“Such manuals are written at a tenth-grade reading level on average, according to a new study, while data suggest that nearly a quarter of U.S. adults read at or below a fifth-grade level, and at least 25 percent read at about an eighth-grade level.” —Car Seat Instructions too ComplexMSNBC) Thanks for the link Mark. Similar:Quick…
“Persuasion in itself is obviously not new. From Cicero’s oratory to modern TV commercials, communicators have tried to persuade audiences. What’s different is that websites and other computerized designs are going beyond one-way rhetoric and becoming interactive. For most people, doing something is much more engaging and thus potentially more compelling and persuasive than passively…
“This project, the Memex Simulator, examines the ideas of the Memex and implements them as faithfully to Doctor Bush’s original specifications as is possible given the small amount of information available on the as-of-yet unrealized physical design. Because of the prohibitive complexity and cost of film and hardware for a device such as the Memex,…
“The Congress Online Project will release its 2003 report about congressional Web sites on Monday, March 3. This report names the winners of the Congress Online Gold, Silver, and Bronze Mouse Awards and provides guidance to congressional offices on how to improve their own Web sites. We don’t want to give away any secrets until…
The lone link on this page disappears when you try to click it. Actually, your browser automatically loads another page that is completely blank. That link is labeled “FAQ”. I’m sure the most frequently asked question on this page is “What the…!?” –DGJ —From the “I Don’t Get It” DepartmentPurple) Similar:Quick visit to see my…
“The cardiac unit at Derriford Hospital, the biggest hospital in the South West, is one of the most modern in Britain. It is equipped with three up-to-date operating tables costing about £50,000 each. | The tops of the tables slide on to the electronically operated base so that the patient does not need to be…
“The template system is also good for the audience. Apcar says that when readers come to a NYTimes.com multimedia project, it will look familiar to them — they will know how to navigate it. That’s not so for a news site that treats every multimedia project as an independent entity, not bound to existing practices…
The article is worth reading, but I’m quoting from the “Procedures for Shuttle Bailout” box at the bottom: “Although no formal requirements or plans exist for crewmembers to bail out of the orbiter during uncontrolled flight, they may be able to do so under certain circumstances. The hatch jettison pyrotechnics do not require orbiter power…
“People will soon be able to publish their own website via their phones as blogging goes mobile.” —Blogging Goes MobileBBC) Sounds a bit much like drafting a press release to fill a Sunday evening news gap, but journalists have been quick to grasp the social significance of weblogs. Thanks for the link, Rosemary. Similar:Quick visit…
“When we view the computer as an interactive artifact the computer exists as our partner in the completion of important tasks. We ask the computer to do something and it, by proxy, does it for us. We should, instead, view the computer as a tool that we use to perform tasks: we use it so…
“Things like the Back and forward button, we never intended that to be a permanent part of the interface. But people get locked into metaphors. You have to be careful with the metaphors you put in front of people because once they click onto one, that’s it.” An interview with Netscape creator Marc Andreessen —Web…
“Google adds fresh pages to its database everyday. You can search these fresh pages to find new information from today, yesterday or over the last 7 days if you wish. The only thing is, do not head to Google.” —Search the Fresh Internet in Google with GooFresh!Smoogle) A description of GooFresh, a website that lets…
“There are two types of people — those who prefer to communicate via e-mail, and those who prefer the phone. What the phone people don’t realize is that their need for information means that they’re going to interrupt someone else’s day to get that information. E-mail, on the other hand, is just as quick and…
“All the scenester dudes are either dating a series of interchangeable high-school riot grrrls in baby doll dresses and an overdose of manic panic, or permanently shacked up with some bitter old lady who pays all the bills. Which will it be, a wifely prison or a humiliating one night stand? Into this void of…
“A homepage really has two main goals: to give users information, and to serve as their top-level navigation for information that’s inside the site…. [S]ample sites allocated less than half the screen space to useful pixels.” Jakob Nielsen —Homepage Real Estate AllocationUseIT.com) Similar:Quick visit to see my mother and siblings.Students are trusting software like this…
“Remember, too: you’ve just been wounded, and in addition to the adrenaline that’s just been dumped into your system, you’re likely looking at anywhere from a few drops to a steady flow of your own blood – a highly upsetting experience for many. Which means you’re shaking, and most likely trying to do this all…
“The computer industry defies the pattern of all previous technological revolutions, making little or no progress toward convenience. It takes much longer to turn on your machine in the morning now than it did 20 years ago. The reaction of the clueless masses is to grumble and crack wise and then meekly accept the commands…
“But here’s the dirty little secret that may go farther in explaining why usability stinks: Most developers and designers don’t give a rat’s ass about it. The developers want the thing to have lots of features, so usability is the designers’ problem. The designers want the project to look great, so how it works is…
“By providing a basic FAQ addressing what are expected to be the most common questions asked by persons new to the sci.space.* heirarchy and/or those regulars who are only now finding out about the tragedy, it is hoped that the degradation of the groups’ signal-to-noise ratio that usually follows events of this nature will be…
“Nurses quickly learned how to hack the system to save time. For example, if a patient’s bar code didn’t scan correctly on the first try, nurses often entered the seven-digit bar code number manually rather than rescanning it. “Nurses also felt that the computer system’s demands forced them to focus on pill-pushing. If meds weren’t…