Media: PC Magazine on the worst Products of the last Year

"Ten to Avoid — The Worst Products of the Year" frames itself as 'what not to pick up' for the Christmas just past, but in fact it's also an informative roll-call. You may not agree with all Jim Louderback's views, but he makes some points to think with. And it makes a change from the 'best of' lists...

Accompanying it, there are the fifty-odd comments that he's inspired, many irate that he has dared to criticise Apple and the eMac. Wading through these yields little but mud-slinging. However, the article itself is a little more analytic: though he doesn't mention usability, he does give product reviews by device type and this is just a taster from 'phone':

'Sure, the phone looks cool. But svelte it is not. In fact, our reviewer called it a "big chunky slab," which is not what I want to carry around in my pocket. It's both big and difficult to manage. The four-way navigation pad seems to have been designed by orangutans without opposable thumbs. Finding a command in the menus takes longer than it took the Minnow's crew to escape Gilligan's Island, and selecting that option requires either two hands or a stutter-step of rapid finger movement. The audio's bad, the speaker phone is muffled, and the processor is slow.'

Associated Link: PC Magazine: Ten to Avoid—The Worst Products of the Year

Six Metrics for Managing UI Design
Source: Russell Wilson, 28 August 2008
 
A proposal of six metrics to be used for managing a user interface design department.

Don't Judge a Form by its Cover
Source: Formulate Information Design, 27 August 2008
 
The saying "don't judge a book by its cover" reminds us that looks are deceptive. It turns out that this idiom applies to forms too.

Beijing Olympics - special State of the eNation report
Source: www.abilitynet.org.uk, 26 August 2008
 
In this special report AbilityNet asked disabled users to try out the Beijing Olympics website in our interaction lab.

It's Who You Know (Or Don't)
Source: Stanford Magazine, 23 August 2008
 
Online social networks are powerful and ineffectual all at once.

Winning Considerations for Interactive Content
Source: UXMatters, 22 August 2008
 
Rich options for interactively presenting content also come with a challenge.

Microsoft sees end of Windows era
Source: BBC, 20 August 2008
 
Microsoft has kicked off a research project to create software that will take over when it retires Windows.

News you can Use
Source: Gerry McGovern, 18 August 2008
 
When the homepage is dominated by news you are not necessarily communicating more.

Feeling Through your Computer
Source: Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science, 16 August 2008
 
A newly designed device lets computer users feel the texture and movement of what they are seeing in front of them.

User interviews - A basic Introduction
Source: Webcredible, 15 August 2008
 
It's surprising how few people have a real understanding of who's using their site.

Helping Visitors find Information
Source: UN, 13 August 2008
 
A new report outlines the key findings from surveys that explored factors which influence the quality of online experience.