Media: PC World asks do we Really Want the Wireless Web?

Tom Mainelli of PC World reports on a survey which shows there are few current users of the wireless internet and waning interest in the technology.

Only about 6% of internet users connect wirelessly, Mainelli says, according to a report from research firm Solomon-Wolff Associates - this figure has hardly changed over 18 months. Even more surprisingly, given the hype about wireless services, the number of people interested in the wireless internet actually dropped from 39% of internet users in January 2001 to just 22% of users in January of this year.

The survey, conducted in January 2002, polled 7200 internet users from a pool of more than 250,000 in the firm's database. It is the second year that wireless internet has been among the topics that participants were asked about.

Solomon-Woolf are reported as saying that the company had expected that the technology would take off like PCs and the internet and wireless phones. But there is no killer application for it yet. 'Wireless internet providers, while hesitant to admit slow growth, do say they expect to again grab people's interest with new technologies they're rolling out today and in coming months,' says Mainelli.

'Early services could serve up decent content -from weather to news to stocks - but it was in a text-based, unattractive way.'

Associated Link: PCWorld: Do We Really Want the Wireless Web?

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.