StomperNet‘s Scrutinizer has recieved some updates!

• New help documentation
• Keyboard Shortcut Functionality
  • saving a screenshot
  • bookmarking a page
  • toggling the visualization
  • toggle auto-zoom
• Aesthetic improvements
• Performance optimizations
• Improved auto-update.

If you’re wondering what the heck StomperNet‘s Scrutinizer is:

What is it?

The Scrutinizer is a web browser, based upon the Adobe AIR toolkit and the WebKit browser, that offers a simulation of the human visual system. Specifically, it illustrates the distinction between foveal and peripheral vision in visual acuity and color perception. Using this simulation, you can get a better idea of how users interact with your site design. We explain this, and some of the succes we’ve had, in a 30 minute video called Click Fu. It’s also a great tool for observing users interacting with your pages. By slowing them down, the Scrutinizer makes it easier for you to figure out what information the user is consuming and what actions they are considering. Learn about other ways to use the tool at our Top Ten list.

How it Works

The Scrutinizer browser applies a visual filter to where the mouse is located, simulating foveal vision centered around the mouse. For parts of the screen far away from themouse, the display deteriorates into lower resolution, both in detail and color. You can use the browser to get a better understanding of the low level mechanics of how users interact with your site design. Attempting to accomplish a key task on your site using the Scrutinizer can be very enlightening. Watching a user unfamiliar with your site attempt a key task with the Scrutinizer is even better at revealing how your site design affects the way the user extracts meaning from your presentation. Learn more in the Click Fu video, covering practical examples of improved e-commerce, or the 52 second ” Your Vision is an Illusion“, presenting a dramatic illustration of foveal vision. Finally, check out using the Scrutinizer for a findability challenge on Amazon.com.

Top Ten Things You Can Do with the Scrutinizer

1. Simulate eye tracking in a usability task
2. Assess the ease of use of multi-step processes
3. Give your designer a fresh pair of eyes
4. Find out what “pops� in your design
5. Conduct findability challenges
6. Ask: does your visual grid work?
7. Evaluate your site’s contrast levels
8. Insure learnability in your template
9. Avoid button gravity errors
10. Tell the story of how your eyes work

Site built for Going Natural 3, free series of videos to promote the re-opening of StomperNet. Includes flash video and html template design in drupal all styled with custom made themes and css. Users were prompted to subscribe with email address and then allowed to view the premium video content and comment. Site discontinued, but video content still available at stomperblog.

Here’s a new site and series from StomperNet called Going Natural 3!
It’s a bit of free videos made and released to showcase the talents and business of what StomperNet is about and what they do for their clients. They’re ‘moving the freeline’ so to speak…

The first video series begins with Dan Thies talking about his ‘Crazy Theory’ for AdWords.

On signing in there are a couple BONUS videos for you as well. So go check them out as well!
Watch Going Natural 3 – Adwords Triangulation Method and more

This site contains the latest flash video player built by yours truly. I also did the design of the site: involving html, css, php, javascript and dealing with drupal too!

iKill: Pick Fruit, Be Happy, Keep Killing

I developed this game for my Digital Media Thesis. I wanted to do a project that was interactive, and enjoying flash I decided to create it in the form of a game. The project called “iKill’ is Installation Game Art, and is also available online. It explores multiple these, such as man in nature, globalization, fast food, economics, etc. The game was part of an installation for the Digital Media Exit show of Spring 2007. I kept progress of the game online at my digmeexit blog with incremental demo versions of the project. The installation had a fully interactive game and used game controller to play. In the game you play the generic man and work through the work week. Your job is to pick fruit as it grows on the trees. You receive your wages according to your harvest and at the end of the day you “cash out” and earn your happiness (how else but with Happy Meals). You do encounter obstacles and must kill the bugs before they deprive you of your happy harvest! It is pretty simple critique on a culture that equates unhealthy food to happiness without regard to the environment, and equates a mindless 40 hour work week and competitive salary to a full life. For more details visit the development blog (digmeexit.blogspot)

Play Online Version of iKill

Use the arrows to move, space bar to pause, ‘z’ to jump and ‘x’ to swat.

Software for viewing websites through a simulated fovea vision. Since not everyone could set-up, let alone afford a real eye-tracker. This software uses the mouse pointer as the user’s focal point, or foveal view. It blurs everything except where your focal point (the mouse) is. It is helpful because it forces you to re-think web design from an extreme usability standpoint. This browser software was built using AIR and Flex. Using this software as an eye-tracking simulation, you can get a better idea of how users interact with your site design.

• Post: Scrutinizer Launch
• Post: Scrutinizer Update
• Download Scrutinizer from StomperNet

I was responsible for programming and designing some key functionality of the app: the menu bar logic, bookmarking engine, capturing and saving of screenshots, and the loading bar which shows page load progress, and the overall browser chrome/skin.