iDirectory in the new Westfield Mall in DT San Fran

I am really delighted to see that the new Westfield (the former San Francisco Shopping Center at Powell Station via BART) now is equipped with an interactive directory tool called iDirectory. Replacing the traditional static color-coded map with store directories and floor plans, iDirectory helps people find stores and amenities with a touch of a finger, providing alternative routes (on foot vs. via elevator) in an animated sequence as to show how to get to your destination from wherever you are.

For me the biggest plus is the animated route starting from the "You-are-here" position. Most of us (ok, maybe just vegetable pigeons like me) have a hard time mentally orienting ourselves in an unfamiliar surrounding. East, West, North and South are not so easy to visualize except on a freeway with names such as 101 North or 237 East... The point is, seeing "H&M" on the third floor along with 843 other stores doesn't really help. First I need to know where I am on the map, and then I find the store by one of the two ways: 1. by landmarks (e.g. there is a "Borders" three doors down from "H&M", so I look for Borders since visually it's more familiar to me) and 2. I happen to be standing right in front of H&M. The cool thing about iDirectory is that, not only does it provide users with an animated path, it is also oriented relative to the direction the screen is facing. In other words, if you are looking for H&M at two different screens, you will see two different paths but they both lead to your destination from these two stations. The slowly moving line will show you which way to turn (the good-ol "left" and "right") and approximately how far you have to go from where you are. Now I love the aspect of being in control and have a tool work for me instead of the other way around!

Let's start here...

The left side shows all the stores in categories. There is a number next to the store, for instance, 143 Juicy Couture, which doesn't help at all other than that you know the store is on the first floor.

A closer look on the right: three different ways to search

You can also search for amenities. Good use of icon+text combination.

Let's try search by category

Or search by store name...

The screen is divided in halves. I like the mental model adopted here to reflect that the higher levels are on top. In this scenario, the visitor is on the first floor but wishes to go upstairs to level 2. The lower half shows where the visitor is currently with succinct directions.

In this other scenario, the visitor is on the third floor but wishes to get to a store on the first store. The lower half shows the destination store in purple and its relative position from the elevator.

Detail look A:

Detail look B:

Zooming in on the animated path.

You can replay the directions or choose to get there by a route via the elevator.
The biggest annoyance however is its feedback mechanism or rather, the lack of it. There is a cute click sound accompanying every action triggered by the user's finger touch, but you really have to listen for it, something that's really hard to do in a public space so crowded and noisy. If you want to navigate to home or go back by pressing the respective "Home" and "Back" buttons, it appears that nothing happens and the screen stays the same, unresponsive for at least a couple of seconds. There is no visible or audible indication that the iDirectory is working on taking you "Home" or "Back". Just when you are wondering if you have indeed pressed on the button hard enough and starting jabbing the buttons repeatedly, the screen changes. People’s frustration and doubt are obvious not just on their faces but also in the many fingerprints clouding around areas where the navigation buttons appear on screen.

Another thing I don't like is a bit subtle. I hung around waiting for M to come out of her favorite store and I started noticing something interesting. Due to its interactive nature, iDirectory can only offer help to one user at a time. Yes there are many of them installed, but then we wouldn't want to use the iDirectory to locate the iDirectory now, would we? After a while it appears that instead of getting people to their destinations faster, the iDirectory tools collect crowds of confused people waiting politely to use the service. How useful is a tool if it cannot be used? The traditional directory maps in other malls at least have this on their side: many people can use it at the same time although it’s not as easy to use and/or you need to have good eye sight to read over people's shoulders. What would be nice is to employ both the static directory maps and iDirectory.

想家也许只是想念家的感觉

从新结婚时代里摘得，

顾家的餐桌是那样的丰富丰盛，同时又是那样的家常温馨。

餐 桌是圆的，而不是眼下时兴的西式长方的，那种餐桌不适合中餐。餐桌中间放一沙锅，沙锅里头是排骨莲藕，还有枸杞。菜有大葱摊鸡蛋、素炒油菜香菇、糖醋木耳 香菜、清蒸草鱼。顺便说一句，那清蒸草鱼可说是做得完美之至，肉极嫩，味极浓，调料的味道似乎均匀浸润了肉的每一丝纤维，简直想不出是怎么做的。后来问了 方知，原来在做之前，何建国要用调料把鱼先腌上两个小时，等滋味全进去了，才封好放微波炉里转，用高火，两面各转两分钟，同时炒锅热好油，把调料放里头烧 开，而后浇到微波炉转好的鱼上，就会是这种肉嫩味浓的效果。饭是米饭，吃着香，闻着也香。原来何建国做米饭也有讲究，用两种米，东北大米和泰国香米。前者 吃着香，后者闻着香，二者比例是，五比一。小西爸也上桌吃了，何建国坐他身边，一会儿为他夹菜，一会儿为他盛汤，眼到手到，体贴入微。小西尽可以自顾自吃 她的，什么都不管。简佳看着这一切很是感慨。用世俗标准说，刘凯瑞比何建国成功，但是当这个成功人士不爱你、至少不肯用他的全部去爱你时，他那成功与你又 有什么关系？都说，看一个男人爱不爱一个女人，就看他肯不肯跟她结婚，肯不肯把自己的一生同她拴在一起。自己当初太追求成功追求与众不同了，现在才知道， 平凡夫妻，庸常生活，柴米油盐的琐碎幸福，是多么宝贵多么难得多么真实。

Marley & Me

Marley & Me
by John Grogan

Definitely a pick me upper! Life can still be good, with a loyal, always-cheerful, fun-loving four-legged friend.

I was reading Marley but my mind kept going back to the summer when I spent many lazy evening hours walking a 75-lb labrador mix named Brownie and two yapping Shih Tzus, Snowy and Sweety. Brownie was a mutt but has prominent retriever features because one of her parents is a black labrador. She was a sweet-natured giant, trained extensively at an early age to assist people in wheelchairs. Being born and growing up in a Chinese metropolis, my reaction to a large dog was not so positive to begin with, but I still remember the amazement I felt when I saw her performing a series of tricks, apparently all standard tasks that she must master before graduating from dog training school. She can open doors, drag a wheelchair uphill (essential when the battery in the wheelchair fails), turn on and off light switches in hard-to-reach places, open refridgerator door, move canned foods from shelves and scatter them around on the flloor--OK she didn't learn this from school, only improvised as her silent protest when she was left home alone for prolonged periods of time, and many many more. She filled my idle summer with joy and new discovery about dogs, and what it means for them to be men's best friends. Although the Marleys of labs can be rambunctious, labs are usually very mellow dogs in general like Brownie. I'd like to get me a girl yellow lab someday.