Peoii's Place » Technology http://www.peoii.com Rediscovering myself, one post at a time... Fri, 08 Jul 2011 03:57:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= User Interfaces are Fun http://www.peoii.com/2011/05/06/user-interfaces-are-fun/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=user-interfaces-are-fun http://www.peoii.com/2011/05/06/user-interfaces-are-fun/#comments Sat, 07 May 2011 06:57:24 +0000 Jamie http://www.peoii.com/?p=1715 One of the aspects of software development that has always impressed me with its depth is the side that comes with interface design. Over the past 3 months, it’s been on my mind a lot as I’m designing a couple of projects, and one thing that really surprised me is the level of customization that people are accustomed to anymore. Check out this simple question:

What G-Mail theme do you use?

I asked this just about a month and a half ago to my Facebook friends list. The results were actually quite interesting… A programmer? Classic. An airline pilot? No interface (go-go mobile). Someone in medicine? The sunset theme. Someone who has fully embraced their inner child? Ninja theme. Me? The Android theme.

The theme fits the person, in every case, and the more you know about them, the more it makes sense why they’d choose what they’d choose. Heck, I chose mine because I find the colour scheme more calming than the stock one, but it maintains the clean straight forward crispness I seek as a developer. It really got me thinking about when it comes to my work, how much customization to give. Sure, it’s always a nice thing, but when is enough, enough? It’s never something I add early on, and moreover it’s something I only really play with when I have the extra time and am not working on something bigger. But I’m at that point in one project, so I’m trying to think this thru…

As I sat here tonight, attempting to work thru another UI design, this thought process came thru my head, and I must admit I think writing this out helped me a bit. Designs are intended to be simple, but at the same time just customizable enough to allow people to have their own “feeling” without destroying the functionality of the item.

Now granted, I won’t go as far as some people who think that just because a system is customizable that it is an ugly thing by default. But in the end of things, that’s what the people wanted to make it now isn’t it? Hmm, more to think about…

Oh well, just kinda rambling. Hope everyone is well, and I’ll write more later.икониикониПравославни икони

]]> http://www.peoii.com/2011/05/06/user-interfaces-are-fun/feed/ 0 The Wave has Hit! http://www.peoii.com/2009/10/31/the-wave-has-hit/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-wave-has-hit http://www.peoii.com/2009/10/31/the-wave-has-hit/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:05:01 +0000 Jamie http://www.peoii.com/?p=424 I received my Google Wave invite today for the open beta, and I must say I’m very impressed. It’s grown, it’s evolved, and it’s a tool that I can really see myself using more and more already even with my limited contact pool!

That said, if you have a Wave account, feel free to add me:
j…@g…e.com

Also, as a Wave user, I’ve got 20 invites available. I’m reserving about 5 of those for special individuals, but the other 15 are up for grabs. Either shoot me a wave (lolol, email), IM me, contact me somehow, and let me know your email address you’d like the invite sent to. They’re not an immediate send, as Google quotes “Invitations will not be sent immediately. We have a lot of stamps to lick.” But you’ll get it fairly promptly if I’m not mistaken.

So yea, if you’d like one, contact me, and I’ll be posting my feedback on this wonderful tool soon hopefully.

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