Flash Journalism 2

http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/darfur/darfurSMH.html

This very poignant interface design by the Sydney Morning Herald does a good job in illustrating the crisis of Darfur in Southern Sudan. The use of an Interactive map and a scroll tool for the children’s pictures provides even more of an idea of the socio-political situation of Sudan as well as the experiences of the children that grew up in the region. Viewing the latter section reminded me of the drawings children used to make when they were imprisoned at Auschwitz. I believe that the effective manner in which the victims are presented in this site really details the very tragic human story that has unfolded for decades.

Flash Journalism

http://www.startribune.com/local/11608761.html

I think this is a very good example of flash journalism. I feel that the multimedia presentation of natural sound, songs, interviewees voices in the introduction portray a very moving picture of a people that fled war and face the quandary of leaving their new homeland for a ruined nation. The scroll bar contained herein has several examples of individual interviews, Liberian church parishes in Minnesota and several other presentations that give a clear and professional presentation of New Americans.

Random Number Generator

http://www.random.org/integers/

This website seem to be the most suitable that I have found in random number generation. I feel that such a program can be converted to use in any flash project that requires such a necessary device. Not only does it generate random integers but also narrows down values and formats them into columns. Also for the more experienced user there is the option of choosing a numeral system and an output format.

The use of interactive scroll tool

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/japan-map

Here is an example that is most familiar to individuals that have used Google. The engine that Google uses provides a quick and easy visual overview of the area, quite similar to the Brazil example that I provided earlier. Upon clicking on the blue icons the user is prompted to a link detailing either tourist attractions or a map for the more experienced individual. I think that this example is straight forward, visually concise and devoid of clutter.

Another effective use of Interactive maps

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/index.html

This website displays the poignant example of how War affects the home front. I like how the designers made a simple site with a growing perforation of dots marking the casualties accorded to each region in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Once clicked on the dot become a person and the user is prompted to share memories and thoughts about the individual. Also included are bar graphs of The average ages, locations and dates of death. Overall this is an excellent site dedicated to closure and reconciliation of the victims families.

The Use of 3D Stacks

I noticed that part of my iTouch’s interactive components include a 3D stack. This feature allows the user to browse through various music files in their library. I would argue that there are several shortcomings for this feature. For instance, the controls are highly sensitive to the slightest pressure differentiation. I often have trouble scanning through specific files, often having to back track quite a few times. The other issue is of screen text legibility. On my own device there is the issue of reading text in low light conditions. I would hope that in the near future there would be a patch to regulate scroll pressure and adjustable lighting for browsing.