Usability week ending July 3rd

Friday, 1st July, 4:36 PM
#Android "freeloaders" don't believe in paying for content; #Apple customers an "ideal paying demographic": http://j.mp/jrZvWs

Thursday, 30th June, 11:41 AM
Demystifying #Android screen densities, learning fundamentals of Android #design patterns, taking #screenshots: http://j.mp/kHMjcl

Wednesday, 29th June, 1:05 PM
How sausage is made -- a detailed IA, UX, and UI design case study, on designing GitHub for Mac: http://j.mp/iT6key

Tuesday, 28th June, 6:32 PM
The new #Google experience is founded on 3 key #design principles: focus, elasticity and effortlessness: http://j.mp/mE7PYk #ux

Tuesday, 28th June, 6:02 PM
Why we share what interests us -- rethinking real-life sharing for the web at http://plus.google.com -- video: http://j.mp/m7toYf #ux

Tuesday, 28th June, 3:15 PM
#Google Swiffy converts #Flash #SWF files to #HTML5. Repurpose Flash content for devices like iPhone w/o Flash player: http://j.mp/m11zgs

Monday, 27th June, 10:23 PM
Invent your *own* category… "consumers are not interested in form factors that deviate from the benchmark set by Apple": http://j.mp/kbZNjZ

via twitter.com/terretta

Usability week ending January 16th

Friday, 14th January, 7:47 PM
Google handing the keys of web video’s future right back to Flash: http://j.mp/dOMCVE #codec #webm #vp8 #h264 #flash

Friday, 14th January, 6:09 PM
Apple's philosophy, “We’re going to make these decisions for you,” is called "design": http://j.mp/ieW639 #design

Friday, 14th January, 8:42 AM
Apple's #design iterations are simplification steps removing cruft, not adding features: http://j.mp/h3X2KB

Friday, 14th January, 8:26 AM
Traditional pay-per-click is a waste--only 8% of Internet users now account for 85% of all clicks: http://j.mp/g4v2Sa @comscore #stats #ads

Thursday, 13th January, 2:10 PM
The entire #Android device market seems to be made specifically for gadget blogs and early adopters: http://j.mp/enaC5A #ux #wp7 #usability

Wednesday, 12th January, 3:36 PM
The primary failure of MySpace was usability -- what happens when users make decisions on design: http://j.mp/f9AKkA #ux #usability

Tuesday, 11th January, 10:03 AM
Easy to read -- standard font size, active white space, reader friendly line height, clear contrast, no text images: http://j.mp/gEVFIq #ux

Monday, 10th January, 4:50 PM
Usability's dark side -- the paradox of the guided user: http://j.mp/hPhovz #ux #usability #ia

via twitter.com/terretta

Usability week ending March 28th

Friday, 26th March, 1:04 PM
#Flash vs #HTML5 -- Until we realize the foolishness of faith in technology, we’ll see the same cycle repeated: http://j.mp/axUb0W #ux #ui

Thursday, 25th March, 5:09 PM
Guess what? Your users do that because you designed it that way: http://j.mp/axiOWX #ux #ia

Wednesday, 24th March, 4:28 PM
Memorable visual #illustrations of fundamental principles of #design: http://j.mp/9wfVyr

via twitter.com/terretta

Snark on iPad "missing" Flash, from surprising source

Okay, the source isn't that surprising. Adobe's Flash Platform Blog calls Apple out for "continuing to impose restrictions that limit both content publishers and consumers." Then, with no sense of irony whatsoever, Adobe offers a screenshot of the technology that web usability guru Jakob Nielsen called 99% bad:

Although multimedia has its role on the Web, current Flash technology tends to discourage usability for three reasons: it makes bad design more likely, it breaks with the Web's fundamental interaction style, and it consumes resources that would be better spent enhancing a site's core value.

via www.useit.com

Adobe's screenshot showing a broken plugin icon where content should be proves Nielsen's—and Apple's—point. Having content locked up so it can only be "originated" by designers with Adobe's (expensive) tools, and only viewed by users with Adobe's player, is the very definition of a restriction that limits both publishers and consumers.

As a picture posted on Engadget shows (below), and many others have reported, there's something important missing from Apple's approach to connecting consumers to content.

iPad Flash Plugin Error

via blogs.adobe.com

Yes, Adobe, your screenshot shows something missing, but it's not Apple's approach, it's yours, that is missing open creation and consumption.

Without Flash support, iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone users may be an interesting enough audience for publishers that they shift momentum back to web standards, so anyone from the New York Times to a child in Chile can freely publish their say.