THE ZAPPOS MISSION: To live and deliver WOW.

1) Deliver WOW Through Service
2) Embrace and Drive Change
3) Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4) Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5) Pursue Growth and Learning
6) Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7) Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8) Do More With Less
9) Be Passionate and Determined
10) Be Humble

http://calacanis.com/2009/11/04/the-zappos-culture-document/
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Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

November 3rd, 2009 | by Barb Dybwad

Students at Purdue University are experimenting with a new application developed at the school called Hotseat that integrates Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging to help students “backchannel” during class.

People who have attended technology conferences in the past several years are already familiar with this phenomenon, where social media is leveraged to allow the participants in a session or panel to comment and exchange questions and ideas in real-time. At Purdue, Hotseat is used to allow students to comment on the class as it proceeds, with everyone in the class including the professor able to see the messaging as it happens.

The Hotseat software allows students to use either Facebook, Twitter, Myspace (), or SMS to post messages during classes, or they can simply log in to the web site to post to and view the ongoing backchannel. Right now it’s only being pilot tested in two courses, but has already become a fast favorite for both teachers and students. Professor Sugato Chakravarty, whose personal finance course is one of the pilot tests, said, “I’m seeing students interact more with the course and ask relevant questions.”

And although it’s been optional for students to participate, so far 73% of the 600 or so in the pilot classes have used the software. We’ve seen Twitter become mandatory for journalism students at Australia’s Griffith University to some negative reaction, but this is a less structured implementation which may perhaps account for its more favorable reception.

As Chakravarty goes on to note, though, the application is called “Hotseat” for a reason — and professors will have to be resilient enough to take any potential criticism or even corrections from students in real-time. Nevertheless, he cites it as a “valuable tool for enhancing learning. The students are engaged in the discussions and, for the most part, they are asking relevant questions.”

Check out a video introduction to the Hotseat application below, and let us know what you think. Does social media have a natural place in the classroom? What role should Facebook () and Twitter () play in education?

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Make It and Love It: Women's shirt - OMG... amazing!!!!

http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/10/womens-shirt.html

Hahaha.....I've been pumping out a lot of little kiddo clothing lately and my closet was getting a little jealous. (smirk)

So how about making a new shirt for you that you know will fit you just fine. Because it's patterned after the fit of one of your fave's.

(Or you can just add the ruffle taught here to a shirt that you already have.)



How?

First, lay one of your favorite comfy knit tees down and trace around it on a piece of paper. (I need to buy some butcher paper.....I'm running out of tape from taping regular 'ol sheets of paper together!) You'll have a front piece, and back piece and a sleeve. I created all pattern pieces to be cut out on the fold, so that they are even and symmetrical. (So if you look at my shirt piece, it looks like half of the shirt front.) It will help the whole process work out a little more smoothly.





Then use these pattern pieces to cut out the fabric in your chosen fabric. (If your shirt is knit.....find a similar knit to use.) Make sure to add enough extra for a seam allowance.

Then sew the shirt together at the sides and the shoulders.



Then sew the sleeves together along the bottom side.



Then pin them into the arm hole of the shirt and then sew in place.



Then cut 2 pieces of fabric.....one about 1.5 inches wide and the other about 1 inch wide.

Stack them on top of eachother and sew a wide basting stitch down the center. (I took the picture with the stacked rows upside down. The more narrow piece is attached.....it's just on the reverse side. Ooops.)





Then pull your top thread to gather and place along the edge of your kneck line.



Evenly gather and pin along the entire neck line. If you need more....make more. I way over estimated and had a long tail to cut off at the end. But it just depends on how full you'd like the ruffle to look.



Then sew along the center of the ruffle, securing it to the neck line. (And tuck under the end of your ruffle and sew it into place.....I know it's hard to see, but it's tucked under.)



Then turn your sleeves and bottom edge under 1/4 inch and then another 1/4 inch, and sew into place....creating a nice hem.

Ahhhh.....



And wow, done.


Can you believe you just made your own shirt??
Wonderful feeling.

**While sewing with knit, you may have problems with it stretching. I usually use a medium size zig-zag to hem the sleeves and bottom, to avoid puckering and allow some stretch. FIRST, try it out on some scraps to see how your particular knit will turn out. This pattern covers up the neck-line.....so you don't even have to worry about a puckered mess around the neck. Perfect. (But I have alot of practicing yet to go with knit.....it's such a finicky fabric.) One more thing, if you find a knit that's a blend with something else (microfiber, rayon, etc.), rather than just a ribbed knit, you may have more success.....and less stretching and puckering. But I'm learning right along with you. :)
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10 Uses: Tennis Balls

Your racket may be gathering dust in the ­attic, but don’t throw away its partners in crime. Here’s how to use tennis balls without ever hitting the court.

1. Erase scuff marks. With a utility knife, cut an X in a tennis ball and slip it over the end of an old broom handle. Rub the ball over scuff marks on your wood floors; they’ll come right off.

2. Protect a padlock. Cut a slit in a tennis ball with a utility knife and slip it over an outdoor padlock to prevent water from getting into it and freezing.

3. Remove a broken lightbulb. The bulb broke off in the socket? No problem. Carefully clear away any shards of broken glass, then gently push a tennis ball against the light socket and twist it to remove the bulb’s embedded stem.

4. Cushion the blow. Cut an X in a tennis ball and slip it over the head of a hammer so you don’t ding up walls, wood, or other fragile materials while you’re pounding away.

5. Install a parking guide. Hang a tennis ball from a string from the ceiling of your garage so that the ball touches the top left corner of the windshield when your car is properly parked. Now you’ll know how far to pull in each time you come home.

6. Open a jar. Cut a tennis ball in half. Use the open end to grip and unscrew tight lids.

7. Make a hitch cover. Make a long slit in a tennis ball with a utility knife. Slide the ball over the hitch of your trailer to keep it from scratching other cars (and protect it from getting damaged).

8. Collect change for tolls. Cut a slit in a tennis ball and stash spare change inside. Keep the ball in your car so you don’t have to grope for your wallet when you’re at the tollbooth.

9. Keep a door open. Who needs a doorstop? Wedge a tennis ball between the door and the doorjamb in­stead.

10. Get a better grip. Hold a tennis ball in each hand. Squeeze and release repeatedly to strengthen your hands and arms for using tools.


http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,20185103,00.html
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Temple Grandin

amazing... learned through group UX week debrief meeting... really wish I was there to watch her preso! It's very inspiring even when I heard it the 2nd handed version.
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UX Week 2009 - Day 4

Yes, I only went to day 4... so here is my notes:

Matt Webb on "Design is in Your Hands"

Fanufacture: Getting your fans to make your product. A quote I from on this [Infovore]: “Fans” act as an intermediate layer between the product and a mass market: they evangelise and amplify it. If you want to make a pun out of it, you could call them middle fan-agement. They take a product and enthuse about it to a wider audience; crowdsourced marketing, if you like.

Prototyping - You can't tell how well something will work until it's in your sweaty palm!

Innovation in small steps - else, you might risk overwhelming your users with the new "paradigms." Be selective!

David Merrill on "Cookie scale computers and other phsycal approaches to computing"

Traditionally, computering is done in a way that user use limited learned (and sometimes unnature) motions to interact with the objects appears on the monitors. It dominates our attention to one task at a time. Mobile device has test its phsycial size limitation, by making it pocket size that closely resembled to a candy bar. The limitation is no long technical but because it has reached the nearly smallest size that human can interact with the content on the small screens yet maintain a reasonable readability. David Merrill & MIT Media lab purposed new way of computing by having the user interact with computers in the real physical environment. It not only allow computers to become even smaller and human can interact with the devices using the familar gestures of everyday life. Thanks to April's TED video: Siftables : [Siftables on TED]

Brian Cronin & Natasha Alani on Mobile Literacy

The mental model that we are using in United States sometimes cannot be transferrable across different cultures. Some of the mental models we adapated as computer users, when transferred to mobile devices, it seems reasonable... however, it doesn't make sense to the people who skip computer and straight to mobile devices (which is common in 3rd world countries, and potentially future generation of tech users?)

Not much note on John Peterson on Public Architecture(it feels like a result of ethnographic study - even though they didn't have the actual study) & Robin Hunicke on WildFlower: The UX of game/play(use gaming into designs - create this sense of buddy, helper, etc even outside the games).

''''Scott Snibbe on Social Immersive Media

Scott Snibble showed us many video clip of his past projects. It's basically using our entire body (or shadow) as an engaging object with components on the screen or other people (a.k.a social). This can be presented as an art, an educational tool, or just an illustration. It is effective way to attract attention comparing to the traditional information slides.

Jesse James Garrett on The state of User Experience (not much notes, but basically he was talking about how perception, action, cognition, and emotion are all intertwine into user experience. Each category has its capabilities, constraint, and context that affects users to interact.)
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工研院"紙喇叭" 名廠也得認輸!-Yahoo!奇摩新聞

Proud to be Taiwanese series ;)!

工研院研發新產品紙喇叭，不但耗電量低，而且音質還非常好，打敗國際大廠，獲得美國年度科技創新獎。MP3一接上 接頭，音樂就從喇叭流洩而出，不過這個喇叭很不一樣，扁扁的形狀，從側面看幾乎跟厚紙板一樣薄，這是工研院最新研發的產品，神奇的喇叭上面有許多小孔，其 實就是超微小喇叭，整張紙喇叭，比50元硬幣厚度還要薄，而且非常軟，不管怎麼折、怎麼捲都可以，聲音完全不失真，還獲得了華爾街日報的年度科技創新獎！

這款可以彎曲的超薄音響喇叭，在比賽中可是打敗了惠普、摩托羅拉等大廠，未來準備技術轉移，進行量產，可以當壁紙，也能放在安全帽裡聽音樂，成為另外一個台灣之光。

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iPod nano - Apple Store (U.S.)

Camera + iPod! Almost as good as ipod touch!

iPod nano - Apple Store (U.S.)

Source: store.apple.com

Choose a thin, light iPod nano in a spectacular range of colors. Have it engraved with a personalized message—at no extra charge.

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Sand drawing Noah's Ark

Taipei Zoo


sand drawing Noah's Ark諾亞方舟的秘密 歌詞 The Zoo 諾亞方舟的秘密 歌詞 作詞：動物爸爸 Jason Yeh 作曲：董修銘 老師 GoGo-GoGoGo GoGo-GoGoGo GoGo-GoGoGo 長臂猿GoGo加油聲 宣告黎明的來臨 大貓熊揉著可愛眼睛迎接美好的一天 大象昂首闊步走過必留下痕跡 長頸鹿眺望遠方天地一片祥和 獅子一聲怒吼撼動草原 威震八方 萬物都稀奇生命真可貴 ...
-------------------
WOWOW cool :) Thanks to Janice!
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Hook and Go skeletal shopping cart - Core77

Hook and Go skeletal shopping cart - Core77

A contraption called the Hook and Go, "the smart cart for the urban shopper," seems like a good idea as gets rid of the "cart part, folds into a compact shape, and will hold 70 pounds of hanging bags when unfurled.

--------------------------------------------------

Maybe we can work on the form factor next.. but looks handy!

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Google's grass and goats - Core77

Google's grass and goats - Core77

To clear the fields of weeds and grass at their headquarters, Google could have hired a lawn-cutting service; instead they went with a greener initiative.

--------------------------------------------------

Told You... I bet the one that you saw along HWY 237 is for the same cause.

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Can You Twitter the Gospel? (Josh Harris)

Can You Twitter the Gospel? (Josh Harris)

The team over at 9Marks invite you to succinctly communicate the Gospel in Twitter's 140 character limit. They're even offering free books to those who do it most effectively. Is this a worthy exercise? ...

--------------------------------------------------
twitterific!

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Fast Food Folk Song (at the Taco Bell Drive-Thru)

Fast Food Folk Song (at the Taco Bell Drive-Thru)

Next time you're at Taco Bell, think of us. If you win some cash, you can help Rhett pay me (Link) back. No purchase necessary. Subject to official rules at http://BajaBlast.com Game ends 5/18/09.

--------------------------------------------------
For those of you who've asked: Yes, the guy's reaction is totally authentic. ...

to Vovo: I dare you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uwY3sjqYX0.

In fact, vovo, k2, caleb trio? maybe Clement too hahaha..

(thanks Wendy.. I can't stop watching it now)

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Jackie Wu's Facebook Links using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

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Beautiful Zipper Pond in Taiwan | Toxel.com

Beautiful Zipper Pond in Taiwan | Toxel.com

Toxel.com - Design, Inspiration and Technology Blog

--------------------------------------------------
YEA!!! I love Taiwan!

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Researchers Use Web to Determine Wednesdays Are the Worst

Researchers Use Web to Determine Wednesdays Are the Worst

The usefulness of searchable, user-generated content apparently knows no bounds -- especially for zealous researchers who set out to determine exactly what all those bloggers, tweeters, and status updaters really think. ...

--------------------------------------------------

Wow, it used to be the moody Tuesday! I wonder what made this shift (Or is this data applies to the techy world?) Funny thing is... Monday is not that bad for both studies.

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BlackFire

BlackFire

New product design video of an adjustable Clamplight. www.blackfire-usa.com Animation created by LiGHT-FiSH www.light-fish.com

--------------------------------------------------
Flash Light ;)

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Mark Kinsley's killer fold-out shelving wall - Core77

Mark Kinsley's killer fold-out shelving wall - Core77

Industrial Design content and community site - articles, discussions, interviews and resources.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOW... nice to have in my room :D

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給人希望

剛剛看完孩子的天空 (新版魯冰花)
當然又是淚滿面~ 我總是被這種很簡單的劇情 騙的亂七八糟! 傻傻的!

除了魯冰花的故事很感人以外
另一個很喜歡的橋段 是當郭老師說到他跟阿明之間的關係
他們不是師徒 而是朋友 當郭老師跟阿明偷偷的約定~ 他要環遊世界畫遍世界
他要帶阿明一起去 而阿明想到的是他的貓~ 哈!

人生不過如此 有個嗜好 充滿熱情與行動力 更重要的是要有個知己~
一同分享人生的喜悅!!

但~ 我也學到 : 如果可以圓夢~ 尤其是圓別人的夢是多麼"崇高"
另外另外 如果可以給人希望~ 像電影裡面的老師給阿明的希望 參加世界美術比賽
更是有意義
前者是比較被動的完成希望 但後者卻是機動性ㄉ給人希望和行動力!
給人一條魚與教人釣魚的道理也就是如此!!

愛這種讓人振奮的電影!
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I love Industrial Designers

http://www.core77.com/blog/cartoons/coretoon_stick_of_buttergum_14201.asp
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童年

     池塘邊的榕樹下　知了在聲聲叫著夏天
    操場邊的鞦韆上　只有蝴蝶停在上面
    黑板上老師的粉筆還在拼命　吱吱喳喳寫個不停
    等待著下課　等待著放學　等待遊戲的童年

    福利社裡面什麼都有　就是口袋裡沒有半毛錢
    諸葛四郎和魔鬼黨　到底誰搶到那隻寶劍
    隔壁班的那個男孩　怎麼還沒經過我的窗前
    嘴裡的零食　手裡的漫畫　心裡初戀的童年

     總是要等到睡覺前　才知道功課只做了一點點
     總是要等到考試以後　才知道該唸的書都沒有唸
     一寸光陰一寸金　老師說過寸金難買寸光陰
     一天又一天　一年又一年　迷迷糊糊的童年

    沒有人知道為什麼　太陽總下到山的那一邊
    沒有人能夠告訴我　山裡面有沒有住著神仙
    多少的日子裡總是一個人　面對著天空發呆
    就這麼好奇　就這麼幻想　這麼孤單的童年

    陽光下蜻蜓飛過來　一片片綠油油的稻田
    水彩蠟筆和萬花筒　畫不天邊那一條彩虹
    什麼時候才能像高年級的同學　有張成熟與長大的臉
    盼望著假期　盼望著明天　盼望長大的童年

    哦　一天又一天　一年又一年　盼望長大的童年

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．．．（無言）

其實'眞的假的'還蠻討厭的!
語助詞就還蠻可愛的~~ 大概是因為我也用習慣ㄌ
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張雨生談莫扎特

毛毛的~~ 張雨生車禍前三天，接受華視「針線情」的訪問，談到他最崇拜的偶 像莫札特。張雨生表示自己的偶像是莫札特，他覺得莫札特很偉大： 「他不是人，是神！」張雨生很羨慕他的才華，聽說他作曲都不打草 稿，而且曲中充滿和平，他希望自己有一天也能做到這樣。


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Twitter is Not Your Average Social Network

OK... eventually, I will move all these newsharing / inspiration news to another blog... but now...

Twitter is Not Your Average Social Network

via Mashable! by Stan Schroeder on 6/2/09

A study conducted by Harvard Business Review reveals that most Twitter users don't actually use the service much, or even at all. In fact, 10% of active users are responsible for over 90% of all Tweets.

According to the research, conducted on a random sample of about 300,000 Twitter users in May 2009, 25% of Twitter users don't tweet at all, while 50% of users tweet less than once every 74 hours. Active users, on the other hand, tweet a lot, which makes Twitter a lot more like Wikipedia than an average social network (see graph below, courtesy of HBR).

Although this may sound strange at first, Twitter really is more like Wikipedia than, say, Facebook. Twitter is not so much about connecting with your friends, it's about broadcasting information. Although it doesn't necessarily take much creativity to create a tweet, only the most creative users actually persist in tweeting every day over a longer time period.

However, Twitter is also similar to a instant messaging tool, which should have a very different curve, with a larger proportion of users contributing to the number of overall tweets. It seems that Twitter's micropublishing component is winning over its chatting component.

The Harvard Business Review study reveals another interesting tidbit: men seem to follow men more than women on Twitter. There are more women than men on twitter - approximately 55% of all users are female - but an average man will follow a man in 65% of all cases, while a woman will follow a man in 56% of cases. It's hard to pull any meaningful conclusions from this anomaly, except one: Twitter is different than other social networks. But you already knew that.

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Cupcake Cones

OMG... Someone is thinking!
This is great and eco-friendly!

Cupcake Cones

via Instructables: exploring by scoochmaroo on 6/8/09

Delicious, clever, and surprising, these cupcakes impersonating ice cream cones are sure to delight!

My mother used to make these for my brother and me when we were kids and had to bring in birthday treats to school. I had extra cake batter left over from making Cake in a Jar (coming soon), and ...

By: scoochmaroo

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RidetheCity.com Gets An Update In Time for Biking Season

Can't wait to have it for Bay Area... so I can test how "safest route" is better than safe route.

via Google Reader:

RidetheCity.com Gets An Update In Time for Biking Season

via TechCrunch by John Biggs on 5/22/09

RidetheCity.com is a service that maps the best bike routes in New York. You add a starting point and an end point and the service finds dedicated bike lanes, greenways, and other "safe" routes for you to take on your two-wheeler through the mean streets of the city.

We've just been given permission to let you folks beat up their latest incarnation, RidetheCity 2.0 with a few interesting updates. Co-creator Jordan Anderson reports:

- Much faster routing and overall performance
- Better looking maps
- SMS support
- Sort of wonky, but workable multi-language support
- Better info. about bike shops and rentals

The new service uses CloudMade Web Maps Lite tiles for a far prettier interface and it seems snappy as heck. The map is considerably nicer to look at and the sharing system is great - you can send an SMS message with your directions to your phone for orienteering on the go.

There's even a bonus for Brooklyn-based readers: RidetheCity is having a launch party on Saturday at Radegast at 113 N 3rd Street in Wiliamsburg, Brooklyn from 2pm until 6pm. They'll be giving out RidetheCity schwag and one lucky person will win a Bicycle Habitat gift card.

The new site will go live tonight but feel free to test it on their sexy beta server until then. They even have a widget for those so inclined.

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Design: environmental & neat

http://www.dezeen.com/2009/05/07/wattcher-by-marcel-wanders-studio/

This will be super useful in my house. The place I stay is pretty old. Sometimes, without paying attention of the electricity usage, 跳電 occurs. So, we have an unwritten rule in the house: before you start to blow dry your hair, LISTEN!! And, sometimes, I have the rush when I "got" the right to use my hair dryer; and opposite rush when I hear the dryer goes on in the other room while I reach for mine.

THIS potentially allows me to see, if the line can hold up to 2 dryers :).
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Design: Trendy and environmental

If I have a house, a good decent size of house, I will consider this




nice trendy and environmental divider. You can get them here.
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UI - WeatherChannel

WeatherChannel redesign is indeed needed. Can't believe such a popular website just happy with what it has.

Here is a retouch of the site by weatherflash

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Running Man's side job

Where does the running man go when he is not working full time at AOL?



He is in Yahoo!TW promoting safe internet for kids.
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favorite: 多多綠

多多綠, next to grapefruit green tea, is one of my favorite bubble tea! It's basically yogurt drink + green tea and more :)

This is the recipe I found online. I am going to give it a try.
抹茶/绿茶粉2小匙、柠檬1/2颗、养乐多1瓶、蜂蜜适量。
做法：
1、柠檬去皮，切片榨汁。
2、倒入养乐多、绿茶粉和柠檬汁，一起搅拌均匀。
3、依喜好甜度加入蜂蜜，务必立即饮用。

I think I am missing lemonade before.. that's why it tastes like something is missing ;)
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UI - article: Most new ideas aren't

http://metacool.typepad.com/metacool/2009/04/8-most-new-ideas-arent.html

Most new ideas aren't. Someone, somehow, somewhere already thought up the essence of what you're thinking about.

... Best of all, standing on the shoulders of giants is a free activity.

... Innovators ship, dreamers don't.

So what's keep you from making your idea real?

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UI - Betray of User Experience?

This is what I would call, when business is on the line, UI betrays UX. Or, this simply is when UI needs to take a step back and rethink better way to bring ads to the eyeballs.

This UI was part of add-on to my usability testing. I didn't like it even on the spot: When a user comes to this page, reading the articale, their eyes got attracked to the images at the bottom. Great Job Publishers! I have to say, the publishers (at AOL, and its correspondent lines of publishing) put up the most inticing and interesting images online. I am always tempted to give it a click. Then bad experience starts....

Instead the images just natually pagnated to the next asset, it pops a window with 1 cube ad, 3 text ads. It disgusts me before my mind got draw back to the image(s). As I browse a few more images, the flicker rate is so high, it annoys me. And, lastly, it's usually a pool of contents. Content that interested to my purpose might just be 10 images, but I got throw into a pool of 100.

I am all for content association. However, I feel the experience should also be designed.
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Design: Handy :)

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UI - When negative things are "in trend"

Nowadays, webs are super. When you are reading one thing, it will kindly advise what you can read next. But, the wording is normally coined, "you may also like..."

However, when the popular search terminologies are something unwanted... the sentence becomes a bit scary:



Who may also like swine flu? Not me.
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路上學到的教訓

"每個階段都是一個關卡，但是千萬不能輕言放棄，不要怕路上的小石頭，挫折算得了什麼？就像有的人覺得自己失戀了，走了好大一段冤枉路，但在這段路上學到的教訓，才是箇中滋味呀！"
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UI - Status Message

ERR.. this annoys me every wed. why does the message status has to be in 2 lines? I had to look twice every time when the status message pops. Every Wednesday, it moves to two lines... fix it... WED is fine~
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痞克四 Picks: Perfect Stranger

I like their songs...

Perfect Stranger


Fly Away

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王偉忠

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LvfFxahza0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqznH0i99TQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19ubWAGOtGU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ly-ENxHVkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQwa2sTrPEo
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User Experience Designer - Pioneer of a new emerging profession

http://www.jjg.net/ia/memphis/
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Don't mind what other said about you... it's the effort that counts!

Despite of how little I like about Curt Schilling, he got a pretty good post today about critique:
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I receive daily quotes from athletes all around the sports world through a pro-athlete website service. Some of them are very good. The best ones are usually the most simple. Today’s was a particularly good one.

The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.~ Arnold Palmer

Off of that someone at 38 Studios sent me one from a book on Teddy Roosevelt that I thought was not only spot on, but pretty powerful.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

http://38pitches.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/curt-schilling/general/i-love-inspirational-people/
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On / Off Toggle

I remember when I first started design, I always have trouble to come up a good digital representation of on / off switch.... Ok, I still have the trouble. It's really hard to show what's "on" now - you can show "on is pressed in" but is that really feel like it's on?

Today I encounter TV.com's lights on | off button.


First, it has the instant feedback... thanks to Ajax. The page flip between White and Black, with some (bad) delay. Second, doesn't matter what you press, it switches.

It didn't solve the issue from its root, but I felt it's a good recover from users' mistake. ONLY.... with that delay... I toggled many times before I finally landed on the Lights ON stage.

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Google: Creative Reel

It's hard not to skip a heartbeat for chip like this... I am nerdy + geeky.
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Facebook V2

Facebook has released another portfolio redesign. As many people said, it's more like the first one, however, the applications are more hidden. I agreed! I don't see my applications anymore. Out of sight, out of mind. Sometimes, that's a good thing for the application developers. I used to have a habit of "spring cleaning." I went in my profile from time to time (especially the first version - that's called that version 2007). I moved those I didn't interact on regular basis to the bottom of the page, and removed those I don't care anymore applications out of my profile. I believe, I believe the companies behind the applications will no longer receive my information.

Soon, version 2008 came, I don't see my applications anymore. I only go applications that I "think" of: Poker game, then Playfish applications. Even that... is a bit too much. Good that they have "shortcut" at the bottom of the page. I totally just use those space and only work with those applications. I rarely touch any other application. Just leave them on my app pages.

Now, 2009 comes! I almost use facebook like multimedia twitter. I don't even look for the application. And I felt, the "highlight" on the right hand sides are things I once cared: those already earned my eyeball once / twice / three times. To a point, it's no longer a highlight to me~ However, ads are now in between my "highlights." It blended into what supposely be my "surprise" of the day~ Resulting, I dont' really want to read beyond my first highlight.

Also, I like the multimedia twitter aka status page. It combined the wall content and status. I actually like the "Like" link. However, with the revision in 2009 portfile facelift... sigh~ it tries wayyyy too hard to invite me to give my comment. I dont' like that feeling. Maybe I am a "cleaning freak" type of user. I want to "go through" my page and clean all the "blank spaces."

but now.. sigh~ it's a bit psychologically messy for me. I see too many "my icons." Might just be me. But... it ticks me.
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北海岸、澎湖 爭取世界地質公園

更新日期:2009/03/10 03:32 黃如萍／台北報導

雖然台灣位於兩大板塊的地震帶，卻也賦予世界難得一見的豐富多變海岸地形。國內外專家指出，北海岸野柳女王頭、燭台石等七處，以及澎湖群島的鯨魚洞、蓮花座、柱狀節理的玄武岩等十處獨樹一格的地景，都是國際上少見的多重地形同在一處的奇景，具有不可替代性。交通部已決定，以北海岸及澎湖兩處，申請成為世界地質公園。

交通部觀光局委託台大地理系教授林俊全進行的地質公園資料庫已初步完成，四月底將召開首屆東亞地質公園國際研討會，正式向國外宣布台灣爭取申請世界地質公園的決心。

林俊全去年邀請國外著名的大地學者及世界地質公園委員來台實地勘查，以了解台灣申請世界地質公園的可能性。經專家評估，確認北海岸及澎湖具有世界地質公園的條件。

林俊全指出，台灣位於歐亞大陸板塊與菲律賓海板塊交界帶，北部海岸擁有火山和板塊擠壓傾斜的峽灣，加上台灣處於副熱帶季風帶，北部海岸冬、春兩季受東北季風影響，在侵蝕、風化及搬運等作用下，形成如蘑菇般的蕈狀石、豆腐似的豆腐岩，蜂巢式的蜂窩岩等各種渾然天成的奇怪岩石。

野柳的燭台石、女王頭的蕈狀石、拱狀石及海蝕地形等特殊小地形景觀，更是世界少見的多種特殊地形集於一地；鼻頭角也有海階、海崖及海蝕平台等三種地形景觀，相當罕見；石門為全台灣最大的海拱；龜山等是台灣地區可以確定的活火山。

林俊全說，北海岸有七處地質景點，具備申請世界地質公園的稀有性、不可替代性、獨特性及重要性。

另 外，由玄武岩構成的澎湖群島有十個地質景點具備世界地質公園所需的稀有性、獨特性或不可替代性，被視為台灣爭取世界地質公園最具希望的景點。林俊全指出， 國際上許多地區有玄武岩地形，但一大片多樣且獨特的玄武岩地形、且容易觀賞則並不多見，加上特有的海洋生態與文化，澎湖玄武岩地形非常特殊與稀有。

桶盤嶼的蓮花座和粗大特殊的柱狀玄武岩、員貝嶼的北海岸玄武岩柱狀節理地景更是獨樹一格、小門嶼的鯨魚洞是澎湖最獨特的海岸地形之一、望安島有澎湖群島座早期的玄武岩、東吉嶼旁邊的鋤頭嶼和海崖地形雄偉獨特等，使澎湖有最深的海蝕洞景觀。

觀光局長賴瑟珍表示，因政治因素及歷史地理先天條件，目前台灣沒有任一景點或文物被聯合國教科文組織列為世界遺產，讓台灣在觀光與旅遊競爭力上的世界排名受限，推動世界地質公園認證，可向世界證明台灣的觀光實力。

http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/090310/4/1frf0.html

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One hundred and ten percent...

One hundred and ten percent is like me,
and I like one hundred and ten percent.
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Greener Gadget Top 50 Semi-Finalist Laundry POD

For convenience sake, Greener Gadget Top 50 Semi-Finalist Laundry POD, designed by RKS Design Team, combines the salad spinner and the laundry machine, creating a new way to clean our clothes while saving energy at the same time!

While re-engineering and re-designing a salad spinner, we learned resourceful women were buying salad spinners to wash their delicates. This sparked the idea that the salad spinner technology we innovated could be used to create a portable, hand-powered laundry machine that would be far more appropriate for the task, than a salad spinner. The Laundry POD combines innovation and eco-conscious style to save energy, water and answer the need for a quick, easy, eco-friendly way to do small loads.

Like this design? Wanna vote for it or leave a comment? Check out this entry or the entire Greener Gadgets TOP 50 Gallery and help determine the TOP 10 for live judging at the upcoming Greener Gadgets Conference.

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方便行事 最常用也最易被盜密碼：1234、password

央廣 更新日期:"2009/02/12 09:45" 楊明娟

在選擇電子郵件、銀行帳戶或機票密碼時，請多思考一下，因為根據調查，太過沒有想像力、沒有辨別度的密碼，最容易被盜用。

美國資訊週刊InformationWeek報導，一項針對28,000個最近被盜用的密碼進行分析後發現，過於簡單行事是造成帳號被盜用的最主要原因。

分析指出，在這些被盜用的帳號中，有16％是用自己或家人的名字當密碼、14％是依照鍵盤排列方式、例如1234或12345678等。在美國，人們常用QWERTY，而在歐洲則因鍵盤排列方式不同，AZERTY是設定密碼的最愛。

另外有5％的人是以電視節目或偶像的名字來設密碼，例如當紅的歌手HannahMontana(孟漢娜)、Pokemon(神奇寶貝)、Matrix(駭客任務)、Ironman(鋼鐵人)。

調查發現，4％的人喜歡用容易聯想的字，例如password、password1等；3％會用表達自己態度的字眼來設定密碼，如「Idon'tcare」、「Whatever」、「Yes」、「No」、「Iloveyou」、「Ihateyou」等。

專家建議，為了防止密碼被破解，在設定密碼時最好不要少於8個字，而且其中應該包含大寫、符號等。
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wujwuj

This has been my "pocket" invention for the longest time. Now, someone has tried it (and failed).
http://www.crunchbase.com/company/wujwuj

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After the Economic Crisis is Over

I find these creatively funny (though in a sad way...)!

You are Stand up firmly, but this is what various logos will look like when the crisis is over.

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