Month: July 2009

  • The UX of Chrome 3.0.192.1

    Chrome is the browser I reach for most of the time.  Here is the good/bad/beautiful.  Firs tthe good. Speed.  It’s much faster than the other browsers in launching and loading.  Everything jusgt seems faster in Chrome. Tabs.  The details of the tabs are genius.  The nice smooth lines with a gentle slope is much more…

  • The UX of the Long Tail

    The long tail should be familiar to everyone. Every project I have every worked on was like this.  Here is the breakdown: 1. The Logos. Greek word which is defined as “Meaning”.  We all have experienced the boss who comes in and says, “I want you to design a widget system.”  So in essence, they…

  • Office 2010 Activation (Update 2)

    Well, the modal has changed.  The program still works though, so my downgrade punishment is deferred again.  I wonder if it will keep working?  Of course, none of the links go anywhere. I am anxious for the next build of Office 2010.  My beta clock is ticking.

  • Office 2010 Activation (Updated)

    Interesting.  This morning, I was fully expecting my Office 2010 to stop working.  Inexplicably, it shows me the exact same activation window as yesterday.  It says, “1 day left to activate”.  Maybe Microsoft put a little bug in their own activation wizard to stop it from imploding? Who knows?  However, the good news is that…

  • Nothing Lasts

    Possibly the defining characteristic of life as we know it.  Change is the only constant. Whether it is pain or joy, it won’t last forever.  I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tonight.  Medium movie, I liked it.  However, the line, “Nothing Lasts” really stuck with me.  My kids are growing older so quickly…

  • Office 2010 Activation

    Hi, My name is Glen and I am addicted to beta software. My latest fix comes from Office 2010.  Even before the official beta program, a version of it was leaked to the web.  Waht does Microsoft expect me to do?  Ignore the leaked version!?  Are they insane.  Of course, I found it and installed…

  • The UX of upside-down pavement signs

    You know when you are driving and you see a sign that is written on the pavement itself.  The interesting thing is that the sign is written from top to bottom so you can read it one line at a time while you drive over them. Although I often find these signs difficult to read,…

  • The UX of a Great Software Review Site

    Most software review and analyst sites miss the mark for me.  There is a fundamental reason why…I want to see the software in action!  Why can’t these sites follow this basic formula: Standard Use Cases in clear language. Reviewer comes up these.  I would even ask the software companies to come up with their own…

  • Local Max Island

    I heard this concept from Victor Cho at Intuit a few years ago and just read about it again this morning in Small is the New Big by Seth Godin.  The basic concept can be described in this picture. Let’s say you live on the little mound at the bottom (Island A).  This is, in…

  • The Big Five of Interaction Design

    There are 5 ways that a user will guess how to do a certain function. Buttons/Links Menus Right-Click Drag and Drop Keyboard Shortcuts Each of these ways is more or less comfortable for a random user.  Personally, I am a right-clicker.  I right-click on everything and am usually disappointed.  However, when it works, I am…