June 30, 2005
New ntlworld.com
Hat tip to my old colleagues at ntl.
The new ntlworld site has gone live. One of the last things I worked on within the Internet Product Development team 20 months ago (before I moved to a new role) It metamorphed a few times, from an internal project to using outside contractors to outsourcing, however it was always something I have a soft spot for... strange that I am. So congrats to Peter, Steve, Chris and anyone else working on the project. You've got it out there!
Posted by Paul Goodison at 03:04 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 22, 2004
ntl.com goes Standards based
The new front page of ntl.com went live today. Not only a much better design, this one is all CSS and valid XHTML Transitional. Told you it wasn’t a one off!
The progress continues - updating sites so that they look and hopefully function better and are properly standards based. Good progress from Alex and his team, by the end of the year all sites should be much easier to use and make sense... fingers crossed :)
Update: Much more detail about what's been happening at Danny's site here. Including the new weather channel - which looks very good.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 17, 2003
Buyers' remorse
Another interesting article about gadgets in yesterday's New York Times, this one about people who buy lots of new gadgets and then never end up using them:
People acquire these things -- hand-held personal digital assistants, flatbed scanners, compact disc copiers and a host of other objects -- because they promise to make life more efficient, more fun, or, some confess, simply because they appear to help them keep up with what their "wired" friends and neighbors have. But many such products are simply too complicated for their own good. And all too often, the buyers find that they cannot really change their lives just by acquiring something new and different.
Back to my recent mantra about making technology that benefits the customer - that I think is exactly the point this article is making. New technology - great stuff - we love to play with it. Innovators and early adopters often spend small fortunes on technology that quite frankly looks good, suggests fantastic functionality but doesn't deliver. Why? Because usually its designed by engineers for engineers. You might have noticed that most people aren't that technical.
The effort has to be focused around marketing and design. Products need to be developed for the customer, they have to be simple to understand and most importantly simple to use, and in Europe (although apparently not the US) they need to be aesthetically pleasing (probably should say something about an aspirational tone as well but then its getting into marketing speak).
Get a grip - invest in people who understand people, then talk to the engineers.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 10:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 15, 2003
Is the web magic?
BBC NEWS | Technology | Web wizards weave their magic
Tog has been looking at how people interact with their computers and the net.
He has found a surprising number of similarities between magic and web design.
"Both are based on illusion and misdirection, making us believe something which is not real and doesn't actually exist," he says.
More from Nielsen Norman Group (is there a conference going on I wonder?) There is nothing particularly deep here only the key point that keep it simple to the user and hide the complexity, after all they don't care about the mechanics only the benefit (just like me and cars really :) )
Sometimes, as I have said before, people in technology forget that important principle - customers are interested in how clever you as a developer, designer are , they just want to understand how to carry out the task and get on with it.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 10:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 14, 2003
None of this website stuff!
BBC NEWS | Technology | Technology to make you go 'wow'
"Wow!" I exclaim, smiling.
"You see, that's what I'm all about now: none of this website stuff, none of this digital stuff," explains the man who has published extensively on design and how people use objects in their everyday lives.
"I want to make products like this fountain pen that creates such joy when you see it, and you say 'oh wow' and the first thing you want to do is try it."
Beauty, pleasure and simplicity of use are what people care about now when it comes to technology, according to the design guru.
Don Norman is a very interesting character and in my humble opinion worth listening to. Is he right? Do people not want 'digital stuff'? Quite devastating for the Broadband/Internet / Electronic industry if he is right. Or is it an opportunity to make the virtual more real? By that I mean making the intangible become more tangible by designing 'objects' that interact with the virtual but have the emotional appeal that Norman speaks of.
The closest I can get in my mind to this at present is something like the Philips Streamium 
or maybe the Linksys Media Adapter but they are not quite there, either aesthetically or functionally.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 08, 2003
Fubini's Law
From the excellent Column Two:
Fubini's Law, which goes like this:
1. People initially use technology to do what they do now - but faster.
2. Then they gradually begin to use technology to do new things.
3. The new things change life-styles and work-styles.
4. The new life-styles and work-styles change society
... and eventually change technology.
I thought this neatly summed up some of my thinking around design and markleting. The key point being that while you can develop products with certain functions or market segments in mind, people who buy the products may do something very different with them and force you to change your thinking.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 08:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 04, 2003
Does Everyone hate Microsoft?
I would estimate that M$ have cost me 3 days of lost productivity just over the last week with having to reinstall and then another 2 hours this morning trying to debug this fscking problem.
You better believe I will be buying a Mac next time around.
Yet another disatisfied MS customer. I know for a long time that MS have been up against the firing line, after all they are the dominant player in the market with limited (despite all the fuss about Linux and Macs) competition. The recent viruses with the obvious focus on MSBlaster, have done them no favours. I know that ntl's technical call centre has been in melt down with customers who were not aware of needing to patch their computer (or Firewalls or Anitvirus software for that matter).
While I understand the reent change in approach at MS to focus on secuirty, it does feel too little too late. I wonder whether future products will start to address this public concern properly?
Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 02, 2003
The Toasted Kingdom
Postcards from the Bleeding Edge
Wonderfully funny story posted by Mike on Postcards. A serious point is the one of over complication in the marketing / design /product development arena. It reminds me of the Swiss Army pen knife approach to products rather than designing a product to suit its function. (Perhaps Jack of All trades and Master of none). It is also a striking difference between consumer electronics and PC manufacturers. One approaches things from the idea that lets make it as easy as possible but we know this has a short shelf life and we'll bring out a new model soon, to make it do everything, make it complicated and sell it on numbers not on what it does or how to use it!
Really must read Don Norman's The Invisible Computer
Posted by Paul Goodison at 11:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Games are only for Geeks?
BBC NEWS | Technology | Games suffer from 'geek stereotype'
"Games are still too difficult for a mass audience," she told the Game Developers Conference, held at London's Earls Court last week. "People don't focus on gameplay. Instead they make a beautiful game that is no fun."
One of the main obstacles was the complicated controls of many of today's games, as well as tough levels which left many players frustrated.
"You want a game that is challenging but never frustrating," said Ms Fryer.
She urged game makers to come up with titles that would appeal to a hardcore 15-year-old gamer as well as someone older who just wants to have fun.
Absolutely. The figures point to gaming being a mass market phenomena and revenues rising, people are spending more and enjoy the experience but gaming needs to broaden its appeal.
Sony's Eye Toy for the PS2 is a big step in the right direction. A brillaint idea, with simple, annoyingly addictive games for everyone to play. They may not have the beauty or the depth of something like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City or Halo but my 6 year old can play, even my 2 year old can play and know (roughly) what they are doing, and moe importantly compete against me and their grand parents.
If you have a PS2, I wholehearted recommend the Eye Toy - buy it now!
Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 18, 2003
User Interface
UIE: Field Studies: The Best Tool to Discover User Needs
"The most valuable asset of a successful design team is the information they have about their users. When teams have the right information, the job of designing a powerful, intuitive, easy-to-use interface becomes tremendously easier. When they don't, every little design decision becomes a struggle. While techniques, such as focus groups, usability tests, and surveys, can lead to valuable insights, the most powerful tool in the toolbox is the 'field study'. Field studies get the team immersed in the environment of their users and allow them to observe critical details for which there is no other way of discovering."
Some very powerful points here. How can you know how your customer (the user) behaves and hope to deliver to them the best product unless you get a better understanding of how they interact with it 'in the field'. In the context where it is designed to be used.
Although it is extremely important to get customer feedback, in whatever form , it doesn't substitue from seeing your product being used, abused,broken and applied in ways you would never had dreamed. Go do some field work! I'll be joining you just as soon as I'm let out.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 12, 2003
Jakob Nielsen pollutes...
Information Pollution
Does anybody else see the irony in Jakob Neilsen's article on Information Pollution?
Excessive word count and worthless details are making it harder for people to extract useful information. The more you say, the more people tune out your message.
This summary contains undoubtedly good advice, but one line of good advice doesn't make a very good article. So Neilsen then repeats his advice over the course of the next 561 words, saying little which he didn't say in the first 27. Plus he sneaks in a swipe at weblogs with this line;
Sites overflow with either low-value stream-of-consciousness postings or bland corporatese.
Meow.
Danny has a 'go' at jakob Nielsen, with I have to say a lot of merit. I understand the point quite clearly about being concise, particularly in a large or commercial website.
Weblogs are however a different kettle of fish. Design for your audience is perhaps a better suggestion.
My audience is myself, and that's who I write for and to. Occasionally I will enter into conversation, and very valuable that is too, but its not a website in the sense that Nielsen is discussing.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 08:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cognitive Psychology and Information Architecture
Boxes and Arrows: Cognitive Psychology & IA: From Theory to Practice
What do cognitive psychology and information architecture have in common? Actually there is a good deal of common ground between the two disciplines. First and foremost, both are concerned with mental processes and how to support those processes. Indeed, many information architects (including the author) have backgrounds in cognitive psychology or a closely related field. Certainly, having a background in cognitive psychology supports the practice of information architecture, and it is precisely those interconnections and support that will be explored.
A great little article from Boxes and Arrows, which deals with how people think influences how they interface with technology - not a great surprise I hear you say? well, no but actually appling some design principles in terms of the information architecture seems to be all too often forgotten in the design of websites (not that I'm saying I've considered it here :) ) .
An old role at ntl was being responsible for the building and maintenance of the ntl Intranetwithin what is now ntl Home. I and my team worked extremely hard to get people to always focus on the needs of the user and why they would a) want the information and b) how they would use it.
Our 'design' principles centred around attempting to show users what they needed to see and be concise in what was displayed to them. We didn't always succeed but generally we did. The reason I like this article is because although we did not have a theory to back it up, our ideas were on the right line.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 08:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 08, 2003
Magic keyboards
f r e e g o r i f e r o | weblog
Typing (Minority) Reports.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.", Arthur C. Clarke.
A few months ago I tried one of the new virtual keyboards.
The magic-feeling thing about it, I remember, was that you could actually type in mid-air, as the touch-sensitive plane is active whether there's a solid surface underneath it or not.
I also remember commenting that a 3D projection, instead of a 2D one, would have made Minority Report feel like a book from Jules Verne in the shortest time.
Silly me.
The NY Times just published "A Business Out of Thin Air", an article on holographic keyboards (might require registration).
If you care to know more: Holotouch.
The future is upon us and we barely even notice.
I like the idea of this but wonder whether there is truely a better interface to use to get information / data into a computer (assume any device with electronics inside it). A virtual keyboard while fantastic does lack the imagination of what we saw in Minority Report. It doesn't seem as advance as some of the research I've seen from Xerox-Parc a while ago either (couldn't find the reaerch I was looking for a the link).
Now a truely revolutionary input device that would be magic...
Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Emotional Design
Via eLearning :
Emotional Design: People and Things
In my book Emotional Design, I proposed a framework for analyzing products in a holistic way to include their attractiveness, their behavior, and the image they present to the user -- and of the owner. In this work on design, these different aspects of a product were identified with different levels of processing by people: visceral, behavioral, and reflective. These three levels translate into three different kinds of design. Visceral design refers primarily to that initial impact, to its appearance. Behavioral design is about look and feel -- the total experience of using a product. And reflection is about ones thoughts afterwards, how it makes one feel, the image it portrays, the message it tells others about the owner's taste.
Donald Norman outlining some of the main points from his new book Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 07, 2003
Sony Vs Ideo
f r e e g o r i f e r o | weblog
Yin, Yang.
Simon Tsan's "Feel factor" juxtaposes design philosophies at IDEO and Sony
An eye opening comparison! Two very different approaches, both of which produce excellent design, and some not so good.
Clearly both organisations are very good at producing innovative ideas that generally the public consume. It interesting because while the quotes suggest a more conservative approach from IDEO; it is they who I would ascribe more 'way out' designs.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 10:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 04, 2003
MP3, Slimp baby!
BBC NEWS | Technology | MP3 music goes hi-fi
Ever wished you could listen to the hundreds of MP3 tracks on your PC on your stereo? A range of digital music players are springing up that let you listen to songs on a hard drive on a hi-fi.
One of these is a gadget called Slimp3, which spans the divide between your computer and the stereo in the living room.
California-based start-up Slim Devices came up with the idea to tap into a generation who grew up with the internet and the now defunct file-sharing pioneer Napster.
"They now have a disposable income and they don't think about CDs any more," said Patrick Cosson, vice-president of sales and marketing.
"They like to listen to individual songs and have masses of playlists. The Slimp3 fits in with a shift of behaviour."
I grew up with vinyl. Don't really download songs and yet can't get enough music. Love the idea of these things though. I think they are ideal devices to push home networking within the home and could be great as a Broadband value add.
I wonder whether it would work as an add on service feature?
Posted by Paul Goodison at 07:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 31, 2003
Point & Connect Wireless Devices
'Point-and-connect' links for wireless devices
18:09 29 July 03
NewScientist.com news service
Linking devices via a wireless network could be considerably simplified using a "point-and-connect" technology being developed by Sony.
The camera-based system, developed by researchers at Sony's Interaction Laboratory in Tokyo, Japan, lets users instantly transfer data from a laptop or handheld computer to a device in close proximity connected to the same wireless network.
Researcher Ayatsuka Yuji says the prototype system, dubbed Gaze-Link, removes the need to manually configure networked devices for this purpose.
"It is so troublesome, especially when there are many networked devices," Yuji told New Scientist. "When you want to send data in your PDA to a printer, for example, you have to input or to select a correct network address."
Small sticker
A code displayed on a small sticker attached to each device is identified by the laptop's camera. Software running on the laptop then automatically locates the device on the network. "Gaze-Link is one of the challenges to make connecting more 'intuitive'," Yuji says.
Simeon Keates, a computer usability researcher at Cambridge University, UK, says the system could have real benefits if there are a multitude of different devices connected to a network.
"As the home gets more connected, user overload is going to become more of an issue," he says. "It would certainly be helpful for someone who was nervous of the technology."
But Keates adds that this benefit will depend largely on the accuracy and reliability of the system. It must also be able to distinguish between different devices stacked next to each other, he says.
Will Knight
Via SmartMobs.
Good idea in principle. Love to see how it works in practice.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 08:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Design Council
f r e e g o r i f e r o | weblog
Design PDF-athon.
Just discovered that the Design Council in the UK has great overviews on key design disciplines in the About Design section of its website, with more areas to be covered in the near future.
Great discovery by Fabio. While I am a long way from being a designer, I'm fascinated by the processes of creativity and innovation. There are some really interesting points here which I'm going to read at leisure
Posted by Paul Goodison at 08:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 28, 2003
Art on Demand
BBC NEWS | England | London | Art on demand at National Gallery
Art on demand at National Gallery
The National Gallery has been storing images of its collection
Copies of more than 900 works of art at the National Gallery are being made available at the flick of a switch as new technology is unveiled.
Masterpieces on display at the gallery have been captured on advanced digital cameras.
The images have stored on computer so that visitors can obtain a copy almost instantly.
Until now visitors were only able to get a small proportion of the gallery's treasures on traditional printed copies.
The gallery said it has taken two years to capture all 2,300 works of art.
The "print on demand" technology will allow visitors to browse through and print in reproduction quality A3, A4 and A5 size prints.
Great idea. I'm not a huge lover of art for the sake of itself, but I do enjoy seeing the mastery of the great artists as exhibited at places like the National Gallery. I think its a shame that one can only get hold of this by visiting.
Obviously a trip to the capital is in order.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Virtual humans edge closer
BBC NEWS | Technology | Virtual humans edge closer
Virtual humans edge closer
By Spencer Kelly
BBC ClickOnline
For years, one of the main goals in computer graphics has been to recreate a totally convincing human being on screen, something that looks and acts so life-like that it is indistinguishable from a real person.
The Dawn demo draws detailed graphics at high speeds
But human beings are hard to recreate, because along with all those tiny details in the way we look, there is the way we move, our expressions.
Now there is a new type of computer graphics card which is bringing virtual humans a lot closer.
Its amazing the computing power needed to do this, but the results are stunning. However, I'm not absolutely convinced that this is the right way to go for everything. Taking Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, there is a long passage which describes how Humans recognise faces more easily if they are characterised or abstract rather than realistic.
Is the intention of programers to confuse or hoodwink people into thinking these graphics are real? Or is it purely for the sake of being able to do it? Whatever the reason perhaps more thought is needed to ascertain what kind of user interface/graphics people prefer, understand and relate to.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 22, 2003
Micro Content thoughts
Joi Ito's Web: Thoughts on micro-content, metadata and trends
Thought provoking article by Joi which illustrates a lot of key points about the technology trends within the blogging community right now.
Perhaps even more interesting are the comments on this posting from people such as Marc Canter.
Those building blocks imply innovation, but in fact - the marketplace doesn't pay for innovation and those key technologies is a part of a unified, digital lifestyle kind of product - that no one company or product can deliver. Only Apple and Microsoft can fund, develop and deliver products with that scope. And each of the key technologies Joi mentions can't stand alone as viable models
Does it always take the organisation the size of Microsoft to succeed? I don't think it does but then I'm speaking from observation not experience like Marc.
Probably the most important thing about ALL of what Joi says is that digital identity has to have CONTEXT? Who's gonna pay for JUST their Digital Identity?
Indeed. One of the factors I often get accused of (and rightly so) is that just because the technology is cool doesn't mean people are going to want to use it, or that there is a viable way to make money out of it. I am very interested in trying to understand more about this stuff, partly cos that who I am (an identity and a context), partly because of what I do (another identitiy and context) and partly because I think its an opportunity to make an extremely exciting product(s) that can make people (maybe me) money (another context and identity).
The technologies are the building block; who can come up with the product (note not tool or even idea) that will make this a must have in mainstream markets worldwide?
Posted by Paul Goodison at 02:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
GPS and the Web
When Will We See Geeplogs? from "The Merging of GPS and the Web"
Cagle also talks about a new language to be submitted to the W3C, the GPSml markup language, which would be used to describe, routes between two locations. For more information about GPSml, you can visit this Chaeron Corporation webpage.
One means to encode routes is the GPSml markup language, to be submitted as a note to the W3C later this year. In this XML-based system, a GPSml document consists of one or more collections of three principal types: a waypoint, a route (a named collection of waypoints), or a track (which combines locations with a time coordinate).
One component of this waypoint would be an identifier which could be associated with a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).
With such a URI, you could effectively assign to that location an application that will run when the location is referenced in some manner (you get within five feet of that node, for instance). This application could be a Web service, retrieving contextual information about the location.
Of course, this kind of information and services could potentially be used by marketers.
Even without knowing anything about you, a marketer could read the identifier being transmitted to Web services giving GPS information for the device and develop a profile showing [your shopping habits.]
Finally, Cagle thinks that we'll soon see geeplogs (short for GPS-logs) through the use of the RSS specification."
[These geeplogs will contain] public GPS contexts that can be queried about a given area. [They] will be the GPS equivalents to blogs, in which a person could narrate a specific tour with his or her relevant commentary, possibly with photographs or video feeds.
This sounds really cool. Being able to provide information tailored to a location or provide information on a route via mark up language.
From a marketing perspective it gives all sorts of possibilities to offer goods and services relevant to that space and person within that space. If you tie this into other web services perhaps you could suggest nearby stores which sell woolly hats when its snowing?
My personal desire for this idea is to be able to provide more detailled information about a locality especially its history (and to a lesser extent tourist type info). It would make some experiences much richer for me. (Not all - real life doesn't always need augmenting!) It could also provide interesting service when you are travelling too.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 02:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 17, 2003
Web designers have no idea..
Guardian Unlimited | Online | Decorators with keyboards
I would love to see a few web designers thrown in jail. Sadly, the best we can hope for is some small fines and a few marginal improvements to the rubbish that currently masquerades as good web design. It is not enough, but it would be better than nothing.
The reason for optimism is that the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) is backing a number of individuals in taking legal action against various as yet unnamed websites that they say do not comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Very few government and commercial websites are adequately usable by the partially sighted and blind, or offer an equivalent service to disabled users. That is simply not acceptable on social grounds. It is also, as a matter of fact, a betrayal of the principles of the web.
Can't guarantee that this site complies, however I am slowly attempting to put together the full website for betaroad, so maybe I should look at the RNIB site to get an idea of what is needed.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 12:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 16, 2003
DUX 2003
Via elearningpost
AIGA: DUX2003 Conference Sessions
The DUX 2003 program featured accepted submissions of real-world design practices, research, and cases from around the globe, creatively combined in sessions moderated by leading design practitioners and theorists. Here are a diverse collection of stories about the experience of designing for user experiences.
The Aiga site has some excellent case studies, which I am not even going to begin to blog. Another action to me, read them! (Agggh! They're PDFs!)
This one particularly caught my eye: Silvia Gabrielli & Jan-Christoph Zoels, Design Strategy as a Way of Creating Imaginable Futures
Posted by Paul Goodison at 09:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 11, 2003
PS3 for 2005
a production schedule for the PS3 which would see the console launching in 2005, as anticipated by most pundits
Can't wait!
Posted by Paul Goodison at 01:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Instructive vs. Natural Frameworks
As we were analyzing and interpreting the results of these tests I noticed a curious trend. From the Affinity exercise, it became clear that providing the categories offered guidance and context, enabling multiple participants (across different job types) to consistently match the cards to the appropriate categories. As an instructive framework, this model influences the participants’ decision-making process by educating them about where the object-groups might be appropriately sorted. Unfortunately, the resulting organization reflects this influence and might not reveal how the users would actually group items.
When we analyzed the results of the Card Sort an entirely different set of relationships was discovered. In the absence of instructive cues, participants organized information without influence, creating groupings that were more reflective of their own individual mental models rather than accepted domain knowledge. The result can be called a natural organizational model.
Earlier in the week I noticed that this was coming and I am not disappointed. I'm not surprised that context is important however its important to note this observed in the real world. I am certain I behave differently in different contexts, and I'm sure I would categorise in alternate ways too. I will eagerly keep an eye out for the additions to these thoughts and wonder whether this can be extrapolated to other contexts :)
Posted by Paul Goodison at 01:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 09, 2003
Looks are Everything?
Clun Castle, South Shropshire is a magnificant sight (and site). Currently looked after by English heritage, it occupies centre spot in a pictureseque English village, in the Welsh Marches (border) area.
For some reason I remembered the caption that sits below the keep (from where the photo is taken), which outlines how Clun is built to look good. Despite appearing formidable, it wasn't actually very defensible, it was all show.
When I developed the first intranet within the company, I had this kind of argument all the time - "make it look good", "I want flash", "I want art work."
Okay... Why? What is your site for? How does it help the user? What benefit to me is having flash/art work?
Now I'm not saying things shouldn't be aesthetically pleasing but something has got to have the right functionality otherwise it just isn't going to be of use.
Clun Castle, actually would have been useless a century or so before it was built, but it was right for its time. It is still very impressive and beautiful.
Posted by Paul Goodison at 11:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack