Paradigm shift in Software UI Navigation Design

I must say, Its hard to just download a new version of a software you use for your day to day task and have the UI totally different from the previous version. Users go in shock and start pulling their hair. I’m talking about this because my team is try to introduce the ribbon bar into our organization in relation to softwares built in-house in which the concept applies. Its hard to explain to users what the ribbon concept from Microsoft is really all about. With that said, I want to make the initiative to educate uses of the paradigm shift. Software design and delivery has been changing since its beginning with very drastic changes. That is because the need of users 2o years ago and that of now are very different. Take for example, the first version of MS word probably has more than 100 features less than MS word 2007. You will ask, well, so what? That doesn’t call of a UI paradigm shift. Well hold on. I did a test by asking people what they used word for and what they wish MS word could do. The result was amazing. A lot of the features people were asking for had actually been implemented already, they just didn’t know who to go in Word to find it. There you have it. We have users that use 20% of features of a piece of software and keep asking for features that are already satisfied. Why?

“It because the software is not working for you. The software is working with you.”

The idea here is to make your $$$$ work for you instead of go to help section and half the time not finding what you need in plain english. We need a proactive software. A software that thinks for you based on your context. A software that reduces the learning curve. A software that give you all the options. In plain word, we have now come to the point were we need a discovery software. After 1-3 days of users using Office 2007, they really come to appreciate the idea and thought put into designing the ribbon concept and I will encourage other software companies to do the same. I know others hate it because its from MS but in my line of work, I have come to use something if it benefit the client and throw it away if it doesn’t. In this case, I pretty sure this concept will save users a lot of hassle. I use heavy featured softwares like Photoshop, Flash, Visual Studio etc and if all these softwares took up this concept of proactive software design, I’m sure it would have take me all these many years to become proficient in the above listed products.

Filed under: Others

Cyborg’s are not too far

Remember watching Robocop back in the days and remember tell myself, “it will be cool to live in an era like that”. Well, if you were one of those kids like me, your dream is not to far. Peng Shulin, a man from China who had the lower half of his body severed in a tragic accident and has since been in bed till now, doctors in china have engineered a device (bionic legs) that enables Peng Shulin to walk around just like us. While there isnt much information about the device, it is said that Shilin lower half sits in a cup like device which is connected to the bionic legs through which hes able to control how the legs operate. The new age is upon us. More power to the inventors.

Filed under: invention

Enough about the IPhone

Frankly, I am sick and tired of all the wow and yahhhhh about the iphone. Its a great looking phone with all the cool features (again, apple looks at cool factor before features) but nothing worth in relation as a business phone. It doesn’t even support 3G . I must say, the phone is impressive but if I ever read or hear about the iphone again on engadgets (which by the way has so far made about 62 post on the iphone), I will have to numb my senses by knocking myself out. I cannot stress have sick I am of hearing the wow about the iphone. And by the way, Steve Jobs doesn’t care about you. He made the shareholders happy in the first week of sales so lets leave the iphone alone and go on to more advance technology like the bionic limbs in my next past.

Filed under: Others