VIA Interaction

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Bill Gates on Usability

The Seattle Times unearthed a five-year-old email from Bill Gates in which Gates goes ballistic about his experience trying to download Microsoft MovieMaker from his company's Web site.

Among the gems:

So I gave up and sent mail to Amir saying - where is this Moviemaker download? Does it exist?

So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated.

They told me to go to the main page search button and type movie maker (not moviemaker!).

and

"This time I get dialogs saying things like 'Open' or 'Save'. No guidance in the instructions which to do. I have no clue which to do."

Working on large, complex Web sites can be tough, but every once in a while someone powerful sees the light and it gives one hope!

posted by Tim Beidel at 6/25/2008 05:23:00 PM

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Here's why the iPhone will take over the enterprise

From the Motley Fool's iPhone Takes the Enterprise? Bet On It.:

My point? Innovation is the only constant in tech. So even though corporate buyers have no urgent reason to switch to the iPhone, it's almost certain that an enterprising developer will create one.

But that will take years. In the meantime, the iPhone will catch on at corporations for the same reason that other popular mobile devices did -- because executives and employees bring them to work.

posted by Tim Beidel at 6/18/2008 04:16:00 PM

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Monday, June 02, 2008

Click through isn't all for Google any more

Google doesn't give the top spot in its advertising column to the highest bidder. It also takes into account the quality of the ad. Better ads get better click-through and better click-through means more money for Google.

Now, according to today's New York Times, Google is also taking into account the quality of the landing page:

Over time, the company also looked beyond click-through rates to rank ads. Google now takes into account the “landing page” that the ad links to, and, for example, gives low grades to pages whose sole purpose is to show more ads. Soon, the loading speed of a landing page will also be considered, Mr. Fox said.

These factors contribute to an ad’s “quality score.” The higher that score, the less the advertiser has to bid to secure top billing. For example, an advertiser who offers to pay $1 per click to attract those searching for “vacation rentals in Colorado” may receive more prominent placement than another who bids $1.50 for the same query but has a lower quality score. An advertiser with a very low quality score may have to bid so much for placement as to make it uneconomical.

posted by Tim Beidel at 6/02/2008 10:12:00 AM

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