Following on from a blog post by Jakob Nielsen about the usability of password fields, and a follow up by Bruce Schneier we decided to have a little experiment with the Litmus login page.
We realised that whenever we get the option to unmask a password while entering one in everyday desktop apps (specifically Mac OS X) we normally do it. We thought it'd be worth giving this a go on Litmus.
From now on you'll be able to mask or unmask your password while logging into Litmus, by default we'll keep it masked but feel free to uncheck the box if you'd like to see exactly what you are entering. In order to trigger browser password saving functionality our javascript flips the field back to a password before submitting.
Today Litmus is four years old. We launched the service (then called SiteVista), on June 7, 2005.
That feels like a very long time ago now. When we first started it was just David and I working part time, whilst doing freelance work. Now we're a team of six.
My thanks to all our customers who've made this possible. We love what we do and are committed to building the best testing tools in the world.
Here's to the next four years!
Geert De Laet recently contacted me to tell me about a desktop application he built. It helps his designers test their emails more efficiently using Litmus. Geert works for LUON, a company in Belgium with an email marketing product called EmailGarage. Here's a screenshot of Geert's application:
The designers at LUON were put off testing their emails early in the design process because they'd need to upload the images and HTML for their templates first.
"This led to the fact that the emails were only tested last minute when everything was put in order to actually send the email," Geert told me, "and we have a couple of Litmus accounts, which made it even more difficult for the designers."
Geert set up a network drive—accessible from the web—where the designers can copy/paste their email designs into a folder. His desktop application asks for their HTML file, then automatically changes the image references inside it. Finally, it displays a preview of the email and sends it to the correct Litmus account.
The application uses the static email addresses for LUON's Litmus accounts to send in the email test to Litmus, making it a very straightforward integration project.
He has plans to streamline the process even further, eliminating the manual copying of files and instead uploading automatically to a cloud storage service. "Another thing I'd possibly add is a check on the weight of the email, so I can make sure the designers have optimised their images!"
My thanks to Geert for sharing details of his application with us. If you've built something with Litmus I'd be fascinated to hear about it.
Wouldn't it be nice to set your email or browser test running, then be alerted the moment it's finished? From today, Litmus can send you these notifications by email, Twitter, Gtalk or AIM.
To set up your notifications, just start a new test in your Litmus account. Once your test is processing you'll be offered a link to configure your notifications:
This follows nicely from my previous post about setting expectations. By being able to get on with other tasks whilst your test is processed, it feels quicker because you're being more productive with your time.
This feature works particularly well if you're using a static email test address. First set up your email notifications, then send us the newsletter to be tested (to your static address). As soon as your results are ready, you'll get an email back with a direct link to view them. It's much simpler than visiting your account to hunt down the results.
If you're building your own web applications, you might be interested to know that we're using MessagePub for our Gtalk and AIM notifications. They have a great API that makes it easy to start sending custom IM alerts without needing to maintain your own bots.
Last week we received our first batch of iPod Touch devices.
Our current development focus is on launching a comprehensive range of mobile devices, for both email and browser testing.
We can't give an exact date for the launch just yet, but these iPod Touches will be being shipped to the data centre soon!