In case you missed the announcement earlier today… amidst the hubbub from Google (‘Gears’) and Microsoft (‘Surface’), Palm finally introduced the device so many have speculated about in recent months. As it turns out, this new device dubbed ‘Palm Folēo’ is a mobile companion not only for the Trēo smartphone, but other smartphones as well. It looks pretty sweet, and it runs Linux and offers a host of connectivity features. As a long-time Trēo user, this is one UMPC-like device I may actually invest in – especially given the announced un-UMPC-like price of $499 (after $100 rebate). Could this be the device that resuscitates the concept of a Personal Area Network?

The details of the announcement can be found over at MyTreo.net and the device itself is featured over at Palm.com along with a nifty Flash presentation from Jeff Hawkins.

So, this is the second part of a 2 part series describing my attempts to install the newest runtime/client technologies from Adobe and Microsoft – Apollo and Silverlight. Yesterday, in part one, I detailed my somewhat difficult, but ultimately successful, installation of Apollo. Today, I will do the same as I attempt to install Silverlight.

As I alluded in the previous post and attempted to clarify in a subsequent comment, this is not intended to be a head-to-head comparison of the 2 products. Like a monkey wrench and a hammer, they are different tools that solve different problems. By the same token, I am not directly comparing the installation experience. Though, I suppose a comparison may be inferred as I am presenting my experience with each as a 2-part article. This, however, is merely a reflection of their relative proximity on the todo list I keep in my head. “Item #43998156 – Attempt to install Apollo… check!, item #43998157 – Attempt to install Silverlight… in progress”.

Silverlight Installation – Ok, here we go (again):

1. I will be attempting to install the browser-based Silverlight runtime into my preferred browser, Firefox (2.0.0.3) on a system running Win XP – SP2 (TabletPC Edition 2005). Because I have previously attempted to install Silverlight, the first thing I want to do is remove any remnants of this installation and start with a clean slate. I should point out that while I describe my initial attempt to install Silverlight as ‘failed’, the original installation of the runtime seemed to be successful. The failure actually occurred when I attempted to view sample content in the player. Ok, I have found my previous installation in the ‘Add or Remove Programs’ panel and have successfully removed it.

2. Next, I navigate to Silverlight ‘Get Started’ page and click on the download link for the appropriate version of the runtime and OS – I selected ‘Microsoft Silverlight 1.1 Alpha – for Windows’. Actually, I clicked the ‘Watch The Getting Started Video’ first, but that isn’t relevant to installing the runtime.

3. I am directed to the EULA page for the product where I accept the terms. I am presented with an ‘Opening Silverlight.1.1alpha.exe’ dialog and I click on ‘Save file’.

4. I find the downloaded file (Silverlight.1.1alpha.exe) and double click on it. Some ‘installing’ pop-ups appear briefly – I look away for a second and now they are gone. Was the installation successful? Now what? A quick check in ‘Add or Remove Programs’ shows that Silverlight is installed, so…

5. My browser is still displaying the EULA page on the MSDN site. I don’t see any links for next steps or to Silverlight samples. I hit the back button and find a ‘gallery’ link near the bottom of the ‘Get Started’ page which I click.

6. I am taken to the ‘Gallery’ page where find samples for my selected version of Silverlight. I choose a puzzle game called ‘Silverlights Out’ which takes me to a download page for an assortment of sample apps. I have the option to ‘View It’ or ‘Download It’ – I choose to view it first. This takes me to the developer’s page for the game where i have the additional option of downloading the source code, but I don’t get the preview I was expecting. I hit the back button and this time choose the ‘Download It’ option.

7. A standard download dialog window appears and I choose to ‘Save to Disk’. I find and double click the downloaded zip file and extract it to a local directory.

8. I find the extracted application which consists of a number of files (and file types) and several subdirectories, unlike the Apollo which delivers its payload as a compiled executable with some external resources.

9. I attempt to open SilverlightsOut.html in Firefox and am greeted with an alert form my AV software, warning me about a hidden extension .js file. As much as it pains me to do so, I choose to ignore the warning and proceed.

10. I am taken to a local copy of the developer’s page where I see a link to ‘Play Silverlights Out 1.1′ – a previous version of the game. I click this, but nothing happens. Hmmm. I open the same page in IE7 to see if perhaps that is the problem. I get the same warning from my AV software, I again choose to ignore it. I click the ‘Play Silverlights Out 1.1′ link and again, nothing. I see an alert in my IE browser chrome that tells me a page error has occurred.

11. I poked around my system a bit and it appears that I don’t have the most recent version of the .Net framework installed and Silverlight alpha 1.1 is .Net dependent. So, I am installing .Net 3.0… this is going to take a few minutes, so I am going to step away for a cup of Jasmine Oolang Tea – BRB

12. Ok, .Net 3.0 is installed and I’ve rebooted my system. Let’s give ‘Silverlights Out’ another go. Nope – same result. Maybe the problem is the game (or page) itself. I find another app on the gallery page called ‘Scribbler’ and try to ‘View It’. Aha! Success!

Well, it appears that the problem I was having earlier was a bug in the ‘Silverlights Out’ game/page and not the Silverlight itself. Still, it would have been helpful for Microsoft to do a better job of screening the apps in their gallery.

So, I now have both the Apollo and Silverlight runtimes installed and working – mission accomplished.

And the winner is?

Heh!

For a month or two, I have held both Apollo and Silverlight at arms length waiting for the dust and hype to settle a bit before investigating these offerings from Adobe and Microsoft. Now that I have a little time (between projects), I will attempt to install both and describe my experience here in a 2-part article. Part 1 (this part) will describe my Apollo installation experience and part 2 will document my Silverlight experience. Not exactly ‘Apollo vs. Silverlight’, but I suppose if you read the 2 posts back-to-back it might have that effect.

I realize that neither platform is fully baked yet, so I will focus primarily on the installation process and initial impressions, rather than available features and bugs. Also, there are plenty of folks out there stating their positions for and against Apollo and Silverlight, so I’ll leave that argument alone for now.

When the Apollo alpha was first released back in March, I attempted to do a ‘quick install’, but was unsuccessful. A ‘quick install’, as the name suggests, is an attempt to install software (or anything else) with only minimal effort and without reading instructions. You might argue that this is a flawed approach – if all else fails, read the instructions (or RTFM) – but I believe it’s an excellent measure of initial usability that can ultimately impact the success/failure of a product. “Don’t make me think!”, as Steve Krug would say. After all, here it is two months later and I am just now coming back to RTFM and figure out why my first attempt failed.

Apollo Installation – Ok, here we go (again):

1. I will start by navigating to the Apollo page on Adobe Labs where I find the ‘Getting Started’ tab and instructions to ‘Run Apollo Applications’ (I am running Firefox 2.0.0.3, btw).

2. I am instructed to download the Apollo runtime, so I click on that link which takes me to a dedicated download page (away from the rest of the ‘getting started’ instructions).

3. I am now required to check the ‘I have read and agree to the terms…’ box, which I do. BTW, section 3.1 under ‘Restrictions’ in the EULA is pretty interesting. It specifically prohibits installing the runtime on any non-PC device. This could suggest that Adobe is considering a player/runtime licensing model for devices (similar to Flash Lite).

4. I can now select the appropriate download link for my OS (Windows) which opens a dialog window with the option to ‘Save File’. Clicking this downloads a Windows installer file (apollo_win_alpha1_031907.msi).

5. I find the downloaded file and double-click on it. A dialog window pops up that says ‘Adobe Apollo 1.0 Alpha 1′ is installing… But before this process completes, a second dialog pops up that alerts me that ‘A network error occurred while attempting to read from the file:’ followed by the path to the file. I hit ‘Ok’ on the alert which closes both dialogs. I am going to ASSUME that the installation failed and try again. Same result. In fact, now that I think about it, this is the same problem I had when I first attempted to install Apollo back in March.

6. I wonder what the problem might be. I have deleted the original installer and checked in the Task Manager to see if there might be an existing Apollo process – doesn’t appear to be, so I will download the installer again and give it another go. Argh! No luck!

7. I notice that the network error message refers to an installer file name slightly different from the one I downloaded – ‘apollo_win_alpha1_031907(2).msi’ instead of ‘apollo_win_alpha1_031907.msi’. So, I changed the name of the local installer file – added ‘(2)’ – and whaddayaknow! “Installation was successful.” I should clarify here that all of the installer files that I’d previously downloaded had been deleted from my system before attempting to install Apollo (today). So, it is odd that the installer would look for the ‘(2)’ version (which would result from downloading the file twice to the same directory).

8. Great, now I will attempt to check out some of the ‘Sample Applications’. Clicking the link takes me to a page with a few examples to download along with their source code. I’ll try ‘Pixel Perfect’ (it’s my personal motto)… Clicking the link pops up the standard ‘Opening’ dialog with the option for ‘Open with’ defaulting to ‘Apollo. Application Installer’. Clicking ‘Ok’ opens an ‘Application Install’ dialog with several warnings about ‘unverified publisher’ and ‘unrestricted system access’. I ‘trust’ the source, so I click ‘Install’. I am presented with standard ‘add shortcut’ options, though surprisingly, ‘Installation Location’ is fixed. I click ‘Continue’ and choose to run the app on ‘Finish’. Aha! Success!

Ok, I can’t say that installing Apollo was completely painless given the difficulty I had with the file name bug, and some of the nits I picked above, but it worked out eventually.

For my next trick, I will attempt to install Silverlight. Wish me luck!

I read something today that I found very interesting and useful. And, the fact that I found it interesting at all, is actually why I think it is so useful. What do I mean by that? What is the correlation between ‘interesting’ and ‘useful’?

Well, ordinarily I would associate ‘interesting’ with… something interesting. For example, I love high-tech gadgets, so articles about next-generation technology are especially interesting to me.

On the other hand, I am not interested in Hollywood gossip, so my knowledge of who is dating whom and how fat so-and-so has gotten, is limited to what I consume while waiting in line at the supermarket. And the annoying banner in Live Messenger – oooh, it looks like Rosie is saying goodbye to ‘The View’.

Given that there is so much information out there fighting for the limited space in my head, I have learned (or at least am trying) to be selective of what I read/watch/listen to.

The fact that you are reading this post suggests that perhaps you should consider adopting a similar strategy Or maybe you just let your guard down for a minute. Ok, I’ll get to the point now so you can be on your way.

I stumbled on an article about marketing (yawn) that described a copy writing trick – a trick employed throughout the article – and one that I am using here.

The author, Dmitri Davydov, makes the point that because our attention is often so fragmented (particularly while driving), to communicate more effectively and hold the interest of readers/listeners/viewers, information needs to be delivered in smaller, easier to digest pieces.

No, this isn’t rocket science, and certainly not news – but what I found remarkable was how the author applied the technique throughout the article itself.

All of his points were laid out in small chunks, like I am doing now. I found that this made the article much easier to read, similar to how programmers use whitespace in their code.

Another benefit of this approach is that it allows the author to organize points within a topic with much less time and effort spent on composition. This makes a lot of sense in a blog where content is delivered more like a conversation, rather than an essay or long-winded story.

Granted, this is not the way we are taught in school to construct proper paragraphs. But, the times and the medium have changed, so maybe bending the old rules to improve the modern user experience isn’t such a bad thing.

I had an interesting/frustrating experience at my local ATM the other day that got me thinking. I had tried to withdraw some cash from my checking account and only after swiping my card, entering and submitting my PIN and selecting the option of withdrawing funds, did the system inform me that it did not have cash to dispense. Now, I would assume that most ATM transactions involve withdrawing cash. So, it would seem to make sense for the system to inform users before they initiate a transaction that the feature they are most likely attempting to access is unavailable. At the same time, I imagine that a flashing message, “OUT OF CASH!”, visible from across the street, would not reflect well on the bank/owner of the ATM. Still, there must be a reasonable compromise that balances the convenience of the user with the perceived image of the product/company.

This got me thinking “What would Google do?” What if, for instance, the search feature at Google was down for an extended period of time? Would the input field still accept search terms? Would the ‘Google Search’ button be grayed out? Would the interface be replaced with a ‘temporarily out of service’ message? I am fairly certain that the answer is ‘no’ to all three solutions. Google, instead, would likely do exactly what my ATM machine does. It would gather information, process my request and either succeed or fail and provide corresponding feedback. Interestingly, while this may coincidently serve the interests of the bank/Google, it is more a reflection of how software is typically designed rather than a direct reflection of business objectives. Most software is designed to encapsulate functionality. The system works until it fails, at which point (ideally) errors are identified and the user is presented with options to resolve or bypass the problems. Rarely does an application have what amounts to an additional layer of functionality that monitors the system and informs the user of the availability of key features.

My car, on the other hand, does offer this kind of ‘dashboard’ functionality via the err… dashboard. The fuel gauge, for instance, warns when my fuel level is low, rather than informing me after the fact when I’m stranded in the middle of rush hour traffic. As for the ATM, you wouldn’t necessarily want a gauge displaying how much money is left to dispense, but an apologetic alert (after you insert your card) that the machine doesn’t have cash, and perhaps a map to the nearest affiliated ATM would be a helpful convenience. I wonder, does the machine ‘phone home’ when the available cash drops below a certain threshold? Or better yet, are the cash levels of all machines centrally monitored in real time? If so, offering a map to alternate ATMs with available funds would be easy enough to implement.

Ironically, the ATM I was attempting to use is physically attached to the side of my bank, which was open at the time. I actually had to walk by the entrance to get to the machine. What does this say about me, that I would rather interface with a machine than the friendly human tellers at my local bank – and then spend 30 minutes analyzing the the usability of the machine in a blog post? Heh!

In case you’ve missed it, possibly the hottest trend on the Web today (March 23, 2007) is encapsulating web applications in the form of widgets that can be inserted everywhere from MySpace to WordPress to the desktop itself. Many even offer ‘Grab It’ type features that allow users to embed (or email) widgets they find online into their own blogs and community sites, making widgets a perfect viral marketing tool. Key players like Clearspring, yourminis and (of course) Microsoft are betting (so far, successfully) that these baubles will capture the imagination of advertisers and user-developers alike. And, with the recent (alpha) release of Apollo, it appears that Adobe is also well positioned to play a significant role in widget development.

As for the title of this post ‘Browser-in-Browser! What …’, I recently found a widget called ‘Bitty Browser‘ that allows you to embed a smaller browser within a web page (or blog post!), in your… uh… browser. Yes, this seems a bit absurd when you think about it. Why would I need to embed a browser inside a browser window? Modern browsers have tabs (and tile view options), so I don’t need another browser to view multiple pages. But here’s where it gets interesting (and even more bizarre), the real benefit (and arguably the purpose) of Bitty Browser is that it allows you to widgetize (yeah, I said it – widgetize) virtually any web page or application. Simply copy and paste some Bitty-generated script into your page to embed the content of your choice into your own custom widget. Of course you could do the same thing yourself with a bit of <embed> or <iframe> scripting, but where’s the fun in that? BTW, if you want to create your own scripts and do away with the ‘browser’ feature, the scripts generated by Bitty make excellent templates.