For the first time since BrandZ began compiling its annual ranking of the world's most valuable brands, Apple (AAPL) topped the list with an 84% surge that put its value at more than $153 billion, comfortably ahead of Google (GOOG), which had held the top spot since 2007.

According to Millward Brown, the subsidiary of advertising giant WPP (WPPGY) that compiles the list, Apple's burnished its image with consumers through a combination of low-profile strategies and high-profile marketing tactics:

"Apple continued quietly developing a cloud and loudly discovered an empty space in the computing category that it filled with a new device – the iPad. In the last quarter of 2010, Apple sold more iPads than Mac computers. The iPad, which quickly met competition from other tablet makers like Samsung, helped Apple pass Dell and HP in total portable computer sales. An Apple cloud would further strengthen the brand as a trinity of platform, content and device."

Google, which is still one of the world's most trusted and recommended brands as BrandZ measures these things, lost 2% of its value this year in part because of Facebook (up 246%), which overtook Google in 2010 as the most America's most visited website.

[Source: CNN]

Apple doesn't compete with Windows anymore; it dominates in an entirely different computer market sector: consumers. What's curious is how Apple's consumer computers, iPads, iPhones, iPods are munching away at cheap laptop and netbook sales. This cannot be good news for Microsoft as this is its core market sector going forward; it has not mobile contenders. And where the iOS devices don't compete, in the premium laptop sector, the MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs, already dominate.

This following post is designed for a class assignment in my university class but decided to post it here so everyone can see it because I think it's something not many people realize.

It seems obvious, but it's often ignored. A good user interface design can spell the difference between acceptance of a software product and its failure in the marketplace. If the end-users find the software to be too cumbersome or difficult to understand, then an otherwise excellent product could be doomed to failure. The developer's goal should be to make the software as professional-looking and easy to use as possible.

Sadly, I've found that a great many companies--especially small or highly specialized software firms--pay little attention to the mechanics of good user interface style. "As long as it works, that's what matters!" seems to be their mantra, with little regard for the inconvenience that this imposes on the user.

(Above: User Interface of Tweetbot for iPhone)

Going back to the topic... I can't remember how many times I've encountered software that was designed to work, but with little regard for ease of use. If the software forces the operator to constantly consult a manual or a cheat sheet, then that's a pretty good indication that the user interface needs improvement. Similarly, the software should allow the user to perform tasks quickly and efficiently, without sacrificing power and flexibility. This seems intuitive, and yet these considerations are so often lacking.

The sad part is that these shortcomings can often be cured using a few simple guidelines. For example, it helps if the user can enter data using buttons and list boxes, instead of typing it in by hand. It helps if the software provides pop-up dialog boxes, to guide the user along the way. Even the judicious choice of icons and other graphics can turn a steep learning curve into a short and gentle slope.

For that matter, even such trivial matters as spelling and grammar deserve attention. Poorly phrased instructions can severely hinder an operator--and even if they don't, they do reflect poorly on the developers of that application.

There is much more that can be said about the mechanics of good user interface design, but that's a topic on which entire book can be (and have been) written. Suffice to say that a company that strives for excellence should pay close attention to the elements of software usability and flexibility. These are critical elements of software excellence, and they are worth pursuing.

[Source: Usernomics.com]

Here lies Epcot (Future World) in 1995 and as you can see (or maybe not) there are some major differences from what is actually there today.

- Epcot in 1995 was known as Epcot '95

- No Leave a Legacy in front of Spaceship Earth

- Horizons used to sit where Mission: Space sits today

- World of Motion was still there vs. Test Track

- Bottom right hand corner, now sits Worldshow Place which was built for the 2000 Celebration

- No Soarin' building at The Land

- Innoventions Plaza, renamed in 1994, did not have the purple tents or Pin Central

- Cantina de San Angel shown in '95 which was then replaced by La Hacienda de San Angel

It's amazing how things change over the years and to be honest, aside from Horizons and Test Track, most of these are small changes or new changes which added to Epcot. Here's to the future!

This aerial photo taken from Google Earth shows how Universal Studios Florida looked like back in the day with the original parking lot where CityWalk is now. This layout was used from Opening on June 7th 1990 all the way through 1998 until the construction of CityWalk and Islands of Adventure began.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA unveiled the final flight plans for its three retiring space shuttles on Tuesday, assigning two to museums in Washington, DC and California, and keeping the third at its launch and landing site in Florida. A fourth, prototype orbiter will also go to a new home in New York.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced the long-awaited news during an employee event held at Kennedy commemorating the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle program. STS-1, the maiden flight for the winged reusable spaceship fleet, lifted off on April 12, 1981.

The announcement means that NASA space shuttles will eventually go on display on both coasts of the U.S., with three along the East Coast.

Space shuttle Discovery, NASA's oldest remaining orbiter and the world's most flown spacecraft, will be displayed by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum at its Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport.

The shuttle Endeavour, which will launch on its own final mission later this month, will be given to the California Science Center, a department of the State of California, in Los Angeles.

Shuttle Atlantis will remain in Florida to be exhibited at the spaceport's official visitor complex after launching on the 135th and last mission of NASA's shuttle program in late June.

Bolden also announced that the atmospheric test orbiter Enterprise, which has belonged to the Smithsonian since 1982 and has been on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center since 2003, will be transferred to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a converted aircraft carrier docked to a pier in New York City, to make way for Discovery to enter the national collection.

Showcasing the shuttles

At present, NASA plans to have the shuttles ready to ship to their museums by early- to mid-next year.

For those going to sites outside of Florida, the orbiters will be attached to the back of NASA's modified Boeing 747 airliner and ferried to their new homes. Cranes will offload the shuttles from the carrier aircraft at the recipient cities' airports and then, depending on the location, the orbiters will be further moved to their display buildings. 

At the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy just outside Washington, D.C., Discovery will be rolled into the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar, where it will serve as the centerpiece for an exhibit hall already filled with other historic space artifacts.

As Discovery moves in, Enterprise will be shipped up the coast to the Intrepid in New York. Too large to fit on the deck of the aircraft carrier and still have room for the other aircraft already on display, Enterprise will be housed in a planned glass-enclosed hangar that will sit alongside the Intrepid on Pier 86, where the museum's Concorde jet sits now. According to an artist's concept drawings, Enterprise will be displayed with its payload bay open, surrounded by interactive educational exhibits.

Endeavour will be sent west, joining the space exhibits at the California Science Center, where Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft are already on display. Unlike the other museums selected, the science center did not pre-release its exhibit design concepts for the orbiter.

At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Atlantis will be suspended such that it appears to be back in orbit around the Earth. As proposed, a multi-story digital projection of the home planet will rotate behind the orbiter in a new $100 million, 64,000 square-foot indoor facility.

Kennedy's display is designed to compliment its existing Shuttle Launch Experience, which opened in 2007 to give visitors the chance to feel what it was like to ride to space aboard one of the orbiters.

More suitors than shuttles

Bolden's announcement Tuesday came three years after NASA first said it would give its retired space shuttles to U.S. museums or educational institutions. Solicitations in 2008 and then again last year identified 21 organizations vying for an orbiter.

Museums needed to provide an environmentally-controlled indoor exhibit space and be able to afford the estimated $28.8 million needed to prepare the orbiter and transport it for display (Congress waived the fee for the Smithsonian).

Yup..... you knew this day was coming! Kryptonlogic.com is back, in a new way, but same ole' thing. A blog, that talks about tech, disney, theme parks, web design, and many more things. I'll try to keep it updated as often as possible with articles I find online. See you everyday back on Kryptonlogic.com and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @Kryptonlogic and check out my Twitter media Posterous website at KryptonAdventures.

Thanks,

Jose L. Castillo

Walt Disney Imagineers are currently piecing together the Beast’s castle, which will sit high atop what will become the Be Our Guest Restaurant. The “Beauty and the Beast”-inspired restaurant, which is set to open in late 2012, will offer a lavish dining experience in the castle’s elegant ballroom, gallery and mysterious “west-wing.” The restaurant and castle will eventually be flanked by Gaston’s Tavern, Bonjour! Village Gifts, and the cottage of Maurice (Belle’s father).

The castle construction is a major milestone in the expansion, which will nearly double the size of Fantasyland and include several new attractions, such as Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid, The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and enhanced versions of the existing attractions, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Barnstormer.

The expanded Fantasyland is scheduled to open in phases, beginning in late 2012.

[Source: DisneyParks Blog]