It’s a really nice bathroom sign. It really is. But seriously, can we do something about the air dryers in this country?

I appreciate the fact paper towels are a complete and total waste of resources, but the hand dryer situation is…well…out of hand. If those things could blow just 2 or 3 times harder, then they might actually work as intended.

My point is simply that signs on walls are all well and good, but its the design of the experience that determines success of a campaign. A huge proportion of people would indeed use air dryers, if they just did their job as expected.

Who’s with me? And who’s ready to build a new air dryer?

Apparently, my battery is dying. As you can see in the photo, my computer is proudly displaying the fact that my battery is “reaching the end of its usable life.” I’m not sure what that means, but boy would I like to know more.

Unfortunately, when I click on that little weird box that does not look like any other information dialog on my computer, it simply disappears. Is this Dell warning me that something really bad is about to happen to my battery, or are they just giving a simple nudge that maybe the support team at work should ship me a new one, on the double? Alternatively, is this a sign of malicious activity on my machine?

Well I just don’t know. Weird little non-modal appear-at-random-times popup friend, who are you? And what do you really mean to tell me?

You know how it feels when a song just sort of hits you? You’ve liked the band for a while, listen to their music frequently, but then all of a sudden you’re completely struck by a particular song? That happened to me tonight.

Perhaps I’m just tired from the holidays, work, and life, but I don’t think that’s it. The song I’m speaking of is Civil Twilight by The Weakerthans, my Canadian band of the moment.

What I love about the song is the story it tells. As I listen, I suddenly picture myself in the shoes of this every day bus driver. Just a regular Joe…who notices every day, normal things. Of course, he’s also dealing with a breakup throughout the song. The parts I really appreciate are when he remarks about his experiences on the bus, like how the song starts:

My confusion corner commuters are cursing the cold away
As December tries to dissemble the length of their working day
And they bite their mitts off to show me transfers, deposit change

I love the description. I can really see the people biting their mitts off. I do that. Check out this part where they describe the driver’s ordinary thoughts:

For the most part I think about golfing and constantly calculate
all the seconds left in the minutes, and so on, etcetera
Or recite the names of provinces and Hollywood actors;
Oh, Ontario! Oh, Jennifer Jason Leigh!
This part of the day bewilders me

I wonder if I could write a song like this. Part of my job is to observe ordinary people doing ordinary things, and then design for the problems & inefficiencies I see. I’m sure it wouldn’t be as poetic, but maybe one day I’ll write a song about a guy named Rob and his experiences and problems as an Insurance Underwriter. Or a gal named Lisa and her rituals as a Hotel Manager.

Could be a fun way to document my findings, no? One day…

Check out Civil Twilight, by the Weakerthans.

I’m giving Hulu a shot. So far it’s pretty sweet. Don’t be mistaken, the success of a service like Hulu is greatly dependent on one thing: the programming. And I don’t mean software programming. It’s all about the shows, baby.

When it comes to programming, Hulu’s got a great start. There’s a bunch of shows on there that I like a lot, and a few I’ve been wanting to try out. They even have a few movies.

The interface is pretty seamless as well. I was pleasantly surprised when one episode of The Office ended, the next one started up automatically. Now, you might think this isn’t a big deal, but really it is when I’m sitting on my keyster and the computer is plugged into the TV all the way on the other side of the room.

The one thing that they haven’t figured out is the advertising. Perhaps I’m not hip to the ad game, but I’d say playing the same ad over and over every 10 minutes is bad form. In fact, if I see that Cisco ad one more time I think I’ll scream.

They allow you to create custom clips to share with others, a pretty cool idea. So if you want to send that 2 minute segment of an hour-long show, it’s no problem…just create a custom clip.

Frankly, I think Hulu should be just about there in terms of features. If you want to give it a try, go get yourself an invite, on the main page.

Update: Hmm…just noticed they do a bit of censoring…at least for the movies. Strange.

The Story of Stuff video is incredible. So much learning packed in to 20 minutes. You have to see it. Now.

I’ve long held the opinion that it’s important to think long and hard before upgrading to new technologies. Often a single technology purchase causes a daisy-chain of purchases, as illustrated below:

Nintendo Wii > Big, giant, flat TV > Cable > Premium Channels (Total upgrade cost = $250 + $1,000 + $60/mo + $10/mo = More than $1,300, plus a contract with the cable company…)
or

Apple Macbook > New Case + Parallels + Windows Vista > Software for both operating systems (Total upgrade cost = $1,600 + $40 + $80 + $200 + $500 = ~$2,500)
and my current quandary:

Blackberry Pearl > Bluetooth headset (& other devices) + Mobile Internet Subscription + Media Card

The thing is, I’ve had my current phone for more than 3 years. It’s getting dated, but it still works well and does pretty much everything I need it to. Well, at least it does everything I’ve become accustomed to needing. Other than weighing pure costs, the most important thing I do before buying a new technology is ask this simple question:

How will this technology change my life?

It’s important that I understand this, because if I don’t think about it then I risk throwing money away on crappy, needless technology. It’s more than just thinking about the technology’s features, but about how those features will impact my daily life. So, let’s run through this question, applied to the Blackberry Pearl. So, how will the Blackberry Pearl change my life?

Positives:

• No need for a separate iPod or similar device.
• The Pearl’s media card holds music, and my headphones will fit in the phone itself.
• No need for a separate digital camera.
• Well, that’s not entirely true, but the Pearl does have a 2 megapixel camera…which is good enough for most point and shoot needs. The real question is, will Verizon lock these pictures on to my camera, or allow me to easily and freely transfer them to my (or others’) computers?
• Email from anywhere
• I’ll be able to get my Gmail from anywhere…on the train or walking down the street, or even at a client site that doesn’t allow me to check personal mail on their network.
• Chat from anywhere
• Same as with email, but I’ll be able to chat with people from anywhere.
• Internet capable
• This could be life changing. If I can use the internet from anywhere then I can do tons of other things. I can check competitive prices while I shop at target, or blog from the street corner. This could make life very interesting.
• GPS directions mean I’m less likely to be lost
• I’m using up to date technology
• This might seem like a minor detail, but I think it’s pretty important for someone whose job it is to design experiences based on technology. It’s important for me to know the potential of the current devices and tools, and I have to admit that my old phone doesn’t really allow me to do that anymore.

Negatives:

• Who wants or needs to get email all the time?
• I certainly won’t be hooking this up to all my email accounts. The last thing I want is some device to vibrate for each email I receive all day…
• “Crackberry” potential
• I also don’t want to get hooked to this device. I’ve already got my face in front of a computer screen for a majority of the day…the last thing I need is to be addicted to another screen.
• It’s not an iPhone (or Google Phone).
• ‘Nuff said.
• I’m not sure if it will play nice with my mac…
• Can it sync up with my web-based stuff like Google Calendar? I guess maybe I can just view gCal from the browser?
• Big one: Once I advance to this technology, will I ever be able to go back to living life without? This has a little to do with addiction, and a lot to do with how the phone will change the way I do things. What if I’m at a point in my life where I can no longer afford to pay $80/mo for phone+internet service? Will I be able to go back?
• Extra $40/mo for mobile internet is pretty steep… (though work will cover it)

I’m sure there’s more, but for now I want to put this out into the world and see what you all think. Should I make the upgrade? Take the leap? Jump into the abyss? Or not?

Please weigh in in the comments…

So this evening I’m reinstalling Java. Not by choice, but because the annoying little balloon keeps on popping up in the corner of my screen. Then, while it’s installing, the installer has the audacity to say something extremely stupid like:

By installing Java, you will be able to experience the power of Java…”

NO WAY! That is AWESMOE*! Well thank you very much Java, for allowing me to experience the power of JAVA!

Alright, maybe I’m being a little hard on these designers…but seriously people, words matter! By putting silly little mistakes like this into an installer you’re immensely hurting your credibility. In fact, if I didn’t know better I’d think this might be a virus written by a kid in his basement, not a development platform backed by a company with nearly 35,000 people.

So, Sun, how about a little fixer upper?

* Awesmoe = Awesome to the power of 10

Alternatively titled: On Covering Your Ass

Check out that picture on the right. That’s from my credit card’s website. My favorite part is the red link on the bottom that proclaims, “See fewer choices.” You know what that option is? That’s a designer or usability person saying to the team, “Hello team, we have heard from users that there are too many choices on the screen.” Then the usability/design person recommends that we prioritize the options on the screen and progressively disclose them so that only the most used choices will be shown up front.

Then someone on the team shouts, “But we can’t remove links that are already there! Users will haaaaate that! Maybe we can just put an option to ‘See fewer choices,’ that way we can make everyone happy!” The designer/usability person shakes their head in disapproval. What the team did in is take the easy way out. Rather than analyzing user needs on a deeper level and getting an understanding about what choices are valuable at each point in time, they simply put a link to “See fewer choices.”

Lazy, lazy, lazy.

Building usable tools is about more than giving the user exactly what they ask for. It’s about designing for needs…needs that the users themselves can sometimes be blind to. It’s about thinking deeply about problems, and crafting creative solutions based on data (that has been gathered from the real world of the users).

Let’s work a little harder to make better software, shall we? I shall. Who’s with me?

One of the most difficult expectations for me to overcome with respect to my coworkers is the idea that I’m here to simply make the software look pretty. It’s difficult for so many to understand. I do understand principles of typography, layout, color, and design in general…and yes, I do have the ability to decorate an app to make it seem “prettier” to the untrained eye.

The thing is, I’m not necessarily here to apply typographical, layout, color, etc. changes to a system. Before that can happen, the tool has to have a logical flow. Input fields that are displayed have to make sense. Everything that has been placed on the screen up to this point must be there for a reason. I take it as my first job to understand exactly why you’ve placed that input box above that drop-down menu, for example. Sometimes this part of my job is easy. Other times it is not.

My point is that I will not (and cannot) make your system look nice unless the basic interaction part is already taken care of. In fact, having a cordial interaction with the user is core to the system looking nice. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the colors themselves don’t matter if the user can’t figure out what he’s supposed to do.

The UI needs tending, and it can’t just be fixed at one point in the process…beginning, middle, or end. It needs attention throughout the design and implementation phases. Each development iteration can also be an interface design iteration. Slowly but surely I’m learning that it’s not a good idea to just try to save an interface in one fell swoop. Everybody involved in the software development process should take this lesson to heart as well.

For now, I’ll keep busy on projects chugging away at finding interactions that make little sense from a user’s perspective and helping to ameliorate these issues. It’s my hope for each project that one day I’ll get to the point where I can help the user have an experience that is not only easy, but fulfilling and emotionally pleasing as well.

I almost missed my flight this evening. Nearly every Sunday for the past few months I’ve taken a flight to Raleigh, NC. This flight is preceded by a trip in a taxi from my house to the airport.

Except tonight it didn’t go as planned.

As routine turned to complacency, I wasn’t alarmed when the cab wasn’t there 5 minutes early…nor was I alarmed that it still hadn’t shown up 10 minutes late. Then 20 minutes late. Finally at 23 minutes late I picked up the phone.

Me: Um…I ordered a cab for 7:15 and I just wanted to check the status of my ride.

Operator: Oh, he should have been there a while ago. Let me contact the driver.

…Waiting…

Operator: Yeah, he’s right down the street. You should go outside…he should be there any minute.

Me: Great! I’ll be out there.

…10 more minutes pass…

Me: *Muttering* I better call again… (This time was same as before, just with a new operator.)

Operator: Yep, my system shows that the driver is right up the street. He should be there any minute.

Me: Great! I’ll be out here. (I don’t know why I’m endlessly positive with people in service industries. I have patience well beyond my needs…)

Eventually Karen noticed that I was still outside and offered to drive me to the airport. I took her up on it…and it’s a good thing I did. The cab never showed.

But why did all this miscommunication occur in the first place? Perhaps it has something to do with the communications systems that the cabs are using. This technology is a likely culprit. If you look around at the driver’s seat in any cab in the US, you’ll find that it’s a mess of wires, screens, and sounds…and this is before you take into account the fact that the driver has to drive. Of course the driver says he’s right up the street…that’s how he gets the operator to leave him alone, so he can get to his destination/talk on his mobile phone (by the way, who do these cab drivers talk to on their phones all day? My guess is that they talk to each other. It couldn’t be their family members…could it?).

All of this is turning into one big rant. The point is, a cab driver’s seat holds endless opportunities for innovation. It is ripe and ready to be tapped. So, somebody, please (pay me to) do some ethnographic research and redesign this workplace. I’m sure us regular taxi riders would benefit immensely.