Topics:
apps
css
games
javascript
mobile
node
php
speaking
tehcl
textmate
tools
video
webgl

Topic: speaking

Fixing the UX of Infinite Scroll

published:
2013.04.15
topics:
javascript
speaking
Twitter Y U No Remember State

Infinite Scroll aka Endless Scroll sucks. It's that feature where you can scroll down forever on Twitter or Facebook and more content keeps loading. It's a brilliant UI idea in theory, but it creates all sorts of obnoxious problems for the user in practice... like breaking the Back button, and creating mortal dread around clicking things for fear of losing your spot...

I presented a session at MinneWebCon 2013 titled "Fixing the UX of Infinite Scroll" (view the slides). In the presentation, I think through the User Experience issues we need to address, and I dive into the HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript features we can use to code up a better Infinite Scroll... one where you don't lose your place when there is an error or when you click a link or your Back button... one where you can skip back in time fast without having to scroll forever... an infinite scroll solution that embraces the web and how browsers work!

I integrated my Infinite Scroll fix ideas into a basic install of WordPress. View the Proof of Concept Demo. It's a little rough around the edges, but a solid demo nonetheless. The fix largely comes down to using scroll events and the HTML5 History API.

Here's my main.js file with patch code for jQuery/WordPress Infinite Scroll.


IGDA-TC Presentation on HTML5 Games

published:
2011.06.10
topics:
games
javascript
speaking

I spoke at the Twin Cities, Minnesota chapter of the International Game Developers Association on Wednesday, June 8 about the current state of making games with JavaScript and HTML5. Here are my slides.

Update: Now with 100% more video. I start about 44 minutes in.


MinneWebCon 2010 Session on User Testing / UX

published:
2010.06.05
topics:
speaking

For the third year running, I had the pleasure of speaking at MinneWebCon this April. Three co-speakers and I presented about iterative user testing using a case study that examined the touch screen building directory I've posted about before.

The title of this year's session was "Improve User Experience with Informal User Testing." My co-speakers were Kamran Ayub, Ken Loomis, and Ethan Poole. Here is the abstract:

Learn how you and your team can greatly improve your web user experiences by doing informal user testing with little cost. This session's case study will examine a 100% web-based touch screen building directory kiosk recently created by a University of Minnesota web team. Expect to hear actual tips and tricks, problems and solutions, and lessons learned from executing a user test driven development process. As a bonus, see how you can use your current web skills to create more than just web sites.

Check out the presentation slides on SlideShare.

I also spoke at MinneWebCon in 2008 and 2009 with the sessions: "Standardizing Web User Interfaces" and "Semantic, Accessible HTML is Good for Business".


Presenting ShortJournal at MinneDemo

published:
2009.05.13
topics:
php
speaking
tools

Last week Thursday, May 7 I had the pleasure of presenting a piece of software I've been working on called ShortJournal at MinneDemo. MinneDemo is the "Twin Cities' premier technology demo and networking event," and I "came for the demo" but "stayed for the beer." It's true, I did. I'm quoting the site, not being sarcastic. I met a lot of interesting people and had a great time. In the beginning of this video you'll find me briefly blathering on about what ShortJournal is (right after Extendr):

Right, so anyway… ShortJournal is a tool I made for myself to solve a specific problem I was having: I had umpteen million notes and ideas that I was either putting into text files or emailing to myself or writing on scraps of paper. Searching for a specific note or idea was totally brutal, and that's if I even had the right file with me on the particular computer that I was on. It sucked.

So I made ShortJournal for storing and organizing my notes — any little bits of text. It's a development journal and an everything bucket, and I use it to store code snippets, how-to's, bookmarks, project ideas, notes to self, to-do lists, and anything else I want to remember. Any bit of text can be tagged and stored away in ShortJournal, and then retrieved from anywhere on any computer or phone with web access.

Other products that solve this problem such as EverNote or BackPack certainly have a lot going for them, and I know ShortJournal won't be for everyone. Really, personally, it just came down to me not being comfortable with the idea of a third party having access to all of my notes and ideas, and then also being dependent on that service and their uptime to access my data.

That's the key way that ShortJournal is different. It is a simple service that you can run on any machine with Apache-MySQL-PHP. From that machine you can access your notes anywhere via the web, and then ShortJournal itself also has a [currently very rough] REST API so that you can write any kind of client (in any language) for ShortJournal that you'd want. I made a nice simple little command line client for those shell users like me out there. I've got it plugged into my TextMate. Somebody could certainly make a desktop app, a native iphone app, or a better web client with the API... at least that's the concept.

I'm already using ShortJournal heavily on a daily basis with great success. It solved the problem that I had. I've got a couple other people testing it out for their own needs. Right now I'm looking for more alpha testers. If you want to try out ShortJournal, you just need to get ahold of me via email or my contact form, or Twitter is fine, too.

Eventually I think this project is bound to end up as open source so that people can extend it as they need. I wouldn't hold your breath for a glossy boxed product. ShortJournal really is targeted for developers, not casual computer users. It is the first in a line up of several other tools and libraries I've been using over the years to optimize my development environment, all of which I intend to share the source of "some day soon." More information can be found on shortsix.com.

Oh, and speaking of the target audience here being developers, you may enjoy this wildly inaccurate review of ShortJournal from one of the MinneDemo attendees.


Come See Me Speak at MinneWebCon

published:
2009.03.30
topics:
speaking

Update #2: Here are the slides from my April 6, 2009 presentation:

Update #1 (April 6, 2009): Here are my three goals for my presentation:

  • Share some examples of ways common web user interfaces (UI) can be standardized.
  • Discuss how user interface standardization benefits users and developers.
  • Raise awareness and support for web user interface guidelines.

I've put a couple draft posts for my blog here on hold as I work on my presentation for MinneWebCon 2009, held April 6, 2009 in St. Paul on the University of Minnesota campus. In 2008 I had the pleasure of speaking at the first MinneWebCon about the Business Benefits of Semantic HTML, and I'm very happy to have the opportunity to speak again this year. Here is a description of my topic, titled "Standardizing Web User Interfaces":

Standardizing Web User Interfaces

Modern desktop and mobile platforms come with Human Interface Guidelines that outline for developers how to build applications that function consistent with user expectations. In this session, Zach will discuss how developing a standard UI model and functionality guidelines for your organization's web forms and applications will benefit you and your users. Use these guidelines to consistently maintain user expectations, usability, and accessibility when building your web sites or using techniques and tools like AJAX, Yahoo User Interfaces, or jQuery UI.

There are going to be a ton of really great sessions and speakers this year, including my friend and colleague Paul Armstrong. There is limited space available, so register online today, and I will see you there! Now back to tweaking my presentation…