Sent to WebDesign-L on 03/06/00: > So, now, I propose the question to the list. Look into those crystal balls > and tell me what the next big thing that will hit Web UI. (Alright, that's > not a question, but please let me know what your thoughts are...) USER-CUSTOMIZABLE WEB PAGES It's very clear to me that graphical user interfaces are moving more towards the concept of user-configurable and user-defined interfaces. We're already seeing this in some applications. The immediate example is IE 5.0/Mac where you can customize the browser's buttons and toolbar by simply dragging icons from a web page. We're also seeing a big push in customizable web pages, where end users can specify how they want the page to be displayed. This is an increasingly important part of the personalization that sites offer to their end users. Until recently, this required a lot of work because of the way most web site's data and HTML templates were structured, so many companies decided only to do the smallest amount of true personalization. The good news is that most large web sites are moving towards a system that separates the content from the structure. The content is stored in a database and parsed through HTML templates, which as the site framework. The thing that ties the content and the framework together is usually called a content management system (CMS). Most people are familiar with Vignette Storyserver, which is the most successful (although not the best, IMHO) of the CMS packages on the market. Here' some preliminary research: http://www.camworld.com/misc/cms.html But, back to UI issues. One of the biggest problems among web site design is the way web designers use HTML to define the styles of a web page. They hard-code FONT FACE and SIZE tags/attributes right into the page code, making it very hard for end users to affect the look and feel of the page/site. From an accessibility point of view, this is a bad thing. From a graphical design point of view, this is a good thing (as the designer likes to have tight control over typography, styles, etc.). SKINNABLE APPLICATIONS One of the coolest UI innovations of late is the customizable and "skinnable" application. The most popular of these is the popular MP3 player, WinAmp (and MacAmp). SoundJam, which is another MP3 player is also skinnable. It's no coincidence that open source applications such as these are leading the way towards the future of the user interface. Mozilla (not surprisingly, another open source application) also is planning on having skins available for the beta1 version. Currently, skins and UI packages are implementable in Mozilla, but requires a bit more work from the end user to get them working. Now imagine being able to design your own browser skin that perfectly complements your site design. With Mozilla (and other skinnable applications) this is a perfectly reasonable functionality. No longer will you be stuck with the "ugly" gray of the default browser chrome in IE and Netscape. Astute thinkers will automatically realize the potential for custom-designed browser GUIs (skins). E-commerce kiosks, library kiosks, and other publicly-accessible Internet-enabled devices can be easily customized to fit their exact needs and requirements, without complex and kludgy workarounds being developed to get around the closed nature of IE and Netscape. MOZILLA We're doing some interesting work in custom UI packages (and incorporated skins) for Mozilla. If anyone wants to learn more: http://www.alphanumerica.com/projects/mozilla/skins/aphrodite/ http://www.alphanumerica.com/projects/mozilla/skins/fruitygum/ Apple led the way [again] when it came to applying the concept of skinnable operating systems. You might remember the "themes" that they had planned to ship with their ill-fated Copland OS, but the project was killed when Jobs came back. A direct result of this was a great piece of software called Kaleidoscope, which allows you to apply different looks and feel to the windows, widgets, and buttons of the OS. http://www.kaleidoscope.net/What_is_Kaleidoscope.html Not surprisingly, Linux (open source, again) has this concept built into its OS, except they call it a Window Manager, which is the software that draws the the UI you apply (i.e. Enlightenment). There are numerous different Linux UIs to choose from: http://www.themes.org/ SO, WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? It's very clear to me that open source software will overcome the software monopolies that force you to pay lots of money for their bloated software upgrades that never quite work. As the open source software industry becomes more and more powerful, it's our job as web designers to pay attention to the innovations coming from that camp. Increasing reliance on software from the big software players is exactly what they want, as they can then charge you again and again for increasingly bad software. Over the next year or two, expect your clients with a clue to start asking you about open source solutions to their problems. Do your research and compare it to the market's established players. You might be surprised at just how bad some of this expensive, bloated software and solutions tends to be. -- Cameron Barrett Alphanumerica, Inc. "Everything that can be open, will be." http://www.alphanumerica.com (work) http://www.camworld.com (play)