B R A I N B O X by Challis Hodge and UXblog (www.challishodge.com) User Experience | Emerging Technology | Advanced Business Strategy Dear Friend: I hope this edition of Brainbox finds you well. It's hard to believe we're now looking back on 2002, a year that seemed to go on forever. 2003 promises to be just as exciting. Even with a slow US economic recovery amidst uncertainty of war life goes on, technology marches forward, businesses struggle to connect with customers and people struggle to find and use products that will make their lives easier. For those of us working in the space where business, technology and people intersect, the unpredictable world around us only increases the need for our efforts. As the many entries below suggest, there are many things for us to learn, places to focus our attention and areas where are expertise is greatly needed. Happy 2003. -challis ___________________________________________________________U X b l o g Recent Posts on UXblog Getting from Research to Personas ================================= Kim Goodwin, Director of Design at Cooper writes about getting from piles of data to useful personas. "The usefulness of personas in defining and designing interactive products has become more widely accepted in the last few years, but lack of published information has, unfortunately, left room for a lot of misconceptions about how personas are created, and about what information actually comprises a persona. Although space does not permit a full treatment of persona creation in this article, I hope to highlight a few essential points." http://www.uiconf.com/7west/goodwin_article_2.htm Seven Tricks that Web Users Don't Know ====================================== An old version of the infamous Seven Tricks that Web Users Don't Know by Carolyn Snyder. Web developers have all sorts of browsing tricks that they have gained from years of experience, to the point where they can't even imagine not knowing them -- right-clicking to open a new browser window, for instance, or using the arrow keys to navigate a list. To Web veterans, these things are so familiar that they seem obvious. The fact that many people don't know these tricks -- and can get completely stuck as a result -- comes as a shock. This article describes seven Web site features that typical non-technical users aren't familiar with, based on data collected from the author's own usability studies. http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/us-tricks/?dwzone=usability Handbook of User-Centred Design =============================== This handbook on user-centred design is intended for those responsible for commissioning or carrying out usability work during the development of interactive systems. It consists of the 5 chapters listed below. Chapter 1: A user-centred approach to design and assessment Chapter 2: Introduction to usability methods Chapter 3: Individual method descriptions Chapter 4: Selecting an appropriate method Chapter 5: Standards and guidelines in user-centred design http://www.ejeisa.com/nectar/inuse/6.2/summary.htm Interview With Douglas Bowman of Wired News =========================================== On October 11, 2002, Wired launched a brand-new site design that uses validating XHTML for its structure and a small collection of CSS files for its layout. The new design clearly shows what some experts have been saying: that standards-based design can be visually compelling and preserve the interface conventions we've come to expect from Web pages. The brains and primary driving force behind this compelling new design is Douglas Bowman, Network Design Manager for Terra Lycos, who graciously agreed to an interview and in the process shed a lot of light on what goes into a standards-based redesign. http://devedge.netscape.com/viewsource/2002/wired-interview/ Wi-Fi in the Wild: A Freeloader's Guide ======================================= Matt Jones, an information architect based in the United Kingdom, developed the visual vocabulary to let others know where to find free wireless Internet access through the popular 802.11 protocol, commonly known as Wi-Fi. Inspired by the chalk drawings used by hobos during the Great Depression to point the way to free food, Jones posted his Wi-Fi access symbols on his website, www.warchalking.org, in late June. http://www.warchalking.org/ Being Wireless ============== Nicholas Negroponte is at it again in Wired. He explains why Wi-Fi "lily pads and frogs" will transform the future of telecom. EVERYTHING you assumed about telecommunications is about to change. Large wired and wireless telephone companies will be replaced by micro-operators, millions of which can be woven into a global fabric of broadband connectivity. Well, the concept isn't exactly new Nick. The real question is when! http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.10/wireless.html IM Bans in the Workplace ======================== Even though it is revolutionary, with great productivity potential, upper management of many companies are labeling instant messaging technology "counterproductive" and "risky". http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,55090,00.html Taxi Art ======== OK, Radio Taxi out of London is a really cool story. They were formed in 1953 by a group of six independent Licensed Taxi drivers. I have to say their site was very difficult to use and I really couldn't figure out exactly what they do. But, the site did include some fresh graphics and the Taxi Art stuff is really cool. http://www.radiotaxis.net/master.htm?fun-art Save Time Watching Your Local Politicians ========================================= eNeuralNet Inc., a California-based artificial intelligence software company, is debuting aWeb-based service that will allow individuals to quickly search through public records -- mainly city and town council minutes from across the nation. The service will allow a user to quickly search through records that might otherwise take decades to read by a human. It will cost $9.95 a month and is primarily aimed at watchdog organizations and the like. They've started in San Francisco and hope to have records online from every municipality that has a population of 100,000 or more by mid-2003. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2002/0909/web-minutes-09-13-02.asp Canesta Launches Invisible Keyboard =================================== Finger cramps from typing into mobile phones or PDAs could be a thing of the past following the launch of a full-sized keyboard made out of light. San Jose-based Canesta claimed on Wednesday that it had developed the world's first fully integrated projection keyboard for mobile and wireless devices. The technology enables a keyboard to be projected onto a flat surface using a beam of light, which can then be typed on. http://www.electricnews.net/news.html?code=8626026 Off Road Wheelchair =================== One of DEKA’s most widely anticipated products is the INDEPENDENCE™ IBOT™ Mobility System. Developed for Independence Technology (www.indetech.com) a division of Johnson & Johnson, the IBOT™ is a sophisticated mobility aid for the physically challenged designed to climb stairs and traverse uneven terrain. The IBOT™ uses self-balancing technology, allowing users to better operate in a world architected for those with balance. http://www.dekaresearch.com/ibot.html Wire-Free Battery Charging ========================== Too lazy to plug in your pda or laptop for charging? You're in luck. New technology developed by MobileWise to be deployed in laptops and handhelds from Acer in 2003 allows battery-operated appliances to charge by simply placing them on top of a special pad. http://www.infosync.no/news/2002/n/2398.html May the Force of Email Be With You ================================== More than 70,000 Star Wars fans have upset Australia's statistics agency by identifying their religion as "Jedi" during last year's national census. http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_657953.html?menu= Getting in Touch With Your Gut ============================== Psychologists have a term to describe people who are in unusually close contact with their gut feelings -- "high intuitives." While you can't teach such skills the way you teach multiplication tables, everyone can hone their instincts to some degree. http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,44584,FF.html IA to AI: Artificial Intelligence and Information Architecture ============================================================== Created by engineer Timothy Kay, SmarterChild began popping up in instant messaging systems last summer. Since then, close to 9 million people have talked to him. Chatterbots, which converse with people through real-time text messages, have existed on the Internet for years. Underneath their friendly exterior, they are basically databases built by humans that link typical questions to stock responses. SmarterChild is different. Its database is limited only by the reach of the Web. Scientists are beginning to capitalize on the way the global network converts "knowledge," or at least reams of data, into a digital language computers can understand. To be sure, SmarterChild often spits out gibberish and non sequiturs just like its predecessors. But its ability to access and digest online information represents a major step for artificial intelligence. A group led by Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the Web and director of the W3 Consortium, hopes to fix some of that by assigning keywords or tags to text, sounds and images. The task of renaming pages, however, must be done manually and will take years to complete. In the end AI on the Web will be dependent on IA and the organization of data for the level of use we hope to achieve. http://www.smarterchild.com/ Eerie Possibilities =================== Every January, Saudi Arabia gets millions of pilgrims from around the world coming to Mecca for the hajj. It creates a huge problem for logistics, crowd control, and security. Working with Moscow based IT firm Luxoft, Saudi Arabia is planning to issue an RFID (Radio Frequency ID) tag to visitors for logistics, crowd control, and security. The tag includes name, country of origin, where they are staying, and what language they speak. RFID readers around Mecca will pick up the data on each passerby for the purpose of monitoring crowd flow and predicting where people are going and how situations might unfold, coordinated by a command center. http://ww1.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/fixup.pl?story=http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/02/09/09/020909opwireless.xml&dctag=wireless0 Second Gamer Dies After 32 Hour Non-Stop Binge ============================================== Just days after the first 'internet overdose', another addict has died after a marathon games binge. The 27 year-old Taiwanese man collapsed after playing computer games for 32 hours non-stop. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1136154 Pentagon Gives CMU $35.5 Million to Combat Cyberterrorism ========================================================= The Defense Department is giving Carnegie Mellon University $35.5 million to develop tools and tactics for fighting cyberterrorism. The new Center for Computer and Communications Security is researching ways to build AI into hardware so that components such as disk drives could take countermeasures in a hacker attack, shutting down or automatically reporting an incident to network administrators. CMU researchers are also studying how to use signatures, fingerprints, iris patterns, face recognition technology and voice scans to confirm the identity of computer users. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-10-08-pentagon-cyberterror_x.htm When Taps Isn't Even Real! ========================== The Department of Defense has begun a 6 month study on the use of a digital bugle. The bugle is like any other and can be played by a bugler; however, when a bugler is not available, a device which looks like a mute is inserted into the bugle, and it is from this device that taps is played. A non-bugler can simply put the bugle to his or her lips and press a button to start the music. The device is weather-resistant, has a volume control, and is powered by two 9-volt batteries. 50 bugles have been shipped to military units and veterans groups in Missouri for the study. http://washingtontimes.com/national/20021029-70639777.htm Finally An Organization for Information Architects! =================================================== The Asilomar Institute for Information Architecture (AIfIA) is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to advancing and promoting information architecture. Specifically, advancing the state of information architecture through research, education, advocacy and community service. Well, folks this is the who's who of IA. I would seriously urge all IAs and those in tangential fields to consider getting involved. This organization will do great things! Sign up as a charter member today and show your support! Move over AFLAC duck! AIfIA has come to town! http://www.aifia.org/ Fate of Moore's Law Tops ISSCC Agenda ===================================== We have at least another decade of exponential growth of semiconductor integration, Gordon Moore is expected to argue at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco on Feb. 10. http://eetimes.com/semi/news/OEG20021108S0050 The AIGA Online Journal Gain Is Back! ===================================== If you're like me you crave content, information and knowledge sharing in the space where business and design intersect. Well, that's the AIGA Journal GAIN2.0 and after a brief hiatus it's back online and better than ever. GAIN has set a goal for itself to bridge the gap between business and design by providing provocative interviews and real-life case studies. The recent issue is a step in the right direction. http://gain.aiga.org/main.cfm ____________________________________________________E n d M a t t e r Subscribe Info & Brainbox Contacts Blog UXblog - daily weblog focused on user experience. http://www.challishodge.com Books A list of top picks for those involved in customer-centered business. http://www.challishodge.com/books.html Subscribe Brainbox- email newsletter focused on user experience. Subscribe online at http://www.challishodge.com Unsubscribe Send email to brainbox@jangomail.com with unsubscribe in the subject field Contact mailto:challis@challishodge.com Brainbox & UXblog are written and edited by Challis Hodge http://www.challishodge.com Copyright 2003 Challis Hodge. 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