Backpack-experience readable and writable Web Services

Last week Jason Fried sent a preview of the backpack version of golden ticket. Today, the long-awaited backpack is officially launched. The following are some reviews after use.

37signals works are well known for their ease of use and user experience. This release of backpack is the third set of 37signals (the previous product was Basecamp, ta-da list) web service products, this system combines the Ajax technology of differential response with user experience, which is a perfect embodiment of the Application of Web2.0 technology.

Backpack integrates the concepts and applications of email, todo list, idea recording, calendar, project management, blog, and Wiki.Personal Information Management System. This definition seems to be too complicated to describe it. In fact, it is very simple to use. A separate page is created through the service, on each page, you can customize and arrange your personal information as needed. For example, meeting records, todo list, and schedule.

The idea of backpack comes from the application of GTD, short for getting things done. The Chinese name is "done ". Since Merlin Mann introduced and shared various ways of improving life efficiency and time management with digital tools last year at 43folders, GTD has become a hot topic for blogger, these tips are collectively referred to as lifehacks. These lifehacks have also inspired me a lot of life.

Back to the backpack service, we are talking about a network that can be read and written. This network can be read and written because users are in a dual-channel communication mode, that is to say, the interaction between webpages and users has evolved from the traditional "push" mode to the "two-way communication" mode of two-way communication. For Web Service developers, the concept of web is service affinity, operability, user experience and availability. These aspects involved in Web service design can be explained in a few words. When we design and construct a product, these applications are not technical issues, but conceptual thinking.

Similar to some of the backpack's operability, we have also experienced it in Flickr. Via XMLHttpRequest and JavaScript, the readable part of the page (whether it is a button or content ), you can perform write operations by simply clicking modify and update, and then communicate with the server through the differential response. This design allows the Web service to implement the operation process similar to the application software, and similar design is also widely used by Google in its web services, such as Gmail, Google Maps, and Google suggest. Through the availability of well-supported browsers, such as Firefox and omniweb, operable Web Services will eventually develop into components of the browser-based Web OS system, which is also one of Google's development directions.

When talking about user experience of user-friendly services, the most important thing is "unlimited usage ". That is to say, a good web service should not be limited to user usage. In the past, many services, including software, have limited the usage and scope of users. Users can only use it in a certain range of functions, such as Hotmail and email sending and receiving tools. Because there is no corresponding open API, users cannot use their imagination and reuse based on this service. In the future, service models and functions emphasize unrestricted application services. Users can not only use the basic functions provided by the Service, but also meet their own needs, use the functions provided by the Service to meet your individual needs. The functions of a service cannot meet the needs of all users, and many additional requirements may be generated during use. Through open APIs and open architectures, users can use services or design new plug-ins to meet their own needs. This feature is in Del. icio. us, Flickr, Amazon, and other services have all been reflected. As the slogan of backpack :... The personal information manager you 've beenCravingThe designer wants the user to experience "a set of personal information management systems that can be described by themselves ". We can use the backpack examples to understand the unlimted use design.

Experience the Web services that can be read and written, many of which experience non-verbal expressions, everything is in their own experience.