Brief: Europeans start to go Broadband

European consumer broadband services continue to grow as xDSL surpasses cable subscriptions, according to a new survey by Forrester Research. Access difficulties notwithstanding, much of the growth has come from the UK, with that market finally getting up to speed and offering compellingly priced services.

'The latest survey shows that almost 6% of Europeans have access to broadband services, up from 4% half a year ago," said Forrester Technographics Analyst Paul
Jackson. 'After a very slow start last year, we have seen a faster-than-expected ramp-up of high-speed services in the UK. With more than 2M broadband consumers, it is now the second-largest broadband community in Europe -- but it is still some way behind the 7M broadband users in Germany."

Adopters say the need to free up telephone lines (64%) and the extra speed (58%) are the top reasons for getting broadband.

Elsewhere, reports indicate that Americans aren't especially eager to ditch their slothful 56K modems for high-speed Internet connections, and penetration there has also been slower than expected. There has been no sudden leap in uptake to the same extent there.

The Difference Between Usability and User Experience
Source: CMS Wire, 22 March 2010
 
Never hurts to be reminded: semantics, or genuine conceptual distinction?

Use Your Users’ Language - And Use It Well!
Source: Multilingual Search, 20 March 2010
 
British English is very different from (US ) American English and Australian English. It is so very important to use your users’ language.

Cyber-criminals don't need Technical Skills
Source: SFGate, 19 March 2010
 
The unexpected downside of great usability.

Advice on Designing Mobile Sites and Apps
Source: Poynter Online, 18 March 2010
 
Series of useful tips from a recent panel discussion.

Website Usability and Conversion
Source: UsabilityBlog, 17 March 2010
 
Useful presentation on the relationship between website usability and conversion.

Tips for Usability Testing with Children
Source: Econsultancy, 16 March 2010
 
Not even chocolate will help you here.

The Hygiene Factor of Usability
Source: inspireUX, 15 March 2010
 
Is it true that usability can no longer take us 'beyond lack of dissatisfaction'?

The Business Benefits of building Accessible websites
Source: Econsultancy, 13 March 2010
 
There’s a good business case for making your website more accessible to the UK’s disabled community.

Internet access is 'a fundamental right'
Source: BBC, 12 March 2010
 
Almost four in five people around the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right, a poll for the BBC World Service suggests.

The Net generation, Unplugged
Source: The Economist, 11 March 2010
 
Is it really helpful to talk about a new generation of "digital natives" who have grown up with the internet?