• What is the context for registration? People want instant gratification. It’s fairly easy to switch providers –low barriers to entry for online services. People will lie to protect their identity. Remembering account details is difficult.
• In order to establish an effective design, need to embrace user needs & leverage their natural behavior
• Different structures for user registration. Pre: needs unique identifier. Post: encourages return transactions. Immersive: promotes usage. Part of the way you use the product.
• Connecting with the user: build trust so can get factual data within the system
• Error & help text: fun, approachable angle to ease people into it
• Only ask necessary questions
• Only need unique identifier for communication: aol, gmail, etc.
• Banking & Finance: needs identifier for increased security
• Commerce: no meaningful ID needed for commercial transactions
• If going to use a unique identifier, make it easy for people. Use email or a common ID method for registration if you do not need a unique identifier
• Respect your user’s locale: get message to international users that a localized version of site content is available.
• Use CAPTCHA wisely: Provide audio version for the visually impaired, allow user to request a different image, Use CAPTCHA to protect commodities like usernames
• Online circle of life: register, user, forget account information
• Build a relationship prior to or with registration
• Be personable: use humor if appropriate
• Explain the value of questions if they may be seen as out of context
• Use an immersive registration process when possible

• Email: quickest, assumes people have control over email
• Challenge/response model: prone to repeated errors because people lie, works best when information is up to date
• Forensic: confirms account activity and details in order to reset password: verifies actions only known by the account owner, safest method, most difficult to implement
• Email recovery: put the user in the control. Need to ask for email address from user. Confirm where it is sending
• Challenge/recovery questions change over time.
• Users want to retain privacy and may be worried about ID theft
• Put the user in control of account recovery
• Remind users that their account may contain old information
• Use human support when possible

• Why web form design is important
• If form design is everywhere, why are there so many bad forms?
• What are some of the common mistakes web form designers make?
• What are the Top 3 tips for improving web forms?
• Why do good designers create bad forms?
• What is the disappearing form?
• How does web form design relate to visual thinking?

Quicksilver 1.0b49 by Blacktree

Quicksilver is a Mac OS X application that allows you to find what you need quickly and easily, while keeping your hands on the keyboard. For example, if you want to launch an application hidden in the depths of your file system, simply activate Quicksilver with a keystroke, type a few letters of the application's name, then hit Return or Enter to launch it. - posted by sryo

Miranda IM 0.5 Preview Release 1 by Miranda IM Team

Miranda IM is a lightweight instant messanger with plugin support for all major IM network, and many more features. - posted by sryo

Clickonic 1.0.4 by Sergey Gagarin (Inform Seg@)

Clickonic.dll is a LiteStep Desktop module, that provides the ability to view folders on the desktop. Unlike the IconDesk, it is less customizable, but it completely supports drag-and-drop operations, so you can place your icons like YOU want... - posted by sryo

Foobar2000 0.9.3 beta 1 by Peter Pawlowski

Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include ReplayGain support, low memory footprint and native support for several popular audio formats. - posted by sryo

Related Links:

• blizzle.com/­releases.php
  

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I have known David Strom for a dozen years or so. He is one of the best writers out there. Whether it is hardware, software, audio, or how to do things, David digs deep, analyzes what's out there and writes comprehensive stories. His latest is about blogging, and I was happy to provide some input. If you are looking for tips about blogging, David's story is an excellent reference. His cardinal rule is to "tell the truth". He explains why it is important to find your voice and stick to it. Above all, he says, "be professional at all times". Many organizations are not capitalizing on the power of blogging, but it is not too late. David says "Craft your corporate blogging policy now, understand the mechanics and know your tools". As in all of his stories, this one offers really solid advice.

Other stories about blogging at patrickWeb are here.

In yesterday's announcement of the new Zune media player and Zune Marketplace, Microsoft (and many press reports) glossed over a remarkable misfeature that should demonstrate once and for all how DRM and the DMCA harm legitimate customers.

Microsoft's Zune will not play protected Windows Media Audio and Video purchased or 'rented' from Napster 2.0, Rhapsody, Yahoo! Unlimited, Movielink, Cinemanow, or any other online media service. That's right -- the media that Microsoft promised would Play For Sure doesn't even play on Microsoft's own device. Buried in footnote 4 of its press release, Microsoft clearly states that 'Zune software can import audio files in unprotected WMA, MP3, AAC; photos in JPEG; and videos in WMV, MPEG-4, H.264' -- protected WMA and WMV (not to mention iTunes DRMed AAC) are conspicuously absent.

This is a stark example of DRM under the DMCA giving customers a raw deal. Buying DRMed media means you're locked into the limited array of devices that vendors say you can use. You have to rebuy your preexisting DRMed media collection if you want to use it on the Zune. And you'll have to do that over and over again whenever a new, incompatible device with innovative features blows existing players out of the water. Access to MP3s and non-DRMed formats creates the only bridge between these isolated islands of limited devices.

The real culprit here is the DMCA -- but for that bad law, customers could legally convert DRMed files into whatever format they want, and tech creators would be free to reverse engineer the DRM to create compatible devices. Even though those acts have traditionally been and still are non-infringing, the DMCA makes them illegal and stifles fair use, innovation, and competition.

May this be a lesson to those who mistakenly laud certain DRM as 'open' and offering customers 'freedom of choice' simply because it is widely-licensed. With DRM under the DMCA, nothing truly plays for sure, regardless of whether you're purchasing from Apple, Microsoft, or anyone else.

Take action now to support DMCA reform and to stop the government from mandating more DRM.

[Postscript: In an interview with Engadget, Microsoft Zune architect J Allard pointed out that Zune has sufficient video format support, in part because there's 'Lots of DVD ripping software out there that encodes to those formats, so the most popular formats out there, whether it's MPEG-4 or H.264, we'll support those.' Gee, he isn't suggesting that his business model benefits from customers using tools like DeCSS or Handbrake to evade the DRM on DVDs, right? Especially since Microsoft is furiously trying to squash the FairUse4WM tool, that would seem rather hypocritical.]

(Cross-posted at DeepLinks)