Common sense dictates that short and simple URLs are better than long and complex ones. A web address is worthless unless people can get to it, and short and simple URLs are easier to remember, easier to type, and probably more likely to remain the same over time. In contrast, longer and more complex URLs […]

Towards the end of a non-fiction book that I was reading, I glanced over the resource list that the author had compiled. The entries in the list were straightforward, and I have no doubt that many of them would be useful to readers who want to learn more about the topics covered in the book. […]

Ever since my first trip on Virgin America last week, I’ve been trying to nail down what, exactly, makes the airline so special. I’ll begin with a few highlights: – The security line at O’Hare was a winding nightmare, and after 20 minutes with almost no movement, I was genuinely worried that I’d miss the […]

Last week, I flew on Virgin America for the first time. It was a pretty amazing experience, which I’ll cover in more detail in an upcoming post. For now, I want to focus on a single detail that really surprised me. I was seated in one of the bulkhead seats at the front of the […]

I’ve had the same type of coffeemaker for 5 years running. About 18 months ago, the carafe started leaking, so I checked if the manufacturer would replace it. Nope, they said, the carafe is an accessory, and accessories have no warranty coverage. A new carafe costs half as much as the entire machine, so I […]

For some reason, the area around my apartment building has become a hot spot for movie filming. I think it started with The Dark Knight a few years back, and now it seems like there’s film crew vehicles on my block for several weeks each summer. Normally, this isn’t a big deal. But this year, […]

I’ve been scheduling a fair amount of travel lately, which has made me even more sensitive to the gap between what I expect from travel providers, and what they actually deliver. For instance, consider the process of booking an airline ticket. Once I’ve made a purchase, I expect the following: – An immediate, on-screen confirmation […]

As I was pricing out different flight options for an upcoming trip, I wanted to see how much extra it would be for a so-called premium economy seat on a particular airline. So I signed in to the airline website, chose the appropriate flight, and continued with the process until it finally let me select […]

During a trip last month, I had the opportunity to ride four different train systems, ranging from fairly ancient to brand new. The newer trains (and even some of the old ones) included some nice approaches to customer messaging. For example: – When you’re waiting on the station platform, electronic signs tell you when the […]