The End of Unlimited Data
Could O2’s decision to end unlimited data tariffs slow the boom in the mobile web in the UK?
There’s no doubt that smartphones, particularly the iPhone, have contributed to a phenomenal boom in the mobile web. Before Mobile Safari the Internet was a painful place to get around. However, I would argue that the primary reason mobile browsing suddenly exploded was due to the introduction of unlimited (fair use) data tariffs. more »
CSS3 buttons, adding a simple level of interaction
CSS3 and HTML5 (note the lack of space between the L and the 5 – see Jeremy Keith for more info) are set to make a big impact in the next few years. Already, the developments around video alone, have made HTML5 a hotly-debated technology.
As noted previously, one of the exciting things about working in a technology-related industry such as web design, is the continual technological progress that keeps the dedicated designer or developer on their toes. Learning something new is always fun, but learning something new that makes your life easier is liberating. more »
Browsers, browsers everywhere…
Because Firefox 3.6 keeps crashing on the Guardian’s website (started happening all the time after Snow Leopard update but has often been a problem), I’ve now set Chrome to be my default browser, so that when I click on a link in Twitterific, Chrome launches not Firefox. more »
Site visits
It’s always fascinating to take a look through your server logs or visitor stats. This little old blog gets a tiny number of hits a day but recently that number has been climbing. Interested to see how people are finding me and what they are reading I had a look through my recent visitor numbers. more »
Graublau Sans Grabbed
Learning something new keeps the mind active and that’s why working on the web can be so much fun. Just recently I’ve been pushing myself to learn jQuery – no longer shall I rely on the excellent javascript programmers I work with to take care of it for me – lazy boy!
I’ve also been catching up with all the new developments in browser font display that have been taking place recently. And what a lot of fun it is – easy too! If you are viewing this page in the latest version of any fairly modern browser (Firefox 3.5, Safari 4, Opera 10 etc.) you should be reading these words set in the excellent Graublau Sans by fonts.info. I’m not 100% sold on it for this blog yet but time will tell. more »
Bad user testing beats no user testing
Jakob Nielson offers a great summary of why to do at least some user testing. Even if it’s poor, you’re likely to catch at least a few major errors. I believe that when deadlines are short and expectation high, even chatting through ideas with a colleague has its benefits.
Nielsen initially launched his ‘discount’ ideas on the world twenty years ago this month. So what’s changed in all that time?
It might be hard to appreciate today, but these ideas were heresy 20 years ago… it has come a long way since I launched it to a lecture room of maybe 100 or so people. On balance, I’m happy that I started this campaign and will continue the fight for simpler usability, more broadly applied.
Discount Usability: 20 Years, Jakob Nielsen
Hear, hear!
Read more: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/discount-usability.html
The idea of a tree
I like trees, I’m no tree-hugger but for me they are right up there alongside eating and breathing. Recently I had the fortune to visit Yosemite National Park and Big Sur in California and they have some big trees!
As a kid, I remember being amazed at the way they grow; by adding rings of tissue and expanding year on year. Even more exciting, you can also tell good years from bad by studying the thickness of each band. I’m sure none of this comes as news to you Dear Reader. more »
In Favour of Complexity
I was fortunate enough to attend the sell-out ‘UX London’ conference at The Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch this year (June 15th – 17th). It was the first conference if its type here in London aimed at user experience practitioners and ably presented by the good folk at Clearleft. There were some big names in attendance – both lecturing and running half-day workshops. more »
Thank you – you have been ignored
The LSE’s website has a handy function – at the bottom of every page it invites you to “Comment on this page”.
It’s handy until you actually make use of it… more »
In a perfect world, no one would be able to use anything*
Fantastic Dilbert cartoons at 90% of Everything this morning.
Dilbert on User Experience:
http://www.90percentofeverything.com/2009/05/26/dilbert-on-user-experience/
* The views expressed in this title are Mordac’s alone and do not represent my own…