我和IT那些事儿

blog更名

2010-11-08T11:18:00.000-08:00

回到原地结束了这个4年的旅程.

稍作停留, 新的冒险即将开始.

Time to sail into the ocean.

three levels of product design

2010-02-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

My understanding for product design:

1st level - Usability: usable, ease of use

2nd level - Aesthetics: aesthetics experience, enjoyable

3rd level - Brand Image: upper-scale, deeper meaning for life

Yarzale.com

2010-01-25T23:21:00.000-08:00

I finally registered yarzale.com and crafted an introduction page for yarzale.

I've also setup an ads campaign on Facebook.

The birth of Yarzale- yard sale on iphone

2010-01-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

I had this idea since June 2009, but during the six months from then to now, I experienced getting a new job, moving, settling down at the new place and job training. Because I believed it's such a good idea :), I kept working on it using those little spare time here and there. Finally I launched it in the iphone app store at end of December 2009. Here's a short introduction to this app.

Yarzale is a mobile market for used goods.

You can take a snapshot of your item using the iphone camera and post it within seconds. The location of each item will be recorded. people can browse sales around them sorted by distance, or more intuitively, on a map.

Buyer can reach the seller by phone or email within a click, and locate the seller on a map for the actual meet-up.

Iphone is made for used goods trading. You have the camera, location and contact right on the phone, which makes yarzale more efficient than traditional classifieds.

If you want to sell your item easier and faster, start posting your item on yarzale.

You can download it thru iTunes here

software training vs good design

2009-11-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

I've been reflecting upon the following question these days:

Is it possible for us to have a well designed software with which the user won't need to be trained before using it for work?

While complex softwares always require training/certificate before anyone can use it properly, can we design a system that's super easy-to-use without sacrificing the powerfulness of its functionality?

Or more realistically, can we have a better design for large softwares so that new user can learn how to use it in a much shorter time (maybe 1 hour instead of two days)?

While softwares nowadays are mostly menu based. You have main drop down menu at top and navigation menu on the left side. Within each item on that menu, there's usually another layer of menu. No one really understand what "view" or "windows" or "edit" means.

I like OmniGraffle on Mac, it's just easier to understand and control, while at the same time I still don't feel very interested in Photoshop or Indesign or Illustrator.

To answer my own questions at the beginning, my own answer is YES, yes we can definitely simplify most of the complex softwares in the current market, and they can make people's work enjoyable instead of pain.

fbfund 09

2009-04-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

We've submitted our entry for the 09 fbfund this Monday night. By we, I mean Adam Williams, Sean Connelly, Tao Huang and myself.

Mainly our entry contains two parts:

1. the Online Language Help suite, (facebook connected)

http://www.onlinelanguagehelp.com/about.php

Fbfund 09 is looking for Facebook Connect applications (web or iPhone). Adam started the whole Online Language Help suite since 2006. We think it's a great idea to turn this mature site into Facebook Connected.

Now with facebook account logged in, you can involve in the forum, find a tutor's facebook profile or list yourself as a tutor, and publish your learning activity onto facebook. You can also see news feeds from the community about what everybody is doing on the site.

2. Spanish Flash Cards - iPhone app

We've also developed this iPhone app featuring Spanish Flash Cards and dictionary. It's pulling the data from Online Spanish Help. We struggled quite a bit for how to integrate Facebook into it. Check out my portfolio for the design process.

Here's the screen shot for it:

more Facebook applications

2009-03-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

We've made a few more applications during the last two weeks

Friends Tags
http://apps.facebook.com/twentyfourorganisms

Album Cover Meme
http://apps.facebook.com/album_cover

Emotive or Not
http://apps.facebook.com/emotive

Some things worth talking about
- Promotion is really important for Facebook app. There are a bunch of communication channels, make good use of them. Notify people with what relates to them. Do cross-marketing among all your apps.

- The 25 things trend is going down. But we can make use of the user base the 25 things app got, to promote the other apps out. I'm doing announcement everyday to them advertising our other 3 apps.

two weeks after launch

2009-02-22T09:11:00.001-08:00

It has been two weeks after our launch of the 25 things app. We've got 10K installers, 142 fans, and an accumulated user number 14.6K.

25 things about us, "save as draft" feature

2009-02-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

After I did the "save as draft" feature,
200+ lists, 400+ new installers so far

before the change, the ratio between lists and installers is 1:3, right now it's 1:2 among the new installers.

It looks the "save" feature can encourage people to start a new list more, since they can now take their time to finish the list without publishing it. They can come back to finish or change the list at any time.

25 things about us, some statistics

2009-02-13T21:20:00.000-08:00

after 4 days of launch, the 25 thing app has 2,758 installers and 881 lists in total as of 12:00AM 02/13.

Here's a table listing out the increase during each day

day	installers	monthly active users
day1	+800	12
day2	+300	1000
day3	+500	1700
day4	+1000	not out yet

25 things about me

2009-02-09T14:38:00.000-08:00

To jump on the wagon of the "25 random things about me" trend, Adam, Sean and I have been working on a facebook application named "25 things about us" during the last 4 days.

We've sort of released the 1.0 version yesterday, you can see my list here, if you feel like it, you can also do your own list there
http://apps.facebook.com/thingsaboutus/index25things.php?listsID=3&guest=1

I'd say the idea is to better connect people on this special event, and let people to have more interactivity with each single thing about you.

design an e-reading experience

2009-01-27T12:50:00.000-08:00

On the HCI CONNECT event last Friday, we worked on a design problem with the employers. The design topic was "designing an e-reading experience".

With all the good things technology can offer us on an e-reader (one device with tons of books, easy access to online book resources, etc), the challenge is how to make the reading experience on a electronic device enjoyable. I'd been thinking about one question through out that 50 minutes session: "What do we like about the traditional books?"

The word came up to me is "Freedom", freedom of use.

I can read a book anywhere: in bed, in chair or even in bathroom. I can read it with any body pose. When I don't want to read it, I can throw it anywhere. It's easy to write a note on the book. It's easy to browse through a book with a finger.

So probably the device should not be that fragile. It may be just a simple piece that you can bring or throw anywhere. It should be light. It should not be a laptop. You can easily take down a note, make a bookmark. You can easily browse through it to find where the author talks about Africa pygmies. The way you interact with the book content, should be easy and natural enough.

Another point I want to make is: Most of us were thinking about simulating the experience of reading actual books. But we don't really need to if we can have a different but also enjoyable way for reading, or even we have a better way for reading.

Think about the time when people invented paper and printing. people changed from reading on bamboos to reading on books. The paper book was lighter, easier to hold and easier to publish. That's fairly different from the bamboo reading experience. The people who invented books were not really thinking about simulating the reading experience on bamboos.

I can imagine reading on a bigger size iPhone would be much more enjoyable than on the Amazon Kindle. I guess the display quality really matters. Multi-touch can also help creating more natural interactions. So it's possible that the next book reader will be from Apple.

Technology sets up the playground, interaction design plays in it

2009-01-12T07:44:00.001-08:00

When multi-touch screen was out, everybody has a touch screen solution.
When iPhone is hot, everybody is designing iPhone apps.

What's the real power behind all ?

It's the creation of multi-touch, it's the creation of iPhone. It's the creation of wii. It's the first use of AJAX by Google map. It's the creation of Facebook.

Most of them are innovative ways making use of existing technologies. Most of the people who've created them, are not so-called interaction designers. They are engineers and business men. Most of the interaction designers are just designing in the playground they've set up.

It's like Starcraft. Blizzard sets up the game, we've been playing in it for years.

There are also two types of interaction designers: one type enters into the playground early on, and discovers new ways of gaming in the playground; The other type enters into the playground later, games with the rules the early designer has discovered. However, some excellent designers get in late, but they can still discover smart and new ways of playing games. They could also be categorized into the first group.

It's still like playing starcraft. Best players create strategies/tricks by themselves. Other players follow.

To summerize it a little bit, we can say there are three types of designers in this whole technology world:

- the ones who create playground, like creators of multi-touch, iPhone, wii, AJAX, Facebook
- the ones who discover the uses of the playground for gaming, like new ways of interactions on iPhone, Wii, different use of Ajax, new types of social networks
- the ones who learn and follow, designing for a specific purpose, like web applications, iPhone apps, facebook apps.

Actually sometimes I was really confused with what people are doing in our program. The things everybody is doing look so different. That kind of disorder makes me bothered. After I listed out these three levels of design and the relationship between technology and design, I sort of understand my colleagues better.

From that point of view, interaction designer is not like traditional designer. Traditional designer doesn't have such a field that is progressing so fast and he's not facing with new materials every now and then. You could become an excellent industrial designer, architecture designer, interior designer by practicing, but that may not apply to interaction designer. Interaction designers have to keep their paces with the fast-pacing technology and know the technology well.

the Barter idea

2009-01-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about this idea for quite a time. To put it in short:
An online place where people can exchange stuff, instead of sell or buy.

This is not a brand innovative idea. I could get sites with similar purpose by Googling. It's just they're not doing that well, from a design point of view. They could be improved by:

- Better visual
- Simple and Clear function organization and process flow
- Easier interaction (where AJAX tech should come in)
- Re-consider the exchanging process, what's the easiest way for doing that?
- Re-consider the user needs, what can you offer to encourage the exchanging behavior?

Well, to put it in short, it's all about better user experience.

I'm thinking about doing this on Facebook. Because:

- The network is already there, people don't need to create new connections. The existing connection could be used right away.
- People feel more secure and comfortable when exchanging with people who they already know
- The service would not worry about the physical exchanging process that much, as people could figure that out by themselves since they're trading with people who they already know

Well, to put it in short, it's all because of the network people already have on Facebook.

I'm right now looking for partners who would be interested in this idea and have Facebook application development skills.

This idea may fail, but that won't matter.

redbox at Wal-mart

2008-11-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

I rented a DVD (iron man) from the RedBox tonight at the Walmart entrance. It's easy and fast. We finished the renting process in less than 3 minutes. The interface is a 14 inch touch screen with simple buttons and movie browsing list. They have the latest DVD release. It sent the recipet right away to my email box after the payment and another one immediately after I returned it back.

You can just do it right after you've done the grocery, it's easy and fast. Good experience.

the experience of reading on iPhone

2008-10-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

Since I have had this iPhone 3 weeks ago, I have been enjoying reading on it a lot. Most of the things I was reading are:

items in my Google Reader
Chinese novels on website

I read them during breakfast, on bus, before bedtime and even in bathroom ... I'm enjoying this experience of making use of my little spare time here and there. It's like back to childhood, when I was a book addict and squeezing any possible spare time to read novels, comic books.

drawbacks:
The screen is fairly small. So the font on it is small (I don't want to resize the font to the extent where I need to scroll left and right all the time) I feel uncomfortable in eyes after more than 30 min of reading on it. So reading iPhone may be best for making use of little spare time less than 20 min. If you want to read for hours, probably your laptop (or even kindle) is a better choice.

to summarize it a little bit, reading on iphone is:
convenient size + internet access anytime = random reading experience at random time

It's like, use little rocks to fill in a bottle of big rocks, so that the bottle will be more fulfilled.

pictures taken last weekend

2008-09-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

Oliver Winery

dinner@Red Lobster

night view - Campus View apartment

more photos of the hotpot night at Columbus last week

2008-09-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

you can click the resize button to make it full screen (better view)

the quest (song from grey's anatomy season 4 finale)

2008-09-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

orginal mv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaxUHbxQzTM

pictures from moon festival (with the new Canon)

2008-09-16T19:04:00.001-07:00

We went to Columbus for a hotpot party hosted by IU BSA on Saturday. Since Columbus is close to the Edinburgh outlet, we did shopping there before the hotpot that afternoon.

hotpot - vegetarian table

table snapshot

game time - living room

Ruby Tuesday @ outlet

Salad

one plate

another plate

outlet - Ralph Lauren bed set

blessing widget on my car

few interesting web sites

2008-09-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Apartment Therapy: An apartment interior design sharing site. I've actually had a capstone idea close to this at the very beginning of last semester.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

description:
You don't have to live in a tiny space to get great interior-design ideas from Apartment Therapy. Showcasing one-of-a-kind style statements, like an egg-carton lamp and a kitchen wall dotted with bundt pans, this site is for anyone who appreciates distinctive décor. If you like what you see, head to Apartment Therapy's sister sites, Ohdeedoh (for kid-friendly home ideas) and The Kitchn (for recipes and tips on entertaining). Delve deeper into design on Design*Sponge, which features sneak peeks of unique interiors, alerts on décor mini-trends like polka dots and chain link, and quirky DIY projects.

Open Source Food: A recipes sharing site, more like a social network based on food interests. Good for people who like cooking and show to other people
http://www.opensourcefood.com/

description:
The pictures alone on this foodie's wiki-paradise are enough to make you want to strap on your apron and start sautéing. Anyone can submit recipes to Open Source Food, and members can rate them. Contribute 10 or more highly rated recipes, and you'll be designated a "pro." If you find an offering you especially like, you can search for all the other dishes submitted by the same chef. Though the Web has no shortage of recipe sites — like All Recipes, Epicurious and Food TV — Open Source Food has an appealing for-the-masses-by-the-masses vibe that makes it worth visiting.

Google Lively

2008-07-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

your 3D character and world associated with you google account. Try it out
http://www.lively.com/

room Dragon Tower

my travel map from TripAdviser

2008-07-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

Chengdu, China

Washington DC, DC, USA

Chicago, IL, USA

Key West, FL, USA

Hangzhou, China

Create your own travel map or travel blog

Visit TripAdvisor.com

Google launched Friend Connect

2008-05-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

Video introduction:

Effects I can think of immediately

1. You can get the information about where has your friend been on the internet

2. Integration of the internet identity. You don’t need to register for multiple sites to comment, just use your goolge account or facebook account.

3. Social network applications can now work on sites which get involved in Friend Connect.

e.g. http://www.ingridmichaelson.com/ilike/index.html

I take Friend Connect as one big step towards the integration of the existing internet services. Imagine after this, you can use just one identity to leave footprints in multiple forums, blogs and comments boards, and then you can trace back your footprints on the internet by clicking the history button in one single account. That information can also go across your social networks.

Incorporating with social network applications (opensocial app, facebook app) is also powerful.

So another point I want to make is, if you’re making a social network application, you may also consider it as an application which may work on other Friend-Connected sites. That implies two aspects:

1. As a site builder, you can show the content in your social network application on your own site. E.g. http://www.ingridmichaelson.com/ilike/index.html, the artist’s showing the content of her iLike.

2. As a site browser, you can use your social network application across different sites. Say you have a daily reading sharing application in your Facebook. When you’re browsing a news site which incorporates that application, you can just drag the news link to the application area and it automatically generates a reading post on your Facebook profile.

The second point is more from my own imagination, but it should be one of the future directions of this Friend Connect.

Steve Jobs: Wisdom for new graduates

2008-05-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

favorite Quotes from it:

Connecting the dots.
you cannot connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. You have to trust the dots will somehow connect in the future. You have to trust in something. Because believing the dots will connect down the road, will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even if it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.

Follow your heart.
Do what you believe is great work. If you haven't found it, keep looking, don't settle.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.
Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. Somehow you already know, what you truly wanna become. Anything else, is secondary.

Stay hungry, stay foolish.

Apple Mac Music Video

2008-05-14T08:56:00.001-07:00

apple products evolution

2008-05-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

movies watched

2008-05-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

Forbidden Kingdom

Office Space

Sweet Home Alabama

working on Portfolio

2008-05-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

just registered a domain with my name
http://www.zhuofengli.com

still working on the content, writing!

齐物论-前半小结

2008-04-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

勿斤斤计较，勾心斗角
大知闲闲，小知间间；大言炎炎，小言詹詹。
近死之心，莫使复阳也。

勿绞尽脑汁急功近利
一受其成形，不忘以待尽。
未成乎心而有是非，是今日适越而昔至也。这里想起刚看过的forbidden kingdom里面成龙对美国小孩说的"How can you fill a cup if it's already full"

勿辩
道隐于小成，言隐于荣华。
是以圣人和之以是非而休乎天钧，是之谓两行。

勿重成败，勿重错误与正确
道之所以亏，爱之所以成。
果且有成与亏乎哉？果且无成与亏乎哉？

勿辩白勿炫耀
是故滑疑之耀，圣人之所图也。
为是不用而寓诸庸，此之谓以明。

小结：
集中注意力于纯的道理，知识，爱好。去掉表面的东西，浮夸的东西。少辩论少议是非。

funny version Bohemian Rhapsody

2008-04-28T08:11:00.001-07:00

done with the AI job

2008-04-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

can't really believe that I have been teaching C for already two years. I am done with it today.

Don't quite remember my first time teaching a lab, but surely very nervous.

Anyway, I've been enjoying interacting with the students a lot, that's the best part of this class for me.

All right, no time for being maudlin, gotta move on.

Video Game Console sales Jan-Mar 2008

2008-04-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's Rally for 2008 Beijing Olympics

2008-04-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

More pictures here

Earthquake last night

2008-04-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

around 5am last night, I woke up like on a crazily hopping bull for 3 or 4 seconds. I am sure I heard something inside the ceiling broke. But in the morning I totally forgot it, until friend told me there was an 5.4 level earthquake last night.
First time in an earthquake, awesome.

Zhuangzi - part from 齐物论

2008-04-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

夫言非吹也，言者有言，其所言者特未定也。果有言邪？其未尝有言邪？其
以为异于鷇音，亦有辩乎，其无辩乎？道恶乎隐而有真伪？言恶乎隐而有是非？
道恶乎往而不存？言恶乎存而不可？道隐于小成，言隐于荣华。故有儒墨之是非，
以是其所非而非其所是。欲是其所非而非其所是，则莫若以明。

thoughts:
So isn't the argument on Tibet issue between western media and China like the one between Ru and Mo? The more arguments they make, the less we know the truth.

Zhuangzi - part from 齐物论 read today

2008-04-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

非彼无我，非我无所取。是亦近矣，而不知其所为使。若有真宰，而特不得
其眹。可行己信，而不见其形，有情而无形。百骸、九窍、六藏，赅而存焉，
吾谁与为亲？汝皆说之乎？其有私焉？如是皆有为臣妾乎？其臣妾不足以相治乎？
其递相为君臣乎？其有真君存焉？如求得其情与不得，无益损乎其真。一受其成
形，不忘以待尽。与物相刃相靡，其行尽如驰，而莫之能止，不亦悲乎！终身役
役而不见其成功，苶然疲役而不知其所归，可不哀邪！人谓之不死，奚益！其形
化，其心与之然，可不谓大哀乎？人之生也，固若是芒乎？其我独芒，而人亦有
不芒者乎？夫随其成心而师之，谁独且无师乎？奚必知代而心自取者有之？愚者
与有焉。未成乎心而有是非，是今日适越而昔至也。是以无有为有。无有为有，
虽有神禹，且不能知，吾独且奈何哉！

Vacuum Cleaner Assignment Done!

2008-04-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

Finally ...
Alright, understand much better the McCarthy theory about the four dynamics of aesthetic experience right now

Four dynamics:
Cumulation
Conservation
Tension
Anticipation

2008 is the year of gaming

2008-04-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

"Every year, the technology industry tries to crown the one attribute that dominated the landscape all year. And while it may be early to decide what 2008 will be defined as when it's all said and done, I think gaming has taken the prize already.

Let's face it--what else could possibly take the cake? Will it be the year of mergers just because Microsoft and Yahoo may join up while Circuit City and Blockbuster do the same thing? Boring. Will 2008 be the year of computers? Try one decade ago. Will it be the year of Web 2.0? Who cares.
......
http://www.cnet.com/8301-13506_1-9919431-17.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

Zhuangzi read today

2008-04-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

子游曰：“地籁则众窍是已，人籁则比竹是已，敢问天籁。”子綦曰：“夫
吹万不同，而使其自已也，咸其自取，怒者其谁邪？”

大知闲闲，小知间间；大言炎炎，小言詹詹。其寐也魂交，其觉也形开，与
接为构，日以心斗：缦者，窖者，密者。小恐惴惴，大恐缦缦。其发若机栝，其
司是非之谓也；其留如诅盟，其守胜之谓也；其杀若秋冬，以言其日消也；其溺
之所为之，不可使复之也；其厌也如缄，以言其老洫也；近死之心，莫使复阳也。
喜怒哀乐，虑叹变{埶心}，姚佚启态；乐出虚，蒸成菌。日夜相代乎前，而莫知
其所萌。已乎，已乎！旦暮得此，其所由以生乎！

Zhuangzi read today

2008-04-14T07:15:00.001-07:00

南郭子綦隐机而坐，仰天而嘘，荅焉似丧其耦。颜成子游立侍乎前，曰：
“何居乎？形固可使如槁木，而心固可使如死灰乎？今之隐机者，非昔之隐机者
也。”子綦曰：“偃，不亦善乎，而问之也！今者吾丧我，汝知之乎？女闻人籁
而未闻地籁，女闻地籁而未闻天籁夫！”

子游曰：“敢问其方。”子綦曰：“夫大块噫气，其名为风。是唯无作，作
则万窍怒呺，而独不闻之翏翏乎？山林之畏佳，大木百围之窍穴，似鼻，似口，
似耳，似枅，似圈，似臼，似洼者，似污者；激者，謞者，叱者，吸者，叫
者，譹者，{宀夭}者，咬者，前者唱于而随者唱喁，泠风则小和，飘风则大和，
厉风济则众窍为虚。而独不见之调调、之刀刀乎？”

Portfolio half ready!

2008-04-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

Developed with GWT (Google Web Toolkit). So a little bit slow to load for the first time, but much faster after that.
URL: http://mypage.iu.edu/~li25/portfolio.html

zz-达赖喇嘛与达兰萨拉的聪明之处

2008-04-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

拉萨骚乱已经基本平息，西方媒体对于这件事的报导，因为奥运圣火传递的缘故，仍然是没完没了，铺天盖地。如此持久、大规模、众口一词地对一个国家进行负面报导，实属罕见。

　　每一家西方媒体都会坚称自己做到了平衡、中立和客观，呈现了当事各方的说法。但是，如果传播学者做内容分析的话，却一定会发现他们用来形容中国的贬义词的严重程度和出现频率高得惊人。经过这一次的教训，十三亿中国人中的一大群，大概都会对他们看待世界的态度做微妙的修正。

　　新闻还在进行中，说不定还有更惊人的发展，真正冷静理性的反思非得要隔了一定的时间和空间，情绪淡定下来以後才有可能，我愿意先谈几点热血冲头期间的感想:

　　一切与奥运挂钩：西方媒体在之前所谓食品药品安全、产品质量、达尔富尔部族冲突、新闻自由、民主人权等议题上，对中国已经有类似表现，也都跟奥运会联系在一起。只不过这些议题中没有一个能像今天的西藏骚乱这样戏剧性，这样能煽动各个阵营的情绪。同时这件事情又离奥运会开幕这麽近。

　　西方新闻标准的两面：空前的戏剧性也在中国人眼前无限放大了西方媒体的伪善、双重标准和霸道。中国网民花了很多精力去找西方媒体修改照片胡乱配图的乌龙，其实更坏的是在文章和电视解说里对事实进行剪裁拼贴。

　　比如他们会引用中国政府和媒体的说法，但往往在用词、语气方面不加掩饰地流露出怀疑和嘲弄的态度，并且马上用达赖方面的话来做“但语”。

　　他们在引用任何来自中国官方的数字和说法时往往要在後面加一句“以上说法未能经独立报导证实”，但在引用达赖喇嘛和海外流亡藏人组织的话时却不加这句话，仿佛任何流亡藏人说出来的话都必然比中国人的话可信一千倍，哪怕是用常识就能判断为假的东西。汉人、回族人的伤亡可以完全不提或者含糊其词，在没有证据的情况下，却动不动就说军队对藏人进行血腥镇压，其偏颇立场一目了然。

　　种族主义vs. 民族主义：西方媒体的报导谬以千里，还执拗不认错，根源或许还是意识形态偏见和西方中心主义。今天不少西方人在对中国的意识形态偏见之下，也有种族的偏见，他们常常有一种让人很不舒服的居高临下的态度。那种傲慢，很难说不是来自种族优越感（他们可能会说自己是世界公民），但是我们有任何民族主义的情绪，在他们看来都不正当，都是偏狭愚昧和危险的，是一群可怜的没有独立思考能力的暴民，被洗脑（或者收了钱）的二十一世纪网络义和团。

　　达赖喇嘛与达兰萨拉的聪明之处：西藏问题的历史和现实都错综复杂，说到底是几个大国的地缘政治、实力政治，是国家竞争，水很深很脏，不是小老百姓能够了解的。

　　但是达赖流亡四十九年，成功地将西藏问题国际化，很大程度上是靠了身边一群志愿或者领薪水的职业政治化妆师，他们来自西方各国，用西方通行的语言把达赖要传达的话送进西方政要和民众的耳朵里。

　　看达兰萨拉几个所谓官方网站、流亡政府的新闻稿、达赖的各类演说，英文都写得非常地道，专拣一些西方人爱听的、流行的、容易共鸣的议题，像“保存西藏独特的语言和文化”、“宗教自由”、“人权”、“文化灭绝”等等，来发挥。

　　我们应该如何应对：中国的年轻人完全可以到美英法等国去学习政治传播和政治化妆术，回来用他们的游戏规则来玩媒体、公共关系和议程设置，一定不比达兰萨拉差，他们毕竟是建立在太拙劣的谎言基础上了。只可惜我们的政府在这方面技不如人。

　　其实我们完全可以改进一下方式——比如最起码不要再用“人面兽心的豺狼”"、“狗急跳墙”、“茍延残喘”、“垂死挣扎”这样的文革语言批判达赖，这些都是鸡同鸭讲，图一时口舌之快，反倒伤了自己形象。

　　事实呢，在官方媒体的报导之外，在拉萨工作、旅游、做生意的汉族年轻人，发了很多的博客文章和照片。更打动我们的是，他们完全出自个人真实体验和感受而做出的真实反应，完全没有一些西方媒体宣称的“中国政府组织、鼓励的网络反击”的因素。

　　我们也读王力雄关于西藏的书和文章，相信比大部分外国记者读得多。我们也有藏族朋友，也很尊重他们的文化，对他们充满善意。迫害和压迫，至少作为个人我们没干过，作为纳税人我们还间接资助了藏人。我们要大声告诉他们：中国的年轻人，善良、受过很好的教育、耳聪目明，这一次的愤怒，不是出于无知，是出于对你们的了解。你们的谬误，才是出于无知和傲慢。

　　其实很多西方人在网上的笔战里替中国说话，他们母语是英文，也很博学，他们跟那些对中国抱有很深成见的人辩论，引经据典，语言和论证都比亲自上阵的中国年轻人要强很多。所以西方世界并不是铁板一块，不是一个声音，这是思想和言论自由可贵可爱的地方。即使是支持达赖的一些人，也不是没有跟他们辩论的空间，新一代的中国人应该和平、理性地跟他们去辩论，讲常理，说人情，而不是停留在解气和泄愤的水平上。

　　网上有一位西方朋友极力为中国在西方媒体报导中遭到的对待叫屈，他最後说了这样一句话：中国是全球舞台上的几个大男孩之一了，得长一些厚脸皮出来。美国人会关心中国、俄罗斯和古巴的媒体怎麽说他们的坏话么？

　　另一位西方人说，这次在网上打仗的中国年轻人让他想起《色，戒》里头的邝裕民和王佳芝们，一腔热血，天真幼稚。还真有点像，我们不认同政府的一些政策，但是我们不能眼睁睁看着整个国家和民族的形象都赔进去。只不过我们在贡献微薄力量的过程中，多一些专业精神才好，要比邝裕民他们有长进。论战的激情平复下来之後，恐怕还得“各就各位，各安其位”，当今世界的政治经济格局、力量对比就是这样，西方媒体的强势霸权短期内无法撼动，但是千里之行始于足下，每个人小小的卑微的工作，积少成多，总有扭转的一天。

　　同时我们也要反躬自省，国内的种种问题，特别是政治文明的进步，都需要年轻中国人谦卑扎实的努力。在国家竞争的背景下，爱国无罪，但是我们要舍弃围城心理，不能总想着这是一场全世界与我们的对决；我们仍要保持包容和开放的态度，在批评西方人的同时，我们自己也要避免汉族优越感，"远人不服，则修文德以来之"。对于西藏问题和西藏历史，也应该抱着尊重的态度，去了解和认识。政府的治藏政策，不管成功还是失败的地方，也都应该开放检讨和批评。

　　钱穆先生讲，不能对“民族已往文化，懵无所知，而犹空呼爱国”，又讲“凡其所爱，必其所知…惟知之深，故爱之切”。他在对日抗战最惨烈的年代说的这些话，感叹中国人是最缺乏国史智识的国民。这样的情形，到今天恐怕只有更糟糕。

　　我们真要把自己的历史搞搞清楚，把自己的根弄弄明白；对本国的历史抱一种“温情与敬意”，同时也不遮丑，不避讳；这样才能知道支持什麽，反对什麽，又为什麽要有这样的支持和反对，才不会陷于过度自卑或盲目自大。

　　温总理常引用《诗经》里的“周虽旧邦，其命维新”，中国经历过去两个世纪的苦难，相信在新一代理性、智慧的中国人手上，一定会焕发出她新的青春。

Zhuangzi - paragraphs read today

2008-04-11T12:02:00.001-07:00

宋人资章甫而适诸越，越人断发文身，无所用之。尧治天下之民，平海内之
政，往见四子藐姑射之山，汾水之阳，窅然丧其天下焉。

惠子谓庄子曰：“魏王贻我大瓠之种，我树之成而实五石。以盛水浆，其坚
不能自举也。剖之以为瓢，则瓠落无所容。非不呺然大也，我为其无用而掊之。”
庄子曰：“夫子固拙于用大矣。宋人有善为不龟手之药者，世世以洴澼絖
为事。客闻之，请买其方百金。聚族而谋曰：“我世世为洴澼絖，不过数金；
今一朝而鬻技百金，请与之。”客得之，以说吴王。越有难，吴王使之将，冬与
越人水战，大败越人，裂地而封之。能不龟手，一也；或以封，或不免于洴澼
絖，则所用之异也。今子有五石之瓠，何不虑以为大樽而浮乎江湖，而忧其瓠
落无所容？则夫子犹有蓬之心也夫！”

惠子谓庄子曰：“吾有大树，人谓之樗。其大本拥肿而不中绳墨，其小枝卷
曲而不中规矩。立之途，匠者不顾。今子之言，大而无用，众所同去也。”庄子
曰：“子独不见狸狌乎？卑身而伏，以候敖者；东西跳梁，不辟高下；中于机
辟，死于罔罟。今夫斄牛，其大若垂天之云。此能为大矣，而不能执鼠。今子有
大树，患其无用，何不树之于无何有之乡，广莫之野，彷徨乎无为其侧，逍遥乎
寝卧其下。不夭斤斧，物无害者，无所可用，安所困苦哉！”

summary and thoughts:
whether a thing is useful or useless is conditional.
It might be of better use somewhere else.
It's hard to be useful everywhere. The same thing happens to people. It's hard to be excellent on everything. so try to know what you're good at and what you're not, and find the place where you can take the most advantage out of yourself.

Japanese-Style Keyboards Look Almost Too Good for Typing

2008-04-10T11:58:00.001-07:00

These traditional Japanese-style keyboards are a class apart from the grey or white boringness of the average keyboard. As well as looking different, and neat these devices are even handmade for that extra "creative" touch. The gold one's damn attractive and would look cool on many a desk: but not the green "kara kusa" one... that just looks like a typing nightmare. That attractiveness costs, mind you, as they're available for $154.90. Except the gold "Zip-Ang" one, which is a whopping $214.21.

Check more styled keyboard here

quotes from 2008 CHI

2008-04-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

live report of 2008CHI
http://www.nova100.ilsole24ore.com/viewposts.php?tag=chi+2008

about Facebook:

Based on your research, what are the purposes and the major gratifications in using Facebook?
“The main use of Facebook is the recreation of social connections between people who had, or still have, a connection in their everyday lives. So, people mainly used Facebook to reconnect with people they went to school with, worked with, or friends they lost touch with. But, the key question is 'what do people do once they have created this network?' The results of the research suggest that this can be divided into four main activities – they can use applications within the site to interact with their network, they can browse their friends' friends and learn more about them, they can join groups and express their identity via shared social experiences, or they can use the site to inform others of their news, and keep up to date with others' actions.”

How do you think social networking sites should improve? What should they do or not do in the future?
“The issue is what do these sites provide once you have built your network. If they do not provide additional activities or social networking resources, the danger is that they become nothing more than a glorified contacts database. Two uses - photographs and people's news - came out clearly as possible motivators of repeat visits to the site. If they want to remain central to people's online lives, social network sites need to find ways to encourage people to use them to not only make contact with others, but also to keep that contact alive.”

paragraphs read this morning from Zhuangzi

2008-04-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

尧让天下于许由，曰：“日月出矣而爝火不息，其于光也，不亦难乎！时雨
降矣而犹浸灌，其于泽也，不亦劳乎！夫子立而天下治，而我犹尸之，吾自视缺
然。请致天下。”

许由曰：“子治天下，天下既已治也。而我犹代子，吾将为名乎？名者，实
之宾也。吾将为宾乎？鹪鹩巢于深林，不过一枝；偃鼠饮河，不过满腹。归休乎
君，予无所用天下为！庖人虽不治庖，尸祝不越樽俎而代之矣。”

肩吾问于连叔曰：“吾闻言于接舆，大而无当，往而不反。吾惊怖其言，犹
河汉而无极也；大有迳庭，不近人情焉。”连叔曰：“其言谓何哉？”曰：“藐
姑射之山，有神人居焉，肌肤若冰雪，淖约若处子。不食五谷，吸风饮露，乘云
气，御飞龙，而游乎四海之外。其神凝，使物不疵疠而年谷熟。吾以是狂而不信
也。”连叔曰：“然。瞽者无以与乎文章之观，聋者无以与乎钟鼓之声。岂唯形
骸有聋盲哉？夫知亦有之。是其言也，犹时女也。之人也，之德也，将旁礴万物
以为一。世蕲乎乱，孰弊弊焉以天下为事！之人也，物莫之伤，大浸稽天而不溺，
大旱金石流土山焦而不热。是其尘垢秕糠，将犹陶铸尧舜者也，孰肯以物为事！”

Facebook API

2008-04-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

did some research around Facebook API. It seems there are plenty of choices among different programming languages.

If I am gonna play with it, probably I am gonna use Java.

To be continued...

New ISO standards on User Experience

2008-04-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

Usability or user experience - what's the difference?

"Personally, I do not really care what this area is called but I have had to face up to it in my capacity as Chair of the sub-committee of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) which is responsible for the revision of ISO 13407 - the International Standard for Human Centred Design.

The ISO concept of usability is much closer to this definition of user experience than it is to the concept of ‘easy to use’ so we have decided to use the term user experience in the new version of ISO 13407 (which will be called ISO 9241-210 to bring it into line with other usability standards)."

............

Click to check the full article

Queens - Bohemian Rhapsody

2008-04-07T09:58:00.001-07:00

Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see-
Im just a poor boy,i need no sympathy-
Because Im easy come,easy go,
A little high,little low,
Anyway the wind blows,doesnt really matter to me,
To me

Mama,just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger,now hes dead,
Mama,life had just begun,
But now Ive gone and thrown it all away-
Mama ooo,
Didnt mean to make you cry-
If Im not back again this time tomorrow-
Carry on,carry on,as if nothing really matters-

Too late,my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine-
Bodys aching all the time,
Goodbye everybody-Ive got to go-
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth-
Mama ooo- (any way the wind blows)
I dont want to die,
I sometimes wish Id never been born at all-

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche,scaramouche will you do the fandango-
Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me-
Galileo,galileo,
Galileo galileo
Galileo figaro-magnifico-
But Im just a poor boy and nobody loves me-
Hes just a poor boy from a poor family-
Spare him his life from this monstrosity-
Easy come easy go-,will you let me go-
Bismillah! no-,we will not let you go-let him go-
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let him go
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go let me go
No,no,no,no,no,no,no-
Mama mia,mama mia,mama mia let me go-
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,for me,for me-

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye-
So you think you can love me and leave me to die-
Oh baby-cant do this to me baby-
Just gotta get out-just gotta get right outta here-

Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters-,nothing really matters to me,

Any way the wind blows....

Killer Queen

April fool by Blizzard Entertainment

2008-04-02T20:18:00.000-07:00

Tauren Marine

what you're passinate about

2008-04-02T18:06:00.001-07:00

Got this advice from Erik yesterday, think about what I'm passionate about and pursue towards that in my future career.

So, here's a list of things which I guess I have passion on:

- How to make a successful application, or further a successful product
- Design and develop applications for entertainment/game industry
- Innovative web application design and development

reflection for the CHI project

2008-01-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

1. Find a smarter way to express opinion no matter how good you think it is. By smarter, I mean do not offend your team member.
2. No need to win your team member, you're coorperating with them, so support them.
3. People are not that great to easily accept ideas better than theirs.
4. It's a team, don't think to do everything by yourself. Take good care of your own part.
5. Stay cool, stay nice.

JavaScript and Prototyping

2007-12-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

I found the following requirements in the description of the Interaction Designer job at Google:
Requirements:

Solid academic background in human-computer interaction or related field (BS or MS in Computer Science or related field a big plus.

Demonstrated experience in designing usable web-based interfaces.

Expert HTML skills.

Excellent knowledge of JavaScript for rapid prototyping purposes.

Strong, clean visual design sense.

Excellent leadership, communication and teamwork skills.

I was wondering why they're asking for JavaScript knowledge. It looks like they're using it for prototyping. Actually I knew little about Html and nothing about JavaScript before this. So I spent a couple of hours picking up Html and JavaScript. During that I wrote my first html page (http://mypage.iu.edu/~li25) with one JavaScript line in it.

However, still don't get it, how do they especially need JavaScript to prototype?

AmaRock - Gnome Rogue Lv9

2007-12-15T00:36:00.001-08:00

Level 9 now. See the picture, I always like the moon in WOW. Huge and smooth. I am just outside of Iron Forge. It's a little bit hard to accomplish some quest alone. However, continue the journey...

Done with this semester

2007-12-14T02:14:00.000-08:00

Finally, I am done with the course work this semester....
It has been an adventure...Totally different from what I was doing before...
I will write a summary later...
Take a break first......

What I've learned in "Interaction Culture"

2007-12-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

This is the take-home essay part of the final exam in "Interaction Culture". It ask you to write about the points of view towards the YouTube video "Brand Experience Showreel" from three different perspectives: phenomenological, structuralist and post-structuralist. I guess this is a best summary of what I've learned during this semester in this course, so I post it here as the first post related to HCId.

The video: Brand Experience showreel, by Stephen Van Elst

A phenomenological response

From the notion “Meaning exists in people’s mind”, a phenomenologist might ask “What’s the designer’s intention behind the interactions?”

Since they are brand experience interfaces, the purpose behind can be creating customers’ positive perception of the brand through positive user experiences. The Nab club digital wall has been designed to make an innovative, leisure, enjoyable environment for the club customers. Though doing this, hopefully the brand “Nab Club” can be associated with that kind of environment.

A structuralist response

From the notion of “Meaning exists in the structure itself.” A structuralist might ask “What elements or features do those interfaces have?”

Take the Nab Club Digital Wall for example, there are two different scenes shown in that part of video:

One consists of birds, flowers and insects. All of them are mostly red. They tend to convey a sense of club life through those elements and the color. The other one consists of water, fish, sea weed and the flowing brand logo. It tends to construct a feeling of peace, relax and connect that impression with the brand “Nab Club”.

A post-structuralist response

From the notion of “Author is dead”

The company/brand is constructing itself through designing the brand experience interface. By interacting with the mini-cooper interactive environment, customers hopefully will have the impression that mini-cooper will be a joy to their lives.

From the notion of “Culture logic”

It’s the culture logic which is directing the design of all these interaction. Through human history, flowers, birds and fishes tend to be connected with joy and leisure. Making interactions with artifact as natural as in the physical world is the trend in the area of interaction design nowadays. That’s the rationale behind the circling screen, multi-touch tech, digital wall and digital floor.

My own response as an interaction designer

I think the phenomenology approach is most valuable for me here. It helps me to radically understand why these interfaces exist and why they have been designed that way. From the designer’s point of view, they’re like advertisements in a more interactive way. The ultimate purpose here is to make customers feel good about the brand. How to achieve this? Knowing the customers’ horizon can be helpful. To most people, flowers, birds and fishes tend to be connected with joy and leisure. They’re like common senses. Moreover, People come to night club usually seek for a place which is different, far from the world which he’s tired of, maybe quiet and maybe in the sea. People who are interested in mini-cooper probably are in favor of leisure, fun and sports.

Structuralistic perspective also might help in the process of the design. How to construct the interface in a way that it will make more powerful impact on the customers? How to compose the sound, visual motion and multi-touch together to make the interaction a smooth, aesthetical, innovative and finally enjoyable experience? This question reminds me the cinema techniques we learned in class.

Conclusion

This essay states points of view toward the YouTube video “Brand Experience Showreel” from three different perspectives: phenomenology, structuralism and post-structuralism. After that as an interaction designer I talked about my personal inclinations among the three of them.

苏打绿-小情歌

2007-12-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

偶然听到这首歌。词写得很好，主唱声音很特别。

小情歌
词曲:吴青峰
演唱:苏打绿

苏打绿-小情歌

这是一首简单的小情歌
唱着人们心肠的曲折
我想我很快乐
当有你的温热
脚边的空气转了
唱着我们心头的白鸽

我想我很适合
当一个歌颂者
青春在风中飘着
你知道就算大雨让这座城市颠倒
我会给你怀抱

受不了看见你背影来到
写下我度秒如年难捱的离骚
就算整个世界被寂寞绑票
我也不会奔跑

逃不了最后谁也都苍老
写下我时间和琴声交错的城堡
最后谁也都苍老

Start of this blog

2007-12-11T17:37:00.001-08:00

This is supposed to be somewhere I will post thoughts, ideas, reflections or anything related to my study in HCId.
Hope I can persist updating this place for a while.

I just started a new gnome character in WOW yesterday, that where the picture on the left came from.

我和IT那些事儿

blog更名

three levels of product design

Yarzale.com

The birth of Yarzale- yard sale on iphone

software training vs good design

fbfund 09

more Facebook applications

two weeks after launch

25 things about us, "save as draft" feature

25 things about us, some statistics

25 things about me

design an e-reading experience

Technology sets up the playground, interaction design plays in it

the Barter idea

redbox at Wal-mart

the experience of reading on iPhone

pictures taken last weekend

more photos of the hotpot night at Columbus last week

the quest (song from grey's anatomy season 4 finale)

pictures from moon festival (with the new Canon)

few interesting web sites

Google Lively

my travel map from TripAdviser

Google launched Friend Connect

Steve Jobs: Wisdom for new graduates

Apple Mac Music Video

最近

apple products evolution

movies watched

working on Portfolio

齐物论-前半小结

funny version Bohemian Rhapsody

done with the AI job

Video Game Console sales Jan-Mar 2008

Yesterday's Rally for 2008 Beijing Olympics

Earthquake last night

Zhuangzi - part from 齐物论

Zhuangzi - part from 齐物论 read today

Vacuum Cleaner Assignment Done!

2008 is the year of gaming

Zhuangzi read today

Zhuangzi read today

Portfolio half ready!

zz-达赖喇嘛与达兰萨拉的聪明之处

Zhuangzi - paragraphs read today

Japanese-Style Keyboards Look Almost Too Good for Typing

quotes from 2008 CHI

paragraphs read this morning from Zhuangzi

Facebook API

New ISO standards on User Experience

Queens - Bohemian Rhapsody

April fool by Blizzard Entertainment

what you're passinate about

reflection for the CHI project

JavaScript and Prototyping

AmaRock - Gnome Rogue Lv9

Done with this semester

What I've learned in "Interaction Culture"

苏打绿-小情歌

Start of this blog