Last weekend, I was saddened to see that my favorite local park had been trashed for some idiotic wine tasting event. Even worse, the event organizers left all the tents, chairs, and detritus in place a full day after it ended. For anyone who saw this scene after the fact, it certainly didn’t create any […]

While in a store that isn’t exactly known for umbrellas, I saw a nice display with tons of different umbrella models. Sure enough, I needed a new umbrella, since my last one got bent in half by a crazy storm a few months ago. Anyways, I picked out the umbrella I wanted, and continued shopping […]

My laser printer goes nuts when you take out the paper tray to add more paper, beeping loudly for what seems like 30 seconds at a time. However, it doesn’t make any noise or even show a message on the display when the network cable gets unplugged. This is even more annoying when you think […]

I recently purchased some exercise clothes from Amazon. Nothing too fancy, just shorts and a shirt. Having used them once so far, I’m confident I made a good purchase and will be happy with the products. This makes me wonder: how can the retailer take better advantage of this to increase their sales? It’s common […]

While they certainly aren’t perfect from a usability standpoint, there are some interface elements that I really admire in household appliances. One of these is the “Add Minute” or “+30 Seconds” button that you find on most microwaves. The concept is so simple: if you’re warming something up and you realize it needs more time, […]

When I use a program a lot, I usually end up learning a few keyboard shortcuts to save time. I would like to learn more of them, but it’s hard to find the ones that will actually be useful to me. Sure, there are some shortcuts listed in the menus, but the best ones are […]

After about eight years of flawless performance (OK, maybe the last two were kind of sketchy), my trusty stapler finally stopped working. When I surveyed the damage, I saw that some of the inner parts had cracked and fallen out. Realizing that it was time to buy a new stapler, I headed over to the […]

When looking at how different people design the same type of interface, I’m usually surprised to see certain elements that all the designs have in common — especially when those elements are of little value to users. Take the “Play all” option that you see in DVD menus. Have you ever used this? Who watches […]

In my experience, it’s very difficult to compare two items that you’ve created in a given software program. You know, trying to see if the first one matches the second one, or if a new entry is the same as the ones you made last year. Usually this involves loading up each of the items […]

Have you ever gotten one of those statements from your health insurance company that tries to show you a breakdown of your recent claims? This type of document is one of the most convoluted things around. For any given visit to the doctor, they might show you the retail price of the visit, the discount […]