Motorola Usability Problems — “Three quarters of RAZR users would not buy another Motorola handset because they are difficult to use, according to a poll by Mobile. A survey of consumers who had bought Motorola products found many are still struggling with usability.”
Funny, I was just talking to a friend of mine recently about his RAZR. Scratch that. He got rid of the RAZR because it was so painful to use. Further, he really didn’t like the way that he had to keep paying for every little bit of functionality and content. Nothing was easy or obvious for him with the RAZR. Good thing it is thin and sexy, and heavily marketed, otherwise I think it would have been a bomb for Motorola.
(Hat tip: Szuc)
Brands Games Play — “This paper suggests advertisers should experiment with in-game advertising to gain skills that could become vital in the near future. It compiles, arranges and analyzes the existing body of academic and industry knowledge on advertising and product placement in computer game environments.”
Go straight to the PDF…
Prototyping beyond the sunshine scenario — “Prototypes often model one flow of interaction – the path that users are most likely to take. But when we create interaction designs with dynamic and complex flows, we often need to include deviations from the sunshine scenarios to see whether they work. In this article, we’ll look at how to do this Visio and Axure.”
Nice job, Henrik. Many people only consider the ideal flow through a web site, process, or tool. There are many side streets and alleys. These other paths are not necessarily the wrong paths, they’re just different. Plan ahead, model, and test now, or pay the price later.
Narrative presentation and building brands — “If you use stories to present information to consumers you can influence their decision making process, their emotions, and their intention to purchase.” (ref: Human Factors International)
Emotions, baby! Tha’s what stories are all about.
The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing (version 3.0) — “If you’re having trouble deciding, there’s a very simple solution. NO HIRE. Just don’t hire people that you aren’t sure about.”
Simple. When in doubt, NO HIRE! Employees are the blood and bones of your company. You need to have absolute confidence in them. If you don’t have great feelings after an interview or if your interview team can’t agree, NO HIRE!
Team develops DNA switch to interface living organisms with computers — “These elements working together create a dynamo effect which in turn generates electricity. The result is a device that emits electrical signals – signals that can be sent to a computer. The switch, therefore, links the biological world with the silicon world of electronic signals.”
Give new meaning to human-computer interface.
During the World Series last night, I saw a Chevy advertisement that was 100% Spanish. It really caught my attention. I know a few words in Chinese and French, but that’s about it. I know they were talking about a Chevy truck, but I had no idea what they were talking about beyond that.
I smell a change coming in the United States: This year, there’s a good chance the 300 millionth American has already walked across the border from Mexico.
What does this mean for usability? Usability warriors such as Daniel Szuc are driving changes in China. There are heroes in many European countries too, as well as Australia. However, I’m not sure how many spanish-speaking usability practitioners are out there. My guess is that this is an under served market. Stated another way, this is an opportunity for savvy usability practitioners.
Is the new face of usability someone like Jorge Arango or Juan Leal? Have you heard of Cadius? What happens next? Are you planning to retool and embrace this change as an opportunity?
Second Life keeps coming up on my radar. I’ve never created an account, never logged in, and I simply don’t know too much about it. I’ve read a few articles and I understand that it is kind of hot and spicy, but that’s about it.
Per TechCrunch, Crayon claims to be the first real business created inside Second Life. I think I understand what this means. If nothing else, it is an inflection point where Second Life gains even more momentum and visibility in the real world. This is because there is real money flowing.
So, I’ll ask the billion dollar web 2.0 bubble question…
Who will buy Second Life? (Take the poll, folks!)
CAPTCHA usability – “Stop hurting the users!”
Inconvenience: deliberate or accidental? — “Enforcing irrational rules. Intentionally putting the seats far from the electrical outlets so people like me won’t steal electricity.”
The ROI on PPC vs. Affiliate Marketing — “You should treat your top performers as important strategic marketing partners.”
What it takes to be great — “The evidence, scientific as well as anecdotal, seems overwhelmingly in favor of deliberate practice as the source of great performance.”
Three laws to help pinpoint telecom design problems — “…you’re only aware of the plumbing when it’s broken and there’s (waste) all over the floor”
