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Fancy Formatting, Fancy Words = Looks Like a Promotion = Ignored

Dr. Jakob Nielsen (Nielsen Norman Group) says users tend to ignore heavily formatted areas of a website because they resemble promotions.

It’s a side-effect of banner blindness and could hit you too if you design a site and try to put special focus on something by making it stand out in fancy ways. Nielsen adds that using fancy words instead of plain-spoken English will also increase the chance people ignore a section.

Software via the Internet: Microsoft is making available free software that connects its Windows operating system to software services delivered on the Internet, a practice increasingly referred to as “cloud” computing.

(Cloud applications reside on the Internet and can be run by anyone with a suitable browser. Google’s Gmail service, or Yahoo Mail are good examples of cloud computing.)

The applications that will be included in the installer include Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Messenger 8.5 and Windows Live OneCare Family Safety. A full list of all Windows live services, many of which are browser based and not part of the installer, is here.

What’s Behind the Epidemic of Municipal Wi-Fi Failures?

The dream of wireless networks covering U.S. cities with free and wireless internet access has come to an end, at least for now. As the number of failed or stalled municipal wireless projects continues to rise, the focus has shifted from closing the so-called digital divide to why plans for such networks, in only a year’s time, seem to be dissolving almost daily.

Last week, San Francisco, Chicago and St. Louis all announced significant and perhaps fatal roadblocks in their municipal Wi-Fi projects.

Those of us curious about all things Apple will be checking things out tomorrow. Apple’s event takes place at the Moscone West in San Francisco on September 5 at 10:00 a.m.

An internal memo circulated (and leaked) among employees at Target stores say that one or several “high retail” and “high theft” items will arrive at Target electronics departments after a formal announcement on September 5th.

Among some of the rumors are the possibility of an iPhone nano, or a new line of iPods which are Mac OS X-based with a touchscreen and Wi-Fi capability.  Additional announcements relating to the company’s iTunes software and digital media download service are also expected.

Meanwhile, rumors of the Google Phone continue to fly. No one is admitting to knowing what it looks like, or when it will be announced.