Usability Archives
Stop updating OSX?
OSX wants me to update and restart just to get some fixes I don’t need. Help!
Intuitive
An intuitive interface is natural only because of previously-learned behaviors.
Temporary files in Firefox on OSX
An annoyance with how Firefox and Thunderbird handles temporary files under OSX.
Hotel simplicity
Some simple things hotels do to make your stay nicer.
Flash Navigation
As with any tool, you should think carefully about whether Flash is the right tool for your application.
Popcorn usability
My kids' ecommerce site has given them their first lesson in usability.
Mutual Accessibility
Washington Mutual Bank doesn’t quite get the concept of accessibility.
Height and Width challenged
Could someone tell me why height and width attributes are needed for images? It’s silly to require people to add metadata to HTML when it’s something easily calculated.
California State Fair
The California State Fair lets you buy tickets in advance from their Web site. That’s good. But the site is a horror house of usability problems.
More Form usability
Thoughts on how to arrange fields on Web forms to make them easier to use.
Alarm usability
I have a new alarm clock. The old one was fine, but a little ugly,...
Form expectations
It’s been said many times before, but developers still don’t seem to understand. If you have requirements for the contents of your forms, tell people up front.
Usable in subtle ways
Sometimes the best features in software are the ones you barely notice.
Smart searching
A helpful search engine finds what you wanted, even if it’s not what you asked for.
Navigation highlights
When you choose to highlight something, make sure you don’t cause it to blend into it’s surroundings instead.
Usability Myths
Testing shows that the oft-quoted three click rule to Web site development is false.
Staples.com: Yeah, we've got problems
A shopping trip at Staples.com yields some advice on writing effective error messages and defining sensible software requirements.
Laptop usability
I wish my laptop was better able to detect changes in my work states.
Broken aggregator
Bad feeds have broken my aggregator. This problem could be exploited by a malicious attacker.
ADA rulings
Two different court rulings on applying the Americans with Disabilities Act to Web sites. And they disagree.
Email Marketing Usability
Jakob Nielsen turns to a subject dear to my heart: the improving your email newsletters to enhance the reader experience.
Usability test serendipity
Marketers can use usability testing to build a better product.
Usability of Microwave Meals
Why is it this difficult to make a microwave meal?
Shopping Cart Usability
In Shopping Cart Usability, Barbara S. Chaparro examines usability factors of the online shopping cart....
Shades of Gray
Elegant Hack: gray advice: "Users think a grayed out link is simply a gray link,...
Usability Required
Industry knowledge does not translate into usability.
Successful Wizards
Create wizards that are easy to use and effective.
Usability for Everyday Things
Makers of everyday things like toothbrushes and spatulas have started researching how people actually use...
Finding your way
An important part of helping people to use your site is allowing them to know...
Pen usability
Robert Scoble has a great point about usability. "[Don Norman] hates the desktop PC and...
CDNow privacy
CDNow’s new privacy policy is simple and to the point. instead of using legalese, they...
QSD update
No problems with the Quick Search Deskbar at home. The author of the deskbar is...
Winamp license
Along the same lines as Oxo’s user-friendly terms of use that I mentioned a few...
Adobe usability
Mike Swaine admits that he is not the typical Web user. He doesn’t use a...