Applications

Custom Web Applications are software that have been designed and programmed for a specific function. While all software is technically custom, the difference is that packaged applications were designed with a general set of features to be used by a broad range of users. Custom apps are capable of producing practically any feature you may desire for your site. Time and money are virtually the only limiting factors.

Application Tips

Packaged web applications are software that already exists to provide specific functionality. These applications usually have a significant cost savings; yet have limited range of function compared to custom development. Preprogrammed applications typically have some level of customization to meet your specific needs. Shrink-wrapped applications are available for the most common needed web features.

Application Tips

Web Applications describes a broad range of software that add dynamic functionality to web sites. Web programming enables a wide variety of features from the basic, i.e. visitor counters and button roll-overs, to the highly complex, i.e. real-time stock trading and online banking.

Application/programming categories:

Client-Side

• Client-side scripting
• Java applets

Server-Side

• Server-side scripts

Xobni is a new plugin for Outlook 2007 users and it kicks your email capabilities ass. That's right Brandon, even GMail.

Xobni's functionality includes:
Email search. Way faster than the current Outlook07 search. When I started typing in the first two or three letters in Xobni it immediately began pulling up emails with those letters used. It has been a time saver because Outlook takes forever to search through 2 years of emails. With Xobni, it's pulling them up in seconds.

Email Analytics. Fancy little graph showing you the frequency of email usage between you and your contact. Below the graph, it shows you the number of messages sent in and out and the contacts rank based on that number.

Click-to Functions. Click on their phone number, click to schedule time with person (creates a default email and pulls your availability from your calendar!), or click to email this person.

Linkedin. If your contact has a Linkedin profile, their information (Company & Title) is shown above the network. Click on the Linkedin logo and your browser will open and take you to that person's profile.

MySpace, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter and the list goes on; trying to keep up and maintain all my junk accounts friends status got to be a little overwhelming. At any given time I'd have tabs to an array of communication tools and personal blogs just to stay in touch with friends and family, so I decided it was time to consolidate.

Recently, one of our clients asked us to design a website layout specifically for the iPhone. LevelTen has created one iPhone specific web application in our past, but we have little experience with best practices. This prompted me to research some iPhone web applications and find out what makes a good web app vs. a bad web app. These are my findings:

(The web apps I list below can be viewed on an iPhone, if you have one, but may also be viewed on this iPhone emulator on the web.)

1. Simplicity is Key

Sometimes I look down at the time and think to myself, "It's already 2:00 ... where did the day go?" I came across this cool application called RescueTime on makeuseof.com. It's a time tracking application that "gives you a birds eye view of how you spend your time". Intrigued of how I actually spend my time during the eight-hour work day, I downloaded the application to see the capabilities and functionality, and really to see the productivity of my day.

The web experience IS the user experience, so many companies are looking for advanced ways to find out how users interact with their websites. Google analytics is great, but the insight there lies in marketing, not in usability or user opinion. There are three website applications I came across that take user experience testing to the next level.