Time Magazine has published a listing of its Top 25 websites for the past year here. I'm not sure I'd go along with the poll and sites like E-bay, Aamazon and Virb are conspicuous by their absence, but it's still a useful list and a pretty good indicator of how north America is using the web.
Usefully you can add your two penneth' worth to the fray by ranking the sites yourself (if you really have the time!)
Monday, 16 July 2007
Government websites too hard to use?
According to this article from the National Audit Office it seems that a good number of UK Government websites are just too hard to use.
Major failings cited included too many text heavy websites, information too hard to find and too much complex information that is not relevant to the majority of users.
On a positive note usage of the main government websites has risen over time and some sites are widely and repeatedly used e.g. 78 per cent of Jobcentre Plus online service users visited its sites at least once a week.
The report concludes that there is much that can be done by Government agencies to improve their websites such as understanding their users better through detailed site statistics and consultation with the public over what resources they would like to use online.
If you're interested in learning more the full report can be downloaded here (PDF file790 kb).
Major failings cited included too many text heavy websites, information too hard to find and too much complex information that is not relevant to the majority of users.
On a positive note usage of the main government websites has risen over time and some sites are widely and repeatedly used e.g. 78 per cent of Jobcentre Plus online service users visited its sites at least once a week.
The report concludes that there is much that can be done by Government agencies to improve their websites such as understanding their users better through detailed site statistics and consultation with the public over what resources they would like to use online.
If you're interested in learning more the full report can be downloaded here (PDF file790 kb).
Monday, 9 July 2007
Feel the burn
As I like both cycling and technology I’m always amazed at how the broadcasters of the tour get out the pictures from a hundred miles or more of winding roads, and it was good to see Cardiff cyclist Geraint Thomas (the first Welshman for 40 years to ride it) enjoy the opening stages of the Tour De France 2007 as it came to London and the South East this weekend.
What’s even cooler is that German based mobile media specialist Unilabs are offering a ‘live tracker’ that provides a Google Maps mash up that includes real time biometric data such as the riders heart rate, speed, power output and cadence. Now in its second year the system relays the data from the monitoring tools that the teams use to keep track of rider performance and overlays it on Google maps.
This is one of those instances where the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and whilst it may only be a few riders and it can be a bit clunky, it’s amazing to think that Burghardt or Paulinho is at that very moment in time pushing his way through the hardest endurance race on the planet and I’m sitting here with a coffee watching his heart rate…
Sunday, 8 July 2007
iPhone in the UK?
Following on from our post on the iPhone pre-release it looks like it's selling well (as predicted) and by and large feedback seems to be positive barring a few niggles over sign up.
For those of us in the UK we'll have to wait till the end of the year and it's looking as though O2 have secured the exclusive iPhone distribution rights in the UK.
Meanwhile, if you're not signed up to O2, or simply can't wait a few months, then The Register reports that a UK firm is offering to unlock the iPhone so that they can be used over here in the UK.
So if you really have to have one right now there are already a number of unlocked iPhones for sale on ebay for around £300 . Off you go...
For those of us in the UK we'll have to wait till the end of the year and it's looking as though O2 have secured the exclusive iPhone distribution rights in the UK.
Meanwhile, if you're not signed up to O2, or simply can't wait a few months, then The Register reports that a UK firm is offering to unlock the iPhone so that they can be used over here in the UK.
So if you really have to have one right now there are already a number of unlocked iPhones for sale on ebay for around £300 . Off you go...
Monday, 2 July 2007
Square eyes
The BBC has announced a launch date for it's iPlayer on -demand service. It won't be ready for macs immediately (though that will come later) and you will need to be running a decent broadband connection that will allow you to download all the content but we reckon that this the on-demand service that will lead to mass take up on converged media.
Imagine, for example, watching the Torchwood tv show whilst browsing the site, whilst playing the game, whilst chatting to other fans online, whilst exploring the web for clues about the latest episode - the possiblilities are literally endless with converged media and though we're not there yet this a massive step in the right direction.
Worth seeing who else is doing it as well.
Imagine, for example, watching the Torchwood tv show whilst browsing the site, whilst playing the game, whilst chatting to other fans online, whilst exploring the web for clues about the latest episode - the possiblilities are literally endless with converged media and though we're not there yet this a massive step in the right direction.
Worth seeing who else is doing it as well.
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Accessible webcasts
Making audio and video content accessible has long been a challenge and when you’re dealing with webcast screen sizes, simply slapping on subtitles on the video feed doesn’t really cut it.
It’s good to see that Welsh webcast company MultiStream are one of the first organisations to offer a live webcast subtitling service that takes output from a Stenographer and presents a real time transcript of the spoken content along side the video.
The service was developed specifically for Disability Wales conference, and DW used it live whilst the event was on, and I see now that an on demand archive of the conference is also now available.
NOTE - I say this is *one* of the first examples as I was aware that the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) used a similar solution.
It’s good to see that Welsh webcast company MultiStream are one of the first organisations to offer a live webcast subtitling service that takes output from a Stenographer and presents a real time transcript of the spoken content along side the video.
The service was developed specifically for Disability Wales conference, and DW used it live whilst the event was on, and I see now that an on demand archive of the conference is also now available.
NOTE - I say this is *one* of the first examples as I was aware that the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) used a similar solution.
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
The Ten Most Hated Words On The Internet
You couldn't make it up...unless, of course, you do it on the internet. If you are fed up of the seemingly never ending and relentless stream of newly invented words that sum up our online lives then you're not alone.
YouGov website did a small survey and apparently there's plenty of us who feel the same way. I'm too busy cruising the blogospshere and wikiscape to go into detail here, but if you're curious as to what the most irritating made-up-on-and-for-the-internet words actually are then check out the article on Ars Technia for more.
YouGov website did a small survey and apparently there's plenty of us who feel the same way. I'm too busy cruising the blogospshere and wikiscape to go into detail here, but if you're curious as to what the most irritating made-up-on-and-for-the-internet words actually are then check out the article on Ars Technia for more.
Subscribe to eNewyddion