Challis Hodge’s UXblog

AOL Boards Cruise Line
Princess Cruises is preparing to add surfing to its activity agenda–surfing the Web, that is. The cruise line said Thursday that it plans to launch its first America Online Internet cafes aboard its ships to offer passengers Net access. More.

Starbucks Wireless Rollout in three Cities
Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co. said it intends to roll-out wireless services initially to customers in Dallas, San Francisco and Seattle by late spring, denying allegations that it had been forced to delay its rollout plans to bring in-store broadband Internet access services via wireless devices. The wireless service is expected to allow Starbuck’s North American customers to connect to a broadband service via wireless devices in individual shops. Each user will be able to access e-mail, the Web, online shopping and broadband content offerings developed by Microsoft MSN and Starbucks.
More:
Starbucks Says Wireless Rollout to Start With 3 Cities.
Microsoft, Starbucks in wireless venture.
Starbucks takes wireless leap.
Starbucks to Go Wireless.

Two Way TV World Leader in Interactive TV Games
Two Way TV proclaims “The Two Way TV Channel as their “flagship consumer experience.” They offer an interactive games channel that’s deployed on a number of digital cable and satellite networks around the world. In the UK, it has distribution to almost a million pay-per-play digital cable homes and will soon launch on digital terrestrial platform Ondigital. The next step will see deployment of Two Way TV’s enhanced television capabilities that enable viewers to join in from home with game shows and sports events as they’re broadcast. According to the company, Two Way TV is starting to attract big name advertisers and sponsors such as Cadbury, Domino’s Pizza and Sportal. Check out Two Way TV here .

Neil Cicierega 14 Year Old Animator Boy Wonder
“Neil “Trapezoid” Cicierega, who has at times described his occupation as “Youthful Dipwad,” may not be a household name yet (he is, after all, only 14), but judging by his emerging track record, he’s destined for great things. He’s the creator of the animated movie Hyakugojyuuichi! which stars, among others, PeeWee Herman, Hello Kitty, Harry Potter, Elton John and Jay the Jetplane, all set to the lively tune of a Pok�mon anthem. His movies may be just bizarre amalgamations of randomly chosen objects (a Budweiser logo, a thumping pacemaker, Justin Timberlake’s head), but they can easily be viewed as biting satires of the American media, trenchant observations about consumer culture — or, at the very least, clues to unlocking some of the universe’s deepest mysteries.” More on Neil here.

Spain Slams Spam With New Law
“In a move that pits commercial e-mail proponents against Net user groups, Spain’s government has drafted a law meant to make spam a thing of the past. Following a tug-o-war between proponents of privacy and those of unfettered advertising, Baudilio Tome, Secretary of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society, announced this week the final draft of the Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce Law — which clearly bans unsolicited commercial e-mail.” More here.

The Wireless Games Adults Play
“CTAM (Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing) recently released a study conducted by CENTRIS on use of electronic games by adults. Although video game manufacturers traditionally target children, one third of adults 18 or older play electronic or computer games at home (70%) or at work (14%). Most adults (58%) play games on their PCs directly without using the Internet, while 46% of adults use video game consoles. One out of four adults uses a hand held device (25%) or the Internet (24%). Moreover, the majority of adults (59%) spend up to two hours per week playing games.” Read more here.

Firms Underestimate the Power of Blogging
“There’s an Internet application that few people have heard about, although it is gaining popularity and will likely become a regular part of our working lives. It’s called a Web log, or “blog.” And yet, for a technology that is so useful, Web logs are surprisingly absent from corporate intranets. That’s because, as with e-mail 10 years ago, few in the corporate sector understand their power — until they begin using them regularly.” Read on.

m-Commerce Is Not Over-hyped
“There seems to be this absurd consensus in the wireless industry that m-commerce will develop in Europe and magically make its way across the Atlantic, like ABBA and Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. But Americans love cash. We write songs about it (Mo Money, Mo Problems, by P. Diddy comes to mind). We carry it around in great wads to demonstrate our position in society.” 2Scoot is one company that really gets it! Read more here.