20:37:00.005-04:00

There is a great article over at Appleinsider.com on Apple's MobileMe service and how it stacks up to other services. The other services profiled are BlackBerry Enterprise Server, Exchange, Gmail and The someday to go live Microsoft Live Mesh. It takes a fairly complex subject and makes it very understandable.

Enjoy,

~Jaye

Because it"s True

2008-08-06T07:04:00.002-04:00

I'm posting this not out of support for Obama, but from a "Geek" standpoint, what he is saying about air gauges is true. And because it's a funny moment. Happy, happy.

Woe is Me

2008-07-27T06:16:00.005-04:00

I'd been thinking of checking out MobileMe for the family. I was thinking that it would be a good backup for contacts, data storage and a few other things that I liked the idea of. It had been a tempting proposition until the disastrous launch reports. To get a feel for what's been going on, ust check out the support forums on Apple's own servers. After reading though some of the problems, you just kinda say, "Wow, that's gotta hurt."

Currently there is a "MobileMe" Status page (personally I'm wondering who the staff memeber is that has to pen that page). Steve Jobs must be taking massive heat for all the crap (and I do mean crap) going on in that division. This roll out has definitely effected shares on the stock market, company image and has Microsoft dancing the "Happy Dance." My guess if it hasn't already happened, a few people have been fired. It's a major embarrassment for Job and Co. And I think we all know how ANY CEO hates to be made to look incompetent or just not delivering on products and services.

So what's an Apple fan supposed to do? That remains to be seen. One would think that the real question is, "How would MobileMe" help me in my day-to-day experience. Depending on how you answer that question should determine whether you get the service or not. Reports have been coming in from all over the web that the MobileMe issues are effecting about 1 percent of customers. That's a very small percentage and can make jumping in worth the risk. But for those folks in the one percent, Woe is Me.

~ Jaye Morris

Lifecast - Computing From The Cloud

2008-07-26T10:02:00.002-04:00

I just downloaded Lifecast for the iPhone. It took me 63 seconds to configure and setup. As a matter of fact, I'm posting you from my iphone as we speak. After playing around a bit, I only found one to two weaknesses. The primary one is that you cannot go back and edit a post and then republish it. And for Blogger clients, you cannot upload pictures yet. If you use Tumblr, you can take advantage of the image upload.

The app appears quick and snappy. It's really nice especially considering that it's free. As a matter of fact, that one surprised me Lifecast is a very good example of "cloud computing," demonstrating the power of the iPhone as a platform. Enjoy the fun and keep your head in the cloud.

~ Jaye

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Microsoft IMF not so intelligent

2008-07-22T10:17:00.006-04:00

Recently I've been testing out Microsoft's Intelligent Message Filter on MS Exchange 2003. My hope and prayer was that it would be at minimum give a little assist to blocking spam. The result? No such luck. It's about as dumb as a box of rocks.

What is lame about the IMF is, very few control and no genuine interface to manage things. If anyone has thoughts or suggestions, I'm all ears. I think the real solution is going to always be some sore of Spam Appliance like a "FireBox."

Jaye

Batman | The Dark Knight

2008-07-20T10:21:00.003-04:00

Deb took me out to see Batman | The Dark Knight last night. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate it about a 15. It was that good. The screenplay that was written by Jonathan and
Christopher Nolan is nothing short of sublime.

If your interest is action and amazing visuals, your going to have a great time. If you love and enjoy complex story lines, your going to have a great time too. This is one of those rare moments where a movie gets it right 360 degrees.

If your o the fence about going, hop off and go have some fun.

Enjoy

Jaye

Apple Inc, and Making Things Right

2008-07-18T21:16:00.009-04:00

This has been a very interesting week for Apple. Little did I know that my experience was not an isolated incident, not just at the Christiana Mall retail store, but across the board worldwide.

The iPhone 3G server/activation problem was not the only (surprising) stumble for Apple. Mobile Me has been something of a shocker. I have friends who have the service and most where disappointed, yet hopeful for the future. But as one person noted, this is not a free service, but one that will run you for 100.00 to 150.00 per year.

By Tuesday and Wednesday, Apple was in full apology mode, in regards to both products. These problems yielded something that I've rarely seen at Apple. Humility. I think they realized they are not bullet proof and the halo can definitely be tarnished if you don't continue to work at making it shine.

Trial users received extended trial versions of Mobile Me and I actually got a call from the manager at the Christiana Mall, asking me to come in because my wife's iPhone had not been properly activated (keep in mind this is a 2 hour drive for me). When I got there they where as busy as ever, selling more iPhones. The manager came out, talked with me and apologized for what had happened. He had one of his employees activate a new iPhone (properly) for my wife and presented me with a "Gift Card" to make up for all the trouble.

What I found most interesting is that the sales person that the manager had assigned me (Gary), remembered me from the previous Friday and knew what a bad experience I had and said, "man, most people flip-out when things go wrong. I appreciate that you just stuck to the basics and focused on a solution. I actually thought that was a cool way to handle the situation. I'm glad that we can make up for what happened. It's not just about the business, it's the relationship that people have with us and we want that to be a good one."

I left the store, satisfied and happy with Apple again. They took responsibility for what had happened and made sure that I was treated right. They've earned my respect back, which makes me happy. I really do enjoy my Apple products.

Jaye

iPhone App Store Thoughts

2008-07-14T19:13:00.003-04:00

First, i have to say that the App Store has a very deep bench. There is a lot to pick from. If you cannot find something you like, I'd be amazed. Despite the depth I do have a small quibble or two.

The thing that troubles me the most about the App Store is that there is no "Try-Before-You-Buy." A good example is my daughter bought a finger painting software app. It turns out that it didn't work the way she thought and was really difficult to use. We paid five dollars which in the scheme of things is not a big deal. But what if you bought 3-5 apps that didn't work the way you wanted? That would add up fast.

I myself bought Omnifocus for twenty dollars, basically on sight-unseen (if you don't include the screen shots). I was dying for a good task manager and what got me to buy it was the reviews. That's all I really had to go on. That can still be risky, especially if the developers are less than honest and create their own viral marketing campaign. Clearly that needs to be rethought.

The second qualm I have is in regards to not being able to share an application with other iPhones in my house. If I buy a game, because we all have separate profiles, I have to but that game multiple times. If i buy a game for Xbox 360 or PS3, we can all use it on whatever machine in the house that we want to. On the other side of the coin, I can see a developers point (especially since I am one) that people should not be able to "just share apps at will." But maybe there could be some sort of "family pack" pricing. Just a thought.

All that being said, the App Store is very nice other than these issues. I'm stunned at how many applications are available. With a starting point of more than 500 certainly dwarfs people who have been playing in this pond for years. It's really amazing, when you think about it. My only advice is, "choose well."

Jaye

Apple Retail Hell

2008-07-13T14:51:00.008-04:00

Hello everyone. I'm currently happy to report that I managed to get two iPhones. One for me and the other my wife. I have to say that getting to that point totally sucked. In telling you the story, I will take my 4.5 hour experience (the doesn't count the 7 hours I spent waiting). Please hang with me as I explain.

I decided to get my iPhones at the Christiana Mall, in Newark Delaware - since there was an Apple store there. I got there at 1:00am but had to wait around until 6:00am when they opened the mall doors, so we could get in line. It turns out that I was the first in line and I was feel pretty stoked. My 12 year old daughter was with me and we had a terrific time just talking and spending time. I'm thinking right on, this is great. On top of that, I guess because I'm number one, I got interviewed for a Wilmington TV station and Newspaper. This was going to be "Flawless Victory," right? Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

I went and asked for a a 16gb black and white iPhone. They bring them out and had it to the person with the so-called "easy-pay" machine. They did my line first. Bing-buda-bing the transaction was completed in about 7 minutes. Sign this, sign that, can we have your credit card. Transaction complete expect for activating the phone. Now for my wife's iPhone upgrade. Everything was going down the same path until, Apple's easy-pay machine lost connection. It activated the phone, but something happened on the payment sided and they could not complete the transaction.

The associates supervisor came over, talked to an ATT rep on the phone. They told the Apple Store the phone was activated, just collect the money. Well guess what, they couldn't because their system was down. So they got another iPhone and tried to restart the transaction. As they processed it, instead of the price being 299.99 it was 499.99. The server error caused me to lose my upgrade eligibility.

As several people from the store looked mystified, they appeared unsure about what to do. At that point I called ATT to see what the issue was. They talked to the Apple store assistant manager named "Fred." During the conversation it was obvious that she asked him, "do you think he activated a phone anywhere else?" Fred responded, "I cannot be sure about that. I looked at him and said, I've been here since 1:00am and I have two calls made to my wife's phone while I was here. The phone was working and you messed it up which is why her iPhone 2G is bricked and now we cannot complete the transaction. Fred then said, "I can complete it if you give me 500.00. I'm sorry you lost your upgrade, but that's the price in the machine and there's nothing that I can do about it. Whatever pricing is coming form the ATT server is the price we must charge.

I was furious, but maintained my composure. I reached in my wallet and pulled out my Apple proCare card and told him that he is obligated to fix this problem, otherwise he could have it back. Fred didn't respond except to say that "it's ATT's fault. Their system has messed up." He then walked away and then came back saying if I wanted the iPhone, I need to give him 500.00. I thought about it but then decided to call ATT back (since Fred was okay with throwing them under the bus).

This is where things got really good. I ended up speaking to an ATT customer service person named Tashia. It turns out this woman is a real pro who was interested in have my problem resolved. Over the next 2 hours she talked to Fred, several store associates and 3 ATT stores attempting to locate the color and size that I wanted. The problem with that was that ATT stores got fewer phones than the Apple store. Finally after my daughter and I talked about it, I decided I would give up the extra 200.00's so that my wife would have a phone, despite the fact that it was the Apple store that bricked her phone.

During that time Tashia the ATT Rep called back. I told her that my wife cannot go without a phone so I was going to suck it up and pay the extra money. She said that it didn't seem right and asked if I could wait until the next day. I pointed out to her that I came from 2 hours away and that I had to go to work and the way gas prices are, traveling so far was just too much to deal with. She said, I don't think you should pay it, because you really are entitled to upgrade pricing. I thanked her and said, that's probably correct, 200.00 is a lot of money. We decided to leave.

My daughter and I hiked though the mall to leave. As we entered the food court, heading to the exit Tashia the ATT rep called back (for the 3rd time). She asked me where I was, and I told her, "almost to the exit, I was going to head south and hopefully figure out a way to unbrick my wife's first generation iPhone. She asked me to sit down and she would call me back in 5 minutes. We sat and waited. She said, "It turns out that Fred is not the manager, he's an assistant manager, who sounds like he's not going to help you. I talked to Kassie, she is the actual manager. I want you to go in and ask for her. I will call you back in 15 minutes to find out what happened."

My daughter and I went back to the Apple store and asked for the manager. She walked out and had a bag. She pulled out a box that had my name on it. I recognized it from the fist transaction more than 4 hours ago. She asked me what my wife's phone number was and I told her. She handed me the bag completing the original transaction. She said "ATT somehow fixed the situation. They didn't like how you had been treated and wanted to resolve the situation for you. When you go home, connect the phone to iTunes to activate your wife's iPhone and it will work." Wow.

Tashia the ATT rep called back to check and see if I had received the iPhone. I told her what happened and she seemed satisfied. She stated if the activation did not work to call ATT and the would make sure the problem is fully resolved. I was stunned. Somebody at a big corporation cared enough about my problem to take my situation seriously and help me. ATT earned me as a customer for life at that very instance. They acted and conducted business as professionals, unlike the amateur hour(s) at the Apple Store. They provided real customer service, rather than hyping themselves as having it. They treated me with respect. Fred just wanted the number appearing on the screen.

A vision of healthcare coming to future near you

2008-03-27T18:53:00.005-04:00

Microsoft created a video offering a glimpse of a possible future for how we deal with our health. Not only did I find it amazing, I found it quite possible.

// Jaye Morris

Introducing the iTunes Killer?

2007-10-02T11:42:00.000-04:00

Amazon has launched the public beta of their MP3 downloads store and it looks like they are playing to win. Touring the interface gives you get a hint at why iTunes finally has some real competition.

1. 100% DRM free music. Amazon is strongly touting that your music purchases from them are playable on any system, any device.

2. 89 cent songs? Yep it's true for songs listed in Amazon's "Top 100" list.

3. 256k bit rate, easily trouncing iTunes 128 bit rate. This allows for a richer audio experience.

4. A million possibilities. Though the current offering is only one million songs, their catalog is pretty good. Record companies may play well with Amazon in an effort to undercut what they interpret as Apples iron-grip on their industry. In their minds it's probably a nice way to give Apple a good old kick to the groin.

5. The song browser is pretty snappy and uses the ubiquitous Adobe Flash to play back 30 second previews.

6. The interface is very simple to use and find things. A lot of designers could learn a lot from Amazon's implementation. The experience seem pretty nice front to back including the purchase flow path.

Conclusion: If someone asked me to rate Amazon's music store, I'd have to give it a 8 out of 10. Give it a spin, you might find it just as nice as I did. If you try it, post back here and let us know about your experience.

// Jaye Morris

Apple Computer, Inc. VS. Apple Inc

2007-09-29T15:39:00.000-04:00

A well loved brand has been changing in recent weeks into a well hated brand. Sadly that brand is none other than Apple and people are reeling. Hopefully this post will clearly explain my personal take about how and why it’s happening.

The Building of a Legendary Brand
Over the years Apple has spent a stunning amount of time and effort building their image around certain core elements.

1. The Art of Design: Apple is revered for their elegance and simplicity of design. Their products are intuitive and designed in such a way that you almost always walk away saying, “wow this better than sliced bread.” If you don’t believe this, you should know that Apple products have had the highest satisfaction ratings of any company in the industry, year after year.

2. Easy Choices: Apple’s hardware and software can be reduced is a single word, easy. If you look at their product line, Apple has only focused on helping customers make the “easy and right choice.” They have 2 types of laptops. Macbooks and Macbook Pros. They only have to types of desktops iMacs and then the higher end Mac Pros. Until recently they have only had 3 iPods. The shuffle, Nano and iPod with Video. Now that the iPod Touch has been release there are only two models which are divided by 8gig and 16gig drive sizes. Now there is only a 8gig iPhone.

Apple reduces the product clutter and the same can be said for their software. This makes them very approachable and friendly. This aspect alone has made them legendary. Consider companies like Dell that have what I call product confusion. There are so many choices that most customers end up feeling confused and as they are walking away with their purchase asking themselves, “did I pick the right system.” When people think about Microsoft’s software in any aspect, most us think “over-weight and bloated.” Contributing to this image is usually very slow loading software, no matter how good your processor is.

3. On Schedule: Remarkably Apple Computer was very good at hitting release dates. When they said something was going to be there, it was there. Now as they have shifted into Apple Inc., you might have noticed that starting with their upcoming release of OS X Leopard, that has ended in dramatic fashion. They look much more like Microsoft than Apple. If you missed it when Tiger was released Steve Jobs made a very specific knock against Microsoft’s Vista and how many delays they had, while in the same cycle we had 3 versions of OS X released.

4. Culture of Cool: Look further back than the Mac and PC TV commercials all the way to the 1984 commercial. Apple Computer oozed coolness, freedom and independence that rivaled the brand identity of Harley Davidson. And like Harley Davidson, in order to be cool it was going to cost you. Such was the price (pun intended) of being elite. Add to that mystique that if you used an Apple product you are somehow more like a renaissance person versus being a lack luster uncreative straight-jacketed PC type person. Hence the reputation of Apple users as being rather “Fanatical” on a certain level.

5. Amazing Customer Service: Apple has been known to have terrific customer service. In times past I and others have had Apple go out of the way to ensure that we where satisfied. Apple Computer’s motivation? Make sure that the positive feeling towards Apple Computer was maintained. It was like dating someone that really respected and cared about you. When you experience that kind of commitment and service, you become very loyal and very in love with the brand. Because of that, you are willing to pay more for that product cause you know that you are going to be getting the very best product but on-going service as well.

6. Steve Jobs as Prophet: In a way, Jobs himself has embodied a reputation that was reserved only for Google. “Do no evil.” Jobs since his reinvention over the years has been thought of as the “Perfect” CEO. Part visionary, detail oriented, unwavering and Oracle (as in the vein of the Matrix). The thought of uttering his name and the word “mistake” in the same sentence would have been unthinkable, prior to Apple Inc.

And the Mighty Has Fallen:
That brand loyalty that Apple took so long to build cultivate is rapidly evaporating. The real question is why? There are actually 3 principle reasons that I have come to.

1. New Players to the Mix: Jobs has been working though an odd relationship with Music, TV, and Movie moguls. These companies are notoriously ruthless and for better or worse are rather unfaithful to those they enter into business deals with. On top of this, these guys are the anti-techs because Apple Computer broke into their “closed” system. They have a lot of anxiety related to loss of control within the content distribution channels.

While record companies know that they are pretty universally hated, they are also aware that the people that they have signed are very much loved by their fan base. Fans don’t usually get screwed over by the bands that they are into, but rather the record companies that employ them. Sadly people are kind of used to that reality. This same mentality applies towards TV shows and various movie characters. On the other hand, people are not used to having Apple Computer/Apple Inc. in on the screwing them over part.

Since getting into the wireless telecommunications the problem has only been exacerbated. There are a whole host of issues to contend with and this is counter-intuitive for Apple and their customers.

Heretofore screwing customers over has been repulsive to Steve Jobs. He doesn’t enjoy screwing people over. My suspicion is that the combined pressure of not only the Music industry but also TV, Movie moguls and the Cellular companies has him (probably) off balance. He does not have the same type of leverage that he’s use to.

2. Maintaining the Ecosystem: It might surprise some people, but Job’s himself likes closed systems, just like the industries that he’s dealing with. You don’t believe me? How many music/media players do iPods currently work with? Which is more important, the chicken or the egg, the music, TV show, movie and wireless revenue or the Apple hardware that it can live on? Job’s clearly wants both and conceptually the marriage of content and hardware is a ecosystem that he strongly desires to protect.

This desire for the closed ecosystem is costing Apple Inc, big-time at this point. To everyone’s surprise Steve Job’s has not been his usually smooth self. As a matter of fact, he looks unusually sloppy and awkward.

Jobs sloppiness and current ineptitude has culminated in something known as “firmware update 1.1.1” of all things. Apple willfully rendered a 400 to 600 dollar product inoperable for those who “unlocked” their phones (fortunately I was not one of those people). In point of fact is was kind of an odd way of Apple saying “you don’t own that technology, we do.” On top of that, the update rendered third party applications such as native IM, nice tools like dictionaries as non-working, even on locked phones. That stinks.

This is a ugly move on Apple Inc.’s part because they themselves are not developing the applications that customers desire. In point of fact the iPhone is somewhat weak on the apps side. While there is a lot of coolness there are some nice practical things missing, like simple “cut and paste.” I cannot fathom why there is not Instant Messaging built in. Where’s the Adobe “flash” in the web-browser. One would think that if they closed a door that they would take care of customers themselves. They have terribly fallen down on enhancing the feature set of the iPhone (also I think they probably over gutted the iPod Touch). While the WIFI music store is nice, there are a whole host of apps that I would like to have instead, since I use my iPhone as a productivity tool.

On this point, I think Apple Inc. is making an mistake, because third party applications increase the viability and value of the product. By their current actions, they have actually reduced its usefulness. This makes them look like a bunch of rookies. This is sad, sad, sad.

3. Beyond Core Competency: I think in moving from Apple Computer Inc. to Apple Inc, they have moved outside of their core competency and look rather clumsy, foolish and almost vindictive (e.g. bricked iPhones).

On every positive element that Apple Computer used to help build their brand, Apple Inc. has undermine or undercut themselves and by extension, long-time and short-term Apple product users. It’s painful and extremely disappointing. Does Steve Jobs have plans to turn the boat around? I’m not really sure, since the Apple boat has gotten so big. But I must say like the curse, we are living in interesting times. It’s not enough to just be smart, we also have to be wise.

// Jaye Morris

iPhone | Gee That Was A Little Harsh

2007-09-22T20:36:00.000-04:00

I wanted to write something about my iPhone experience. Despite I have had one from day one, please don't consider me a Apple fan boy. Truth is that I am a realist and I am more than aware of Apple's upsides and downsides more than some people will ever know. That being said lets get to it.

Yes, I paid, 600.00 bucks, but did easily retrieve my 100.00 rebate from Apple, thank you very much. Okay, that makes my hardware investment 500.00. Not bad considering that I have a Motorola Q running Windows Mobile 5 that I had to pay 514.00 for since I was not at my upgrade date. Wow, I already feel like I've come out ahead.

1. iPhone's ATT Coverage Area: This is probably been the single most difficult pill to swallow for most people. Contrary to ATT's prior ads, I do drop calls and have occasional problems with connectivity. As a note, I live in a semi-rural country area, so in one sense not to bad. When I'm home or at the beach there is almost never a problem. When I'm in any major cities like, Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, it's stellar. The Edge network is slow and pokey, when you are loading regular web pages. When I'm not around WIFI and using the Edge, I simple use Mobile web pages, using Google Mobile as my starting point and it's actually very usable at that point. As usual Google kicks booty for this sort of thing. This is no frills, but when I'm on the move, what I'm really interested in is my data, not beautiful web pages per se.

2. iPhone as a Cell Phone: This is where real world experience comes in very handy. As a cell phone, it 100% kills the competition hands down. It really is the best cell phone interface that I've ever used. I finally have an something that is intuitive and makes complete sense. I still am with Verizon, and switched to using the Samsung SCH-u740. A nifty phone, but like all the others, they have so many screwy menus, I can rarely fine the stuff that I am really looking for. Whether it's LG, Samsung, Motorola, or Nokia they are all hellish to use. I sometimes find myself asking "what goof-ball engineer thought that should go there?" Sorry, that's just the truth. We've just gotten used to being abused by these lame interfaces.

3. Text Messaging: The pro is the message bubble interface that's kind of similar to Gmail. Your texting with a particular person is in an easy to follow conversation. At all times there are buttons available to immediately call the person or jump to their contact information. The Con is that you can only text one person at a time. No groups of people. Another catch is you cannot do MMS and send multimedia though the text messaging interface. The workaround is to send it to say phonenumber@vpix.com and then the person will get it, but that is far from the typical Apple smooth.

4. Email: Excellent interface. You get to see real HTML email or any of that other stuff. Very nice indeed. It handles attachments for Word, Excel and PDF extremely well and you get a nice view of those documents. THe downside is that you can't edit them. I like to edit stuff and send it back to people. Smart Phones like the Q can do this, but you have to shell out extra money to get something like DocsToGo.

5. Internet Browsing: As I mentioned before, this is weak when you are on the Edge network (unless you use mobile pages) but very cool and snappy over WIFI. On WIFI this is all kinds of fun and practical. I love this. I've stopped lugging my laptop around the house with me all the time and if I want to surf, just use the iPhone which has the tightest pixel resolution which means a really dazzling screen. It's resolution is better than a computer monitor. BTW this is something very different than Smart Phones. When you go somewhere like a hotel or Coffee show, when you access a WIFI network, you have to hit an HTML web-page. The iPhone is the only device that I am aware that does this. Try that one with your Palm Treo.

6. iPod: Yes it is the best iPod ever. Truer words have never been spoken. It's so good that you forget that there are actually attempting to compete with Apple in this realm. I cannot even think of any company that is even remotely close. This is like Burger King. You can have your music, video, books, etc... any way you like it (as long as it's under 8 Gig).

7. Other features like Calendar, YouTube, Weather, Stocks, Clocks, Notepad: Everything in these departments is just icing on the cake. All of these apps are really good. My Appointment calendar is my favorite tool, because it works so well for me.

8. Going Jedi: This is where things get really interesting. The iPhone is running a real operating system. That means you can have real software applications on there. I must admit there are some applications that I miss, but there are people who are making really cool native apps. You start with "App Installer" and everything else springs from there. You can use Summer Board to trick out your iPhone Home interface, you can download any number of games, get Mobile Chat to do your AIM IM, and many other apps including a dictionaries, and my lovely Mobile ToDoList. And best of all it runs native from your phone. Too cool for school. Translation this is a flexible device, that will fit your digital life.

The draw backs. Yes, there is always a price. While it doesn't crash daily as when I was on the Motorola Q, I do have a few technical qualms.

1. Ring tones. That is just a bummer that I have to spend .99 to make one. On the other hand it's way cheaper than Verizon.

2. No cut and paste. You don't know what your missing until you miss it.

3. No file browser. You can download one using App install, but it's still the point.

4. Lack of built in MMS and group texting. That was just weak on Apples part. Not having MMS or group texting on your phone is like wandering out into the street without your shoes on. You will get somewhere but it might hurt a bit.

5. No 3G networking. Apple has to do this in the future to be viable. the Edge just plan sucks. It reminds me of the old dial-up days.

Conclusion:
On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give the iPhone a 8.5 to a 9 easily. There is definitely room for growth. Most of the people who are being so harsh and complaining or railing on Apple have just gotten overly spoiled by the Apple reality distortion field better know as Steve Jobs. Get over it, the iPhone is not the "Jesus Phone." It's just a very well done [truly] smart phone which is in it's first generation. If this is an indication of where things are going, this really gives tangible life to Bill Gates vision of "Ultra Mobile Personal Computing," (UMPC). This is certainly what it should be like. Personally, I'm enjoying the convergence.

P.S. One last thing. That little issue about the keyboard not being too cool, it just a red-herring. I have used QWERTY om the Moto Q and Blackjack and find that I am actually faster on the iPhone. I must say the type clicking sound is actually helpful.

// Jaye

An Open Letter to NBC

2007-09-01T08:03:00.000-04:00

I encourage you to read "An Open Letter to NBC re: Leaving Apple’s iTunes Store" by Jeremy Horwitz over at the iLounge. He makes a great case on the availability and pricing of digital content. I myself am hoping that NBC/Universal will relent, but I won't be holding my breath. They are a media giant that may have some people on board that lack insight into New Media.

// Jaye Morris

Adobe is on the AIR

2007-08-23T09:13:00.000-04:00

I went to Philadelphia last night for the "On Air Bus Tour" help by Adobe. It was really a great time. I got to meet the usual suspects such as Ben Forta, Mike Chambers, Kevin Hoyt, and Ryan Stewart.

All in all the event was pretty spectacular, given some of the cool demo's around AIR. One particular highlight was when Ben Forta developed an album collection browsing application with out writing any code what-so-ever and then though Coldfusion, turning it into a desktop application. Pretty tight. Kevin Hoyt did some nifty code work showing as he put it, "The lines blur between ActionScript 3 and JavaScript," as AIR allows them to easily talk with each other and interact through HTML, CSS, etc...

I must say that one of the things which I took away is that despite have all this cool new technology that not only pushes the envelope but actually creates new ones, your paradigm does not have to change that much. Yes your skill set will expand, but you will get to live among metaphors that you are already comfortable with. If you are a Flash developer, Coldfusion, Flex, HTML or event text editor type developer, you can easily develop for AIR. The implications are truly staggering.

I have to thank not only the guys above, but Adobe as well for sponsoring such a terrific event (for free no less) in a really nice venue (the food was pretty good too).

// Jaye Morris

Happy Spring

2007-05-06T09:48:00.000-04:00

The tech-gods are with us. My apologies posting but I have be extremely busy. I will have plenty of updates coming in the near future. I've been tracking trends related and investigating technology related to mobile users.

Talk With You Soon,

Jaye Morris, Technologist

Catching Up

2006-12-18T20:04:00.000-05:00

I have not posted in quite a while, mostly because my work load has been so heavy. Despite this fact, that has not stopped me from experimenting and thinking about technology, design and other aspects of digital life. Let me tell you about one gizmo.

More than just a phone
About 3 to 4 months ago I got a Chocolate cell phone from Verizon. I really like the form-factor of the phone and most of the features but here are some things that which you may not hear too much about.

1. Heat/Pressure sensitive interface. It can be very finicky and in certain instances somewhat clunky.

2. Battery life. I personally would like better battery life out of the cell-phone... especially when you are playing music. It should definitely not just look good as a phone, but have genuine functionality. I was really disappointed by this. In this day and age, we should get the battery life deal down... especially given the fact that it directly influences the totality of your experience.

3. 1 Gig of memory? I don't really get this little glitch, but despite the fact the verizon wireless store offered to sell me a 2 Gig memory card to hold my music, it only works correctly with the 1 Gig memory card. What the heck is that all about. When I asked the sales person about this he stated, "they should be able to fix the bug as some point, via firmware update." I asked, when is that going to happen? He said, "I'm not really sure, but I know that they will." Well that's a bummer after spending all that money.

4. You broke my mirror! One afternoon, I pulled my chocolate out of my pocket only to discover that the screen was broken. I took it to the Verizon Store and the repair person stated, "we see a lot of this." Fortunately, I had insurance on my phone so only had to pay 50.00 for the new (aka refurbished phone). That was definitely weak.

5. User interface. It could be better. I'm praying that Verizon has an Apple moment, get outside the box and consider a new interface that is easy, intuitive and outside of the general paradigm that we currently live with. Another great example of taking standard fair is Google thinking of "conversations" and "labels" and improving on how we relate to our email. Verizon could learn something from them.

But there is still good in all things
I do have to say, that there is still some very cool aspects to the Chocolate.

1. The slide out key pad. That is function and cool.

2. The size is also nice. Not too big and not too small.

3. Also the antenna is good. I have to say that it has amazingly good reception. In my office that I sometimes call the concrete bunker, it's a clear as a bell. Nice.

4. The phone as a small speaker that will allow audio to play directly out of the phone without the use of head-phones. Not killer, but a nice idea.

Conclusion
Owning a chocolate is like women in high-heel pointy shoes. While it may look good, you may end up saying... gawd, that's gotta hurt sometimes. In this instance truer-words have never been spoken.

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

The Revenge of Microsoft

2006-08-13T23:22:00.000-04:00

I don't know if you have noticed lately but Microsoft has been on the move. Forget the delays and insanity surrounding Windows Vista. Windows XP is pretty soiled as an OS especially since service pack 2 and adding security hooks. It's time to focus on what's cooking in the Microsoft Labs.

Microsoft has made some very serious shifts and it looks pretty exciting. For one thing there's Windows Live. Having played with it and viewed a lot of the features, it reminds me of the Google Personalized Page but a much nicer version. If you have a Passport account go to Live.com and give it a spin, it's high quality and well done. Another cool element to Windows Live is that it works quite nicely on my Palm Life Drive. The are some rough elements but over all very slick. But there is far more to talk about.

So how about this... I'm using a beta version of Microsoft "Writer" to make this post. It took literally less than 10 minutes to setup and I off and typing this post for you. It's Microsoft's blogging to that will work not only with Microsoft's "Live Spaces" but, Blogger, Typepad and a host of other blogging tools. Pretty good stuff and I must say that I'm liking it. I'll give a complete review later because I'm busy delving into Microsoft Office 2007 beta that I'm finding really compelling. For some odd reason, Microsoft charges 1.50 per software item to download (is this a vain attempt on their part to cover bandwidth cost or something). Along with Microsoft Office 2007, I've also been playing with their new version of Microsoft One Note. Everything has been fairly impressive and a lot of fun since they have changed up the paradigms for how we typically work. The nice thing is that all the changes I've played with have been remarkably better (get used to the word "ribbons"). They seemed to have really done their homework on the UI (user interface). I'm not sure what happened up at Redmond, but they are learning and giving their UI a new lease on life. Pretty smooth stuff I must say and this is coming from someone who uses a Mac 60-70 percent of the time. They are doing a nice job at luring me back with tool where I don't have to think about this or that but rather just create, which has defiantly been the Apple paradigm.

In closing there are some other products worth mentioning. Here are just a few:

Visual Studio Express
SQL Server 2005
Expression Interactive Designer
Expression Graphic Designer
Expression Web Designer
Ultra Mobile Personal Computing (platform)
The Zune (something akin to an iPod)

Microsoft is not only delivering, but they are recalibrating their products for the "experience" economy similar to Apple. I'm very sure that there will be stumbles along the way, but no one gets things right 100 percent of the time. We've got to give them credit for that. They are not resting, they making the push to offer a genuinely better products which the best revenge considering that Microsoft has appeared outwardly to be in something of a tech-slump.

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

The Life Drive

2006-07-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

Recently I took jumped back into a situation that I thought I was able to leave behind. I got a PDA. I tried PDA’s both Palm and Windows based, but didn’t really take to them. I had the classic issues. Too little memory, battery life problems, not completely sold on the screen color and in the case of the palm lack the lack there of. On top of that connecting to email and other apps felt weak and plainly sucked from my point of view.

About three months ago I made a new career move. In this new position I’m really one the move and lugging around my lap-top everywhere was somewhat lame. It was inconvenient on a lot of different levels. After thinking about it, a possible solution came to mind. Get a PDA. I looked did my due diligence and checked out a lot of different PDA’s, both Palm and one that support Pocket PC and Windows Mobile. After some testing I decided to get a Palm Life Drive.

The reason why I was willing to go with the Life Drive stated with the memory space. 4 GB. That was pretty cool. The other things that appealed to me was the built-in wireless 802.11 which come in very handy as I move though the building and connect to the network from any location. My email, contacts, calendars, word documents, excel spread sheets and anything else I was to access are right there, literally at my finger tips. Nice.

Despite all that the Palm Life Drive offers, the crucial test is all about the battery life. When I read the instructions, Palm recommends charging the device every night. That instruction should initially set off some alarm bells. Then again it makes sense since the Palm Life Drive can serve as a additional “hard-drive,” MP3 player (which I haven’t tried as yet), and hold and view pictures. Despite the instructions I have found the battery life to be great. This is probably because I don’t use the MP3 player or other things mentioned above. Isn’t that what Apple iPods are for?

Overall I found that I really enjoy my Palm Life Drive. It really fits the bill nicely. I have found one odd peculiarity that you might want to be aware of. Every once in a while I click on an application and the device reboots itself. I haven’t lost data, but find it somewhat odd and annoying. I would suspect that there will be a firmware update to correct this problem and it only happens rarely.

Conclusion:
You might find the Palm Life Drive on the expensive side. Mine was 399.00. But then again that is the same price of most Pocket PC and Windows Mobile devices yet you don’t get nearly the same amount of space. Another thing to note is though I didn’t really need to, I got the professional version of Documents To Go, which added software exactly like my Microsoft Outlook (read, there’s no place like home). I would rate my experience with my Palm Life drive as very good and am definitely happy with it and get a twinge of anxiety when I don’t have it with me (which is a good sign from a geek perspective).

If you have a Palm Life Drive let me know what you think. I’d be interested to hear your views.

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

Misunderstanding Web Standards

2006-06-24T07:42:00.000-04:00

I came across a great article on "Misunderstanding Web Standards." The points made are really valid and could prove helpful. Enjoy!

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

Going Paperless

2006-06-04T19:47:00.000-04:00

I’ve been giving a lot of thought and working on concepts related to setting up a “paperless office.” After doing some cursory checking, I found that while doable in most cases it is a costly endeavor. The operative words are “most-cases.”

After looking around, I rediscovered a product that I was initially excited about when it was first released, but then let go of the idea due to lack of market penetration. That product is called Microsoft InfoPath which is a part of the MS Office product line. After a little and then a lot of playing around, I found it to be an amazingly powerful tool that was more than capable of helping an organization the (often illusive) goal of the paperless office.

Now that’s cool
Telling you what is exciting about InfoPath is pretty easy. Here are just a few I found after a few hours of time well spent;

1. Custom form creation. I loved that I could use the standard “Table Drawing” tools and setup forms just like I normally do in word. I didn’t have to change my paradigm about how I develop forms.

2. Easy form controls. InfoPath offers easy to access drag and drop tools. You can insert text boxes, radio buttons and much more and not miss a beat. The form control tools have a great deal of flexibility.

3. Data-centric. You can name the form controls that you drop in (e.g. firstName, lastName, address, etc... This comes in handy for working with XML and/or database schemas.

4. You can set and limit data types. What that means is that you can setup a field to only accept a number, pattern or even number of characters allowed.

5. Data sources and views. You can easily setup data sources and related views of the information.

6. Accessibility to Web services

7. Built-in spellchecking. This might not seem like a big deal on first glance, but I cannot tell you how many times that I have either read or myself was not sure of if a work is correctly spelled. InfoPath places the traditional Microsoft red squiggle underneath misspelled words. That’s just plain helpful.

I should also let you know that there is also a fairly significant InfoPath develop community and related forums. What that means that there is a lot of help for people interested in taking hold of their office and going paperless. Also as a part of the upcoming Microsoft Office 2007 there is an allegedly more robust version of InfoPath on the launce page.

Conclusion
At 199.00 for a full version, InfoPath is a no-brainer. There is a strong upside in how employees and interact with, visualize and share information. Employees can be empowered to create new and interesting solutions for the business and related customers.

When thinking of why you would even go paperless in the first place, here’s a simple question. How much does your office spend on copy paper per year? What would you do if you could cut that anywhere from half to two-thirds? What would that do for your bottom line and company? Think about it and go paperless.

Jaye Morris, Technologist

Google Calendar Part II

2006-05-21T11:32:00.000-04:00

So it has been 30 day’s plus with Google calendar and I wanted to give some follow-up thoughts on the product. If you read my first post on Google Calendar, you know that I was not completely sold on it. I just couldn’t get excited about it. After messing around with it for 30+, I can tell you why it doesn’t work for me. In point of fact it’s a pretty cool application and may provide you with a lot of positive benefits, but I’m speaking for those like myself who are really on the go.

The Frictionless
1. Google Calendar is incredibly easy to use. The interface is well thought out. Just click on a date and start entering your information. I really like how you could simply name an event or smoothly get to the detailed view.

2. You can share and download other calendars. For example, you can download and calendars people have created for various events and then import them into your own calendars.

3. You can easily setup multiple calendars and view them in a flash.

The Friction
1. My number one problem with Google Calendar, believe it or not is that I am not connected to the web. I sometimes leave my laptop or desktop. If I’m not connected to the web not only do I not get to my calendar, but I also don’t get event alerts. Interestingly enough I found out there are two things I never leave behind, which are my cell phone and iPod. I’ll get to that later.

2. Google Calendar does not work in Safari or Opera. That is an interesting zinger and surprises me quite a bit. Given that the advantage of a web browser is platform independence, Google obviously has some sort of dependence there. Whatever that is, I don’t really care and just like to do stuff in my applications, not sit there and why it doesn’t work over there.

3. Google Calendar doesn’t link directly to Gmail. I’d like to be able look at an email and if I need to set an appointment with that person, quickly add an appointment. Currently there is no such luck here. What seemed even odder to me is that in the upper left hand corner, you have your links to where you are e.g. calendar, Gmail, Google, etc. I have no idea why they couldn’t fully or more tightly integrate those two products. People tend to like integration vs. isolation in their information apps.

Conclusion
The above being said, the friction out weighs the frictionless. Of all the items listed, the deal breaker for me was the connectivity issue. Web calendars are cool, but they are just that, tied to the web. The other side is that I did come to realize how easy and logical it was to use my iPod and cell phone for the calendar function. In the end, I settled on my iPod for a couple of reasons. Here are just a few:

1. Every time I sync my iPod, not only is my calendar updated, but also my contact and task list. Enter info once, view enter through my desktop, laptop or iPod.

2. My iPod provides alerts from my calendar, no matter where I am. Given that it’s in my top menu level, I’m only one click away at anytime from checking my calendar and events.

3. I can use iCal to import data from Google calendar. What that means it that when I came across an “On this day in history” calendar, I could easily import it in to iCal and automatically have that on my iPod. Nice.

You may not have an iPod, but as I said, the cell phone (depending on the make and model) can be just as easy. It’s totally based on preference on that one. It just depends on how you want to experience your digital life.

Observing Google, I’m sure that there will be improvements as time goes by. I sure hope that they find a compelling way to innovate. Another thought is that as this time, Google Calendar is Beta-ware, so I suppose that give them any number of outs (including killing the project if they decided to). We will have to wait and see, but in the mean time a calendar as killer app will go to the cell phone, iPod, PDA or other similar digital device.

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

Illegal Immigrants Meet Cyberspace

2006-05-02T19:09:00.000-04:00

It’s obvious that we are a Nation of Immigrants. If your not a Native American Indian, then your in some way, shape or form an immigrant. That’s an easy and simple fact. The controversy regarding illegal immigrants is pretty interesting on several fronts, but there’s one angle that President Bush, the United States Senate and Congress, and business owners are not talking about. Identity theft.

In order for illegal immigrants to work here in the United States, they have to obtain a “social security” number. In all cases this is coming from the existing pool of numbers (both living and deceased). As I watched video of all those people marching through various cities, what I was thinking was, “look at all that identity theft.”

Americans have to understand, like it or not, your Social Security” number is actually the most important link of information that each of us have which helps to define us. Just think about how many services you use that have your Social Security number as a part of your profile. There’s a line that can be traced through cyberspace, from your banking to health insurance, to loans, to credit scoring agencies to governmental agencies, to even your cellular service in many cases.

Illegal immigrants are demanding “equal rights.” Illegal immigrants are demanding to be “let out of the shadows.” But what they don’t talk about or take personal responsibility for is the fact that they put themselves in the shadows by “illegally” gaining entry into The United States and then stealing someone’s identity in order to get that job that supposedly no America want to do. On that scale, I don’t care if you’re from Mexico, China, Ireland, India, Africa or anywhere else. Identity theft can be a devastating experience for legal citizens and lives can and have been ruined by this type of criminal activity. I saw a sign yesterday saying “we are not criminals… let us become legal citizens.” Actually if you steal someone else’s Social Security number and assume all or part of that person’s identity, you are a criminal. It’s called fraud and impersonation.

I have a few final thoughts to add a little perspective to the identity theft issue. It’s estimated that there are in the range of 11 to 20 million illegal immigrants. Cutting that number in half to play it conservative that’s 5.5 to 10 million stolen Social Security numbers. That’s just plain staggering.

If you want to become an American citizen, I say “fine.” My only request is please do it with out stealing legal American’s identity.

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

If You Build It, Will They Find You?

2006-04-19T07:10:00.000-04:00

I love the design and development process with websites. But the truth be told, not matter how "beautiful, brilliant, cool, great or useful" your website is, all of that can be for not if people cannot *easily* find you. This is a very common problem, as you can probably imagine or have experienced.

Search engine optimization must be an integral part of both your development and marketing plan, otherwise you may be wasting a lot of time and money on website. Web Monkey and Brian Zilar did a great interview with Jason McQueen who does a great job of explaining the basics of SEO. Read on and enjoy!

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

The Googlesphere

2006-04-13T12:20:00.000-04:00

Today Google (without a great deal of fanfare) launched Google Calendar (Beta). You must have a gmail account to use it. If you don't already have one, email me jaye@jayezero.com and I will send you an invite.

Google Calendar comes on the heals of several updates and releases to other applications. There has been the Updated version of Google Toolbar. There has been the updated mapping information to Google Earth. There has been the updated Gmail Notifier. Then there's been Google Talk/Chat. These are just a few of the fronts that Google has been moving on. Most of these project are very interesting and boggle the mind... But a Calendar application? I'm not sure that's the next killer app.

I have to say, I have tried various Calendar applications. They have spanned from Netscape Calendar to MSN Calendar to Microsoft Outlook. I even have a Calendar application in my iPod. I've been using Outlook and iCal for different reasons, but tend to think if I didn't have a calendar via the web or even on my lap-top, my life would not be blown. Actually come to think of it, I use the Calendar in my cell phone more that any other interface, simply because it's always, with me. All I have to do is flip the screen and press a single button and there it is. No fuss, no muss.

given all that I have stated in the above paragraph, I'm going to give Google Calendar a serious spin and see if they can get me excited about Calendars. Why would I say this? Because, Google actually got me excited about my email. Using Gmail has been the most effective method of digital communication for me. They put some great concepts on the table like conversations and searches that actually work. Let's see if they can dazzle us all again.

If you give Google Calendar a spin, feel free to post your experience. I'd (and I'm sure others) will be interested to hear what you think.

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

AppZapper and MacZot

2006-04-03T11:16:00.000-04:00

Though most people say, “if you want to get rid of an app on a Mac, just drag it to the trash can.” That is definitely misleading. Most people who have Mac don’t realize that it has something similar to the Windows Registry. AppZapper takes something that can be a real hassle and allows you to focus on what you really care about. Working.

For the OS X inclined, there is a really nice “universal” application uninstaller. All you have to do is 1) Pick the application that you would like to uninstall and drag it to AppZapper. 2) Look over the items to be uninstalled. 3) Zap it. Trust me when I say, it doesn't get much easier than that.

Currently there is a special offer going on over at maczot. If enough people blog about the application, you might end up getting it for free.

Enjoy,

Jaye Morris, Technologist

Privacy Marks the Spot

2006-04-02T19:59:00.000-04:00

Personal information is power. The right kind of personal information is more valuable than money. Why? The right kind of information is a window into the psyche of a potential consumer and marketers are always looking for the so-called “right” buttons to push that might lead you to buying their product. Personal information is the currency we need and require to live our daily life. My intention in writing about this topic is not to scare you off of any particular technology, but encourage people to use technology in ways that really do enhance, not potentially place us at risk.

Lately I’ve been giving a lot of thought to this issue. Have you noticed a lot of news stories where people using things like chat rooms have opened themselves up to fraud, schemes and potential sexual assault? The other day it came to my attention that a few people that I know have pages on myspace.com. What I found really alarming is the amount and type of personal information people put out there to see.

My first thought was, holy cow, this is a spammers dream. My second thought was, forget Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame. Your digital information (and I’m not just talking about the web) lives a lot longer than 15 minutes and can follow you in some very odd ways. Have you every posted an article on a blog or forum? More than likely those postings are still around the cyber-verse waiting for someone to read them. Have you applied for a credit card? The fact that you did so is logged, recorded and kept on file for other companies to see and review.

When people ask about privacy issues, I encourage people to be very careful. This does not just apply to the web, but any location where you are exchanging personal information. You and I cannot rely on others taking responsibility to protect our privacy. We are our own last line of defense.

As companies are attempting to offer you personalized services and gain personal information like your address, email, credit card, specific likes and dislikes, consider the potential impact. The ones you like, add value to your life and have earned your trust on a regular basis, I say keep and use. Everything else abandon, it can be either a potential nuisance (e.g. spam) or a security threat (e.g identity theft, credit fraud). Use technology to your best benefit. I just encourage each of us be careful out there.

Jaye Morris, Technologist

Microsoft Origami - Reality vs. Hype | Part II

2006-03-13T06:21:00.000-05:00

On March 9th, Microsoft and Intel let the cat out of the bag. We all final got to see the initial Origami devices. They looked pretty much the way I called it. I've seen some video and at least based on that, was not ,overly impressed. The featured device on the UMPC page actually appeared kind of flimsy.

Several things to note, related to digital culture issues. Microsoft did some checking and found that supposedly "soccer-moms" loved the device. We'll see if that's just more hype or true. Remember, since this is an so-called "ultra-Mobile" computing device, i wonder how the screen will look outside. That can be very though. Another item featured that has some posibilities is built in GPS navigation. Until you start using GPS, it can be hard to conceptualize how valuable it really is. I use it all the time and initially was stunned to find out how often I used it and how liberating it was to have. This could be a killer app for UMPC, but we will have to see.

Early adopters will be paying 1000.00 (US). Mass market buyers are expected to pick up on the UMPC devices in approximately a year, with the price dropping to about 500.00. We'll watch and see how this one goes.

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

Microsoft Origami - Reality vs. Hype

2006-03-03T07:05:00.000-05:00

There has been considerable buzz around the web lately regarding Microsoft’s Origami. There have been (probably false) assumptions (or hopes) that Microsoft would create some sort of Uber device that would effectively compete with the Apple iPod. The reason why I say hope is that most people think that Microsoft’s pockets are so deep that they could spend the money and time to create a rather amazing device [in a short period of time] that could easily catch-up to the effectiveness, coolness and hip-ness of the iPod. The feeling tends to be that unless Microsoft creates this so-called super device, there is probably no hope of over-throwing the iPod. It’s about financing, brand, distribution, channels and vision (not in that order).

My current guess is that people will be extremely disappointed. Why you might ask? Easy. People are currently looking and speculating about an iconic device that is in the realm of the Apple iPod. What it appears that world will be actually getting is a new Microsoft operating system focused around the idea of “Ultra Mobile Personal Computing”. That means that all the usual suspects (Toshiba, Sony, HP, Dell, etc…) will have UMPC devices out there. That translates into just more clutter [and noise], nothing actually distinctive as having that iconic device like the aforementioned Apple iPod. Before it’s all said and done, we will look back and see it as a squandered opportunity for Microsoft to do something that’s cool and unique. People aren’t looking for more Baskin-Robbins 51 Flavors. We are looking for that special “one-and-only” singular device. We are looking for something outside the echo chamber that will truly change our paradigm. It’s much like having that special car or outfit that only a few can own or possess. When it comes to cool, people are not looking for sameness. That’s part of the reason why cool is cool, in the first place.

Take a look at what we’ve seen so far:
Concept Video courtsey of Google Video
Microsoft Origami (Week 1)
Microsoft Origami (Week 2)
Intel (Ultra Mobile Computing)

The reason why I place the links in this particular order is to show you what appears to be a devolution. They are now engaged in moving (some might say pushing) people from the idea of a “Microsoft Uber Device” to the new “Ultra Mobile PC” operating system. Will Origami change your life as Microsoft assets and the Apple iPod has? I offer a resounding NO! Professionally and personally, I’m not looking for another tablet PC. How about you? What we’ve been told holds true. Don’t believe the hype.

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

Frictionless Environments

2006-02-21T12:37:00.000-05:00

When working with clients, at some point they will ask me, “What is the most important thing in a design to you?” My response? “To create frictionless environments.”

The principle of “Frictionless” is critical not only in web design, but in product development, marketing and so many other things we deal with. I define “Frictionless Environments,” as creating spaces where we do not create or do things that trip people up. These days when I design a website or multimedia presentation, I visualize a person gliding through it, as easily as one might drive down an open road. People hate being stuck in traffic jams, usually doing anything possible to avoid them. This seems especially true when people are in a rush.

Points of Friction
Friction comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s also good to keep in mind that friction will always exist, the goal is to minimize it as much as possible.

Typical sources of friction come from:
1. Poorly laid out navigation systems

2. Poorly organized information (to the extent that people cannot figure out where to start)

3. Poor website layout

4. Content clarity (is the information easy for users to understand and concepts clearly expressed)

5. Not giving users a simple and easy way to contact or get support from you

6. Forcing users to click more than is necessary to get specific information

7. Forcing users to fill out a form to obtain basic information about your product (I call this Toll-Boothing)

8. Forms asking for unnecessary information

Tips for Reducing Friction
1. Use common navigation names. (e.g. Products, Services, Contact Us, About Us, Testimonials, etc…). If you offer mystery meat names, this can confuse people, making them guess what’s behind door number three. People prefer clarity in naming conventions.

2. Find ways of organizing your information that makes sense to the largest number of visitors. Information might be organized differently than the way you do it inside your own company (given that the typical visitor may not know about your corporate nomenclature).

3. Create/Enhance your layout to makes clear lanes (flow-path) for visitors. A great example is creating a path for mass market buyers and another for early adopters. Think about how you can answer visitor questions quickly and get them to what they are looking for. Don’t force them to hunt. Hunting influences frustration and reduces your credibility and image. On top of that, people hate to feel stupid. If users cannot find something, they tend feel negative and unsatisfied. Negativity does not inspire sales.

4. Content exists to tell a story. The story should have a beginning, middle and end. It should educate, inform, improve, change or confirm visitor ideas about your products and/or services. The story should end with a “call to action.”

5. Sometimes people coming to your website want only one thing. The phone number. Make sure that your contact information is in a prominent place. Don’t make visitors dig for something which should be very obvious. Also among pages make sure some sort of contact information is there. As the person is looking over information, they may want to send you an email or call, about some specific question about your product. Don’t force them to jump out of that page and go somewhere else to find a way to get in touch with you. Needlessly running someone around your website isn’t friendly.

6. Make clean “flow-paths.” When creating “flow-paths” for visitors, it’s important to organize tasks that can be completed in the fewest steps possible. Anywhere you decrease the number or clicks between the person and the goal they want to reach, decreases “friction.”

7. No "Toll Boothing". When a visitor has to cough up information [just] to learn about your product, you might be putting yourself in a negative light. To visitors this can be a very serious point of friction. The web was founded on the principle of “free and easy” access to information. Forcing visitors to hand over personal information to learn about your product and/or services flies directly in the face of that principle. Don’t get me wrong. I 100% believe in forms and getting user information. I just like to insert that activity in the right place at the right time. Here’s another way to think of it. If you had a booth or stand in a mall, would you force people to fill out a written form to look at one of your brochures or would you just hand it to them? Try not to break social paradigms (ways of looking at things).

8. Do you really want to “require” that phone number for them to get a pamphlet from you? Be careful in what you require. If they give you a “valid” email address that’s great. Requiring a phone number or some other kind of information can seem potentially invasive and will cause some to pause and think about handing over that information (unless they give you a fake number anyway). Know this, people relate their personal information to issues of privacy. If they don’t have a track record with you, they will be less inclined to tell you about themselves. It’s friction, so consider carefully what is on your website forms.

Conclusion
Making our websites as frictionless as possible is critical to gaining both market and mind share. Forced complexity can frustrate users and damage credibility. Friction determines experience. If you don’t believe me, look back on why you prefer one website, product or service over another. It usually boils down to friction. We use what’s easy (frictionless) and tend to avoid the difficult (friction). If you design with that in mind you’ll be creating a win-win situation for both visitors and your business.

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

Speaking off Web Browsers...

2006-02-14T19:44:00.000-05:00

As it turns out, a really good article called IE7 Vs. Everyone Else appeared the other day on Internet Week about Microsoft's IE7 and a few other web browsers which are worth your attention. While it doesn't go into depth on all the issues I was talking about in my previous post, it's an excellent read none the less. You'll definitely find some coolness in Internet Week's article. Enjoy!

// Jaye Morris

The Website Browser War and your Bottom Line

2006-02-12T10:07:00.000-05:00

Companies and developers can go through a lot of trouble building a website. Despite all the work and effort, developers and site owners can forget one simple fact. It’s something called “browser standards.” What’s odd about browser standards is that they are not “standard.” This can (and should) be troubling, to us all.

Years ago, I myself was guilty of building “killer” sites for a clients, but only slanting it towards Internet Explorer, and then only the current and previous version. The reason? I made (false) assumptions about user behavior and tendencies to upgrade their software. Nothing could be further from the truth. How do I know this? Server logs. I read what people where actually doing. Live and learn is my motto.

Windows, Tigers, and Linux – oh my
I mentioned before the value of web analytics. Well, one item you can see is the type of browsers that people are using when they come to your website. Browser info can be pretty specific as well. You might be a little surprised at how many people still use IE5, instead of IE6. On top of that, you will notice people are using Firefox (which is having amazing market penetration), Netscape (there are those die hard people out there), Opera, Mozilla, Safari and more. Mentioning Safari and Firefox open another door, in how your website will look. Platforms. Shock of shocks. Even though Windows is the most widely used operating systems, Linux (Red Hat and the like) and Unix (Mac OS X) based systems are gaining much larger market share. Websites can look very different on these systems.

What would you do if you opened a brick and mortar business, but only some people could open the door and come in? What if it only opened for people 6 foot 4 and taller. Obviously you would a lot of business. The same principle applies to websites and browser compatibility. Getting this done should be an imperative, for the sake of our businesses.

One Power To Rule Them All
So what the solution to getting consistency, across web browsers and platforms? Is some level of consistency even possible? Good news. Yes! The answer is in something called CSS (cascading style sheets). Keep in mind not all browsers put to use every element of this standard. It might be a little time consuming but generally if you code your CSS to work on both IE and Firefox, you will pretty much cover everything. In truth if you really want to know the most “standards” compliant browser (to code for), that would be Opera which will soon be releasing version 9 of their (now) free browser.

You need to know, you can write CSS in such a way that if your code detects an IE web browser, one type of code will run in the CSS layer and another if another browser type is detected. Developing your website in this way can be a little time consuming, but is well worth the effort. It’s the difference in planning for the long-term as opposed to the short-term. In most instances, it just means creating well-formed code, as the website is being built, redesigned or refactored (the practice of taking old code and improving it so it’s more effective or up to snuff).

Begin With The End In Mind
Keep in mind that the reason that we go to the trouble of writing code that works well among as many web browsers as possible to provide “frictionless” experiences for site visitors. This should be a primary goal for all site owners and developers part.

Frictionless experiences do several things:
1. Makes visitors comfortable (regarding look, feel and style)
2. Consistency helps to build credibility
3. Greater success rate in visitor transactions (visitors getting appropriate info, client conversions, from filling out forms to making a purchase)
4. Enhances confidence in your brand identity and by extension your website, turning lookers into buyers
5. Improves your ROI. Measure twice cut once. If you take a haphazard approach to site development, it can and will cost you significantly more

// Jaye Morris, Technologist

Google – Do No Evil – All or Nothing

2006-01-29T10:50:00.000-05:00

Last week Google launched a version of Google Search for China. Amid the launch Google was upfront and acknowledged that there where some search types which would be “censored”. Then the blow back started. "How could Google do such a thing," people where asking. Googles stock price to an initial tumble but regained most of it’s price by the end of the day. Senators announced that hearings would be launched into how Google could so-called "compromise" their "Do No Evil" value system.

As I sat back and watched the goings-on I was intrigued in the "all or nothing" attitude people have been holding on this matter. I was very skeptical of people holding Google’s preverbal feet to the fire. It’s clear that people are not thinking clearly about the issues. People forget that the march towards democracy is a very messy process. It’s not ballet.

If we look back at our own American culture, the only thing that both Republicans and Democrats are liberal about is flaunting the greatness of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Consider these words from the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

We forget that the people that wrote those words, also imposed slavery. We my have put out of mind that we placed most of the entire Native American Indians on reservations. We may forget that until the 1950’s, women did not have the right to vote. Put another way, democracy is a process not an event. We as an American society have gotten much better. That has been our strength. We continually strive for and make progress.

The above being said, in my view, Google really is living up to its value system, of “Do No Evil”. It appears that Google understands that the building of Democracy in Nations (that being the equal right and access to information) requires trust and time. We start in the center and work our way outwards over time. I would say that it’s a huge triumph that Google is in China. China is not just mouthing words any longer, they are taking action and on their own (perhaps uneven) journey towards building a democratic nation. It is a little disappointing that so many people are not thinking clearly and applauding Google for it’s actions in China. There is real potential there.

As Chinese citizens begin typing in questions and viewing search results, they will begin the process of making new connections. Perhaps having new insights into subjects that they are interested in. I find that it would be useful to stop beating up on Google and supporting it's direction. Trust should be earned, never just given. Over time Google has earned my trust on a great number of matters. We can give them a little breathing room and understand that maybe they themselves are in the process of growth and gaining greater insight into what it means to "Do No Evil" as a large corporation.

You can read Google's response on their blog. Read it and think about the words. Don't just have a "gut" (Blink) reaction. Have a Think! reaction.

// Jaye Morris

Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug - Book Review

2006-01-21T18:28:00.000-05:00

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability is a good starting point for those wanting to build or improve an existing website. Weighing in at 195 pages (Krug claims that someone once read his book in 2 hours), it does a good job of covering website usability basics.

From topics such as “effective site navigation” to “do-it-yourself” site testing, Krug provides solid information. He offers a lot of great suggestions, showing clear examples from live sites to help illustrate his points. The information is so logical you may end up saying, “Why didn’t I think of that before.”

You can find Steve Krug’s book among the usual suspects (be sure to get the second edition) such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Border Books. It’s money well spent. You can also find Steve Krug at Advanced Common Sense.

I encourage you to not only read Don’t Make Me Think, but put it to use. If you follow through, you’ll definitely be helping yourself out.

// Jaye Morris

Take the Google Factory Tour

2006-01-08T08:45:00.000-05:00

What makes a company a real leader in their field? How do you create ground breaking innovation? How do you provide people inside and outside of a company the opportunity to see how we interact with our enviornment in a whole new light? Take The Google Factory tour and find out. Brace yourself. It's 5 hours 39 minutes 41 seconds long. The great thing is that it's Flash video, so it streams very nicely and is easy to view. But hey, you sure will learn a lot and it's not just hype.

Code Every Day,

// Jaye Morris

Life on the Small Screen

2005-12-28T17:47:00.000-05:00

There is an interesting shift going on in tech-dom. It’s the attack of the small video screens. They project photos, movies, TV, training, news, weather, communication and more. I haven’t given it much thought, but then I noticed something one day. All the little screens populating my studio.

Taking a gander, I noticed the iPod with video, the PSP, the Gameboy Advanced, the Nano, and the Photo iPod. Even my new cell phone that I got recently does what Verizon calls V-Cast (though it’s not available in my area) where you can watch news and some other shorts. On top of that I realized the small screens on the digital camera’s and DV cam. I started thinking to myself, “what the check is going on?”

Maybe what’s going on is the mobile revolution. People are on the go. We don’t want to be tethered to our widescreen TV’s (though we may love them so). We enjoy on-demand content. We get information and entertainment when and wherever we want. Better still the video content that we like does not have to disappear with that one viewing of the episode. My iPod with video stores on the device itself, 150 hours of video. But the reality is that I can obviously save much more on the laptop or desktop. That means, sync-up and go which matches most of our lifestyle.

What makes this change seamless is that hardware manufacturers and content providers are teaming up like never before. They are making huge changes and takes steps which to them have always seen as risky (or at least not profitable).

For the sake of the argument, take a look at the iTunes Music Store (ITMS to us geeks). Now you can still call it the ITMS, but for some it means the iTunes Movie Store. Why? Well in their first few weeks of operation Apple sold 3 million videos. That’s just staggering. They didn’t even have that much content. 4 TV shows, which where split evenly between children and adults. On the other side that did have several thousand music videos. The publics reaction shocked content providers who quickly signed deals. It didn’t take NBC-Universal years to figure it out, it took them weeks.

While we’re talking about it, I want to address this bonus for not only TV Networks, but Musical Artist as well because this change is extremely important. Musicians for years have been getting killed on making music videos. This was simply considered a form a marketing and promotion, which musicians basically had to pay for out of their own pockets(in the form of an advance). Now they can finally earn some of that money back. There is some great music video as art out there. “Hurt” by Johnny Cash is only one example of a video that I would classify as a work of art. For Networks it’s a great opportunity to make some of that money back on some of the massive salaries that some actors/actresses get paid. There is a third benefactor in all of this and that’s us. With paid content comes no commercials. You get your content in an unbroken stream. It’s time efficient. It’s total win/win, all the way around.

Take notice. Look around your own stuff and let us know if you see what we are seeing. I made some observations of people that I work with (and no they are not all geeks). They “ALL” have small screens and really seem to enjoy it. One interesting behavior some of them have is going to events and taking pictures with their cell phones and emailing them around to friends. These images don’t just go to their friends computer, but to the persons cell phone. Wow. Instead of “can you hear me now” it’s “hey, can you see what I’m seeing right now?” In some instances it’s even recorded video.

So where does this leave us in our digital life? I think in a pretty good position. Just please don’t try to drive and watch your morning news on your cell phone. That could be a bummer. I’m not sure I can enjoy video on the cell phone. I certainly wouldn’t want to see the screen get smaller than that of the iPod with video (2.5 inches). As I mentioned before, look around and take notice of the small screen.

// Jaye Morris

Happy Holiday's!

2005-12-24T19:53:00.000-05:00

I’ve had a rather amazing year both in and out of the Studio. Our second daughter was born (she actually took a few short steps tonight). My oldest daughter continues to excel not only in school, but as a human being as well. My wife and I shared out 10th wedding anniversary. The clients at the Studio have been great to work with and outside collaborations have been stunning. It really has been breath-taking.

Everything that has happened this year has been of a singular theme for me. That theme? “The quality of our life is defined not by what we are given but in what we have to share and contribute. I don’t just feel grateful, but am grateful.”

I hope that today, tomorrow and day after day, that you not only have great moments in your life, but recognize them as such. If we’re not doing that, what are we doing with our life? It all happens in the blink of an eye. Don’t miss seeing and experiencing it deeply.

May Your Life Go Well,

// Jaye Morris

Getting To Know Your Website

2005-12-19T21:39:00.000-05:00

It never ceases to amaze me how much time we can spend in designing a website. We go through the trouble of creating a beautiful layout. The ultimate website navigation and will help users get to point A to point B. We meticulously write our messages and content, and then… And then we wait for people to show up. It’s the real life "Field of Dreams." What a scary thought. So here's the real question. How do you know who’s coming, where users are going, what links they are clicking, where are users dropping out or any other potential questions you may have about your website? Quite the dilemma.

To really get to know your website is to embrace two words. Web Analytics. Without web analytics, you may as well be calling the Psychic Friends Network about how your website is doing. Why? Because your website, no matter how good or bad you may think things are is a mystery. You really don’t know what’s happening on your website until you look and analyze something called “server logs”.

What’s a Server Log?
Good question, my friend. A server log contains a recording of every visitor to your website. The logs contain valuable information like: length of visitor stay on pages or overall website, links clicked, how the person moved through your website. In some cases you can learn where the visitors are coming from. By that I mean the actual State or Country. That alone can provide a surprise or too and help you in targeting your efforts. Server logs to say the least are a treasure trove and scorecard of how you are doing with people on your site. Sadly, most people rarely or never look at this data. Instead they may opt for the intuitive approach, often based on their subjective experience. In some cases this may work, but those instances are extremely rare.

Web Analytics 101
Now that you have a basic idea of what a server log is, now it’s time to talk about what you can do with that data. You will have to get a web analytics program, which is what you’ll use to read the information in your server logs. As a point, looking at a server log without this software looks pretty much like gibberish. You’ll never figure out what’s going on from a raw server log.

Number of visitors to the website. (remember there is a difference between a page visit and a page view.

Which links visitors are clicking on in your navigation system.

Which pages on your website visitors visited. This is often ordered by which pages where visited most often to least.

Visitor Path. This information lets you know how a user moved though your website. This is huge. You can not only see what people are interested in but also learn where people abandon your website.

Time on particular pages and website overall.

Search engine referrers.

State and country referrers.

Websites that are liked to you and sending you visitors.

If you are using Pay-Per-Click (PPC) like Google or Yahoo!, the software will usually allow you to track cost per lead based on campaigns that you are running.

This information is extremely important and website owners are frequently surprised by what they learn. You can finally begin to see what is really happening on the website. You can change or rearrange content and user interfaces to influence increased traffic or longer page views . It’s a great opportunity to improve the experience visitors have when they come to your website and get the most out of it.

As a note, the better you get at determining what users are doing and making adjustments (that are helpful to them) and changes, your credibility with visitors will usually improve. Improved credibility translated into increased website transactions and enhanced brand identity.

Web Analytics Software

Here’s the rub. The Web analytics universe is probably about to change. Why? Google Analytics. This is a web based project which Google currently has in testing. As a matter of fact, I’m fortunate enough to be giving it a spin. Unfortunately they are not accepting more users at this time, but you can submit your email address and get on their waiting list. From what I’ve tested and seen, it’s already well formed and pretty solid and getting valuable information is a snap.

Speaking for other tools, though the industry standard of the past has been WebTrends, there are a couple reasons why I really didn’t like using it. 1) They license the product based on number of page visitors. This is really a lame concept because you feel like you don’t actually own the software and there are limits. Most people have no idea what their site visits are so it’s almost unfair how they license the product. If you have enough traffic on your website, you can end up throwing away a lot of cash. 2) WebTrends can be very server intensive. Processing logs on your own server can reduce performance and cause problems. You have to be very careful how you set your system up. They do have good user interfaces and reports. But like I said before, they have a few things I did not prefer from a tech standpoint.

Net Tracker is a tool that I did some extensive testing with and have a strong bias towards (because it's soeffective). As a matter of fact it’s one of my favorites. The interface and dashboards are really clean and easy to read. You can easily generate ad-hoc reports and see your data, pretty much anyway that you want. Back when I was testing it, they had a really good price point and you really do own the software unlike WebTrends. If you get 1,000 views or 1,000,000 you never have to worry about exceeding your license. Also I found setup to be a snap and the overall speed to be really good.

Clicktracks is another tool that I currently use. It’s a good tool when it comes to PPC (Pay-Per-Click), like Google Adwords and Yahoo! (formerly Overture). It’s definitely not as robust as either WebTrends or Net Tracker but it does some things well. The focus is on what they call “user-behavior”. I found that there are some quirks to their software, but it’s not an overly steep learning curve. But remember, it’s not as robust as other products that I’ve mentioned here.

Conclusion

Dig into your server logs.

Use Web Analytics software that makes sense for where your at and will suit your needs (and budget).

Take the time to study what is going on in your website and address issues, so that you can be more successful.

Don’t allow your website to be a slum. Work with your site because it can be a really dynamic entity and serve you well.

Don’t waste visitors time, offering content and information that doesn’t fit the reason why they came to your website in the first place. Learn from the what you are seeing in the data, revise and execute your business strategy on the web.

// Jaye Morris

Did You Stumble Today?

2005-12-13T19:14:00.000-05:00

This morning after I arrived at the office, I was greeted by two co-workers. The conversation initially seemed typical. What we worked on the night before, what was happening with the family, watched on TV, or Podcasted. But then the conversation took an interesting shift. They both looked giddy with excitement (no, I'm not kidding). They had an odd question for me. Do you Stumble? I responded, "ummmm I try not to." They laughed. Obviously I was not in the know.

After I logged on they asked if I use Firefox. Of course I do, on both my Mac and Windows machines. Do you use 1.5 (the version tag for the latest Firefox). I just looked back in amusement. One of them said, "that was a stupid question, your always up-to-date." Okay, my heads starting to spin. They tell me to open up Firefox and find an extension called "Stumble Upon". On Google, it immediately came up and I was on the Mozilla Extensions Website. I install it, close and then restart Firefox.

When I reopened Firefox, "Stumble On" appeared as a new toolbar. I clicked on "Stumble Upon" and a box appeared. I created a login (No need to fear. they are anti-spam and anti-spyware. I checked them out already) and immediately came to a screen with a matrix of boxes (they could definitely pretty it up a bit). Next my peers advised me to check all the box topics that I'm interested in. I click Graphic design, Animation, Web development and Astronomy. Next I clicked the "Stumble Upon" button and low and behold a website comes up that I've never seen before. It's a very cool interface and animation. Then I'm told by my co-workers, "click again" and another website appears talking about web development with "Ajax". Nice! Click again and this time it's cool tips and tricks on graphic design. Now here's the kicker, I've never seen any of those websites before. Better still some of them had some important resources that I *really* am interested in.

"Stumble Upon" answers an important question for web users. How to find new and interesting information outside of our normal behavior patterns? Human beings, believe it or not aren't really that random. If you ask a person to randomly place dots on a piece of paper they will still end up attempting to construct a pattern. It's our natural tendency.

The same thing can happen on the web. We have our bookmarks/favorites and sites that we look at on a regular basis. That can put us in a rut and tend to only look inside our own lane. The closest we come to randomness is probably when we Google. "Stumble upon" uses broad categories and presents some great surprises both on and off the beaten path.

Digging deeper there are some nice features. If you install it, take the time to play around with it. You’ll find some great content. I should note that currently in their website index they catalog and categorize over 300 million websites. And no that was not a typo. I said over 300 million. Give it a spin and let us know what you "Stumble Upon".

// Jaye Morris

iTunes and the Learning Hub

2005-12-11T19:41:00.000-05:00

I used to have a problem that some of you might be familiar with. I felt like I didn't have enough time to learn or get new information. Time management can be tough when you want to fit everything in. Enter iTunes.

Most people think that iTunes (Apples digital music application) only good if you have an iPod. Nothing can be further from the truth. Even if you don't have an iPod, iTunes is a information hub. With the launch of iTunes (version 5), Apple began "podcasting". What is a podcast? Think of it as a recorded radio or TV show that you can view where and when ever you want as long as you have your computer. The quality of the audio can range widely, but in most instances it's pretty good. The selection is amazing and there are literally thousands to pick from. If you can't find one you like, I'd be shocked.

When I started podcasting with iTunes, the first thing I noticed where radio shows that I liked but usually didn't get to hear the entire show. Some of them where as much as 4 hours long. Well guess how long those same radio shows are on iTunes podcast? Approximately 2 hours. Wow. That's great. If I listened to an entire show I was actually listening to about 2 hours of commercials! No wonder my head was hurting.

Speaking of commercial, you should know that podcasts are free. iTunes is also free (in case you didn't know). Talk about "Win-Win". It's a grand-slam. But there's also more and this part isn't free, but you can get a really great discount and service.

Prior to iTunes, iPods and the lot, I was using a service called Audible.com. I get one book per month for ten dollars. This is actually a super deal since when I would go to a book store and pick up an audio book, I could pay as much as 50.00 for an audio book. Audible.com has a relationship with iTunes and the system works flawlessly.

As a suggestion, *don't* buy your audio books from iTunes. You'll pay full freight there. Though the book are from Audible.com you won't get the discount that way.

The Aubible.com library is massive, containing not only books, but magazines such as Fast Company, The Wallstreet Journal and more. Like I said it's about getting quality information more quickly. Depending on what you choose to listen to or watch (iTunes supports video podcasts) you can help yourself out a lot professionally and personally.

// Jaye Morris

A Change In Direction

2005-12-10T16:47:00.000-05:00

After giving it some thought, I decided not only revamp my design studio website, but also the direction that I've been moving. Specifically in terms of how I communicate with others about projects, ideas and information related to the web. There's hardly a day that goes by that I don't encounter great ideas, or technology. It's really important to discuss, share and try them out if for no other reason than to eventually be more effective and productive.

What I Do
The above being said, that brings up the issue of what I *really* do for a living. This is a common question that I'm asked. I used to tell people answers like "web designer. Web developer. Multimedia applications developer. Graphic designer. Designer. New media designer, etc..." By now you get the point. I have a job that is hard to define.

After living and breathing not only technology since the age of 16 (I started programming with a Commodore 64), and behavioral health management (mainly the treatment of addiciton and antisocial behavior), the real deal is that I find solutions to people's problems. 100% of the time I use some form of technology to solve that problem. That means that I'm a *Technologist*. I use relevant technology to solve problems, both big and small as applied to marketing and the internet.

Solutions and Problems
Some people might not like their job described as being a "problem solver" or technologist. But guess what? It's a job which is extremely rewarding. After working with an clients, and seeing a look of relief on their face makes me [and them] feel pretty good about what I do.

That relief clients experience comes from making their life, their work, their experience somehow easier. It doesn't matter if it's helping them get their first web domain name or setup their first internet site. Sometimes it's building or enhancing an ecommerce solution. Other times it might be making an interactive CD-ROM to help their sales people inform prospects about a given product so they are more effective on the road (increasing cleint base). One way or another that's what each of us do in some aspect of our life. Solve problems. This blog is about how we get it done.

// Jaye Morris