Craig.Carlen[Online].com

Something I truly enjoy about the Internet - and specifically the World Wide Web - is that it’s constantly in flux.  It’s always changing - never quite the same as the last time you saw it.  But sometimes when things change they are really remaining the same - they just look different, or feel different.  Something that my studies at Michigan State focused on quite a bit was usability and sustainability.  Looking at how usable a website or web application is and how sustainable will it be.  This is accomplished with a variety of methodologies like play testing, focus group analysis, competitive analysis and so on.  Usability testing can be rather tedious - but its fruits can be very valuable.  Just ask Google.

HD - High Definition. Usually synonymous with television or video, HD is one of the new digital broadcast standards that will be fully implemented by February 17, 2009. But one of our local news stations has taken HD to a new level…and I’m not sure what to think of it.

Take the time to know me and you’ll soon find out I can be a bit critical of the local new stations in this market. West Michigan is the 38th largest television market in the United States and I swear we have some of the cheesiest newscasting in the country. We have reporters and anchors that get so involved with a story that it’s as if they have a personal stake in the outcome. It’s rare, but it happens. And when it does happen, it’s painfully obvious. I recall when Grand Rapids wanted to sell some city owned property near the water treatment facility on Monroe Ave.