Remote Sky Blog

...on website usability, information architecture, and astronomy technology.

The TeleVues

June 17, 2008 by Nick Kinkaid

I admit that I might have gone a bit overboard, but I took full advantage of the recent TeleVue sale and traded my tried and true TV-102 for twins, a new NP-127is and TV-76. I plan to use the TV-76 for a traveler scope and solar scope, and the big telescope for wide-field imaging. Both telescopes should last a lifetime, as only a TeleVue can. More...

The Moon

April 21, 2008 by Nick Kinkaid

The below image was taken from my back deck on July 22, 2007 using a Televue TV-102 apochromaic refractor on a Losmandy GM-8 mount with a Canon Rebel XTi DSLR and processed using Adobe Photoshop CS3. More...

My favorite song sounds Green

April 11, 2008 by Nick Kinkaid

It’s 8am and I’m somewhere over Montana on United 1210, the 6am flight from Seattle to Chicago; undoubtedly the perfect time to waste time on a project that would otherwise be ignored in favor of Pinky and the Brain reruns. More...

Can I XP my Car Stereo?

October 15, 2007 by Nick Kinkaid

If you have been behind the wheel of a late model car recently, chances are you have had a chance to play with an in-dash GPS system. These come in two varieties – an all-in-one variety incorporating climate controls, audio receiver, and GPS, and those that specialize in just the GPS. I’ve had the (dis)pleasure recently of driving cars using the former variety three times in the last month and have found myself pulling over on the side of the road to stare in disbelief at the sheer horribleness of the interface. More...

Show me the Data!

September 27, 2007 by Nick Kinkaid

Designing workflow applications presents unique challenges very different from the relatively ubiquitous retail and corporate mainstay websites, and one of the most common battles an information architect will face is determining what information to provide the user, how much of that information, when to provide it, and in what collection of delivery mechanisms. More...

Simplicity in Web Design

April 28, 2007 by Nick Kinkaid

I believe that there is no fundamental difference between organizing content for the internet than for traditional interactive media in that a focus on content will consistently yield greater results than concentrating on what is simply possible with internet technology. Superior design and execution should be transparent to the consumer, providing a rich content experience with little to no gratuitous graphic design. More...

Nick Kinkaid has over nine years experience in website information architecture, design, and application development. Previously a consultant for Proxicom, Inc and Director of User Experience for CRI at JPMorgan Chase, he is currently the Director of Online Experience for Speakeasy, a Best Buy Company.
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