Category: Uncategorized

  • Rex Ryan: Twitter missed opportunity

    After the Jets game, David Clowney, Wide Receiver NYJ, wrote a twitter message. “1 play in the 1st Half, 4 plays in the 2nd half . . . A bit disappointed about my playing time but very happy and satisfied about the win.” For this tweet, he was benched for next Sunday’s game by Coach…

  • Too much CO2 is bad

    I just saw two sites that are incredibly disturbing.  One claims that CO2 is not a pollutant and the other is claiming CO2 is the best thing in the world for plants.  The ridiculousness of these websites is depressing, because I know that some people think that this point of view is valid. How about a website…

  • The UX of buying my first Smart Phone

    For the longest time, I have used a cheap flip phone.  The only “feature” it had was the ability to drop it on the floor and it would continue to work.  The main criteria I had for phones was that they had to not drop my calls.  Thus, we have been Verizon Wireless customers. Cell…

  • Microsoft 7 Party Video Disaster

    Sometimes marketers (no offense) are ridiculous.  Here is an example of the worst marketing I have ever seen. This video really makes me want to install Haiku.  Microsoft, you are making me crazy.  The Outlook-Word thing stinks, but this video made me throw up in my mouth.

  • UX and PRDs

    PRDs (Product Requirement Documents) and MRDs (Marketing Requirement Documents) come in many flavors.  My question today is, “What kind of requirements doc is the most conducive to creating great UX and great products?” Let’s assume for a minute that you have a Product Manager that knows their stuff backwards and forwards.  The goal is to get that…

  • GMail and p.MsoNormal

    Note: This post is from 2009. This is no longer applicable. I have one favor to ask of the GMail team. It will help millions of people and has zero bad side-effects. Please put the following line in your CSS. p.MsoNormal {margin: 0px} Why is this important? When Outlook sends mail that has images in…

  • The UX of Fax Machines

    I am spoiled.  I live in an age of cut and paste, email and attach.  The fax machine, when I have to use it is a ridiculous anachronism.  I just had to use it. To dial 9, or not?  Do I dial 1 before the area code?  What is this complicated UI?  It happens to be an…

  • Jets 2009 Predictions

    The Jets already had their first game. So I know I will predict that one correctly.  Here are my predictions: Wk Date Game Win? 1 Sep 13 NYJ 24 @ HOU7 WIN 2 Sep 20 NE @ NYJ WIN 3 Sep 27 TEN @ NYJ WIN 4 Oct 04 NYJ @ NO WIN 5 Oct…

  • The UX of BI Analytics (Demos)

    Lately, I have been researching BI (business intelligence) tools and watching all their demos.  Some of the demos were horrible and others great.  I learned alot about business intelligence space.  The tools are so open-ended.  In the right hands, with the right data, tools like this are ridiculously cool.  They can help you find real insight.  However,…

  • Ira Glass, UX Rockstar

    I listen to NPR (National Public Radio) every morning.  I have been a consistent paying member for years.  Every few months, they have a pledge week where they try and get listeners to donate money to support the radio network.  They try all kinds of techniques to increase effectiveness:  Dollar-for-dollar matching, free gifts, prizes, donate…

  • 9 year old Soccer: Design Strategy

    User Experience Design is about asking the fundamental question: Why?  Why do people love the things they love and hate the things they hate and ignore most of the rest?  Why does the world act the way it does? Once you understand Why something happens, you can design a strategy to maximize the positive outcomes.  A…

  • Storm Large – 8 Mile

    This is pure unexpected WOW.  Watch the video and ask yourself, “Did I just say wow?  That was unexpected?”  Great song, great video. I hope you like it.

  • The Neck of a Drop Down Menu

    I have this horrible mini-UX experience in LinkedIn.  Overall, I love LinkedIn, but this one tiny thing is like a small pipe in a hallway that I keep stubbing my toe against.  You can try it out too. Go to LinkedIn and look at the top right. You see the “People you may know” box?…

  • Fun to Use or Easy to Learn?

    Which is more important?  Something that is easy to learn or something that is fun to use once it’s learned? Most software developers get this exactly wrong. Riding a bicycle. At first, riding a bicycle is scary and physically painful. (Falling off a bike is not fun)  However, once you learn it, it is extremely…