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.

Read more...

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 :).
Read more...

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.
Read more...

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

Read more...

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.
Read more...

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 ;)
Read more...

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?

Read more...

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.
Read more...

Design: Handy :)

Read more...