last updated:06 Aug 2003 07: 52 Webword time, or 06 Aug 2003 12:52 UK time Webword Statistics - Recent Comments (Comments added for week ending Sun 03 Aug 2003) | View Other Weeks Rick Chapman is In Search of Stupidity | Sat 02 Aug (Joel on Software) In every high tech company I’ve known, there’s a war going on, between the geeks and the suits. Before you start reading this great new book full of propaganda from software marketing wizard and über-suit Rick Chapman, let me take a moment to tell you what the geeks think. Sun 03 Aug 22:13 | Anonymous | The war between the two, and it involves propoganda on both sides, is the source of the stupidity. A massive collaboration and communication failure. But of course there is no end of talking *at* each other, so nobody really notices. Slows down the next big thing cycle to actually learn from history. SOFTAVA Q12 Keypad | Fri 01 Aug It seems that we are rapidly approaching the point where the traditional 12 key keypad is no longer going to be able to keep pace with the ever growing feature set that modern mobile handsets keep adding to. Most everybody agrees that T9 was a giant step ahead when compared to the old triple-tap method, but few would argue that it still isnt optimal when entering large amounts of text. (Dans Comments: Imagine using this on the move ... ) Fri 01 Aug 12:27 | Conrad Zulus | When I saw how people have to use little keys and 3 letters to a key to txt message I was shocked that people put up with it. Shame on the moblie phone companys for this awful set up. What Microsoft should do with all that cash | Wed 30 Jul Yes, I think they should build a new operating system, as much from scratch as necessary to solve Windowss most intractable problem: Its not all that easy to use and really isnt getting any easier. Its also bloated with features and controls that most people never need, further weakening its ease of use. Wed 30 Jul 16:17 | Anonymous | Sounds like a bad idea to re-start from scratch. They've got a huge installed base, lots of legacy apps, and a huge advantage over everyone else. Plus, look what happened to Mozilla when they rewrote from scratch? It took 3+ years, and when it finally came out, was (and is) only used by a small minority (myself included). Thu 31 Jul 07:28 | Ralph | Maybe it's unrealistic, but I miss the days when you just copied all files to a directory and BAM , that was it! Everything just ran - no installation program doing God knows what, no registry, etc. I think complexity is totally out of control. Fri 01 Aug 01:31 | Eric Vitiello | It was nice to be able to just copy everything to a directory, but that desn't scale very well to the siz of things like Microsoft Word, or AutoCAD, or any large application. And can you imagine how many more tech support calls there would be from people trying to uninstall a program 'I removed all the files and directories, but I still see the program!' -- of course, they just forgot to remove the shortcut to the application. Plus the fact that you'd have duplicate copies of shared libraries laying around all over the place! Fri 01 Aug 08:12 | Brian Curtis | This seems like a great oppportunity for some smart, usability-oriented software company to commit suicide. All they have to do is develop an operating system focused entirely on user tasks and ease of use for non-programmers and then hammer relentlessly on marketing it to non-techies. Spread the news by word of mouth, if necessary: 'There's a computer that's actually easy to use and gives you what you need without a ton of bloated crap that slows down your system!' Then, if it gets popular, Microsoft will demolish it and absorb all its best features to incorporate into Windows. The implementation will be second-rate, but it will still be a step up from where we are now. Any volunteers? C'mon, take one for the team! Nielsen Spoof | Wed 30 Jul Users get lost driving CARS, which are typically big, linear hunks of metal that are optimized for parking (they seem to fit well into those outlined areas found on side-streets and parking lots), but are unpleasant to drive and navigate on highways, toll-roads, and dirt paths. CARS are good for parking (teenagers take note), but thats it. Dont use them for driving ... ever. (Comments: Thanks Gabriel White.) Wed 30 Jul 11:14 | Anonymous | Why is no one commenting on Webword these days? Wed 30 Jul 11:41 | Arne Gleason | It’s quite funny as long as you avoid considering the analogy being made. If anyone were to consider roads and cars as good metaphors for structuring and navigating online information…well, I hope nobody actually does. Wed 30 Jul 23:49 | Ron Zeno | 'Why is no one commenting on Webword these days?' Don't want to encourage posts such as these. Doh! Fri 01 Aug 08:08 | Brian Curtis | You know, as funny as this is, it's actually true. Cars DO suck. They're annoying, slow, polluting, expensive, there are way too many of them everywhere... In over 100 years we haven't made the next jump beyond the creaky old internal-combustion engine for efficient mid-range travel? It's kind of pathetic, when you think about it. And the usability really IS poor; that's why you need Driver's Ed and all those driver instruction schools. Nothing intuitive about the operation at all; we simply get better at it through experience and repeated exposure, and even then, the system doesn't give us what we need (automatic obstacle avoidance, for example) or react as quickly as we'd like (instant stop, total steering control without skidding). It's amazing that we have as few lethal accidents as we do... and we have a LOT of lethal accidents. Seven deadly sins of web writing | Mon 28 Jul (Gerry McGovern) Whats the single most important thing that could improve the Web? Its not broadband. Its better writing. The general quality of writing on the Web is poor. The way you write has a major impact on what people think of you. Avoid these common mistakes and you will achieve more with your website. Thu 31 Jul 14:29 | Anonymous | 8th deadly sin: Flogging an equine post mortem. Find something new to say, Gerry. I'm yawning; and have been for a while now. Gates: Microsoft Will Invest $6.8 Billion In FY '04 On Research | Sun 27 Jul Its a serious number. The goal is to take R&D activities to be synergistic, to take XML Web services, management [and] UI advances, and drive those across all the different [Microsoft] products. Longhorn is not just release of Windows client. Were in the same time frame [for] Office and server products, where everything is synchronized to build on this platform and take advantage of that. (Comments: $6.8 billion? Holy guacamole, Batman! Then again, they have something like $40 billion in cash reserves. Maybe it aint that much. Thanks Daniel Szuc.) Thu 31 Jul 07:08 | mcw | Cash & equivalents is $50 Billion at end of last quarter. Report Review: Nielsen/Norman Group's Usability Return on Investment | Wed 30 Jul (Boxes and Arrows) I hear some folks wonder, “But what about the 83 pages of case studies? There must be good stuff in there!” Sadly, this is not the case. The bulk of this report is simply not useful, because the cases are too wedded to particular contexts. The focus of each case study is the improvement made, which is utterly meaningless to the reader. Wed 30 Jul 23:05 | Ron Zeno | Lots of comments on peterme.com, boxesandarrows.com, and even a few in my weblog. Sounds like NNG's $100+ reports aren't any better than Nielsen's Alert Box articles... Of course, Marcus' report is not any better at all. U.S. Recovery Cold Comfort for Unemployed | Sun 27 Jul Like I told my father-in-law: I dont care if the unemployment is one guy in the whole country. If that one guy is me, then were in an economic crisis. (Comments: Two things. First, I often think of usability in the way that this guy is talking about employment. If a user is in pain at some point in time, then the product is a failure. Sure, it isnt a failure overall, but for that user, it is a total failure. Second, how much of the unemployment issue is caused by jobs being shipped offshore? Is it fair to say that business is improving for companies but not employees?) Tue 29 Jul 12:33 | Ralph | Does anyone else think we need to do some serious reevaluation of how our economy works? And more importantly, does anyone have any solutions? I think we need some user-centered economy design. Just a few thoughts - our economy seems to be based a lot on the car. Why? Isn't there a more noble goal than driving around in an expensive money-pit? World peace, environmental stewardship, just making things work? July Bandwidth Report | Thu 24 Jul As of June 2003, most users in the US connect to the Internet using dial-up modems of 56Kbps or less. 51.4% use 56Kbps modems, 9% use 28/33.3Kbps, and 2.9% use 14.4Kbps modems. In total, 63.3% of home users in the US connect to the Internet at 56Kbps or less. Tue 29 Jul 12:14 | Ralph | Message to Comcast, Verizon, etc.: It's the Price, Stupid! Fundamentals of Value | Sat 26 Jul (cio.com) Value has two other dimensions as well: economic value—what these features and functions are worth to customers in terms of time and money; and psychological value—the emotional benefits that customers get from your products or your company. Mon 28 Jul 13:36 | Anonymous | Value is so misused it should be flagged as a buzzword.