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Update: Amazon Webservices UK Has launched, and so has Amazon Light UK.
Amazon Light UK (this website) is an Amazon.co.uk Webservices Application
This means that it is a web-based application built on Amazon.com's XML API, built and hosted by Kokogiak Media. Or, more basically, Amazon.co.uk is providing the data via XML, and Amazon Light UK is presenting it in a new way.
This layout is, well, very plain
That's intentional, as Amazon Light UK was laid out to be simple and efficient - since, frankly speaking, shopping at Amazon.co.uk can often be anything but simple or efficient. Amazon Light UK uses Amazon.co.uk's Search capabilities and returns the information in a rather plain-vanilla manner. Hopefully the end result is a faster, cleaner Amazon.co.uk search experience - moreso than can be found at the original site. I promise to restrain myself from adding too much more to the site over time, but do have a couple small additions up my sleeve.
How is this done?
Through Amazon.com's Webservices API. Amazon.com has opened up their catalog via XML over HTTP and the SOAP protocol. Amazon Light UK is done through ASP and VBScript, using XMLHTTP and ResponseXML objects to retrieve Amazon.co.uk's XML over HTTP on IIS5.0. That's a mouthful, and ugly to read as well, so here's what happens -> the IIS server has an object that allows one to fetch a document to the server over the web, like a browser fetching an HTML document to your desktop. In this case, we're fetching a special XML document provided by Amazon.co.uk, and treating it much like a small database, grabbing the important information and putting it all together on the server to serve up as HTML to the end user.
Privacy. Individuals using Amazon Light UK (http://www.kokogiak.com/amazon_uk) agree to nothing in particular, except maybe the fact they find this interface useful. Kokogiak Media (meaning myself, as a sole proprietership) will not share any information that is incidentally gathered through this website with any other party. What kind of information can be collected? Basically, what pages were viewed, what search terms were entered, repeat visits, etc. This information will be kept private.
One additional note, in the interest of being completely up-front, the product images on this site are served up directly from Amazon.co.uk's Image Servers. The XML files used to construct these pages are also served up by Amazon, but they are retrieved by Amazon Light UK on the server side, so Amazon.co.uk can gather no information about the end user in this manner.
What's in this for you (Kokogiak Media)? Basically, a cut of sales - through the long-existing Amazon.co.uk Associates program. The percentages (or "referral fees") vary from 2.5% to 15% depending on which department the items come from.
Plus there's the satisfaction of building something one finds personally rewarding - and discovering others find value in it as well. Please feel free to email any questions, concerns or comments you have to info@kokogiak.com.
