Josh Sharp design and development. Web pages with purpose.

So, you may have noticed that I don't update this blog all that often. A lot of the time it's because I don't have a great deal to say, but at the moment it's equally fair to say: I've been bloody busy! I've been working on a couple of different things, and there's still some more to come which I'll fill you in on as well.

OurIntranet

Timesheet module

Previously at Cruse, we've used spreadsheets to track the time spent on jobs. But finally I've got around to creating a module for OurIntranet which tracks users' time spent on various job codes.

The interface shows a week at a time, and uses an autocompleter widget to allow users to search for and select relevant job codes. The timesheet hours themselves are updated via AJAX as they are edited — taking a leaf out of Google Spreadsheets' book, surely, but it makes for a very fluid and pleasant UI experience.

This also marks the first time I've used Open Flash Charts to create some nice dynamic charts — in this case, a pie graph representing a breakdown of hours against clients.

Keep reading

Windows Vista has been almost universally panned, by critics and users alike. Aside from offering hardly any new functionality, it added a lot of things users didn't like — from changing around menus, to moving and renaming system tools and control panel options. It seemed like Microsoft was trying to make up for their lack of functionality by, well, just changing things. And it doesn't help that MacOS continues to get prettier and prettier.

I've recently bought a new laptop which came with Vista preinstalled, so I've witnessed first hand what everyone talks about. Also, within three days I've already broken it and had to reinstall from the recovery partition. That's quality. Something loading on startup broke it, and it was stuck in a perpetual reboot cycle.

I think it might have been Daemon tools, but for chrissakes if something like that happens, your 'fix Windows startup' tool should actually fix Windows startup errors.

With all this in mind, if Microsoft came to me and asked what I'd like in the next release, I'd probably tell them something like what follows.

Keep reading

A comic about IE and Firefox, for your viewing pleasure. My first comic ever, so go easy on me. If I was cleverer I would've made it the width of my blog, but unfortunately it's too wide so you'll just have to click to see it.

You may have noticed I've been getting into the whole 'blogger' thing lately. Unfortunately, not by blogging much more, but the rest of it that goes with it — finding new blogs, networking, chatting in forums, etc. Part of this is the Entrecard widget you can see to the right. In addition to providing me with a tiny bit more traffic, it's a good way to browse for new blogs.

So what's that got to do with the title, you ask? Well the thing is, the majority of the Entrecard blogs are written by "the little guys" who are aspiring to be the big guys. Everyone wants to be John Chow or Darren Rowse (ProBlogger). And these bloggers definitely have passion, and persistence, and they're networking to make the most of their traffic. But they're not all designers, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

The problem with being a little guy is you're essentially a one man (or woman) operation, required to run all aspects of your blog. In addition to being the writer, you have to be the marketing guy, the designer, and the editor. It's a lot of work.

So I would like to extend my services to anyone who would like some tips on their blog design.

Most design flaws I see on blogs come down to poor contrast, very busy pages, or poorly organised pages. These are all easy things to fix!

So for a very reasonable fee I'll critique your site and give you some ideas on how to increase your readership and page stickiness without changing anything about your content, simply by making your blog easier to read. You might have the most interesting, unique posts in the world, but nobody is going to stick around to read them if they can't find them amidst the clutter of your text ads or many site badges.

To celebrate this tremendously momentous occasion, I'll critique two sites for free. If you think your site might benefit, simply contact me with all the details and we'll go from there.

Update: Well I guess nobody thinks they need usability or design consulting, even if it's for free. Oh well.

I know it's naive, but I thought that coming up with a great idea was the main stumbling block for a startup.

This is incredibly wrong.

I am constantly plagued by ideas. And coupled with a short attention span, this means I'm constantly bouncing from one idea to the next, unwilling to follow through because I've come up with a 'better' idea already. And everyone knows they don't give out awards to people with the largest amount of half-executed ideas, so this situation is far from ideal.

So in the spirit of "do as I say, not as I do" I present the following points on getting your app that little bit closer to public beta.

Keep reading

This year, one of my big plans is to start a tech blog. I may not be fully prepared yet, but I'm starting the ball rolling. I have a domain, so the next step is to gather some writers!

The plan is to create an Australian tech blog which will report on web and tech news, ideally with a local focus. Something like a cross between TechCrunch and Gizmodo. At the moment there's not much of a local voice for Aussie web startups, and it's hard to find local tech news that isn't covered by Whirlpool. We could fill that niche. Of course, Australia isn't the biggest market, which is why blogs which start with a local focus often struggle to gain much traction. But we could give it a go. I believe that there's a chance to be the Australian tech blog.

And if nothing big happens, then everyone walks away with a bit more experience. Not such a bad thing.

So I guess I'm looking for enthusiastic bloggers who want to take a chance at making a splash locally. You must be able to blog at least once at week, and the aim is to get 4 or 5 bloggers, so that we have at least one update a day.

Who's with me?

There are user interface elements that don't have a corresponding "interface" in real life — things like application windows, for example. On the other hand, elements like tabs have been pulled directly from real life counterparts that people are already familiar with and can instinctively pick up. Everyone's flipped through a filing cabinet or a set of manila folders.

But are all of these elements relevant any more?

The first thing that came to mind was our friend, the incredibly common magnifying glass.

Well, common within user interfaces, that is. I personally haven't seen a magnifying glass in real life since I was about nine. But it still persists as the most popular way to embody 'zoom' and 'search' actions.

That makes sense to us right now, but think about the link between 'searching' and a magnifying glass. Cartoon detectives hold an oversized magnifying glass to one eye when searching for clues — but that's about it. I've never had to opportunity to do the same in this life, sadly. So why is this element the most popular embodiment of searching? My opinion is, there's nothing better, and people are lazy :)

The other element that springs to mind is 'radio buttons'. This isn't an issue that's going to confuse users, really, because they'll call them whatever they want anyway. But think of the IT industry in ten years or so. Graduates fresh out of university will probably have no idea where the name comes from.

I guess none of this is a real problem, because the interface elements themselves are so pervasive that there's no need for a real life counterpart any more. But still, it's interesting to think that things which were made to mirror real life are now distinctive elements in their own right.

Can anyone think of any other elements which don't mirror real life counterparts any more?

Merry Christmas and happy New Year everyone. I have a late Christmas present for you all. Like the remote controlled car you got when you were six, the fun in this little present will only last until your attention span runs out. But hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

So without further ado, I present to you Make a Web App 2.0 beta. It was made partly as a joke, and partly to see if I could find any interesting combinations that would yield a decent idea. That has yet to happen, but I invite you all to have a play and contribute something to the list if it tickles your fancy.

I plan to add some more features to it, such as the ability to drag and drop some visual web app 'parts' to create an idea, but for now it's just text-based and random.