[Sigia-l] new Yahoo! search

[Jason Valdina (E-mail 2)]

Let me be clear(er):
The "Killer App" here is not simply the ability to control whether or not
results open in a new window;  rather it is more the opaque attitude taken
to the task of opening a link from a list of results.

The previous approach of considering this an option you can toggle on some
preferences page at Google makes the function completely transparent to the
user, and turns it into a 5 step process once, rather than a single step
every time the user wants to achieve such a display of results.

Even the "power user", as I called them/us, who right or control clicks on a
link, experiences a two step process to achieve such a display of results.

What I find "killer" about Yahoo! approach is this:
bringing this option to the surface of the interface,
in the form of an icon,
embedding it into the anatomy and format of every result,
making it completely opaque to the user all the time at very little cost in
terms of screen real estate taxonomic clutter.

it's simple, but a certain degree of innovation both in terms of labeling
and information architecture is worth applauding...

___________________________
Jason Valdina


-----Original Message-----
From: Steven L. MacCall, Ph.D.
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 2:52 PM
To: fabrizio ulisse; sigia-l at asis.org
Subject: Re: [Sigia-l] new Yahoo! search


Bill Gates introduced it some time ago, too, with right mouseclick & "open
in new window" ... how 'bout that: consistency across all web apps ... (yea,
I know it's somehow available to Mac users, too ... hold down mouse button
and wait for menu to appear??)

I guess the interesting "theoretical question" ('scare quotes,' to some of
you), is whether the presence or absence of such an option is really a
labeling/navigation issue or an information architectural issue.