Not blaming the user since 2007!
From the monthly archives:
…or just the Cadillac. I took this video in a rental after the empty soda bottle repeatedly popped into my lap. However, perhaps I don’t understand their users as well as Cadillac does. It could be you should never have an empty drink while driving a Caddy….
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I apologize in advance for posting news about the iphone…but apparently, Perceptive Sciences (a usability firm in TX) concluded that the iphone has better usability than the Nokia N95 or HTC Touch…
Everybody will have an opinion, but what’s need is something more objective and definitive. So an expert in the field — Perceptive Sciences, an Austin, Texas-based usability consulting firm — was asked to examine and compare the iPhone and two competitors.
The results of its tests were unequivocal: While the iPhone is not the most feature-rich device, this group of experts found that when it comes to usability, iPhone does, indeed, live up to its hype.
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I was browsing the nutrition information for Moe’s the other day and was struck by the uniqueness of their interface. It let’s you specify exactly what you order, exactly how you order, at their restaurant. Give it a try (click on “Nutrition” in the menu at bottom.) This is obviously an interface for those who need to know just how many calories are in those jalapeno bits.
As an informal comparison, check out these interfaces from Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Burger King. They all make assumptions, perhaps correct, about their users. For example, it was pointed out to me that taco bell makes sure it’s easy for you to have more than one of the same item (since that’s how people order… two soft tacos, please).
McDonald’s seems to think that importing the same table they provide in-restaurant is the way to go.
Burger King pretends to be novel, with the “big book of nutrition”, but exploration of any item eventually turns up a table.
It does seem to be the most parental of the sites, offering as many tips on how to eat as telling you what they serve.
These interfaces are so rich with both good and bad human factors, I can’t possibly cover it in one post. Let us know your favorites!
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More “function following form” with input devices…iDrive anyone?
With big knobs in cars that control the audio system being all the rage these days, designer Hao-Chun Huang wants to take the knob joke all the way to its logical conclusion and make a super, all-purpose metallic knob to control everything in your vehicle.
[gizmodo]
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A man took his three iPhones out of the country, and now he’s got a $4800 roaming bill because he didn’t turn them off and they kept checking for email. Well, he didn’t turn them off off.
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[heard about it on NPR, Seattle-Post story]
Around 9 p.m., the man was in line at a self-service checkout stand, ready to buy a pry bar and a hacksaw, according to a Seattle police report.
But, as a manager told an officer, the man accidentally hit the button on the computer screen for Spanish.
That was the tipping point for this consumer.
He became “frustrated that the machine was speaking Spanish,” the police report says.
So, instead of asking for help, he let loose a blow with the pry bar and shattered the computer. He ran from the store and made a beeline to some railroad tracks, the report said.
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Bonus points for identifying cameos in this well-done video. If you’re not laughing, you need to read more from this lab.
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