interface stuff

In terms of the reading, I thought that the "Eat me..." article was very informative in terms of breaking down the different types of interfaces. I really had no idea all the different kinds of interfaces, although once I read the article, I could think of each kind in context. I don't see the wizard interface all that often, but I'm a bit confused of the difference between wizard and control panel, when it comes to, say, student loan sites like Sallie Mae. There they ask you a series of questions on one page, and then you hit next to go to the following set; however, you are able to travel backwards, but not forwards until the material is complete, so I think that makes it linear. I'm just not sure if because it's more information than just one question on each page, if that makes it a control panel?

What I got from the second article is just the realization that many interfaces both in software and internet do not allow for a language option before entering. I know certain ones do, such as Nike, but many do not. Some programs have only English as the option and that excludes many cultures from accessing the site. I know personally, if a site was entirely in Spanish with no option to change to English, I would not be able to use it.

The interface that I chose to look at was Facebook because I frequent the site quite a bit during the week! I think Facebook's main goal to users is obviously for them to sign in or sign up and begin the social networking. For convetional icons that they have, I would say the HOME, LOGOUT and ACCOUNT buttons are all pretty standard on most sites these days. But since this is a different type of site, then say NIKE, there are few similarities other than that. There are all sorts of different buttons like PROFILE, FRIENDS, NETWORKING, etc. There is also the side navigation that allows to look at PHOTOS, GROUPS, EVENTS and more. I am not sure what I would customize to the site, because overall I think it's pretty well structured. The one thing that I have really gotten annoyed with is ALL THE APPLICATIONS! That's where it becomes too messy for me and too difficult to view others' profiles. It's a little bit too MySpace, and while I have that account, too, I use it much less because it's less navigable. On the whole, though, I think the Facebook interface is well put together and easy to navigate. The account set up is all pretty straightforward and easy to follow through.