Archive for September, 2007

I recently came across the Uncle Mark Gift Guide and I liked the concept immediately. As a customer experience consultant, Mark Hurst shares his recommendations on which products are easy-to-use and actually do what they claim. It follows that these products would make excellent gifts within their category, since recipients will spend their time using […]


With most web-based applications, the developer makes more money if you use them more.  Whether it’s more user licenses, more projects, or more data being stored, their revenues go up when customers expand their usage of the service.  But these very same products tend to make it hard to do a rather simple thing: duplicate […]


Most software products do a pretty good job of disclosing their system requirements, like how much memory and what sort of processor you need to make them work.  Even though the terms can get a little obscure, at least the company has made the effort to tell you what’s required. My experience buying a coffeemaker […]


If you have any sort of credit card or bank account, you’ll probably recognize this scenario: You call the customer service number with a simple question or request. But the customer service rep doesn’t want to answer right away. Instead, they launch into a lengthy dissertation about some special offer for their “valued customers”. Usually […]


I bought some pants at a major retailer a few months ago. After wearing them twice, they completely fell apart. Having never returned a pair of pants before, I didn’t keep the receipt. So I brought the pants, which had obviously barely been worn, back to the store. Despite having the original card that I […]


Yellow on white

07Sep07

Considering how long the web has been in the mainstream, it’s amazing that some websites still use hard-to-read color schemes like yellow text on a white background or dark grey on black. To make sure you don’t accidentally end up in this club, always do a reality check when you’re creating a new design. Try […]


A few days ago, I wrote about the right time to show warning and confirmation messages. Most of us have a pretty good sense of when this has gone too far, like those programs that say “Are you sure?” for every little task you try to complete. I’ve also seen this taken to the extreme […]


Even with today’s super-fast computers, it still takes extra time to load PDF files, Quicktime movies, and other browser plugins — especially if the files are large. Considering how quickly users will abandon a website or application that responds slowly, it’s important to let people know what to expect before they click your links. As […]


With each revision of software, there seems to be an ever-increasing number of settings to deal with. I’ve seen this on PC and Mac programs, web-based apps, network routers, and more. Even after paring down the settings screens to the most important options, you may still be left with quite a few things that users […]


While visiting San Francisco recently, I planned to ride their excellent BART train from the airport to downtown. When I got ready to buy a ticket, I saw that all of the turnstiles were open and marked “free”. Some nearby signage explained the reason: it was a “Spare the Air” day, in which many forms […]