For this new version of Pearltrees alpha, we tried to keep track of one principle: enable you to have all the stuff you like at hand. To achieve this we have worked on 3 workstreams to deliver Pearltrees alpha 0.4.

I. Ergonomics: simplifying and integrating

Now, you access all the different views of the pearl with one click on the pearl : the pearl itself, the pearl window and the  content within the pearl. The “content” tab in the pearl window of a pearltree is also more clear: it summarizes the pearltree with its several key metrics (number of pearls, number of hits, last update and name of the author).

The pearltree now has 3 buttons next to it:

• Close an opened pearltree with… the “close” button.

• Discover the most connected (closest) pearltrees of a specific pearltree with the “what’s connected or “mini pearl”. It allows you to discover other pearltrees of interest to you. You can even follow them by bringing it in your account!

• Use the “up” button to access the upper level of a map

Furthermore, you can navigate more easily with the new version of the player. When arriving at a pearltree junction, you can  choose either to enter the pearltree, or skip it and go the next pearl.

Finally, pearling has never been that simple! There are only 4 buttons in the pearlbar. You browse, you like something, and you just click “pearl”.  That’s it. You still need, however, to register to use the “pearling” tools (IE or Firefox’s pearlbar, bookmarlets). If you’re a Firefox user, the pearlbar will update automatically. If you’re using IE, you’ll have to install it again…or switch to Firefox 😉

II. Welcome of new users

This is one of the major shifts in this release. We simplified the homepage. The stickers have disappeared (RIP). Instead there is the tagline (“have the stuff you like at hand”), a text explaining why to join Pearltrees and of course the “hottest” pearltrees.

We also improved the account creation process. There is a guided tour for new users which explains all they need to know to get started!

More generally, we reconsidered all the features. For instance, you are truly the full owner of the data you store on Pearltrees : you can export your data in RDF format.

There are also a lot of small improvements and simplifications within the interface but we’ll let you discover them yourself!

III. Server architecture

More and more of you use Pearltrees, and that’s great news! But our first architecture was a bit weak to cope with all your requests. Therefore, we changed our architecture from to Php to Java, in order to make Pearltrees more stable and faster. So now don’t hesitate to invite your friends!

Filed under: Platform, User Interface by pedaviet on October 6th, 2009