Neuroscience
Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for December 18 is called Usability in the Movies -- Top 10 Bloopers, and it pokes fun at computer user interfaces as depicted in the movies.
Kind of funny, esp. the line from Jurassic Park in which a 12-year old says "This is UNIX, it's easy" -- and proceeds to save the day.
But does funny mean anything? Nielsen asserts that it does have a negative effect, and user interface design aficionados would appreciate his conclusion:
"Users blame themselves when they can't use technology. This phenomenon is bad enough already; it's made worse by the prevalence of scenes in which people walk up to random computers and start using them immediately. "
- Search: Fail
image from findiconsJakob Nielsen's Alertbox had a nice (if sobering) column in March: "Converting Search into Navigation." Nielsen's conclusion: "Users are incredibly bad at finding and researching things on the web. A few years ago, I characterized...
- My Public Schedule For Fall
In case you were wondering, there are a few places you can see me this fall, and if you can't come see me, you can read some stuff I wrote. Here are the details: Workshops "Live Usability Lab: See One, Do One & Take One Home." Thursday, September...
- Usability: Worth The Effort?
Today I'm speaking at Simmons GSLIS West about usability. You can see the useful links I've gathered over the years on my Simmons wiki, which lists my favorite usability articles. It's also got a copy of my PowerPoint presentation, in case...
- User Interface & Search Screen Design, From Jasist
Finally! I'm recovered enough from teaching to start reading the journals that have piled up patiently awaiting my attention. The Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology recently had a special section entitled "Perspectives...
- Learn More About A Master's Degree In Human-computer Interaction!
Description: The Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) is looking for students to join their master's program on campus next fall! A background in Psychology is ideal for the program. Graduating seniors or alumni with an interest in how people and...
Neuroscience
Hollywood's Usability Bloopers
Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for December 18 is called Usability in the Movies -- Top 10 Bloopers, and it pokes fun at computer user interfaces as depicted in the movies.
Kind of funny, esp. the line from Jurassic Park in which a 12-year old says "This is UNIX, it's easy" -- and proceeds to save the day.
But does funny mean anything? Nielsen asserts that it does have a negative effect, and user interface design aficionados would appreciate his conclusion:
"Users blame themselves when they can't use technology. This phenomenon is bad enough already; it's made worse by the prevalence of scenes in which people walk up to random computers and start using them immediately. "
- Search: Fail
image from findiconsJakob Nielsen's Alertbox had a nice (if sobering) column in March: "Converting Search into Navigation." Nielsen's conclusion: "Users are incredibly bad at finding and researching things on the web. A few years ago, I characterized...
- My Public Schedule For Fall
In case you were wondering, there are a few places you can see me this fall, and if you can't come see me, you can read some stuff I wrote. Here are the details: Workshops "Live Usability Lab: See One, Do One & Take One Home." Thursday, September...
- Usability: Worth The Effort?
Today I'm speaking at Simmons GSLIS West about usability. You can see the useful links I've gathered over the years on my Simmons wiki, which lists my favorite usability articles. It's also got a copy of my PowerPoint presentation, in case...
- User Interface & Search Screen Design, From Jasist
Finally! I'm recovered enough from teaching to start reading the journals that have piled up patiently awaiting my attention. The Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology recently had a special section entitled "Perspectives...
- Learn More About A Master's Degree In Human-computer Interaction!
Description: The Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) is looking for students to join their master's program on campus next fall! A background in Psychology is ideal for the program. Graduating seniors or alumni with an interest in how people and...