Police 'Domestic Incident' was Man waving Gun at PC

PCW tells the story of an armed SWAT team descending on a US flat, evacuating the area and then not arresting an irate computer user.

It describes how officers were called to an apartment block in Boulder, Colorado, by worried tenants who had seen a neighbour waving a handgun around and shouting that he "wanted to kill" the "bitch". A police SWAT team, thus called to what they believed to be a violent domestic row, found the suspect had been shouting at his PC.

'Police immediately called in a SWAT team and evacuated the building. Hundreds of passing cars were diverted from the scene and a large crowd gathered to find out what the rifle-equipped SWAT team was doing in the area. However, police quickly left after establishing that the man had simply been suffering a bad case of PC rage, threatening his computer with a plastic pellet pistol,' reports the magazine.

Deputy police chief Dave Hayes told local reporters that is was alarming and concerning and expensive, but the man's conduct didn't warrant any criminal charges.

Associated Link: PCW: Armed police swoop on PC rage row

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.