Common Mistakes in Data Presentation

Intelligent Enterprise Magazine: "Graphical glitz can often confuse rather than clarify what's being communicated. Our practical series delves into common errors and how to correct them..."



"Any presentation of data that you prepare - whether in the form of tables or graphs or in some combination like a dashboard - is only successful to the degree that it communicates to your target audience what you intend for it to communicate. Did your message get through? Was the data understood, accurately and efficiently? It's all about the data. As the renowned expert in the visual display of information, Edward Tufte, so simply yet eloquently put it: "Above all else show the data."

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Microsoft unveils Vista upgrade matrix

arstechnica.com: "If you're confused, you probably won't be the only one. The plethora of versions and upgrade options may help Microsoft earn higher profits through finely-grained product segmentation, but they may cause some serious head-scratching for their customers..."

Outlook 2007 beta 2 screenshots

CNET News.com: "Overall, the main interface of Outlook 2007 beta 2 looks largely the same as version 2003's, without a top-heavy Ribbon of features being applied to the rest of the Office 2007 system. The most noticeable change is the To-Do bar along the right edge of the screen, which users can hide or expand for a small summary of latest appointments and chores."

This is good overview with more than a dozen sample screens. Considering Outlook is the 'home base' for many business users, it's important to see what user interface conventions Microsoft has in store.

The Omni Group Launches OmniPlan BETA

I've been waiting for the Mac version of MS Project. Merlin has been an option for a while, and I've been using Gantt Project (buggy but does the job). However, Omni really gets has the Mac experience down, and just playing with this BETA for a few minutes, it looks very promising.

Cracking the Google Adsense Code

"Google Adsense has empowered web publishers of all shapes and sizes to make money from their web sites...

Most Effective Ad Formats: In general, wider ad formats tend to outperform the taller ads. This is because the wider ads are much easier on the eye.

According to Google, the following ad formats result in the highest number of click-throughs:"

• 336x280
  
• 300x250
  
• 160x600

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Microsoft's Zune 'iPod Killer' Launches Oddball Site

Coming Zune has been launched by Microsoft to start the official buzz for its umbrella brand that will target digital entertainment.

I like that MS is open to trying something new and all, but this animation is too funny - and not really in a good way. To me it looks like an animated sketch of a bedraggled Steve Ballmer feeling up a bunny rabbit while a Lilliputian sized child looks on and eventually joins in. The resolving slogan is "We're all friends here..."

What makes a good icon?

oreillynet.com - Jon Hicks, creator of the Firefox icon sounds off on 'what makes a good icon':

"That's a really hard one to answer, but I guess it all comes down to simplicity that can work at small sizes, and still have scope for detail at large sizes... Basically there are two aspects that are the base of a good icon: 1) shape, and 2) use of color. If you look at the Appzapper icon you will see that it 1) has a original shape, and 2) uses irregular colors and an irregular color combination. Doing a blue circle will not stand out...

I guess there are two extremes in icon design; foto realisme (Aqua) and abstract. Then there is the middle area, more a fantasy area; that is where the fun stuff happens, like the Adium icon. No-one in their right mind would make it or think about it; the sport is to do it nonetheless."

Bezos Expeditions invests in 37signals

37 Signals pulls a play out of Apple's book. After going out of their way to speak against venture funding, they've done a bit of an about face. It seems that they've opened up to what such a relationship can offer - obviously something that was not part of their original assumptions about a VC deal. So, was their original stance on VCs oversimplified?

"Bezos Expeditions, a personal investment company of Jeff Bezos, has made a minority private equity investment in 37signals... What we've been looking for is the wisdom of a very special entrepreneur who's been through what we're going through. Someone who sees things a little differently and makes us feel right at home. Someone with a long term outlook, not a build-to-flip mentality. We found a perfect match in Jeff..."

Movielink to allow movies transferred to DVDs

"Santa Monica, Calif.-based Movielink has purchased technology from software company Sonic Solutions that makes it possible for customers to transfer the movies they download onto DVDs, according to a Sonic Solutions' spokesman."

Let the games begin, on the Windows platform at least (Movielink does not support Mac)...

Symantec Posts "Mac OS X: Viruses and Security" Article

"Let's start with the hot-button issue of Mac OS X viruses. Simply put, at the time of writing this article, there are no file-infecting viruses that can infect Mac OS X... As I tell my internal and external customers alike, just because there are no file-infecting viruses that can affect Mac OS X now, that doesn't mean there won't be a really nasty one released in the next five minutes. The likelihood of that happening is comparatively low and could be debated ad nauseam..."

Web 2.0 in Japan

PingMag - "Japan is a country renowned for it's technological prowess... Strange then, that whilst the rest of the world has seen a huge boom in "Web 2.0 - style services on the internet over the past 12 months, Japan has been somewhat lagging behind. Fear not, however, as Japan is slowly catching up..."

Fun article.

2006 MITX Awards Announced

"Submit your best interactive technology innovations into the 11th Annual MITX Awards competition..."

Microsoft Releases New Windows Vista Standard Theme

The new "Standard" or Non-Aero theme has an improved design. This is certainly an improvement for those who do not have high-end hardware, or choose not to use the 'see thru' Aero theme.

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Multi Column layout in CSS

"The World Wide Web consortium's (W3C) CSS working group recently released a draft of a new multi column layout module - to be included (with possible modifications) into the CSS 3 specs... The use of the column-box (or column for short) will specify that content within a content-box flow in a columnar fashion. Just like table cells in an HTML table... The implications for web developers coding in CSS are tremendous. The only way to create multiple columns in CSS now is by jumping through hoops..."

Indeed, this sounds very promising. While the sample shows columns of text, it is assumed that this could be leveraged for layout purposes as well.