Amazon.com redesign = List Listmania!

Amazon.com just went through a redesign. In place of the cluttered tabs, which also resulted in the famous Amazon vs. Barnes & Nobles lawsuit, is a super top-nav which contains a see of lists within lists — or what I can best describe as List Listmania!


Source: Amazon.com: A Quick Tour of Our New Remodel

What I like about this new design is how Amazon is able to jam a ton of information and functionality in a tiny area, which is not easy to do.

The second thing that I thought was true innovation is how the search box stretches horizontally depending on the size of the browser window, which is a god-send for the power searchers. Now when is Google going to start implementing that in the browser toolbar?!

Related SML Universe
+ Seemazon
+ SML Recommend Books
+ SML Shopping
+ SML UI

SML Copyright Notice
©2007 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

Microsoft Live Maps v2 = Google Earth in a Browser

http://maps.live.com

Microsoft released Live Maps v2 on 2007-10-16. I meant to blog about it a while back but did not have the time. This release, codename Gemini, has a lot of nifty features, one of which is the ability to view 3d maps inside a browser (a la Google Earth) — and it works for both IE and Firefox, which I assume it should work for Macs as well (but I don't use Macs so let me know).



Other cool features include:

• Party Maps = 1-Click Directions. Display directions to get to a destination from multiple starting points to a single end point. Great for party invites.
• Route Around Traffic. Replot directions based on traffic.
• Data Import. Import data in GeoRSS, GPX, KML and mashup with Virtual Earth.
• Birds Eye views in 3D. Birds Eye view has always been unique in Virtual Earth, and it's even more useful to see it in the 3D context, which superimposes the image taken by real-live camera on top of the perspective 3d view.
• 3D Tours and Videos of Collections. While Google requires users to throw in 400 bucks a year to get the Google Earth Professional account in order to record a video of tours, you can do it in Virtual Earth for free at 640x480 resolution.
• 3D Modelling. Microsoft partnered with Dassault to allow user-generated 3D buildings using the 3DVIA Technology. Download 3DVIA Technology preview (PC only)
• Enhanced Details Page. Business listings show specific data about the business. For example, when search for a data, also list their gender, age, medical school, year of graduation, etc.

Details of the release can be read on Microsoft Virtual Earth / Live Maps' official blog

©2007 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

Skyrails = Social network visualization

I found this amazing 3d interactive visualization of social networks while browsing posts from my friends' friends' blogs on Facebook:



Skyrails is developed by Yose Widjaja (Google / SML Wiki). When he's not busy working on Skyrails, he writes Flash games. Very cool.

More information
+ Skyrails Blog: official blog by the author
+ Download Skyrails beta: PC only, one generation before the current release, published on 2007-10-10

Related SML Universe
+ SML Wiki: Social
+ SML Wiki: Network
+ SML Wiki: Visualization

©2007 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

Things to do in your Google search box

Work hard

YouTube: Google Search Tips / a video interview with Matt Cutts (Blog / Google), a senior engineer at Google who works on the Google search algorithm. Matt is currently the head of Google's Webspam team. He joined Google as a software engineer in January 2000.



Play hard

YouTube: Google hacks, easter eggs, hacks, and tricks

SML Copyright Notice

©2007 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

Live Search 411 = Microsoft's answer to GOOG-411

Highlights

• Call 1-800-CALL-411 for free from any phone
• Connect directly to businesses for free
• Share listings with friends
• Receive SMS links maps, driving directions and traffic conditions by saying "text me the info"
• Hear current weather and forecasts
• Find movie showtimes and get tickets
• Search by business name, type and narrow listings by city, neighborhood, or street

MP3 audio demos

• Ice cream search
• Movie showtimes and tickets
• Share listings with friend

More information

• Live Search 411 Official site
• Microsoft Live Search Official Blog: Announcing Live Search 411 (1-800-CALL-411)
• Microsoft Press Release: Microsoft Releases New Search Services for Internet and Mobile Customers: Latest releases complete fall updates for Liver Search service, including, voice search and location-aware technology

Related Google

• Google GOOG-411 (1-800-GOOG-411)
• Google Groups: goog411
• YouTube: 1-800-GOOG-411: Google's 411 service

SML Copyright Notice

©2007 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

iPod Touch = iPod + Multi-touch + Wi-Fi + Widescreen

Source: Apple Unveils New iPods, Adds Wi-Fi, Touchscreen / WSJ

Apple (AAPL) released iPod Touch today. The new iPod has all the features of the iPhone except the crappy phone reception. Here are some highlights of the new iPod:

• Multi-touch. Like the iPhone, the iPod touch features a multi-touch interface for all the user controls.


• Accelerometer. The added accelerometer detects the rotation of the device and automatically adjust content to fit portrait / landscape orientation.


• 3.5-inch 480x320 163ppi display. The removal of the hardware interface provides new space to stuff a nice high-res widescreen display onto the unit.


• Wi-Fi Web Browser. The new iPod comes with WiFi (802.11 b/g) and comes with Safari so you can browse the web and watch your YouTube video.


• iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. Because of the added Wi-Fi, you can now shop for new songs and add to your iPod wherever you have a Wi-Fi connection.


• Power and battery. iPod Touch is rated to play for up to 22 hours of audio or 5 hours of video when fully charged. 80% of battery charge capacity takes 1.5 hours. A full-charge takes about 3 hours.

The new iPod is scheduled to launch on September 28th, 2007. Pricing is very reasonable: 299 for the 8GB model, 399 for the 16GB model.

I hope that the new iPod will work with IM+ for Skype as well—a service that allows users to run Skype on the iPhone without paying for an AT+T's monthly plan. (The New Zealand Herald: Blog: Skype on the iPhone / 2007-08-15 / Telecommunications News)

Related News

• Gizmodo: First iPod Touch Video Hands On


• Portfolio.com: Apple Unveils New iPods


• Wall Street Journal: Apple Unveils New iPods, Adds Wi-Fi, Touchscreen


• Wired Blogs: Apple and Starbucks Ink WiFiDeal Via New iPod

SML Copyright Notice

Copyright 2007 See-ming Lee (SML Pro Blog). All rights reserved.

Kijiji = eBay's free classifieds business unit

Source: Wikipedia

Kijiji is free online classified business entity which eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) launched to an international market two years ago to an international audience just started offering free local classified ads to New York and New Jersey.

Kijiji means village in Swahili (1), and has more-or-less the same features and functionality offered by Craigslist, but with a more user-friendly interface that will not alienate first-time users in the same way that del.icio.us has to some Netizens.

You get to a location either through a Flash map where you hone into your specific area, or use the text links below the interactive map.

Similar to the eBay UI, the items are displayed in a table, with clearly labeled and sortable table headers for price, location and time the ad was posted, together with a thumbnail view of the item. You can also refine your results by type (Looking for vs Offering) and location.

You can also sign up RSS Feeds and/or Kijiji Alerts, a daily email with the newest ads in specific categories.

The service is currently offered in 20 markets, 300 cities for 17 million users worldwide, including: Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and United States.

Source

1. Wikipedia:Kijiji

Related news stories

• Chicago Tribune / At second glance, eBay's Kijiji shows some promise / 2007-07-11


• E-Commerce Times / eBay's Kijiji Makes Stealthy Move Into Craigslist Turf / 2007-05-07T11:18-07:00


• Motley Fool / eBay Tries to Get Pretty Again / 2007-07-25


• PC World / EBay Launches Kijiji Classifieds in U.S. / 2007-07-04T07:00-0700


• Search Views / eBay: Taking on Craigslist with Kijiji? / 2007-07-05

Windows XP shell replacement

It looks like that I have now found my shell replacement for XP: Directory Opus 8, developed by an Australian company GPSoftware. Their Web site can use some help considering that their shell product is so usable (though it can use some interface tweaks so as not to overwhelm the users with features - but in the same time not hide features for users)