http://dzone.com/links/tag/usability.html DZone: fresh links for developers en-us Copyright (c) 2006 DZone, Inc. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:32:02 GMT The DZone community 2008-08-20T23:32:02Z en-us Copyright (c) 2006 DZone, Inc. http://dzone.com/links/feed/frontpage/usability/rss.xml http://www.dzone.com/images/std/dzone.com_258x55.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/ http://dzone.com/links/rss/build_an_incredible_login_form_with_jquery.html This tutorial will teach you how to build a beautiful login form with jQuery. javascript usability web design Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:14:17 GMT http://dzone.com/links/105019.html detachedDesigns 2008-08-19T20:14:17Z This tutorial will teach you how to build a beautiful login form with jQuery.]]> 105019 2008-08-19T14:12:04Z 2008-08-19T20:14:17Z 17 0 804 5 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105019.jpg detachedDesigns http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/297472.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/qi4j_rest_entitystore_and_sparql_entityfinder_ric.html From my work on SiteVision I've become quite fond of writing rich clients using applets or JavaWebStart, with Swing, and then connect back to the server for state. I can understand why not so many others are doing it though, since you more or less need a decent framework to handle all the issues, and as far as I know there aren't any around. Now I'm in the process of adding this functionality to Qi4j! There are two parts to using objects/entities on the client: finding them and loading/storing them. In Qi4j there are two interfaces EntityFinder and EntityStore which respectively deal with these things. how-to java usability web services Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:37:05 GMT http://dzone.com/links/104732.html aslamkhn 2008-08-19T11:37:05Z From my work on SiteVision I've become quite fond of writing rich clients using applets or JavaWebStart, with Swing, and then connect back to the server for state. I can understand why not so many others are doing it though, since you more or less need a decent framework to handle all the issues, and as far as I know there aren't any around. Now I'm in the process of adding this functionality to Qi4j! There are two parts to using objects/entities on the client: finding them and loading/storing them. In Qi4j there are two interfaces EntityFinder and EntityStore which respectively deal with these things.]]> 104732 2008-08-18T20:44:10Z 2008-08-19T11:37:05Z 8 0 149 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104732.jpg aslamkhn http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/276360.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/3_worthwhile_alternatives_to_the_pie_chart.html Since the above pie chart is making some of you cringe in agony (although I can't imagine why), let's take a look a few alternatives for the pie chart using the same poll results. usability Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:35:59 GMT http://dzone.com/links/104910.html Thierry.Lefort 2008-08-19T11:35:59Z Since the above pie chart is making some of you cringe in agony (although I can't imagine why), let's take a look a few alternatives for the pie chart using the same poll results.]]> 104910 2008-08-19T08:06:30Z 2008-08-19T11:35:59Z 10 0 476 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104910.jpg Thierry.Lefort http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/252611.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/windows_based_programmers_stop_hating_clis_comman.html If you are a unix/linux lover, this article may not be of interest to you, because you should be knowing the power of CLIs in *nix operating systems. But, for a windows programmer CLIs are kind of a derogatory thing. They usually have the perception that, "If you don't have a nice looking, user-friendly GUI, then it's not for me". microsoft opinion tools usability Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:17:24 GMT http://dzone.com/links/104704.html siddii 2008-08-19T09:17:24Z If you are a unix/linux lover, this article may not be of interest to you, because you should be knowing the power of CLIs in *nix operating systems. But, for a windows programmer CLIs are kind of a derogatory thing. They usually have the perception that, "If you don't have a nice looking, user-friendly GUI, then it's not for me".]]> 104704 2008-08-18T18:39:12Z 2008-08-19T09:17:24Z 8 0 355 2 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104704.jpg siddii http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/229792.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/factories_builders_and_fluent_interfaces.html Last week I started working on very short proof of concept with a team that I am currently coaching at a short term insurance company. We hit a very common design decision: when do we use a factory pattern and when do we use a builder pattern. how-to java usability Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:00:21 GMT http://dzone.com/links/104771.html aslamkhn 2008-08-19T07:00:21Z Last week I started working on very short proof of concept with a team that I am currently coaching at a short term insurance company. We hit a very common design decision: when do we use a factory pattern and when do we use a builder pattern.]]> 104771 2008-08-18T22:00:15Z 2008-08-19T07:00:21Z 17 0 350 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104771.jpg aslamkhn http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/276360.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/learn_how_to_develop_for_the_iphone.html I'm going to show you how to build an alternate page and style sheet for the iPhone and iTouch. We will cover how to detect if the user is using an iPhone to view your page as well as the orientation of the device - whether it be landscape or portrait. javascript mobile usability web design Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:31:46 GMT http://dzone.com/links/104653.html detachedDesigns 2008-08-19T04:31:46Z I'm going to show you how to build an alternate page and style sheet for the iPhone and iTouch. We will cover how to detect if the user is using an iPhone to view your page as well as the orientation of the device - whether it be landscape or portrait.]]> 104653 2008-08-18T14:58:26Z 2008-08-19T04:31:46Z 9 0 334 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104653.jpg detachedDesigns http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/297472.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/65_excellent_jquery_resources_tutorialscheat_shee.html Below, there are 65 Excellent jQuery Resources (tutorials,cheat sheets,ebooks,demos,plugins…). Hope they help. javascript reviews usability Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:36:25 GMT http://dzone.com/links/104598.html mswatcher 2008-08-19T02:36:25Z Below, there are 65 Excellent jQuery Resources (tutorials,cheat sheets,ebooks,demos,plugins…). Hope they help.]]> 104598 2008-08-18T13:16:23Z 2008-08-19T02:36:25Z 16 0 342 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104598.jpg mswatcher http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/225256.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/the_perils_of_fui_fake_user_interface.html As a software developer, tell me if you've ever done this: 1. Taken a screenshot of something on the desktop 2. Opened it in a graphics program 3. Gone off to work on something else 4. Upon returning to your computer, attempted to click on the screenshot as if it was an actual program. gui opinion usability Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:42:13 GMT http://dzone.com/links/104592.html Thierry.Lefort 2008-08-18T15:42:13Z As a software developer, tell me if you've ever done this: 1. Taken a screenshot of something on the desktop 2. Opened it in a graphics program 3. Gone off to work on something else 4. Upon returning to your computer, attempted to click on the screenshot as if it was an actual program.]]> 104592 2008-08-18T13:11:06Z 2008-08-18T15:42:13Z 9 0 348 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104592.jpg Thierry.Lefort http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/252611.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/why_have_a_start_button_to_shutdown_windows.html The other day I was watching David Pogue’s presentation When it comes to tech, simplicity sells on Ted Talks about good and bad UI design, which overall was very good. However good UI (User Interface) design is not always as obvious as he makes it out to be, and sometimes it’s even very counter-intuitive. opinion usability web 2.0 windows Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:36:53 GMT http://dzone.com/links/104064.html socker 2008-08-18T01:36:53Z The other day I was watching David Pogue’s presentation When it comes to tech, simplicity sells on Ted Talks about good and bad UI design, which overall was very good. However good UI (User Interface) design is not always as obvious as he makes it out to be, and sometimes it’s even very counter-intuitive.]]> 104064 2008-08-16T08:54:14Z 2008-08-18T01:36:53Z 13 0 506 2 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104064.jpg socker http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/288451.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/99_resources_for_web_20_design_2.html This post was originally published a while ago, however, almost all of the resources mentioned are still relevant. Since this post was published we’ve added tons of new resources that you may also find useful (see our Popular Posts page usability web 2.0 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:25:36 GMT http://dzone.com/links/103752.html mswatcher 2008-08-15T18:25:36Z This post was originally published a while ago, however, almost all of the resources mentioned are still relevant. Since this post was published we’ve added tons of new resources that you may also find useful (see our Popular Posts page]]> 103752 2008-08-15T05:35:17Z 2008-08-15T18:25:36Z 12 0 457 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/103752.jpg mswatcher http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/225256.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/77_resources_to_simplify_your_life_as_a_web_desig_2.html 77 Resources to Simplify Your Life as a Web Designer..... reviews usability web design Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:25:32 GMT http://dzone.com/links/103753.html mswatcher 2008-08-15T18:25:32Z 77 Resources to Simplify Your Life as a Web Designer.....]]> 103753 2008-08-15T05:37:51Z 2008-08-15T18:25:32Z 12 0 406 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/103753.jpg mswatcher http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/225256.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/40_css_web_form_style_tutorials_for_web_developers.html When developing a project it's important to have a good form input structure throughout, most commonly used forms will tend to be Login, Register and user Profiles. If you have taken the time to develop a custom template for your project more often than not the default appearance of forms you have created are not ideally suited to you designs overall look and feel. We have gathered together a great list of tutorials that should have your new forms looking great or breath life into your existing form design. css-html gui how-to usability Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:21:53 GMT http://dzone.com/links/103606.html LincolnHawks 2008-08-15T15:21:53Z When developing a project it's important to have a good form input structure throughout, most commonly used forms will tend to be Login, Register and user Profiles. If you have taken the time to develop a custom template for your project more often than not the default appearance of forms you have created are not ideally suited to you designs overall look and feel. We have gathered together a great list of tutorials that should have your new forms looking great or breath life into your existing form design.]]> 103606 2008-08-14T14:45:46Z 2008-08-15T15:21:53Z 14 0 399 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/103606.jpg LincolnHawks http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/321374.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/designing_information_dashboards.html Information Dashboards could be defined as the interface for information systems, for example, displaying quality control measurments and the result of procesess. Here I am talking about the dashboards displayed on computer monitors, but keep in mind that dashboards could also be mechanical. gui how-to usability web design Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:25:06 GMT http://dzone.com/links/103578.html ciao_alexisb 2008-08-15T09:25:06Z Information Dashboards could be defined as the interface for information systems, for example, displaying quality control measurments and the result of procesess. Here I am talking about the dashboards displayed on computer monitors, but keep in mind that dashboards could also be mechanical.]]> 103578 2008-08-14T12:41:23Z 2008-08-15T09:25:06Z 7 0 398 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/103578.jpg ciao_alexisb http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/261704.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/build_a_killer_online_portfolio_in_9_easy_steps.html Every freelancer should have an online portfolio. You’ve got one, right? If not, skip to the last paragraph of this post. It’s written for you. If you do have one, you can breathe a sigh of relief. You’re halfway there. opinion reviews usability Fri, 15 Aug 2008 03:43:26 GMT http://dzone.com/links/103602.html mswatcher 2008-08-15T03:43:26Z Every freelancer should have an online portfolio. You’ve got one, right? If not, skip to the last paragraph of this post. It’s written for you. If you do have one, you can breathe a sigh of relief. You’re halfway there.]]> 103602 2008-08-14T14:32:36Z 2008-08-15T03:43:26Z 7 0 407 1 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/103602.jpg mswatcher http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/225256.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/w3c_on_the_relationship_between_usability_and_acc.html The W3C posted an update to the Relationship between Mobile Web Best Practices (MWBP) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), something which I (for some reason) don't remember seeing go by in January when they posted the initial draft. research standards usability web design Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:22:55 GMT http://dzone.com/links/103603.html Volume4 2008-08-14T15:22:55Z The W3C posted an update to the Relationship between Mobile Web Best Practices (MWBP) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), something which I (for some reason) don't remember seeing go by in January when they posted the initial draft.]]> 103603 2008-08-14T14:33:36Z 2008-08-14T15:22:55Z 9 0 49 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/103603.jpg Volume4 http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/71517.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/apple_style_menu_tutorial_using_css_sprites.html The menu that Apple uses on its website is becoming more of an iconic menu bar, especially to us web designers and developers. It is really simple to create and there are a variety of states. One interesting aspect that Apple has also used here, is the CSS sprite effect. Here, we will recreate the menu using Photoshop and CSS sprites! css-html usability web design Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:43:15 GMT http://dzone.com/links/102823.html zeldaze 2008-08-14T09:43:15Z The menu that Apple uses on its website is becoming more of an iconic menu bar, especially to us web designers and developers. It is really simple to create and there are a variety of states. One interesting aspect that Apple has also used here, is the CSS sprite effect. Here, we will recreate the menu using Photoshop and CSS sprites!]]> 102823 2008-08-12T10:44:07Z 2008-08-14T09:43:15Z 5 0 372 1 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/102823.jpg zeldaze http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/310269.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/jakob_nielsens_alertbox_tagline_blues_whats_the_s.html A website's tagline must explain what the company does and what makes it unique among competitors. Two questions can help you assess your own tagline: Would it work just as well for competitors? Would any company ever claim the opposite? how-to usability web design Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:53:46 GMT http://dzone.com/links/103248.html Thierry.Lefort 2008-08-14T08:53:46Z A website's tagline must explain what the company does and what makes it unique among competitors. Two questions can help you assess your own tagline: Would it work just as well for competitors? Would any company ever claim the opposite?]]> 103248 2008-08-13T15:08:39Z 2008-08-14T08:53:46Z 8 0 84 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/103248.jpg Thierry.Lefort http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/252611.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/java_web_applications_spread_bots_and_keyloggers.html In its report, Cybercrime Trends for 2008, Symantec claims, "Java-based Web applications—small programs, such as video players or interactive maps, that launch themselves from a Web page—are proliferating, which will provide a growing opportunity for cyberthieves to spread bots, keyloggers, and other malicious software." java security usability web design Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:26:37 GMT http://dzone.com/links/102976.html geertjan 2008-08-13T23:26:37Z In its report, Cybercrime Trends for 2008, Symantec claims, "Java-based Web applications—small programs, such as video players or interactive maps, that launch themselves from a Web page—are proliferating, which will provide a growing opportunity for cyberthieves to spread bots, keyloggers, and other malicious software."]]> 102976 2008-08-12T18:14:45Z 2008-08-13T23:26:37Z 9 0 151 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/102976.jpg geertjan http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/250147.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/over_60_free_controls_from_devexpress.html Thank you for taking the time to visit our website. DevExpress is happy to offer you over 60 DevExpress controls free of charge – without royalties or distribution costs. Your free license includes the following DevExpress products tools usability Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:25:54 GMT http://dzone.com/links/102781.html mswatcher 2008-08-13T23:25:54Z Thank you for taking the time to visit our website. DevExpress is happy to offer you over 60 DevExpress controls free of charge – without royalties or distribution costs. Your free license includes the following DevExpress products]]> 102781 2008-08-12T08:22:04Z 2008-08-13T23:25:54Z 10 0 283 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/102781.jpg mswatcher http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/225256.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/writing_your_first_spring_web_service_in_wso2_wsf.html WSO2 WSF/Spring is a project build on top of Apache Axis2 to provide an easy way to way to make Spring beans into Web services. I blogged about a WSF/Spring demo app in my last post and now I am going to use that demo app to expose a Spring bean as a web service using the code first approach.We will also invoke the service and make sure that it is working as expected. Good news is to try out all these, it won't take more than 10 minutes. java usability web services Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:20:39 GMT http://dzone.com/links/102914.html nandana 2008-08-13T16:20:39Z WSO2 WSF/Spring is a project build on top of Apache Axis2 to provide an easy way to way to make Spring beans into Web services. I blogged about a WSF/Spring demo app in my last post and now I am going to use that demo app to expose a Spring bean as a web service using the code first approach.We will also invoke the service and make sure that it is working as expected. Good news is to try out all these, it won't take more than 10 minutes.]]> 102914 2008-08-12T15:28:22Z 2008-08-13T16:20:39Z 16 0 191 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/102914.jpg nandana http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/315774.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/jakob_nielsens_alertbox_years_10_best_application.html Many winners employ dashboards to give users a single overview of complex information and use lightboxes to ensure that users notice dialogs. Also, the Office 2007 ribbon showed surprisingly strong early adoption. gui ria usability web design Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:11:13 GMT http://dzone.com/links/103117.html Thierry.Lefort 2008-08-13T13:11:13Z Many winners employ dashboards to give users a single overview of complex information and use lightboxes to ensure that users notice dialogs. Also, the Office 2007 ribbon showed surprisingly strong early adoption.]]> 103117 2008-08-13T08:20:50Z 2008-08-13T13:11:13Z 34 0 681 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/103117.jpg Thierry.Lefort http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/252611.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/dont_make_them_think_how_to_make_a_usable_flash_g.html “Usability” is a term used many times in web design and development. It basically means the ease of use or navigation that a website has. It also includes some other specifics like design conventions which we will touch on later. But for now, let us apply some of these usability ideas to flash games. flash-flex games how-to usability Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:59:20 GMT http://dzone.com/links/102853.html mrsun613 2008-08-13T10:59:20Z “Usability” is a term used many times in web design and development. It basically means the ease of use or navigation that a website has. It also includes some other specifics like design conventions which we will touch on later. But for now, let us apply some of these usability ideas to flash games.]]> 102853 2008-08-12T12:26:19Z 2008-08-13T10:59:20Z 5 0 199 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/102853.jpg mrsun613 http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/312774.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/firefox_ubiquity_commanding_your_browser.html The beauty of today's search engines is their simplicity. Type a few keywords into an empty box, and see the 10 most relevant results. This week, Mozilla Labs expects to launch a similar interface for its Firefox Web browser. The new interface, called Ubiquity, lets users carry out all sorts of complex tasks simply by typing instructions, in the form of ordinary sentences, into a box in the browser. gui news usability web design Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:45:48 GMT http://dzone.com/links/102761.html Thierry.Lefort 2008-08-12T20:45:48Z The beauty of today's search engines is their simplicity. Type a few keywords into an empty box, and see the 10 most relevant results. This week, Mozilla Labs expects to launch a similar interface for its Firefox Web browser. The new interface, called Ubiquity, lets users carry out all sorts of complex tasks simply by typing instructions, in the form of ordinary sentences, into a box in the browser.]]> 102761 2008-08-12T07:08:51Z 2008-08-12T20:45:48Z 8 0 368 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/102761.jpg Thierry.Lefort http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/252611.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/google_io_2008_design_patterns_for_enhanced_acces.html HTML DOM+ JavaScript constitutes the assembly language of Web Applications. Access To Rich Internet Applications — ARIA — adds in a couple of additional op-codes for helping Web applications better communicate with adaptive technologies such as screenreaders. How do we now push the envelope with respect to Web applications and adaptive technologies such as screenreaders and self-voicing browsers in a manner similar to what we as Web developers have collectively achieved for the mainstream user? css-html how-to usability web design Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:32:40 GMT http://dzone.com/links/102199.html Volume4 2008-08-12T11:32:40Z HTML DOM+ JavaScript constitutes the assembly language of Web Applications. Access To Rich Internet Applications — ARIA — adds in a couple of additional op-codes for helping Web applications better communicate with adaptive technologies such as screenreaders. How do we now push the envelope with respect to Web applications and adaptive technologies such as screenreaders and self-voicing browsers in a manner similar to what we as Web developers have collectively achieved for the mainstream user?]]> 102199 2008-08-09T21:11:24Z 2008-08-12T11:32:40Z 6 0 223 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/102199.jpg Volume4 http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/71517.gif http://dzone.com/links/rss/standardsbased_corporate_web_development.html My last project for my previous employers has gone live so here’s a long discussion about the totally redesigned website for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This isn’t to congratulate myself for some stunning new CSS techniques (there aren’t any), nor to solicit your admiring gasps at the beauty of the visual design (it’s rather corporate) but because I think it’s an interesting example of how one small web team tried to square the circle and attempt to use Web Standards and accessible methods in a highly conservative corporate environment. opinion standards usability web design Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:23:05 GMT http://dzone.com/links/102387.html Volume4 2008-08-12T02:23:05Z My last project for my previous employers has gone live so here’s a long discussion about the totally redesigned website for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This isn’t to congratulate myself for some stunning new CSS techniques (there aren’t any), nor to solicit your admiring gasps at the beauty of the visual design (it’s rather corporate) but because I think it’s an interesting example of how one small web team tried to square the circle and attempt to use Web Standards and accessible methods in a highly conservative corporate environment.]]> 102387 2008-08-10T23:57:03Z 2008-08-12T02:23:05Z 5 0 234 0 http://dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/102387.jpg Volume4 http://dzone.com/links/images/avatars/71517.gif