As you may or may not know, the .NET Rocks crew is hitting the road on the VS 2005 Roadtrip and doing a show almost everyday. I was in charge of the graphics and all, and as usual, went overboard with the branding while Carl and I were brainstorming. While the eccentric graphics won't show up anywhere near the show or the RV, I'm leaking the best one here for your pleasure. This shows the secret plan that Carl Franklin, a seemingly innocent person in the developer community, is really undertaking. After all, they did say that VS2005 is all about VB.

Thanks in advance for the hate mail that Mac, Linux, and C# fans will be sending me.

Select resolution: 1024x768  |  1280x1024  |  1600x1200

PS. The thumbnail does not show all the 'good stuff'.

Nukeation Studios is now offering full XAML and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) based design services. We will also provide appropriate updates and revisions as the runtime and framework changes.

For a limited time, we are providing free 2 hours of consulting with our WPF and Design experts on how you can make your projects in a WPF based front end.

For details, please contact info [ at ] nukeation [ dot ] com.

More information will be posted on www.nukeation.com in coming weeks.

I've been wanting to do this for a long time. My father and I will be making four Republic Commando helmets. Plaster of Paris, with appropriate color coats. 5" each. Dad's got a lot of experience in this kind of stuff - I prefer 3D polygons. But it will be great to learn such an art. I'll need to start doing "physically" connected things to avoid (more) psychological problems in the future. Sigh. I'll need to distance myself from my computers. :-(

If it goes really well, I might even make a 3 feet tall bust of Delta 38. I love the shape of the helmet. Next would be a wallmounted bass relief work of a Krayt Dragon stalking a Bantha on the Jundland Wastes. Or maybe a lightsaber. Oooh. Maybe I should do that! Ohhh .... or maybe VADER's helmet! Ohhh ... or maybe a small X-Wing... Or oohhhhh....

WPF or WPF/E are too weird and have too many hard syllables. Has anyone found a nickname yet? Or a better way to pronounce them? I suggest "Whippfee" for WPF/E. Makes it sound like an R2 astromech. WPF/E will need a better name if Microsoft wants to target it at the standard "everyone" market.

Avalon was a real good name. Everyone took to it quite nicely. If they're worried about trademarks, they wouldn't have a trademark issue if they just make it "Microsoft Avalon(tm)". Like Flash (which is actually "Macromedia Flash"), people will call it just Avalon.

While I don't usually critisize Microsoft, I think they've got this whole naming thing backwards. Me, I would've called it WPF inside the company. Then when released, it should take on the "codename" they usually give. "Codename WPF" sounds better than just WPF, and Microsoft Avalon sounds much better than Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation.

Sigh. That "official" name has more syllables than the entire works of Shakespear (even the ones that the monkeys wrote). If anyone finds a better name for WPF and WCF, please drop me a line. I'd very much appreciate it.

Sigh. You'd think that after almost half a dozen hurricanes, you'd get used to 'em. Well, I still get that knot in my stomach when I hear about an approaching storm.

A new one is expected to hit in 10 to 12 hours. We'll be without electricity for a day or more. I hope my aux power unit and Tablet PC last me long enough.

Here's the storm's satellite picture.

The place I've marked is Bhuj. My town. Also known as Lars Moisture Farm in select circles. The province is Kutch, aka Tatooine.

This is a cool tool for Web Developers from Microsoft! Couple this with IE7's tabs and you have yourself an extra arsenal.

Overview (from the link above)

The IE Developer Toolbar provides several features for deeply exploring and understanding Web pages.

-- Explore and modify the document object model (DOM) of a web page.
-- Locate and select specific elements on a web page through a variety of techniques.
-- Selectively disable Internet Explorer settings.
-- View HTML object class names, ID's, and details such as link paths, tab index values, and access keys.
-- Outline tables, table cells, images, or selected tags.
-- Validate HTML, CSS, WAI, and RSS web feed links.
-- Display image dimensions, file sizes, path information, and alternate (ALT) text.
-- Immediately resize the browser window to 800x600 or a custom size.
-- Selectively clear the browser cache and saved cookies. Choose from all objects or those associated with a given domain.
-- Choose direct links to W3C specification references, the Internet Explorer team weblog (blog), and other resources.
-- Display a fully featured design ruler to help accurately align objects on your pages.

Why, Oh Powers that (V)Be? Why?

Just when I calm my tortured heart that VB 8 is almost in my hands. Just when I think one more month and I'll be releasing apps in 2.0. Just then... just THEN ... you show me VB 9.

Whhyyyyyy?

Stop blogging just for the sake of blogging.

"Take care of" neighbour with the stereo blaring at 1:54am.

PS. Destroy the Bangles CDs there as well.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/default.mspx

Check it out - looks WAY cool! I'm impressed (which is a rare thing when talking about Websites made by/for Microsoft). The last time this happened was with the Flash animated Corporate Section thing.

I know I'm gonna get some hate mail from the Anti-MS people out there, but I already get that, so I'm just gonna say it. I'm tired of hearing Big Bad Microsoft. Yes, you know who you are, mac.

For the past 4 or so years, I've been in touch with many people at Microsoft. And they've been so nice and helpful. I wasn't even a Microsoft Partner Program member back then, but they were still really nice to me. Till date there hasn't been an incident where I've seen any 'attitude' from any Microsoftie. I've always gotten good advice, good tools, and met some good people who are really passionate about their work. They've helped my business grow. They're good to me, so I'm good to them.

My ISV Buddy (a special contact inside Microsoft that participating ISVs are assigned) is a great guy and has been very helpful in many a projects and the general goals of my company. And even when Microsoft says "Beta versions are not supported", they still get you enough help that anyone with more than three braincells can get his problem solved.

So where does this Big Bad Microsoft image come from? Maybe its the lawsuits and all that legal stuff. While I don't know much about US Commerce and Trade Laws, I still think that forcing Microsoft to rip out all the good stuff from their OS (ie, IE or WMP) or trying to force them to reveal their code, is preposterous. I'm not gonna bad mouth Linux or any open-source communities and/or proponents. I say let them be. I have nothing against open-source. I just don't want to use it myself. I'll save my flames for the lawsuits for another post, and get back to the point.

People bitch about IE and Windows and Microsoft in general all the time, but they are still using Windows. I say, yell all you want, but it won't be a valid point until you shift to a Mac OSX or something else and then say what you want to say. I may or may not agree with you, but I will respect you. Boycott Microsoft, THEN TALK. Of course, then again, if you're not using MS products and still bitch about it, then you're insulting me and my choice - and that's personal, bub!

A good friend of mine (who'll probably kill me for blogging about this) said "Microsoft killed my beloved Netscape". Really? Did Bill Gates take a butcher knife and go slit Netscape's throat in a dark back alley? (Who is the head of Netscape, btw? I should find that out sometime). Maybe Microsoft Covert Operations (formerly codenamed "Cloak and Dagger") took a bunch of choppers and landed on Netscape's roof and killed people and set fire to their building?

What pisses me off even more is people who have not had any real connection to Microsoft saying bad things about it. That's just wrong. Judging Microsoft because it's CEO allegedly said "I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to [expletive deleted] kill Google." is wrong. Judge him if you want to. Maybe Steve Ballmer's attitude or business concepts are bad (tho it's not what I personally believe. Then again, I do find Ballmer a bit intimidating even tho I havent seen him in person), but it still doesn't qualify the entire entity to become a bad thing.

The simple truth is, people are making a choice. If the Microsoft opponents want to make a difference, they should spend their time publicizing their open-source OSes and programs instead of slagging Microsoft all the time.

A kind request to the Microsoft opponents, please, PLEASE, make POINTS. Give us some valid points. Not some competing grocery shops and free delivery service advantage anologies. Valid points.

And remember, Microsoft and it's competitors can peacefully coexist. They just have to keep up.

To quote one of the rare movies about .NET, "Special Thanks to Microsoft for empowering slobs like us"

PS. FYI, I've been on the other side. I was there in the Java trenches, and the PHP compound, the whole "LAMP" thing. It wasn't that much fun. So dont bother saying I dont have a wide enough perspective!

"Hello everyone and welcome to the third session of the group. I'm Dr. Heinrich Applebaum. We have a few new faces with us, so why don't we start by introductions."

"Hi, my name is Vader... khhhhwwwww... sssshhh... I am a Chosen One."

*applause*

"khhhwwww....sssshhhhh. I turned to the Dark Side of the Force almost twenty years ago, and betrayed my friends. I'm hoping for redemption as I search for my son."

*applause* - Qui-Gon pats his back and tells him it will be ok.

 

"Hello, I'm Neo. And I am a Chosen One. -"

"Mr. Anderson, welcome back... we missed you!"

Dr. Applebaum: "Mr. Smith, please sit down! You have already introduced yourself. Thank you."

"- every cycle, I am born again to defeat the machines."

*applause*

"Mr. Anderson, why won't you just die?!"

"MR. SMITH! SIT DOWN!"

 

"I am no longer the person known as the Major, nor am I the program called the Puppet Master. I am a new life form, born as the Chosen One in the digital superhighways of the Internet. I want nothing more than to complete my destiny as any living being does."

*tentative applause*

 

"Hello, my name is Clark, and I'm a Chosen One."

*applause*

"I was born on Krypton, and I now live on this quaint little planet called Earth. I try to cope with having a secret identity, but it can be hard at times... *sniff*... and they recently took away my cape- *sob* I'm sorry. I ... i ... *sob*. That's all. Thank you."

*gentle applause* - everyone pats him on the back

 

"Hello, I am Peter. I am a Chosen One. My Uncle taught me long ago that with great power comes and great responsibility. And I try, y'know. I do everything I can. But I know I am also denying myself the simple pleasures all normal people have ... *choke* ... *sniff* ... Clarke, I know exactly what you mean."

*sympathetic applause*

 

An orange hazard suit wearing man with a goatee stands up next, but he just keeps looking at everyone and doesn't say anything.

Clark: "What's up with that crowbar in his hand? I hope he doesn't get violent!"

The man grips the crowbar tightly at the comment, but does nothing and just sits down.

*confused applause*

 

*knock, knock*

Dr. Applebaum: "Who's there?"

A weird looking man wearing a t-shirt with a large happy penguin sticks his head into the doorway. "Sorry, I am late."

Dr. Applebaum: "Mr. Torvalds, I told you before, this is the CHOSEN ONE room. You want the FAILED UNDERDOGS room, on the second floor."

Torvalds: "But I *am* the Chosen One. Even now my OS is spreading. The rebellion will rise. We will overthrow the evil Empire!"

Dr. Applebaum: "Mr. Torvalds, I will not say this again. You do not belond here. The panel chose Bill as the rightful Chosen One. Now please, we have a session going on."

Torvalds (dejected): "Sorry." *leaves*

Dr. Applebaum: "Ah. Please don't pay him any attention. It is much harder for people like him. Not that I mean it's not hard for you. Now, let's pick up where we left off last time... Ah yes, [consults his notepad] last time we were discussing the problem our friend from MarsSec here had with the SoulCube and his fingers being cut all the time with it..."

TO BE CONTINUED

A subtle, yet extremely important aspect of software branding will now finally be fulfilled with WFP. The Windows Presentation Foundation will allow you to create a "sub-theme" with application-level (or maybe even Form/Window level) scope.

 

"Sparkle" will allow you to modify themes and apply them locally to your app or form, as you can see in this screenshot. It will also be easy to create compound controls (think ASP.net UserControls on steroids). Visual subclassing has always been a pain - and Sparkle is the painkiller.

Companies like mine (Nukeation) will no doubt release theme packs for XAML based UIs.

Recently I was working on creating this custom drawn ListView effect (like the Vista ListView selection box) and I had to write about 70 lines of code (and rewrite it again and again by trial and error) and spent about 3 hours just to get it rigth. It's needlessly complex. Well, not needlessly, but you know what I mean. I for one can't wait for Sparkle.

I was told I was babbling "Xaaaaaml.... Spaaarkle .... Avalooooon" in my sleep last night. Occupational hazard.

I work Sundays. Yes. I have no life. I work from home whenever I can, and manage my team remotely. On Sundays, I also blog once in a while - even when working. Yes, blog addict.

It's damn cold here for my taste, but my massive CPU needs good air conditioning to run all it's processors and 3D apps and all. To save myself from a cold death, I donned my Mondays hoody. That thing has a nice large hood. But I also discovered something else. It's like those blinders on race horses. The hoody takes away your peripheral vision, therefore increasing your view of your monitor(s). With proper space between you and the monitor, you can encompass two 17" monitors, or one large 23", while keeping your focus on your work.

Try it. It's good.

I'm still too excited and my imagination is running overtime with the possibilties. I am just not able to put it into words ... not yet. I need time to heal.

But I will say this: UX - User Experience - is gonna be the new freakin' thing everyone wants to get their hands into. I am quite confident Microsoft WFP/E (or Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere) will replace Macromedia Flash in quite a large percentage (like ASP.net did PHP), and Flashers (not the lewd kind, but the people who make stuff in Flash) should start learning about XAML and WFP if they want to earn better. Flashers don't earn as much as programmers. This is where that gap can be closed.

I know, I'm inviting competition. UX is the very core of Nukeation Studios. That's how I made it. That's what I'm passionate about. We are already providing consulting services for those who want to get a head start. We did the same for ASP.net 2.0, and Windows Forms 1.0 before the days of .NET 1.0's rise. My team and I are quite confident that we will be enriching many a applications with WPF very soon. If you'd like to know more, just drop us a line at wfp [ at ] nukeation [ dot ] com.

For a limited time we are ready to provide up to 2 hours of free consulting about WFP and how to plan it in for your upcoming software or the next version of that software.

We will also be announcing new WFP services in the Developer Services portion of our website.

And lastly, better UX means more work, and more work means I need fresh blood.

Jobs @ NUKEATION

For WFP development we need people with basic knowledge of XAML, Flash, 3D Design, 2D Vector Design. Any single talent out of these (with a willingness to learn more), and an intense amount of creativity & imagination is what we're looking for. Take a look at our portfolio. If you think you can match our work, we would be glad to have you on board.

3 paid internships with the same specification are also available. Drop us a line at hr [ at ] nukeation [ dot ] com

Microsoft's Expression product line seems very impressive. When you take into consideration the cross-platform (WPF/E) power and the extreme flexibility of WPF/XAML, and not to mention the solid power of programmability (something Flash lacks in boatloads) WPF/E will most probably revamp the Internet itself!

If you don't know anything about all this, think power of the world's best programming language, mixed with futuristic Final Fantasy like software interfaces. The future is finally here. Where do I want to go today? I wanna go to the place where they store the bits of Sparkle in Microsoft!

If you've worked in Flash and if you've worked in .NET, you just KNOW that the possibilities are mind-boggling. I have half a mind to create a time machine and go to the release date!!

WPF/E supports portable devices, Mac OS X, and possibly Linux as well! This is one of those few (if not the only one) things Microsoft made that is cross-browser compatible to such extremes. Check out Sparkle's features.

Windows Vista will finally be that massive graphical step in a visually better computing world. Not to mention all the other stuff - but I'm a graphic guy so I don't see nothin' else! :-P

Also, check out the ATLAS page. I'm gonna get my hands dirty with all this this weekend!

I'm still shaking from excitement over Expression. I better stop trying to write my thoughts about it before I go completely nuts!

EXPRESSION ROCKS!!!

The rise of the Empire made Yoda realize that his cherished traditions, traditions he had kept intact for almost a millenium were no longer applicable. The Jedi did not adapt as the Sith had. And Palpatine was right - "Your arrogance blinds you, Master Yoda.". The Jedi did become too arrogant in their righteousness. They kept a strong net of principles that guided their actions and philosophies and kept them from falling. But the net itself was not perfect.

Yoda and Obi-Wan took it upon themselves to raise the Chosen One's children, hoping that their strength in the Force would be enough to defeat the two Sith ruling the galaxy. But as Corran Horn once noted during his short stint at the Jedi Academy, they were forging a lightsaber. They wanted to make Luke into a Force Warrior. In the tradition of the Old Jedi Order. A sword of Light to banish the Darkness.

But Luke was, as Obi-Wan's spirit told him - "Not the Last of the Jedi, but the First of the New". He succeeded - both in his mission to destroy the Sith, and in the real philosophy of the Jedi. He trusted his feelings - he did not listen to Yoda or Obi-Wan - and he learnt the hard truth about his Father. He also saw through the Mask. He saw the good that was the core of Anakin Skywalker. And it was he who fought the Dark Side in himself and made his father realize that good that he saw in him. He gave his father the strength to fulfill his destiny - to bring balance to the Force.

Luke's New Jedi Order did not have the knowledge of the Old. It was born to infancy in the Force, and must learn it's ways by trial and error. The New Order adapts. And Luke Skywalker, Ben Skywalker, and Jacen Solo carry it's torch into the new era.

Luke carries the Dark Side within him. And he is not afraid to use the more potent forms of the Force - namely Force Lightning a la Emperor Palpatine - when the greatest need arose - as in the last book of the New Jedi Order series, The Unifying Force, when both his nephew and niece were in the jaws of death courtest of the Yuuzhan Vong. And we can expect a similar Force display in the last book of the Swarm War trilogy by Troy Denning.

Luke may not have as high a midi-chlorian count as Anakin, but it is greater than Yoda's. Luke carries with him uncertainty. He is afraid. And treads the path between the two halves of the Force - in Balance. It is as Obi-Wan told Anakin - "Only the Sith deal in absolutes."

Maybe it is all the stress of working overtime, or maybe it's the PDC trauma, but suddenly, Palpatine's Dark Side speeches to Anakin, and Dr. Breen's insistent monologues on the public screens in City 17, are starting to make sense.

If you ever see me with a red lightsaber or babbling stuff about Instinct no longer being needed, please run away - for your own sake.

Funny thing is - according to the rules of the Dark Side, Dr. Breen is actually talking about the Jedi way, not the Sith way. One man's poison...

People often wonder why I keep re-inventing the blog and my company's site, and practically every site I've personally owned.

Each site has a different reason, governed by the same philosophy. The philosophy borders on trade secret, so I won't go into it too deeply. Essentially, it's to show our ability.

What only people who work for me or are close to Nukeation know is that till date while only 14 versions (in 7 years) of Nukeation.com have been published, we have made over 120 versions of it. Not all turn out to be that good. Some don't fit our needs. Sometimes we just come up with an even better idea and scrap the old one.

But none of the talent, energy, or pixels are wasted. We put 'em on ice, and reuse it for clients or other projects.

This new "heaven" colored look of the blog is 80% the same as the upcoming version of www.Nukeation.com. It derives from the codename "Regen" look of Nukeation.com that was scrapped before it's current version was published. Now, we're reusing Regen, and merging it with the current look to create a splice that is better in every way - navigation, look and feel, readability, searchabilit, and general structure.

I also must confess that I went overboard with the Vista look of my blog. I was too mesmerized by the Vista look. It messed up readability and was CRAP when you look at the HTML. It was a mistake. That's why I adopted a modified version of RegenX look.

Let's see how long this one lasts. Vista/Aero had a full 40 days (since 5th August). I suspect RegenX might last longer.

Being an "Unfortunate" - one of the small group of people who were gonna be at the PDC, but couldn't due to technical reasons (mine being not able to get a visa on time) - is worse than being someone who just didn't or couldn't go.

I think I handled it fine the past few months since the visa incident (I could get a visa, but not until AFTER the PDC). I thought I would be able to get through it. I had two options, brave it, or stick my head in the sand (Ostrich Evasive Action #918). Being the dumbass that I am, I went for "Brave it". I should've stuck my head in sand. Ostriches have a lot more intelligence than me!

Now, here I am reliving childhood traumas of not being "included" in school trips and being "excluded" from the "special groups" just coz I was intellectual (yup, I was a BASIC programmer since age 4). Everywhere you go on the net or even in your MSN buddy list you see something about the PDC. Apparently I also couldn't see the Gates keynote live coz it was an internet gridlock and no connections were available. Freakin' bad luck!

At this point, I'd like to give a shout to Nickolas "ActiveNick" Landry for giving me some relief. He pops up on MSN with the personal tag - "Not at the PDC ... stop asking :(". He had client obligations. I feel sorry for him. Being so close (in the same country - I had to cross half the world! ... if I could've gone, that is) but being so far. But I feel better for me.

Sigh. If you see me blogging a week from now, it will mean that I survived. If not, learn something from my death and it won't be all that meaningless. Do whatever you have to. Bomb an embassy (Big Brother if you're listening, no it wasn't me - nor would I do something like this - just kidding), hijack a plane, bribe a Microsoftie, take Carl Franklin hostage - do anything! But BE AT THE NEXT PDC. Or else you'll end up like me - enduring pics of Paul Thurrott in a muscle-shirt just to see the cool hardware he has wired up in his hotel room in LA.

Web design tip - alternate to ImageMaps.

The irony of it all is that a web designer doesn't have time to update his own website! Well, I spent about an hour or two every week for the past month or so, and FINALLY www.DigitalExile.net is now gone v2.0!!

I added the complete Art Collection! I used to work with Corel PhotoPaint to make paintings, but I recently got Painter IX - it's a wonderful software - and I've made the "Exile" collection in Painter IX mostly. Also added a TON of new photos - including the all new LIGHTNING collection.

So check it out - http://www.digitalexile.net and feel free to drop by any comments.

No, I'm NOT at the PDC. Thanks for reminding me! Grrrr.

But if YOU are at the PDC, then you might want to check out the LIVE recording of the new DNR Quiz Show tomorrow (12th September) - the audience gets to participate live and win literally thousands of dollars worth of swag. For more info check out Carl's blog.

The show's site (made by yours truly) will be going live tonite or early tomorrow. Keep watching this space for more info.

Lightning shots from Bhuj, India.

My parents, for some weird reason, watch this dial-in game show every weekday. They also call in, but get the usual reply "If you are selected, we will call you."

Well, today, they DID CALL! Mom picked up the phone, and the guy on the other end recited their official marketing tag-line, and told her her entry number. Mom (the poor dear was exhausted, probably) misunderstood him and thougth he was asking if this was that phone number. She said "Sorry, wrong number." :-/

I don't know what to say, except I'm scared because I have a lot of genetic material from that woman!

People say RPGs (or Role Playing Games) are like real life. Well, what many people don't get is that life is RPG as well. It's a subtle thing - but the "righteous" character loving RPG'ers might have a better handle on life than the rest.

Life is all about INF (Influence), DEX (Dexterity), REP (Reputation), and of course, Money.

INF is the main modifier in life. Especially business. While I'm not a hardcore RPG fan, I love Morrowind and KOTOR. And I've learned from them.

For example, some months ago, I was new in "town" and did not have much of a REP value. So I helped out this established Lord in the town. I gained INF, and because he told everyone in town about me, my REP went wayyyy up and I got new work.

Don't you sometimes wish that RPGs were even more open ended? Well, try playing RPG in real life - its as freakin' open ended as could be. Just be careful - there are no Quick Loads and Quick Saves here.

I haven't been able to update www.digitalexile.net for some time, so thought I'd post some new paintings here. All were made with Corel Painter IX using Wet Oils brushes and variants.

Just found this on the net and couldn't resist.

Podcasting pioneer (and a friend of mine) Carl Franklin and his company PWOP Productions (a client of mine) have been popping up in the news everywhere from slashdot to Reuters, because of the work Pwop did for Nintendo.

Now, all I have to do is find out what a podcast is. I am assuming it is something to do with emergency escape vehicles on spaceships and their release mechanisms. I could be wrong tho.

I suddenly find out that my broadband connection is NOT gonna be 256k, but 512k! Freakin' nice! It's gonna be contended, but who cares - it's better than 115k that I get on this cell phone!

Well, WILL get it it in a few weeks. But finally, in this dustball of a town which should've been named Mos Eisley, I am finally getting a 256k broadband/ADSL connection!

Having the distinction of being the top internet user in the entire province, they're both courting me to take their connection. I'm going for the BSNL (Government) connection first - will see how it is, then if later on the other private one seems better, I'll go for that.

In any case, my T-16 Skyhopper is suddenly gonna be an X-Wing! The womprats won't stand a chance now!

NukeBall Express Edition Beta, which was originally scheduled for a August 27 release has been delayed. We are currently planning for a mid-September release, with a full commercial release of the software after the launch of Visual Studio 2005.

The main reason for the delay is quality control. We don't want to release a public build until it is really able to knock your socks off.

More updates will be available soon.

I got home a bit early yesterday and found myself with about 12 hours of extra time before I rebooted into WORK MODE. I whipped out Ressurection of Evil and finished it! Review coming later.

Am currently listening to The Wonders' THAT THING YOU DO (fantastic tracks!) and typing up the last remaining parts of The Human UI.

I've been posting so much not-so-substantial posts that I think it's time to make this blog somewhat richer again. So here is a preview (draft version) of The Human UI article.

---

The Human User Interface

Dax Pandhi

Nukeation Studios

 

We developers often see monochromatically. Well, that’s a bit harsh. We do have coloring in our code. But that’s about it. And sometimes we’re so pumped up on technology – especially new technology – and the function of the software (I bet even right now you’re saying “SHOW ME THE CODE, stop talking!”) that we forget the end-user just might have different priorities. We work hard to make the app work – they just expect it to work, so they have additional wishes too. This is truer if you’re into retail software, or something that will be used by non-techie people. While the first instinct would be to call them ungrateful, they are our customers, so let’s see how we can make the experience better for them.

The question is: if you are going to be spending a few dozen hours (or more) a week staring at a particular software, you at least want it to be easy on the eyes. You also want it – and need it – to be as easy to navigate and use as possible. With the amount of software being churned out, an estimated 4 out of 10 software have a UI that the end-user really likes and is instantly comfortable using.

A massive amount of software is created for corporations. Whether it is developed in-house, or under the care of a consultant – more often than not a bare minimum time, effort, or money is invested into creating a better UI. The ‘designer’ role is rare in the development cycle – especially in the world of Windows® applications. This is not to say your application’s UI is ugly. There’s just a whole lot more you can do.

There are some basic rules to follow to have a much nicer looking and better functioning UI for your application. It doesn’t require too much investment of time or money on your part, and adds a good return-on-investment.

Today we will discuss twenty points of UI design that you can integrate into your application design phase easily. The result will be richer applications with better functionality –a “human” UI. But before we delve into that, let’s talk a bit about the basics of proper UI design.

---

The whole thing will be published on MSDN soon.

Alternating between cold drizzles and scorching sunshine, the road back home is becoming boring. My blogging addiction keeps me alive - that too only when I'm in range of a wireless service zone.

Expecting to be back home in 6 hours.

Almost finished Dr. Donald Norman's EMOTIONAL DESIGN. He's a brilliant man - check out his site www.jnd.org for a sampler of the book.

I also finished the almost-final draft of my article THE HUMAN UI. Will finish it completely by the time I get home. It should be published shortly. I hope it will be helpful to all developers and designers working under the Windows flag.

Ok ... connectivity is down ... going offline. Sigh.

My sister (whom I'm visiting) and I went to Crossword, the largest book store chain in the country. They used to have such wonderful books. A visit to the store was a regular highlight for this farm boy everytime I visit my sister. But lo and behold, these idiots have a stupid collection of music, books, comics, and just about everything they sell! Quality doesn't stick does it? Well, I'm sticking to Amazon.com from now on!

I did end up buying "Battle Surgeons", a collection of 100 works by O Henry, and an assorted collection of Edgar Ellen Poe. I also got a few CDs: soundtrack from That Thing You Do, Sting: Sacred Love, John Williams conducts Star Wars Symphony (special collection from Sony Classical). I did have to stop browsing for a few minutes when I had to go wash my hands when I accidentally touched a Britney Spears disc.

The highlight of this was that I also found a copy of RESURRECTION OF EVIL - the Doom3 Expansion. Can't wait to get back, and get my hands on the double-barreled shotgun.

I shall be leaving tomorrow (Sunday) and arriving back around midnight.

I leave you with this (very appropriate) quote (for me) printed on free bookmarks they have at the store:

"When I get a little money, I buy books: and if any is left, I buy food and clothes." - Desiderius Erasmus