The Design of Every Day Things, DOET, by Donald Norman, is a book focused on the inadequacies and poor design of every day things such as doors, pens, computers, and the like. He goes into very detailed analysis of many of the things that we use daily and take mostly for granted.
For example Norman finds a great fault in the every day light switch based on its lack of a natural mapping to the lights they control. The lights, placed on a horizontal plane, don't coincide with the switches which are arranged on a vertical plane. This lack of natural mapping, Norman argues, leads to a great deal of confusion and headache for the user. Norman even goes so far as to redo the switches in his university lab to make them horizontal as the lights are.
Most of the problems he comes up with however are by and large small inconveniences to life. During the book he rambles on and complains so much at times that it makes him seem neurotic. Many of his complaints don't even seem valid. At one point in the book Norman complains about computers and a particular computer that he used which wouldn't display the characters on the screen as they were typed. He argues that this was bad design and it caused many errors. In truth this is a less than desirable feature and it most likely did cause many errors however this was clearly not part of the design. When the book was written personal computers had just begun to take hold and they were very slow. The hardware constraints placed on the designer would have kept him or her from making the computer display characters in real time, not the design.
While Norman does make many good points throughout the book, for about two thirds of the book it just feels very whiny. He makes reference to so many bad design but in the entire 200 pages of the book devotes only about 5 pages to mention how the design process could be changed to result in better designs. It felt as if he was completely ignoring the economics pressures put on designers to rush out products to help the bottom line of the business. One of the better designs he speaks about is the early telephone but he fails to recognize that in the early days of the telephone, Bell had a monopoly allowing them to take their time with products and not rush them out to beat there competition, something that designers simply cannot do today.
The book would have been more enjoyable if it were about a third of its current length. As stated earlier a lot of the book felt whiny and there was too much complaining. More time should have been put into how to fix the errors and less into repetition on why certain designs were bad.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Changing How People View Changes on the Web
Comments:
Jill
Summary:
This paper outlined a new plug in for IE, Internet Explorer, called DiffIE. The purpose of DiffIE, is to highlight material on a web page that is new to the reader. Most sites will tag content as being new in regards to the site but there are few indications as to what may be new to the reader. DiffIE attempts to resolve this by maintaining a cache of the web pages recently viewed by the user and doing a diff on any new sites visited in opposition to the previous versions. If any new content has been added the changes will be highlighted and presented to the user as such.
The team took some pains to modify what was actually highlighted and what wasn't. For example on blogs when new content is added all the previous content is moved down but highlighting the entire page to show the moved content is usually not very helpful as the user most likely only wants to see stories added since their last visit. Moved content, however, can still be of great use. For example when things move in a ratings list this could be of interest to a user and should therefore be added.
Discussion:
This paper is interesting because it affords the user more information about that is new on the site from their last visit, instead of just when things were added. It could be a useful tool to many users when searching the web. I personally feel that it would just be incredibly annoying. I am very particular about the aesthetics of a website and having random highlights would detract from the look of the site.
The paper makes mention of some fast algorithms used but they also note that DiffIE can operate somewhat slower than desired. The site will load completely before DiffIE fires so if a user is relying on DiffIE they will have to wait a little bit longer for the page to load. In their study, the authors found that many users would begin clicking and interacting with the site before the site was even fully loaded and therefore before DiffIE had fired.
If I were in charge of this program I might continue to offer it as a pluin for IE but nothing else. It seems like it would just be incredibly annoying. Also the people that are apt to make use of some power functionality of this program are not likely to still be using Internet Explorer, a browser widely regarded to be inferior to Firefox and Chrome. If they were serious about the project taking off, the developers would be forced to break ranks with Microsoft and port it onto Chrome and Firefox, but since it was developed by Microsoft there is little hope of this outcome.
Jill
Summary:
This paper outlined a new plug in for IE, Internet Explorer, called DiffIE. The purpose of DiffIE, is to highlight material on a web page that is new to the reader. Most sites will tag content as being new in regards to the site but there are few indications as to what may be new to the reader. DiffIE attempts to resolve this by maintaining a cache of the web pages recently viewed by the user and doing a diff on any new sites visited in opposition to the previous versions. If any new content has been added the changes will be highlighted and presented to the user as such.
The team took some pains to modify what was actually highlighted and what wasn't. For example on blogs when new content is added all the previous content is moved down but highlighting the entire page to show the moved content is usually not very helpful as the user most likely only wants to see stories added since their last visit. Moved content, however, can still be of great use. For example when things move in a ratings list this could be of interest to a user and should therefore be added.
Discussion:
This paper is interesting because it affords the user more information about that is new on the site from their last visit, instead of just when things were added. It could be a useful tool to many users when searching the web. I personally feel that it would just be incredibly annoying. I am very particular about the aesthetics of a website and having random highlights would detract from the look of the site.
The paper makes mention of some fast algorithms used but they also note that DiffIE can operate somewhat slower than desired. The site will load completely before DiffIE fires so if a user is relying on DiffIE they will have to wait a little bit longer for the page to load. In their study, the authors found that many users would begin clicking and interacting with the site before the site was even fully loaded and therefore before DiffIE had fired.
If I were in charge of this program I might continue to offer it as a pluin for IE but nothing else. It seems like it would just be incredibly annoying. Also the people that are apt to make use of some power functionality of this program are not likely to still be using Internet Explorer, a browser widely regarded to be inferior to Firefox and Chrome. If they were serious about the project taking off, the developers would be forced to break ranks with Microsoft and port it onto Chrome and Firefox, but since it was developed by Microsoft there is little hope of this outcome.
Collabio: A Game for Annotating People within Social Networks
Comments:
Daniel
Summary:
Collabio is a new social networking game implemented on Facebook that attempts to gather tag data for individuals. The paper describes the efforts exerted to create the game and the subsequent results. In creating the game, the developers understood that, to be a success, the game would have to motivate people to provide tagging data, and to somehow ensure the accuracy of the data provided. They met their first challenge by creating a point system based on the rankings provided by a user. For example a user would receive one point for guessing a tag on him or herself and then receive further points for each person that tagged that user under his or her guessed tag.
The game itself is somewhat unique in that before a tag appears in the users tag cloud the user has to guess what that tag is. A user when first logging into the game would guess a few basic tags such as, nice, friendly, student, and then wait for others to tag him or her. If someone tags the user something other than their guessed tag it will appear blanked out on the users cloud until he or she correctly guesses the tag. This approach is interesting because it encourages a back and forth interaction between the user and his or her cloud.
Discussion:
This paper was interesting in the novel approach taken by the developers. It seems that they were able to create a game with a good amount of entertainment while leveraging that need for approval that all humans in some way posses. The really interesting part, however, is that when humans were presented with the tags and some fake tags, simply by looking at the users profile, they were able to pick which tags applied and which were fake with an 86% success rate.
The main failure I saw in this work was the lack of acceptance. The paper boasted that 3,800 people had been tagged but in the world of the internet and social networking that is such a small number it barely even matters. If I were in charge of the project I would most likely begin to publicize the game more. It seems like it would be fun to play and even a one time user, tagging a couple friends, can increase greatly increase the data set.
Daniel
Summary:
Collabio is a new social networking game implemented on Facebook that attempts to gather tag data for individuals. The paper describes the efforts exerted to create the game and the subsequent results. In creating the game, the developers understood that, to be a success, the game would have to motivate people to provide tagging data, and to somehow ensure the accuracy of the data provided. They met their first challenge by creating a point system based on the rankings provided by a user. For example a user would receive one point for guessing a tag on him or herself and then receive further points for each person that tagged that user under his or her guessed tag.
The game itself is somewhat unique in that before a tag appears in the users tag cloud the user has to guess what that tag is. A user when first logging into the game would guess a few basic tags such as, nice, friendly, student, and then wait for others to tag him or her. If someone tags the user something other than their guessed tag it will appear blanked out on the users cloud until he or she correctly guesses the tag. This approach is interesting because it encourages a back and forth interaction between the user and his or her cloud.
Discussion:
This paper was interesting in the novel approach taken by the developers. It seems that they were able to create a game with a good amount of entertainment while leveraging that need for approval that all humans in some way posses. The really interesting part, however, is that when humans were presented with the tags and some fake tags, simply by looking at the users profile, they were able to pick which tags applied and which were fake with an 86% success rate.
The main failure I saw in this work was the lack of acceptance. The paper boasted that 3,800 people had been tagged but in the world of the internet and social networking that is such a small number it barely even matters. If I were in charge of the project I would most likely begin to publicize the game more. It seems like it would be fun to play and even a one time user, tagging a couple friends, can increase greatly increase the data set.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
EverybodyLovesSketch: 3D Sketching for a Broader Audience
Comments:
Justin Chi
Summary:
This paper primarily focused on the usage and user testing of a new program called EverybodyLovesSketch. Based off a new and popluar program, ILoveSketch which is aimed primarily at professionals, EverybodyLovesSketch attempts to retain the professional tools while allowing the program to appeal more to the masses of people with a smaller amount of sketching skill and or talent.
The paper describes some of the features of EverybodyLovesSketch and their usefulness such as, Ticks, Axis Widget, Free Form NURBS Sketch Surface, and more. The more interesting part of this paper, however, goes into detail regarding the usability based off the study of 49 High School students, and their attempts to learn and utilize the program. The students were able to quickly and effectively learn and implement features of the program, which is a great indicator of success.
Discussion:
This paper was interesting in that it described one of the few programs, to my knowledge, that attempts to make 3d modeling accessible to the general public. Most programs I have seen or used, such as Rhino or 3ds Max, are aimed almost exclusively at the professional user and require a large amount of training before anything tremendously useful is created. The implications of having a program like this available to the novice user are huge. For example, many engineers have a great deal of trouble visualizing their ideas to show their colleagues. With a program like this however, the transmission of ideas can be eased and therefore quickened allowing more collaboration and better results overall.
There are actually few faults in the work itself. The paper mentions some minor issues the users had while using the program such as motions that were interpreted as taps when the user was not trying to do a tap but there are specific mentions made as to how to fix these small problems.
The obvious next step is to begin to truly market this product. With its potential and positive reviews, there is no need to hide the program away. The biggest difficulty to overcome is the small amount of learning necessary. Even though it does aim at novice users there will be a slight learning curve with everything. It seems however that a set of instructional videos would be able to get users going quite quickly. I hope to see this product in a usable form soon.
Justin Chi
Summary:
This paper primarily focused on the usage and user testing of a new program called EverybodyLovesSketch. Based off a new and popluar program, ILoveSketch which is aimed primarily at professionals, EverybodyLovesSketch attempts to retain the professional tools while allowing the program to appeal more to the masses of people with a smaller amount of sketching skill and or talent.
The paper describes some of the features of EverybodyLovesSketch and their usefulness such as, Ticks, Axis Widget, Free Form NURBS Sketch Surface, and more. The more interesting part of this paper, however, goes into detail regarding the usability based off the study of 49 High School students, and their attempts to learn and utilize the program. The students were able to quickly and effectively learn and implement features of the program, which is a great indicator of success.
Discussion:
This paper was interesting in that it described one of the few programs, to my knowledge, that attempts to make 3d modeling accessible to the general public. Most programs I have seen or used, such as Rhino or 3ds Max, are aimed almost exclusively at the professional user and require a large amount of training before anything tremendously useful is created. The implications of having a program like this available to the novice user are huge. For example, many engineers have a great deal of trouble visualizing their ideas to show their colleagues. With a program like this however, the transmission of ideas can be eased and therefore quickened allowing more collaboration and better results overall.
There are actually few faults in the work itself. The paper mentions some minor issues the users had while using the program such as motions that were interpreted as taps when the user was not trying to do a tap but there are specific mentions made as to how to fix these small problems.
The obvious next step is to begin to truly market this product. With its potential and positive reviews, there is no need to hide the program away. The biggest difficulty to overcome is the small amount of learning necessary. Even though it does aim at novice users there will be a slight learning curve with everything. It seems however that a set of instructional videos would be able to get users going quite quickly. I hope to see this product in a usable form soon.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Mouse 2.0: Multi-touch Meets the Mouse
Comments:
Nate Brown
Summary:
The article focused on six different types of mice, all of which employing MT(multi-touch) sensors. These new forms of the standard computer mice attempt to retain the basic function of a mouse, 3d movement along a table and clicking, while adding the elements of a multi-touch environment. Their designs ranged from mice with a standard appearance that allowed multi touch sensing at the edges of the mouse, to a dome with touch sensors along the entire dome, to a mouse held under the palm that would sense touch on the actual table, to a mouse with two arms attached for manipulation by the pointer finger and the thumb. The paper explains the process and the responses they were given when the devices were presented to test subjects.
Discussion:
This paper is significant in that it is an earnest attempt to apply multi touch technology to a device that has more or less stayed the same for the past 20 years. While there have been ergonomic improvements, more buttons and wheels added, the computer mice has generally retained its standard look and feel. With the new technologies available it only makes sense to take a fresh look at what is most likely the most commonly used desktop peripheral. By adding the multi-touch technologies, the users interactions with the mice can become much more efficient and user friendly allowing us to do so much more with the standard mouse than we can today.
Most of the faults in the paper arise from the mouse designs themselves. For exaple the FTIR and Orb mouse, while interesting, are subject to ambient lighting situations due to their internal cameras. These problems can be addressed however by using the capacitive sensing grid as used on the cap mouse. The biggest problems that arose however were how the users attempted to interact with the devices. Due to the fact that these were for the most part very new different users would attempt different actions to achieve the same goals. This lack of standard would cause problems in the future for anyone attempting to develop the mouse.
This paper had direct implications for the future. Repeatedly the paper mentions how much the users enjoyed using the ARTY mouse. This device which would be very easy to implement, would not surprise me if I were to see it on the shelf at a local electronics store in the next year or so. Due to the design the ambiguity of its use is greatly minimized allowing the device to be a stepping stone for future multi- touch mice.
Nate Brown
Summary:
The article focused on six different types of mice, all of which employing MT(multi-touch) sensors. These new forms of the standard computer mice attempt to retain the basic function of a mouse, 3d movement along a table and clicking, while adding the elements of a multi-touch environment. Their designs ranged from mice with a standard appearance that allowed multi touch sensing at the edges of the mouse, to a dome with touch sensors along the entire dome, to a mouse held under the palm that would sense touch on the actual table, to a mouse with two arms attached for manipulation by the pointer finger and the thumb. The paper explains the process and the responses they were given when the devices were presented to test subjects.
Discussion:
This paper is significant in that it is an earnest attempt to apply multi touch technology to a device that has more or less stayed the same for the past 20 years. While there have been ergonomic improvements, more buttons and wheels added, the computer mice has generally retained its standard look and feel. With the new technologies available it only makes sense to take a fresh look at what is most likely the most commonly used desktop peripheral. By adding the multi-touch technologies, the users interactions with the mice can become much more efficient and user friendly allowing us to do so much more with the standard mouse than we can today.
Most of the faults in the paper arise from the mouse designs themselves. For exaple the FTIR and Orb mouse, while interesting, are subject to ambient lighting situations due to their internal cameras. These problems can be addressed however by using the capacitive sensing grid as used on the cap mouse. The biggest problems that arose however were how the users attempted to interact with the devices. Due to the fact that these were for the most part very new different users would attempt different actions to achieve the same goals. This lack of standard would cause problems in the future for anyone attempting to develop the mouse.
This paper had direct implications for the future. Repeatedly the paper mentions how much the users enjoyed using the ARTY mouse. This device which would be very easy to implement, would not surprise me if I were to see it on the shelf at a local electronics store in the next year or so. Due to the design the ambiguity of its use is greatly minimized allowing the device to be a stepping stone for future multi- touch mice.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
PhotoelasticTouch: Transparent Rubbery Tangible Interface using an LCD and Photoelasticity
Comments:
Jill Greczek
Summary:
This paper focused on a new method of creating a touch sensitive interface, PhotoelasticTouch, by using the photo elastic properties of a gel like substance. This was accomplished by applying a photo elastic gel with some polarizing filters on top of an LCD screen with a camera positioned above the screen pointing down. Due to the poloraization lenses, at rest no light would be seen by the camera but when pressure was applied to the surface, under the property of birefingence, the light from the LCD would be bent and make its way to the camera. This would allow the system to sense touch. Most importantly however was that the system could sense the pressure applied by observing the amount of light allowed through. If a higher pressure was applied more light would be let through as opposed to a lighter touch. Between the soft gel and the pressure sensing properties the interface gives the user a more tactile approach to interface with the computer.
Discussion:
This paper is significant because it outlines an earnest and successful attempt at providing a more tactile feel to touch interfaces. In mainstream electronics the most tactile feedback a user may receive in response to an input is a small beep or vibrate. With the photo elastic gel however, a user will receive an imediate and genuine tactile response as opposed to the somewhat faked and minorly delayed response given by many touch screens today.
The largest draw back to this project is the fact that there must be a camera mounted above the display. This makes only stationary and larger displays feasible for this technology. With touch displayed prevalent mostly in smaller mobile electronics this technology, for the time being, doesn't have much use. Due to the mounted camera the user must be aware of their head or other parts of their body that may block the camera. Also the lighting in the room must also be taken into account. The researchers used standard lighting and saw good results but this may not be the case in all situations. One of the most worrisome aspects of the project is that when the screen doesn't produce enough light the camera my not recognize a touch. Therefore white text on top of black will most likely not work as a button.
For future improvements to the system there are some key problems that need to be worked out. While the paper highlights some possible fixes such as multiple cameras to compensate for the users head or other objects blocking the view, or flashing a white background every 1/60th of a second to help alleviate the problem of a black background not producing enough light. Assuming those problems are able to be fixed I would begin to explore a method which involved mounting the camera below the screen. This would allow the tables to be moved and require much less set up and calibration.
Jill Greczek
Summary:
This paper focused on a new method of creating a touch sensitive interface, PhotoelasticTouch, by using the photo elastic properties of a gel like substance. This was accomplished by applying a photo elastic gel with some polarizing filters on top of an LCD screen with a camera positioned above the screen pointing down. Due to the poloraization lenses, at rest no light would be seen by the camera but when pressure was applied to the surface, under the property of birefingence, the light from the LCD would be bent and make its way to the camera. This would allow the system to sense touch. Most importantly however was that the system could sense the pressure applied by observing the amount of light allowed through. If a higher pressure was applied more light would be let through as opposed to a lighter touch. Between the soft gel and the pressure sensing properties the interface gives the user a more tactile approach to interface with the computer.
Discussion:
This paper is significant because it outlines an earnest and successful attempt at providing a more tactile feel to touch interfaces. In mainstream electronics the most tactile feedback a user may receive in response to an input is a small beep or vibrate. With the photo elastic gel however, a user will receive an imediate and genuine tactile response as opposed to the somewhat faked and minorly delayed response given by many touch screens today.
The largest draw back to this project is the fact that there must be a camera mounted above the display. This makes only stationary and larger displays feasible for this technology. With touch displayed prevalent mostly in smaller mobile electronics this technology, for the time being, doesn't have much use. Due to the mounted camera the user must be aware of their head or other parts of their body that may block the camera. Also the lighting in the room must also be taken into account. The researchers used standard lighting and saw good results but this may not be the case in all situations. One of the most worrisome aspects of the project is that when the screen doesn't produce enough light the camera my not recognize a touch. Therefore white text on top of black will most likely not work as a button.
For future improvements to the system there are some key problems that need to be worked out. While the paper highlights some possible fixes such as multiple cameras to compensate for the users head or other objects blocking the view, or flashing a white background every 1/60th of a second to help alleviate the problem of a black background not producing enough light. Assuming those problems are able to be fixed I would begin to explore a method which involved mounting the camera below the screen. This would allow the tables to be moved and require much less set up and calibration.
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