Challis Hodge’s UXblog

Interesting post on Cabel’s Blog LOL about the demise of URLs and the rise of Search. He just returned from Japan having noted a dramatic shift from URLs to search terms on outdoor advertising. Makes plenty of sense given the lack of quality URLs and the proliferation of .extensions! Seems especially interesting for short term campaigns where a unique phrase could win near-term then poull out as the competition tried to cut in.

Just came across this over at gongblog.

Trixie Tracker is a full-featured online tool that allows new parents to keep detailed records and create visually striking charts for Sleep, Diapers, Bottles, Solids, Nursing, Pumping and Medicine. You’ll love the charting on diaper leaks, solid food intake, and the especially useful medicine tracker. Take a look at the breast milk inventory graphic:

Trixie Tracker was invented by a stay-at-home dad to help take better care of his new daughter. He knew there was a daily schedule and wanted to understand it, but it was too difficult to keep track of all the little baby care details.

Great tool. Check it out.

When a virtual journalist for a virtual newspaper reporting on the digital world of an online game lands on the real-world front page of the New York Times, it just might signal the dawn of a new era. Virtual journalist Peter Ludlow was banned from The Sims Online for being a bit too good at his job–for reporting in his virtual tabloid the Alphaville Herald on the cyber-brothels, crimes, and strong-arm tactics that had become rife in the game–and when the Times, the BBC, CNN, and other media outlets covered the story, users all over the Internet called the banning censorship. Seeking a new virtual home, Ludlow moved the Herald to another virtual world–the powerful online environment of Second Life–just as it was about to explode onto the international mediascape and usher in the next iteration of the Internet.

Interesting product! I love the idea of waking at the right point in my sleep cycle. It makes a huge difference for me. What I really love is the test-and-learn capability. Do I sleep better with higher or lower room temperature? On a firm or soft mattress? With or without a warm brandy at bedtime? You get the idea.

The manufacturers should consider bundling this product with the Sleep Number bed. What a great partnership. This would be the perfect tool to aid in objectively fine tuning your sleep number.

Worn like an everyday watch, SLEEPTRACKER® is ideal for anyone who wants to wake up alert and ready to start the day, such as frequent travelers across time zones, business people looking for an extra edge, students with fluctuating schedules, or busy moms who need to wake up easily.

SLEEPTRACKER^® continuously monitors signals from your body that indicate whether you are asleep or awake. Because you wear SLEEPTRACKER^® on your wrist like a watch, its internal sensors can detect even the most subtle physical signals from your body. SLEEPTRACKER^® finds your best waking moments, so that waking up has never been easier.

When you sleep, your body goes through a series of sleep cycles. The average adult experiences 4-5 full sleep cycles over an 8-hour period. Each cycle lasts about 90-110 minutes and comprises five different stages, as illustrated by this chart.

Launched near the end of 2006 as ArtistsOnline, ArtFlock is an online marketplace for people to buy and sell artwork. ArtFlock offers some interesting community features that make sense.

With ArtFlock, users can display or sell their art, and visitors can browse through collections, artists, and events. ArtFlock can be used to sell craftwork as well, such as jewelry. Visitors can rate art without having to be a registered member. Full members can save others’ artwork to their own galleries, much like a favorites list. ArtFlock offers both free and premium accounts for sellers, which differ mainly in the ways an artist can leverage the ArtFlock community to earn more money.

Finally, tattoos for my consumer electronics! [Adafruit Industries Laser Etching] Not sure if they do piercings!?

See it in action!!  See galleries here.

Adafruit laser services is an appointment only laser etching service in New York City, NY USA - get your laptop, iPod, cell phone or any other gadget laser etched and learn about high powered lasers in person! You will be the one that presses the GO BUTTON to fire the laser beam! Pricing starts at $100 USD for laptops/powerbooks and $30 USD for smaller devices like iPods and cell phones. We take credit cards, but prefer cash. Your artwork should be in EPS and/or AI (Illustrator) - but don’t worry, we’ll help you prepare it. We also offer bulk rates and services for businesses.

I can’t wait for the reality TV show!!

MacDonalds is taking advantage of the ubiquity of clell phones in Japan to introduce QR codes on its sandwich wrappers. The codes, commonly used to code business cards for scanning by cell phones, will contain nutritional information for each of 19 sandwiches. They’ve also created cell phone friendly URLs for those with out cameras in their phones.

I think MacDonalds’ is smart to get out ahead of the curve on the nutritional issue. At a time when obesity is creeping around the globe and local government in the US are banning transfats, it makes sense to be prepared to embrace new trends. Placement of nutritional information on wrappers and websites makes it easy to change ingredients in response to local trends without incurring huge printing expenses. Not to mention the opportunities to build their brand through online and wireless channels. I’m lovin it!

The Hand Hygiene Voice Module mounts on a restroom wall, reminding you in a “non threatening, non-intrusive” male or female voice to wash your hands after using the toilet.It says, “Hand washing reduces the spread of germs. Thank you for washing your hands!”

The manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark, claims it increases hand washing by 12%.

George Orwell would be proud!