A Little Roadblock

There's been a lot of chatter about Microsoft's new Expression suite of tools on an Interaction design mailing list I frequent, so now that I have a Windows Vista box that's presumably capable of doing whatever a Windows person might desire, I thought I'd take the plunge and install some of the Expression trial versions.

Yeah, I thought that's what I'd do. Turns out the Vista development team had a different set of priorities.

On my new job, I'm doing a lot of wireframes and storyboards to guide interface design and behavior. Nothing complex yet, just boxes and arrows, but enough of my co-workers are Windows-based that I can't always depend on the excellence that is OmniGraffle.

And I hate Visio [that inutterable pig]. So. Hey, look!

Expression Design is a professional illustration and graphic design tool that lets you build compelling elements for both Web and desktop application user interfaces.

And it's not Visio! Let's install it on this Vista machine.

Ah. So I need the .NET 3.0 Framework to run this. Gee. Must be advanced or sumpin'. OK, let's do that too.

Yes, ladies and germs, in order to install the .NET 3.0 Framework -- ON VISTA -- I first need to install the Windows XP Service Pack 2 update.

Ummmyeah.

Drugs are bad, mmm'kay?

Dear Microsoft Tech Support:

I attempted to view the Expression Suite overview video in Vista Business using IE7. Silly me.

The video would not play in the browser. Strike 1.

I downloaded the video and attempted to view it in the Vista Business Windows Media Player.

I got no video, but I did get the error message that WMP could not perform the requested action. Strike 2.

I attempted to figure out what the error was using the handy Web Help button in the WMP error dialog. I got the message that WMP had encountered error CDnnnnnn, and that no more help was available on this topic at this time. Strike 3.

I wouldn't say that the Expression Suite is off my list of development environments, but Vista certainly is.

Perhaps you should consider either spending another five years farting around or hiring some competent PMs. You know, the ones who aren't currently working in the Windows OS group.

Scoble Redeemed

Scoble, in the same post as the last one:

Google’s UI is simpler and Microsoft’s has more choices and isn’t as clear.

My thanks to Scoble for providing me with a valuable template for all future discussions regarding Microsoft's user interface design:

[Company]'s UI is simpler and Microsoft's has more choices and isn't as clear.

Translating to Standard English from the Microsoftese, that's

Microsoft's user interface design offers more choice and less benefit than ... well, any non-Linux interface.

The Unbearable Diggness of Being Scoble

Scoble:

First, thanks Leon Atkinson for the compliment: “Scoble’s links are as good as the links that come out of Digg.”

I can't decide whether it's Scoble or Atkinson who needs more irony in their diet.

Mobile Usability: Watch Out For That Treeee!

Via UIScape:

A group of Finnish researchers have asked the question: just how much does a busy, demanding real-world context affect the user’s interaction with mobile devices? The answer, in case you’re walking across Victoria Station too, is a lot.

<snip>

When the participants were on a busy street, it was only 4s - less than a third of the time. This pattern continued throughout many measures: the strongest in my opinion is that in the lab, participants looked at their external environment for only 5% of the time they were using the device, while in the busy street participants were distracted enough that they looked away from the screen 51% of the time.

Fascinating discussion of the peripheral attention required to successfully navigate a busy metropolitan environment. Recommended reading.

FLASH: Radio People Demand More Radio!

Sur-PRISE, sur-PRISE, SUR-PRISE!!!

According to MacWorld UK:

iPod owners want Apple to add an FM radio to its players, in particular the iPod nano or shuffle, US research claims.

This latest study was conducted in late February-March by rock radio consultants, Jacobs Media. The survey group consisted of over 25,000 listeners from 69 rock radio stations across the US.

So.

People who make money from telling radio stations how to make more money ask people who listen to radio stations whether they want to listen to radio using their iPods [especially the cheaper ones, please].

Everybody agrees that would be a fine idea -- for certain limited values of 'everybody'.

Interface Follies #002 - Just Do It!

Design Problem:

Provide an 'Email this to a friend' feature on a website.

Specification

The site user is asked to provide their own name, the name of a friend, and the friend's email address. A 'fun' email will be sent to friend, encouraging friend to visit the website. Email feature must be easy to use, respond quickly to avoid distracting user from the website content.

Questions you should ask when given this set of specifications:

• What do you want the message preview to look like?


• What do you want the 'message sent' message to look like?


• Where do you want the user to go after sending the email?


• Are we going to be localizing this for the European market?


• Are we going to be required to comply with Section 508 accessibility requirements?


• What do you mean this is the final spec?

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Lesson:

Don't start coding until you've debugged the spec.

Interface Follies #001 - Ignore Your Audience

You'd like to serve a Flash video as an advertisement, but try as you might, your video is just TOO HOT for slow connections. So, you add a check for a slow connection, right?

What do you do with this code? Choose your answer below:

A) Tell the viewer to get a fatter pipe?



B) Serve a lower quality video?

C) Serve up a simple slide animation?

BZZZT! Time's up. The answer is NOT A. Thanks for playing.

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Lesson:
The quality of your message doesn't matter if your audience can't hear it. Learn to change your message to accomodate the broadest audience.