WebWord

Search engines are only as good as the pages they index. If the pages are poorly designed, the results you see in a search engine are going to be poor. In other cases, the search engine spiders cannot handle the code for the page. In some instances the issue is with back end database(s) and […]

useit.com — “For the field in general, it’s worth remembering the downsides to centralized computing. We must take steps to keep users in control as we grow the power of the network. It’s essential that we keep a strong front end to balance out improved back-end features.”
Read Jakob’s article…

Fast Company — “Bryce started with a few simple rules: Criticizing a customer is a firing offense. Be reliable. No news is not good news–communicate frequently with customers. Look for ways to exceed expectations and make customers say “wow.” Remove hassles–make it easy for customers to do business with Rackspace.”
Cool.
Read the article…

“A microprocessor embedded in the shoe’s arch drives a tiny screw and cable system that adjusts the heel cushion based on signals sent back by a sensor attached to a magnet. The system is powered by a battery that conserves power by adjusting the shoe in mid-air, during a runner’s stride. The scheme is designed […]

A List Apart — “But what happens when there is no printable version, or the printable version includes ads or other settings that don’t suit you, the user? That’s where user stylesheets come in. Armed with a little CSS knowledge and some web development tools, you can easily create your own print versions formatted exactly […]

Joshua Kaufman– “As someone who notices annoying software features nearly everyday, I found the “Potentially Annoying” note quite refreshing. While some users may find it useful to see an alert dialog when Mail isn’t running, other users like me will probably find it annoying. Just imagine if Microsoft Word’s preferences marked all of their potentially […]

“Working as a usability professional in the open source arena is a challenging task. The decentralized and engineering-driven approach of open source projects can be at odds with corporate processes and usability engineering methodologies. Nonetheless, there is great potential for large corporations to contribute to open source projects. Providing usability know-how that leads to usable […]

Everyone seems to be pointing to this.

“Findability refers to the quality of being locatable or navigable. At the item level, we can evaluate to what degree a particular object is easy to discover or locate. At the system level, we can analyze how well a physical or digital environment supports navigation and retrieval.”
Check out Findability.org
Related Article: Information Architecture for the Rest […]

I’ve been very impressed with Baekdal.com and I suggest you visit the site. I don’t care for the design, but the content is wonderful. For example:
Minimum font sizes
Habits and Expectations can Render Usability Tests Invalid
Usable Breadcrumbs with Guidelines
…are three recent postings. Check the site out and let Thomas Baekdal know that I sent you!

“This month, Dirk Knemeyer interviews Aaron Marcus. Aaron Marcus is a visionary thinker, designer, and writer, well-respected in international professional communities associated with Web, user interface, human factors, graphic design, publishing, and desktop software application development.”
Read the interview…

If you ask me, beta is just another way to say that it is free now but you’ll have to pay for it once you’ve used it for a while, helped us fixed the bugs, and got addicted to the site / service / tool.