So I am building a new site (which I will talk about in detail in a later article), and as usual, I wanted to play around with some stuff I haven’t seen before.

So the tool of choice this time was the Microsoft ASP.NET Ajax AnimationExtender. Now, unlike the other extenders I have talked about, the AnimationExtender (or AEx as I will call it from now on) is not just a control that you flop down on your page and you are done.

Instead, the AEx is kinda like a framework that you can play with. The only problem is the documentation seems to be written for people who already know how to use it. Because the Ajax Toolkit is an add-on to Visual Studio rather than an integrated part, the documentation is a bit light. What I really would have liked was a basic overview on the tool and how it works. Just something to give me a push in the right direction. Since I couldn’t find that anywhere, and I know that there are a lot of people who are itchin’ to give this thing a try, I figured I could write the overview I couldn’t find.

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In case you missed this posting on Digg, PC Magazine has an article entitled Five Ideas that will Reinvent Modern Computing.

It is a really great read, but here is a synopsis in case you are in a hurry.

1. Linkable Projectors - Basically this is a new technology that will allow multiple projectors to be linked together to make a super image (think IMAX). This one definitely has my attention….now if only I had a theatre room.
2. Mouse without a mousepad - I am not sure about this one, but basically it turns your mouse into a Wiimote…kinda. I can see this working for presentations and such, but to do day to day work…my arm would get tired.
3. Quantum Computing - Now here is an idea that will change the world. Problem is…its still 10 - 20 years away (at least). Ho-hum
4. Data Centric Networking - Now we are talkin’. This little piece of tech is basically Napster (the old one) on steroids. It is basically a network that knows where the data is rather than where the servers are. Good stuff.
5. Computer Brain - Some dudes in California are making a mouse brain with super computers. The eventual goal is to make a computer that works and behaves exactly like the human brain. Not only is this a LONG ways away, but I don’t know if I want a computer that gets moody…

It really is a cool article, and if you have 10 minutes, I recommend taking a look.

Will…not…post about iPhone…must…resist.

The pull is strong…but I think…I can resist.

Bah! I failed.

User Experience (aka UX) is the backbone for everything we as designers and developers do. Whether you are building the next google, or accounting software, how the user interacts with the application is paramount.

Officially (at least according to Wikipedia) UX “is a subset of the field of experience design which pertains to the creation of the architecture and interaction models which impact a user’s perception of a device or system. The scope of the field is directed at affecting all aspects of the user’s interaction with the product: how it is perceived, learned, and used.”

What I find interesting is most people who design applications don’t seem to take the user experience very seriously at all. “Does it look cool?” is typically the only question asked. I say that because it is the only explanation for a website that hides the navigation in some way or an application that is incoherent and difficult to use (but it looks cool). Now, if that is the point of the app, then more power to you…but most sites and applications are meant to be used by people who aren’t all that computer savvy. To make those applications successful, focusing on the user should be a top priority.

So to get all the designers, and developers (or anyone else who is thinking about creating some software) up to speed here is a list of articles, interviews, books, blogs, and podcasts about the rich world of UX.

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So I was wandering around the web today and I found a couple of cool little scripts that make the daunting process of making web based forms pretty a little less so.

Now, if you don’t want to develop forms at all (but still want something pretty), you can always use something like Wufoo, Icebrrg, or Jotform.

However, if you want to get your dev on, making a form can be quite a challenge, but nowadays it doesn’t have to be. These two libraries aren’t new, but they are new to me so I thought I would share.

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So the other day I was playing around with the whole XHTML thing. Now normally I go the whole “transitional” route with my pages. Its a bit more relaxed and yet it keeps everything nice and neat.

However, on this particular day I started playing with “strict” (here is a nice article on the differences between strict and transitional). What hit me right away is the fact that strict does not allow you to target in a hyperlink.

I other words…this is illegal:
<a href="http://www.creativeui.com" <strong>target="_blank"</strong>>Link Text</a>

Now some people get around this by using a bit of javascript such as this:

function externalLinks() 
{
    if (!document.getElementsByTagName) 
         return;

    var anchors = document.getElementsByTagName("a");
    for (var i=0; i<anchors.length; i++) 
    {
         var anchor = anchors[i];
         if (anchor.getAttribute("href") && anchor.getAttribute("rel") == "external")
              anchor.target = "_blank";
    }
}

window.onload = externalLinks;

This will work, but it seems to go against the spirit of the Strict definition…I mean, if you are gonna open up a new window, you might as well just go with Transitional.

If you have been a reader for very long, you have probably noticed that I typically use target on all external links. I do that because I personally like when sites do this for me. I don’t know why, but it irks me when a link keeps me in the same tab. Most of the time I just avoid it by right clicking and say “open in new tab”.

However, after thinking about it and talking to other designers it made me realize that I was taking choices away from the user, because if you use target and the user wants to stay in the same tab, they can’t…

Since UI design is all about enabling the user, this doesn’t seem right. So, I am leaning towards not using target in my links in the future. What do you think? Do you prefer when sites open tabs/windows on external links (especially on a link heavy page), or would you rather be in control?

Last week I mentioned that Silverlight is designed to work for all languages, platforms, browsers, etc right? Right.

But you are a smart cookie. You know that deep down, the boys at Redmond really want you to develop with ASP.NET right? Right.

So how do they lure you? Simple…better tools. While you can call Silverlight objects from any language, if you want to use the sweet tools they are making, then you have to be in ASP.NET.

The next question is: what are these tools and when do they come out (guess that is really 2 questions)? Glad you asked.

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Ok, so I have been kneedeep in Silverlight, and other Microsoft goodies for a while…lets take a breather.

Here are some links (including a couple MS ones) from around the web about various techs and design topics.

Design
The design guys over at webdesignfromscratch.com have their list of the 10 best-designed websites in the world. Not sure if I agree with all of their choices, but its not a bad list.

For those of you who are wondering what typefaces the “big boys” use, have I gotta list for you (courtesy of stylegala)! TypoWiki has a pretty big list of companies and how they lay out their stuff.

The boys over at Sitepoint have a nice little article on how to design forms with CSS.

Apple
Everyone and their sister are all abuzz about Apple. Now that isn’t all that unusual, but you would think that Mr. Jobs cured cancer or something. I like Apple…they make some sweet stuff, but I just don’t get the frenzy. Oh well…

The big news this week is, of course, that you can now get Safari on Windows. Now supposedly this ties into developing doohickies and widgets on the beloved iPhone, but I think it is just part of Apple’s (so far successful) plan at world domination. I, of course, had to download it as soon as I could.

If you want to analyze the “why” of the release a little more, you can check out an article over on ZDNet that does just that.

Now if you just can get enough about the famous fruit company, you can also go drool over their newly redesigned site.

Freelancing
If you are a freelancer like myself, its always good to find a few resources.

Sitepoint has a nice article on managing projects (an essential tool).

My favorite freelancing site has a nice article on essential marketing skills that all freelancers need.

If you are looking for a nice and simple invoicing tool, you can always try sidejobtrack.com. Its the one that I use with my clients.

Ubiquitous List
What link roundup would be complete without a list from Smashing Magazine? This time the list is a million different ways to create a shnazzy tooltip.

Microsoft Goodies
For all the MS junkies out there, I haven’t forgotten about you.

If you are using the ASP.NET AJAX Framework then you will be happy to hear that they have recently released a new version of the toolkit.

For the WPF crowd, there is a new “lab” that walks you through how to build an Outlook 2007 with WPF. Good stuff.

Completely Random
Just in case you were tired of reading about design, here are a comple of links on stuff I just found interesting.

Apparently yesterday was “alternative search engine day” (where is the greeting card for that?). ReadWriteWeb has their take on life without Google.

And in case you missed it there is a new Ask A Ninja up, although it isn’t one of their better ones (except the part about the camel/llama or cama…). My favorite is still the minjas or the ninjelephants…

Although TechEd is officially over, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t keep on giving. Here are some links from the conference concerning Silverlight.

I will also be putting these on my WPF/Silverlight resources article as well.
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Well, I have one session left here at my first official TechEd. It was a pretty awesome experience. I learned a lot, and I hope I was able to pass a bit on to you guys.

Last night was the “big party” at Islands of Adventure. Basically it was 20,000 geeks and nerds decending on roller coasters and free beer. Mother Nature stepped in unfortunately and shut down the Hulk, but I did learn a few things last night.

1. Any ride with a 5 minute wait is worth riding
2. Dueling Dragons rocks
3. The Cat in the Hat ride is really, really creepy
4. Nerds cannot hold their liquour

Overall, it was a lot of fun.

So now that it is over, now what? Well, first, I get some sleep. Then next week I will begin processing all that I have learned and I will begin posting some more details about the various technologies, including some cool links and such.

Hope y’all have a great weekend.