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.

Why 'The 10 Commandments of Web Design' are Complete Baloney
Source: SitePoint, 5 July 2008
 
Further to our earlier discussion...

Local Council Websites: Good, but no Cigar
Source: Webcredible, 4 July 2008
 
The 'Local Council Websites: Good, But No Cigar' report evaluates the top 20 Socitm council websites against 20 best practice usability guidelines.

Why does the OK Button say OK?
Source: Gerry McGovern, 3 July 2008
 
Most times I come across the OK button, something not-OK has happened.

The 10 Commandments of Web Design
Source: Business Week, 2 July 2008
 
To try and make sense of it all, BusinessWeek.com canvassed a broad range of Internet luminaries to discover the design rules they live by right now.

Bill Gates' email rant at the Usability Team
Source: Crunch Gear, 1 July 2008
 
The Seattle P-I has tracked down an old e-mail from 2003 that Bill Gates sent out to members of the Windows Usability team.

Can a better User Experience also be a Greener Experience?
Source: Catalyst Resources, 30 June 2008
 
By improving the user experience of its web collaboration software, Catalyst made it easier for clients to work in productive teams without travelling the globe.

The Spread of Telepresence Technology
Source: Tech News World, 28 June 2008
 
Rising energy costs and green concerns are fuelling a huge increase in demand for videoconferencing, collaborative software and virtual telepresence technology.

UK Usability market worth more than £200 million by end of 2008
Source: eConsultancy, 27 June 2008
 
The UK Usability market will grow by an estimated 20% in 2008 to a value of £214 million, according to research published this week by e-consultancy.

Research suggests growing importance of Usability to UK Businesses
Source: Business Strata, 26 June 2008
 
Integrated software for lead generation and marketing is valuable, but only as long as it's usable.

Web 2.0: Too Smart by a Half?
Source: Computer Technology Review, 25 June 2008
 
Will the Web 2.0 generation’s epitaph be, “They died with their options open?”