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                WebWord.com Newsletter
           "Industrial Strength Usability"
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                 Newsletter Editor
                   John S. Rhodes 
                     John@webword.com
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February 4, 2002                    Newsletter #65
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Table of Contents


1.  WebWord Newsletter Growth
2.  Usability in Hong Kong
3.  Installing Norton AntiVirus 2002: A Usability Case Study
4.  Information Architecture for the Rest of Us
5.  Book Review: Designing from Both Sides of the Screen
6.  When Will Google Screw Up?
7.  What Can You Find at WebWord.com?


       
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ITEM #1

Editorial: WebWord Newsletter Growth

How much has the WebWord Newsletter grown? Here are some
numbers to review:

16-Aug-2001  4444 subscribers
24-Sep-2001  4755 subscribers
28-Oct-2001  4960 subscribers
27-Dec-2001  5258 subscribers
04-Feb-2002  5535 subscribers

This has not been a fast path. We've been producing the
WebWord Newsletter for over three years. However, I'm
happy to say that readers are extremely loyal. Once people
subscribe they don't unsubscribe.

  Thank you for reading WebWord!

You can support WebWord by hiring us for your next usability
or information architecture project. Learn more...
--> http://webword.com/services/index.html



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ITEM #2

A new WebWord.com interview is now online:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/szuc.html


"Usability in Hong Kong"

I just interviewed Daniel Szuc, a usability professional 
in Hong Kong. Here are some of the questions I asked him:

* How is usability testing different in Hong Kong?

* Do users in Hong Kong work and interact with web sites 
  differently than other users around the world? How?

* What are the main usability issues for Hong Kong users? 
  For example, are there serious bandwidth issues? Are 
  there language barriers? Are there any interesting 
  cultural issues? Are there any gender issues? 

* What do you users in Hong Kong think of Flash? Is it 
  good? Is it bad? Is it abused? Does it work well? 


You can read the new interview here:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/szuc.html




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ITEM #3

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/nortonav.html


"Installing Norton AntiVirus 2002: A Usability Case Study"

The purpose of this article is to provide you with an 
in-depth description of my experience installing Norton 
AntiVirus 2002. Several images and descriptions are 
included, along with numerous comments about the usability 
associated with the installation process. 

 
You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/nortonav.html


p.s. Don't miss these great comments from a WebWord reader:
--> http://webword.com/readers/duck.txt




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ITEM #4

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/restofus.html


"Information Architecture for the Rest of Us"

The purpose of this article is to explain information 
architecture in a very simple and clear manner. If you 
have been confused about information architecture and 
what it is all about, this is exactly the article you 
should read. An analogy is used to get at the core 
concepts and several useful examples are provided.


You can view the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/restofus.html




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ITEM #5

A new WebWord report is now online:
--> http://webword.com/reports/bothsides.html


"Book Review: Designing from Both Sides of the Screen"

Designing from Both Sides of the Screen doesn't do a 
great job introducing usability and it doesn't do a great 
job explaining usability testing. Also, it is too focused 
on Hubbub to the exclusion of reviewing other instant 
messengers. As I stated above, I would have loved almost 
any book that talked about instant messenger usability in 
general. 


You can view the new report here:
--> http://webword.com/reports/bothsides.html




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ITEM #6

When Will Google Screw Up?

On 8-Jan-2002 I posted a comment on WebWord that generated
an incredible 35 replies. Here is what I wrote that started
the whole thing:


"It seems that everyone loves Google. I love Google and I 
bet that you love Google. Here is the problem. I'm afraid 
that Google is going to screw up. I'm afraid that they 
will go away or that they will do something terrible. Are 
they secretly grabbing information from my hard drive in 
an attempt to gather information on everything? The issue 
is that we all have very high expectations of Google. We 
use it because it is fast, simple, and fun to use. But 
will they become evil over time? I realize that they are 
user focused and user driven today, but what about the 
future? And yes, everyone loves the Google toolbar right 
now, but are they collecting too much information about 
us all? What do you think about Google? Will they continue 
to be the best search engine? Do you think they are going 
to screw up? How much do you trust Google as a company?"


If you want to see what other people wrote, visit this page:
--> http://webword.com/weblog/00000767.html

Feel free to post your comments. The discussion is still
open. Enjoy!




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ITEM #7
    
What Can You Find at WebWord.com?


WebWord.com Services
>> http://webword.com/services/index.html

Articles (Moving WebWord)
>> http://webword.com/moving/

Expert Interviews 
>> http://webword.com/interviews/

Career Center
>> http://careers.webword.com/

Recommended Books
>> http://webword.com/books/booksindex.html

Newsletter Archive
>> http://webword.com/archive

Weblog Archive
>> http://www.webword.com/weblog

Usability Reports 
>> http://webword.com/reports

Recommended Web Sites
>> http://webword.com/hotsites.html



----- End of WebWord.com Usability Newsletter #65 -----

      (c)2002 by WebWord.com and John S. Rhodes. 
                 All rights reserved.