
"Real" Online Bookstore - Start-up with amazing javascript - nadim
http://zoomii.com/
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cbthiess
Hi, I'm the creator of Zoomii. I've been (mostly) lurking on Hacker News for
some time now.

Thanks for the feedback. It is very slow on FF3 right now, due I think to its
slow scaled-image rendering and tossing of uncompressed image data whenever
leaving the tab. But it looks like using a CANVAS will actually make FF3 the
fastest browser for Zoomii. Working on it. Hope to deploy that today.

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cbthiess
I'm happy to say the problem is Fixed. FF3 is nice and fast now. :)

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ComputerGuru
While a really nice idea, it's inefficient and won't work. Time has proven
over and over that technology requires a different perspective, and what we're
used to doesn't always work. From the first attempts at flight by creating
artificial wings and flapping them up and down to sowing machines that
attempted to thread a needle through one side of a cloth and out the other,
science has shown that what we're used just doesn't always translate to
success in the machine world.

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thomasfl
It's unbelievably pleasant to browse the bookshelves with zoomii! We'll see
more star interaction designers like these guys in the future.

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nirmal
I suggest making the individual book targets inaccessible when you zoom out.
At some levels I can't even read them yet clicking on them brings up a
detailed box that covers everything else. You could just do a human readable
thumbnail in a corner. Alternatively, you could make a click in certain level
zoom into that genre of books.

It would also be nice to have a drop down list of categories that could get me
to the correct area quickly. This would me like those signs that some stores
have posted on the ceiling in the various sections (i.e. Reference, Fiction,
Bestsellers...).

The zoom out/in method is not generally how I browse my local Borders. It
makes me think about going to look at one book and then running up the stairs
and staring down to find the next book I want to check out :).

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cbthiess
Yes, the zoomed-out behaviour isn't quite right yet. I'm thinking of doing
overlays which show you the category areas when more zoomed-out.

There is a category navigation panel, actually. The link to it is at the top-
left.

And you can get from shelf to shelf very smoothly by clicking on the arrows
just below the individual shelf titles.

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shaunxcode
This is a very cool concept but as noted on the website itself: painfully
(unusable) slow in ff3. I would seriously "peruse" a virtual bookshelf of rare
programming books for hours.. well minutes. but still that is a LOT of time in
2008.

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comatose_kid
I'm not sure the premise makes sense. Why try to mimic the thing that
bookstores are already good at (physical presence, browsing books)?

It's a neat demo, but I'm not sure why I'd use this over Amazon, even if it
was really smooth.

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ConradHex
>Why try to mimic the thing that bookstores are already good at (physical
presence, browsing books)?

I think you just answered your own question.

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djm
I really like it :)

I read the other comments before looking at your site and initially agreed
with comatose_kid. I still think if I were looking for a specific item, or
buying lots of items than I would prefer to use amazon's interface directly.
However for "I think I'll buy a book to read over the weekend but don't know
what" browsing I quite like it.

Suggestion: The navigation/search/shopping basket box on the top left takes up
space and interrupts browsing (imho). Have you considered putting it in a bar
going across the whole page, or alternatively adding a minimize/maximize
button to it?

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cbthiess
I like your suggestion of making the nav box minimizable. That could reduce
the actions to just icons, taking up very little space. A bar across the top
would be nice too, but I have other plans for that space... :)

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tstegart
What about a Netflix-style pop-up for the books, instead of that big window?
You can really fit all the info you need in one of those, and it would
interrupt the browsing experience less.

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presty
This is awesome. Well done. Really cool idea.

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tstegart
Good concept. Navigation is slow though. You have to keep going back up to the
corner and down to books. Having automatic side scrolling would make it
incredibly easier.

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cbthiess
Actually, there is just that. :) Arrows below the titles on the individual
shelves will take you to the next and previous shelves.

It seems they're not quite obvious enough yet, though. Maybe it's time to make
them uglier.

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tstegart
I was thinking get rid of them and make it automatic. As your mouse gets over
near the side of the screen, the bookcase start scrolling sideways, like
you've started walking down the aisle.

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tstegart
I can actually see a viable business from this (in my head of course, the
business plan is different). Great job.

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tstegart
Nice job on the write-up in RWW.

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axod
Too slow to be useful IMHO

