Alice Rss Reader

Posted on Gennaio 1st, 2007

Alice is an Italian internet provider owned by Telecom Italia, the operator in telecommunications that counts the largest user base in Italy. Alice is also the web portal “Virgilio”, with a lot of contents: mail service, news, search engine, products, video and an awful lot others.

GOALS

• Create a RSS reader for desktop of the Alice web portal’s users, windows complied (the first RSS reader of an Italian web portal)
• Allow users to straight filter on their desktop, depending on interests, the info coming from Alice web portal or from other RSS feed in the web
• Inspire confidence in the users giving them a quick, functional and customised instrument
• Convey info and news through push modality of RSS, that let the users search from the beginning all the contents they need.

SOLUTION

For the RSS reader project, H-art customised the desktop solution of Skinkers UK. It was necessary a careful study of the information architecture and functional elements; always paying attention to the needs of an inexpert user, as it could be the one Alice wanted to hit with this free instrument.

Web design, based on guide lines come from analysis, had a polished, light and pleasant style. The desktop’s RSS reader was managed by panels, with a sidebar always on foreground where updates of users’ feed are notified. Then, the presence of filters allow user to reject news of no interest.
For the interface H-art chose flash application, whose the agency managed the front-end integration.

COMMENTS

The main innovation of this feed reader is its interface, completely developed in flash, which assigns it a pleasant and light look. When installed and activated, the similarity with widget is immediate. So Alice RSS Reader doesn’t request heavy Java Virtual Machine or particular requirements, except of the free installation of Macromedia Flash Reader and some limited system requirements explained in the program’s pages.
The installation is easy, almost basic, and it makes this product particularly suitable for inexpert user of informatics field.
from http://www.rss-world.info

Syndication is now a theme of public domain, as well the user’s desktop presidium. It makes not sense to create close contents inside the web: desktop solutions are good lever action for contents multiplication. Unlike many guess, solutions as this kind don’t get wise the advertising model, because they go over the media noise of several information sources, directly reaching user.
Massimiliano Ventimiglia