New Homepage Suggestions

[Carlos Milovic]

[complete off topic message] Firefox requires almost no learning curve, if you come from IE. In fact, IE has been implementing some key features firefox had a long time ago (for example, the use of tabs). Give it a try
(something similar may be said about Thunderbird and Outlook).

[Carlos Milovic]

http://pteam.pixinsight.com/betasite/simon/

Simon sent to me a first quick try. Comments welcome

(I'll wait a pair of sites more)

[Niall Saunders]

Hi Simon,

Already looking good. I have some suggestions regarding some of the wording - but that is all pedantic stuff really. I did notice that there was no mention of PJSR, and I also felt that the idea of PI 'Core' either has to be better presented, or at least has to be better explained (not necessarily a Home Page requirement, of course).

Sheesh, 24 hours already, and we are starting to move forward. Talk about 'dynamic' !!

Well done.

[Simon Hicks]

Jeezoh! Just spotted the grammatical mistake...."a powerful development engine which is freely available"....I think that should read "a powerful development engine that is freely available". Having said that, I'm sure there are more errors than that. 

A few quick words....firstly, I know the picture is out of date....I just wanted some sort of impressive screenshot on the homepage....so that can be updated with something much more impressive. Has anyone got any candidates? Something with lots of windows open, lots of processes going on and a really nice image being manipulated.

I think the main thing at this stage is to get the overall look and feel right. Is the layout roughly right? Is the order and the content of the lefthand column correct? Is the wording and the layout of the main text correct? Does it get the message across in a punchy way? Is the 'one liner' below the main PixInsight signage OK? Please be as critical and frank as you like.

And please submit your own PI websites. Its only by trying out different ideas that we will get to an optimised format. After all, mine is really just a tweak of the present PI site......there must be some more radical ideas out there. If you can submit a whole site then please email it to Carlos.....or if you just want to change some words then I can run off different versions of the site above.

Come on guys....lets get some feedback.

Cheers
         Simon

[Simon Hicks]

Hi Niall,

This is where I sound really dumb.....but what does PJSR stand for? I've got a feeling its got something to do with all that scripty stuff that is way above my head.

Regarding the Core being better presented.....can you suggest some wording that would do that. Remember that the homepage needs to be direct and punchy and get the main message across very quickly.

Maybe it would be better presenting it in terms of 'Well, what do you get with PI.....(1) You get the PI Core....this is a feature rich environment and graphical user interface where you can immediately use all of the ready built processes, etc, etc.....(2) You get the PCL where you can create your own powerful scripts and processes unleashing the full creative power of PI. You can share code with a growing community and join in collaborative developments....etc."

But if we did something along the lines of the above, then I get the feeling that it should be on the second page (i.e. a new page that isn't listed on the lefthand colum yet)....probably titled "What is PI?", and then we would have another homepage which is probably more along the lines of the one I submitted....with more of a generic title....probably just PixInsight with the one line tag "Cutting Edge Astronomical Image Processing Software" or something better.

Maybe I'll have a go at that tonight.

Cheers
         Simon

[Niall Saunders]

Hi Simon,

I have spent a few hours building on your excellent suggestions, and this was my result - sorry, no PSM icon set for this effort 


What is PixInsight?

PixInsight is the world's most advanced image processing software package designed specifically for the demanding requirements of astrophotography.

PixInsight is produced by an enthusiastic international research and development team with expertise in astronomy, photography, image analysis, mathematics and software engineering. PixInsight brings a huge wealth of astronomical image processing power to the amateur or professional astrophotographer, and has already been a significant factor in astroimagers achieving APOD fame.

PixInsight is specifically written to be multi-platform capable, running on Linux, Windows and Macintosh operating systems on both 32-bit and 64-bit, hyper-threaded, multiprocessor architectures – with the option of even allowing PI to monopolise the FULL bandwidth capabilities of your machine.

Naturally, PI works seamlessly with virtually all image file types – covering a wide range of 8, 16, 32 and 64 bit images, using either integer or floating-point image formats. The software runs in a user friendly, multiple-workspace environment with an intuitive, flexible, and custom-designed graphical user interface.

All of that, and more

Most importantly, PixInsight is a dynamic collaboration between like-minded astrophotographers who are constantly pushing the boundaries of astronomical image processing using the most powerful image processing toolset available.

New algorithms and processes are being created continuously by a rapidly growing community. Users are encouraged to use either the sophisticated PixInsight Class Library (PCL) or the unique PixInsight Java Script Runtime engine (PJSR) – two freely available, powerful, integrated development environments for those who wish to write their own algorithms.

By allowing users to become a part of the PixInsight vision in this way, and by rapidly responding to both bug reports and user requests, the PI team ensures that the software can never stagnate.

Come on board and ride the wave – it will cost you nothing to find out just how powerful PixInsight really is. Download PixInsight today.

Get your 90-Day Free Trial License NOW

Experience the full, unrestricted, power of PixInsight for yourself. With as sophisticated a package as PixInsight we feel that a 90-day free trial should be adequate for most users to determine its suitability for their needs. All PixInsight licences allow individuals to download unlimited versions, to suit their personal (non-commercial) processing needs.

Join our Forum - Join the team!

We also have a thriving discussion forum that encourages questions from users at all levels - and all users are welcome to post answers as well. Monitored virtually worldwide, feedback is usually rapid. And the same goes for detected bugs in the software where, in the past, revised releases have even been made available within hours!!

You don't need to own the software to join the forum - we'll be delighted to meet you there, and will try to answer any questions or concerns that you might have.

Remember, with PixInsight you are never 'just another user', you are always 'one of the team'.


And, yes, I am suggesting that the free trial period be extended to 90 days, let's just forget about 'LE', or any 'cut-down' version if PI itself. Let's just give the new user the full package. Everything. And let's just trust in PI to sell itself.

I have total faith in Juan listening to any new user who tried to justify their case for an 'extension' (heck, I even had one myself - unintentionally - and felt so guilty I bought the full license straight away !!). So, why not just extend the trial period anyway - there are not that many other software packages out there giving a NINETY day trial period - with NO RESTRICTIONS (in fact, are there any at all?). And this approach might just let new users realise that they are not being considered purely as 'customers'.

Over to you guys . . . .

[Simon Hicks]

Hi Niall,

WOW!  That's really cool. When I saw it at first I thought 'too many words!'.  However, on reading it, it gets all the main points across really quickly. You've got a good marketing touch and turn of phrase. The big titles break it down nicely into four small chunks....which gives us the nice punchy message. The trick will be to get all this and some sexy graphics on a homepage without it looking cluttered.....but maybe that is doable....lets try!

And even I know what PJSR stands for now!!!

By the way, I like the 90 day trial idea. Its radical....but so is PI....and prospective users do need time to get their heads around the PI way of doing things. And 90 days sounds like forever....so I'm sure it would get more people to give it a go and stick with it long enough to get hooked. And once you've downloaded that demo version its like money in the bank (as long as its not Icelandic) as long as you have time to get past the initial frustration. But as you say...that's Juan's call.

A few really minor suggestions to take out some potential negatives;

Change "rapidly responding to both bug reports and user requests" to "rapidly responding to both user requests and development opportunities" or something similar.
Change "ensures that the software can never stagnate" to "ensures that the software is constantly developing" or something similar.

I like it. I'll try to create a new version of the previous website layout...but with these words....and we can see what it looks like.

Cheers
         Simon

[Simon Hicks]

....and change "monopolise the FULL bandwidth capabilities of your machine" to "utilise the FULL bandwidth capabilities of your machine"    8)

[Niall Saunders]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for the positive vote! I have had some experience, having written several 100-page plus technical manuals in my time, and Georg seems to think I might be Terry Pratchett Mk II  - I just wrote what I felt 'I' would expect a user to want to see.

But, you may be right - perhaps too many words for the 'front' page. I'd need to see the layout - with your 'punchy picture'.

I am a firm believer that a website page, especially the front page, should sit on a 'standard' full screen, with no need for scrolling. So, does that mean we can aim for 1024 x 768 ? Are most 'modern' monitors at least this big nowadays? (When I last put a commercial website together, 10 years ago now  I used to confine myself to 800 x 600 - perhaps we can 'modernise' somewhat!)

What was the effective resolution of the image you sent to Carlos?

I haven't yet looked at the heirarchical 'Table of Contents' - if I get time, I'll make that my next task (heck, I might even be out in the observatory later, if the damn wind would have the common decency to at least blow the Moon away !!)

[Niall Saunders]

bug reports
- and -
stagnate

I was trying to convey the fact that ALL software -usually- has bugs. But, with PI, the chances are that they will be exterminated pretty fast

And I was trying not to use 'develop' too often, hence 'stagnate'

But, hey, this isn't just 'my' contribution. As Sir Terrence de la Wogan would say, "Let's run it up the flagpole, and see who salutes it"

Cheers,

[Niall Saunders]

....and change "monopolise the FULL bandwidth capabilities of your machine" to "utilise the FULL bandwidth capabilities of your machine"

Agreed, 'utilise' is better

[Simon Hicks]

I just wrote what I felt 'I' would expect a user to want to see.

That's why I think its great if the users can have a stab at this.

What was the effective resolution of the image you sent to Carlos?

It wasn't an image, it was an html file....i.e. a little mini website with just one page. If I put the actual hyperlinks into the menu items then you would be able to click on them and go to the other pages.....but lets get the home page right first!

But, you may be right - perhaps too many words for the 'front' page. I'd need to see the layout - with your 'punchy picture'.

I've done a new version with your words and some extra graphics. I've emailed it to Carlos....so maybe you will see it tomorrow. It does require a bit of a scroll....but not too much. See what you think.

Cheers
         Simon

[Carlos Milovic]

http://pteam.pixinsight.com/betasite/simon2/

I keeped the first one untouched, for reference/comparison.

[Niall Saunders]

Hi all,

Well, (obviously ) I think Beta2 is a step forward.

I was wondering whether a small navigation system could be added to the 'neutral grey' header - to allow jumping between the Beta versions (very cheap and cheerful, functionality only, no detraction from the remainder of the image)?

I actually DO like the fundamental page structure, and the colour scheme. I don't think that should be compromised - after all, is is now part of the 'brand image' of PI, and so should remain 'recognisable'.

So, I feel that contributors should confine themselves to page content, rather than a radical redesign of the whole site layout.

I wanted to suggest that 'Cutting Edge' on the page header would be better 'hyphenated', becoming "Cutting-Edge"

I really liked the selection of images - they really 'pop'. I did wonder whether some 8pt text descriptors next to them might help tell the story?

I am viewing the page on a 28" monitor, at 1920x1200, and the scroll down was minimal. In any case the screen downloaded nice and fast, and I am only on a 1MB ADSL - so that is a plus point as well. I then changed to 1440x900 and 1680x1050 - again, good enough (but I do like my 1920x1200  )

My other 'critical test' of a well-designed website is not how it looks 'on-screen', but how it looks 'on-paper'. OK, perhaps not many folk will print out the Home Page, but folks will definitely print out any written tutorials - and if they don't fit on a standard sheet of A4, then that is a 'poor design' by my books. The old LE tutorials were very poor in this respect. I have just done a 'Print Preview' on the Home Page and it sits nicely enough on two sheets of A4 in Portrait mode, using 10mm margins all round, and auto-shrunk to 75%. So that is OK. But the 'Menu' sidebar had lost its integrity - I suspect the font size is too large for the resulting column width. (I am using IE7 set to Medium Text Size, others may wish to double check this on alternative browsers).

This may all sound pedantic, but it is worth just nailing down the fundamental 'size' of the pages before you set about coding dozens of them (been there, got the T-shirt somewhere  )

Now (and this shows how long it has been since I last fired up FrontPage, not even loaded on this machine !!), is it possible to fully-justify the text to both the left and right margins of the table? If so, does it look 'better'?

Right, tomorrow I will need to dig out some sort of HTML editor (what are you using Simon?)

Cheers,

[Carlos Milovic]

BTW, I think that Juan uses KompoZer, for linux.