Media: OK/Cancel take the PaperClip on

"The end of WYSIWYG?" by Tom Chi is a reaction to both to the buzz about Microsoft Office 12 and a recent Alertbox (R.I.P. WYSIWYG). Succinct, thoughtful and, of course, boasting a witty illustration - a rather spooky triumphalist PaperClip - the piece looks at the future of applications in the context of what Microsoft has produced this time.

'To summarize what has changed, toolbars and menus are gone. Instead you have the ribbon, which offers collections of tools centered around major tasks, and special contextual ribbons based on the type of object selected. New context menus and floaties help to bring useful verbs close to selected objects. There is also live-previewing which allows people to easily try permutations and options without having to commit changes. Lastly, many shared features have been standardized, and non-authoring features have been moved to a separate area.'

Associated Link: OK/Cancel: The end of WYSIWYG?

All change at the top for System Concepts
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 3 July 2009
 
Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

Life in UCD immortalised in fiction: you couldn't make it up
Source: UN, 2 July 2009
 
Sarah Herman's fictitious book on life in a user-centred design company has hit the shelves and The Guardian's book pages...

Interfaces Magazine - Issue 79: The Education Issue
Source: Interaction Group, 1 July 2009
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

Two new Behavioural research Tools from Noldus
Source: UN, 30 June 2009
 
Tool updates make on-site behavioural data collection easier.

Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
Source: MIT Technology Review, 29 June 2009
 
New software tracks a user's behavior by monitoring everyday sounds.

Top Six Don’ts for Usability Testing
Source: FutureNow Inc., 27 June 2009
 
Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

Usability: ‘Lovely software. But I can’t work it’
Source: FT.com, 26 June 2009
 
In a recent survey by Global Graphics, 77 per cent of office workers estimate they lose up to one hour a week because business software is difficult to use.

And what do you do?
Source: Dexo Design, 25 June 2009
 
How do you describe your job role? Here are the results of a recent 'Preferred UX/UI Title' Poll.

Most Doctors cite Usability as critical to Electronic Health Record Adoption
Source: TMCNet, 24 June 2009
 
It's all about 'meaningful use'.

Glossy monitors look good but can hurt
Source: QUT, 23 June 2009
 
A new advisory cites research which suggests high gloss monitors make users sit awkwardly.