Ever heard the terms “UX” and “UI” in regards to website and app design? Most use the terms interchangeably, but there’s a big difference – and both can have a big impact on your business. Learn the difference between the two and how you can harness both to delight your customers.
Your UI is killing my UX
Unless you live under a rock (or maybe in a commune), you’ve probably heard that Apple just released iOS7. Annnd if you’ve already installed it, you’ve certainly noticed it looks more like a 3 year old’s toy than a modern OS. What you may not realize is that the hideous paint job of iOS7 is actually overshadowing what is a major improvement in user experience. So we thought this would be a good time to explain the difference between UX and UI design.
Deal deluge: Coupon etiquette for customers and businesses
Just one of many online deal companies.Who else is loving this new world of value? With daily and weekly online deals and coupons, we barely have to pay full price for anything anymore... besides gas. If we want these coupons to stick around for the long term, we all need to practice coupon etiquette - businesses and customers alike.
For businesses
Offering a deal has many benefits, but bringing in new customers without being prepared can backfire. Deal sites offer great tips - here are a few more to ensure your customers get a good deal and a great experience:
social media rocks the vote
Foursquare is stepping up to encourage civic responsibility. Because they know we'll do anything for a badge.
this badge can be yours for a limited time!If you check in on Foursquare on Tuesday, November 2, you'll receive the I Voted 2010 badge. Purdy, ain't it? Absentee ballot voters, you can just Shout "I Voted" - but no cheating, guys! This is serious business.
Twitter users can use the hashtag #votereport when they vote, and the more info included in the tweet, the more it helps with the mapping and overall voting experience evaluation.
And the partnership among foursquare, twitter, Rock the Vote, Pew Charitable Trusts, Google, Voting Information Project, Engage and jess3 will result in a voting participation map that will create even more fodder for pundit speculation until the final results come in. You can track progress at most of these sites - or at http://elections.foursquare.com
Over on Facebook, Obama is promoting the Commit to Vote Challenge. It's a tad more labor-intensive (state your reason for voting then share with your friends) and then there's good motivation via a tally of people you've inspired to vote. It's a nice touch but will mostly appeal to hard-core political peeps or the I-live-to-compete-for-anything Dwight Schrutes and Rachel Berrys of the world.
So get your real life "I Voted" sticker or get your ltd. edition foursquare badge - just be sure to vote. You might as well participate... you're going to be standing in line staring at your phone anyway, right?
Update on 2010-11-01 21:25 by Lauren
Here are a few more helpful resources for registered voters:
Find your Election Center on Google (just enter home address)
Text "where" to 30664 and answer their questions (it's free)
The Digitel put together some info Charleston voters here - and they've established the #chsvotes hashtag if you're gonna be tweeting on election day.
Go forth and vote!
Nerd Alert: I've Solved a Mac Server Problem Nobody Else Could...
Here's a news flash for you: we're tech fiends here at SLANT. But as they say, stay on the cutting edge and you're bound to get cut. Well, we made the decision to migrate our central office server to the latest and greatest Mac OS X Server thinking our troubles would be over. Long story short, nothing worked and for three months I've been trying to figure out why we cannot connect remotely to our VPN and work from home.
Between Comcast support, Apple Support and countless internet posts, nobody could figure out why our VPN server was not working. I have figured out the problem, which makes me the smartest man alive. I am posting the solution here for my fellow geeks and hopefully others who may be having the same issue.
If you are trying to run OS X Server with VPN services and an Aiport Base Station, you have to disable the MobileMe 'Back To My Mac' service on ALL the computers in your OS X server's network.
I found a tiny little snippet of information buried in an Apple support document that says Airport Base Stations cannot use both Back to My Mac and VPN services simultaneously. That means they will fill fight to the death over the use of your router and according to Apple, Back To My Mac will always win.
So there you have it. Turn off Back To My Mac and enjoy VPN goodness. And yes, I am the smartest man alive.