The Future of Reading (A Play in Six Acts) [dive into mark]
Mark Pilgrim does a delightful deconstruction of the Kindle. Please read before you consider buying.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
They're not "short adults"
Great post on introducing kids to programming that reminds us to not treat kids like "short adults" and gives a great set of suggestions of ways to introduce a kid, from html to scratch to RUR-PLE. I love that Ned starts by talking about finding out what the kid is interested in. Too many folks forget this part when trying to introduce a new person to programming - wiift (what's in it for them).
Saturday, November 3, 2007
POC
So I'm working on this project for my HCI class.
Every time I turn around I'm more convinced that the best HCI choice we can make is to throw this free fone we got into the wall, repeatedly.
No - I won't mention the specific phone brand or model. I'll just say it makes me really glad to have an iPhone (as if I wasn't already...)
I do want to add that I'm *really* glad to have a brilliant husband for support when the API sucks mouldy rocks...
Every time I turn around I'm more convinced that the best HCI choice we can make is to throw this free fone we got into the wall, repeatedly.
No - I won't mention the specific phone brand or model. I'll just say it makes me really glad to have an iPhone (as if I wasn't already...)
I do want to add that I'm *really* glad to have a brilliant husband for support when the API sucks mouldy rocks...
Sunday, October 21, 2007
taking the reins
While I was gone, I got assigned to a "team" to do projects for the class. I'm always a little nervous about "teams". I've had some good but also some rather unpleasant dealings in corporate culture over that word.
I'm also a little unsettled because I got assigned to a project app that I wasn't involved with discovery or research or storyboarding about it. And apparently no one else on my team was either. They're not worried though. Well, actually, I've only heard from one teammember. The other is not responding to email. (Apparently gone for the weekend.)
When I asked "If there were no users involved at any point in the process, how can it be "user-centered" design?" I mean, I thought that was the point of what we're supposed to be learning. So - his response: "we're all users ourselves."
We're NOT the users in this project. We're the designers - which automatically makes us too close to the product. The users will be the ones who use the app when we're not around. The ones who have to try to figure out how to get the right settings to get the right info without going crazy, who have to figure out an interface they didn't create. It *matters*. HCI isn't just about technical solutions or about following some w3c guidelines. HCI is about *humans* being able to use the technology without getting headaches over it, it's about apps not being designed by geeks for geeks, it's about thinking about the person who will use this app and about what matters to them.
So - being me, I decided to create a googledoc and invited them to it so we can all write down questions (and answers) about what we'll be prototyping. Even if we haven't been able to do the contextual inquiry, we can have a specific "user" to prototype around.
Anyways - we'll see how they respond. I am just not going to walk in on Tuesday and sit down to make something up. If the class was just about generic "innovation" and "making stuff up" - I can do that. But that's *not* what we're supposed to be doing in this class.
So - we'll see how this "team" works out.
I'm also a little unsettled because I got assigned to a project app that I wasn't involved with discovery or research or storyboarding about it. And apparently no one else on my team was either. They're not worried though. Well, actually, I've only heard from one teammember. The other is not responding to email. (Apparently gone for the weekend.)
When I asked "If there were no users involved at any point in the process, how can it be "user-centered" design?" I mean, I thought that was the point of what we're supposed to be learning. So - his response: "we're all users ourselves."
We're NOT the users in this project. We're the designers - which automatically makes us too close to the product. The users will be the ones who use the app when we're not around. The ones who have to try to figure out how to get the right settings to get the right info without going crazy, who have to figure out an interface they didn't create. It *matters*. HCI isn't just about technical solutions or about following some w3c guidelines. HCI is about *humans* being able to use the technology without getting headaches over it, it's about apps not being designed by geeks for geeks, it's about thinking about the person who will use this app and about what matters to them.
So - being me, I decided to create a googledoc and invited them to it so we can all write down questions (and answers) about what we'll be prototyping. Even if we haven't been able to do the contextual inquiry, we can have a specific "user" to prototype around.
Anyways - we'll see how they respond. I am just not going to walk in on Tuesday and sit down to make something up. If the class was just about generic "innovation" and "making stuff up" - I can do that. But that's *not* what we're supposed to be doing in this class.
So - we'll see how this "team" works out.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Too tired to post
Just got back from lunch with some of the women from the conference. The last morning was really good and lunch was great. I'm definitely going next year to GHC in Colorado.
So - I'm gonna gnap now and I'll update more later. And do homework. (Gotta do my takehome test that's due Monday.)
So - I'm gonna gnap now and I'll update more later. And do homework. (Gotta do my takehome test that's due Monday.)
Anna
Official GHC 07 Blogger You may comment on this blog by visiting *Grace Hopper forum*.
Why doesn't everyone do this?
I have a great laptop. It's dualboot, XP and linux (ubuntu).
I just found out something *awesome* that ubuntu does.
You know how sometimes you go to enter your password, and you happen to have your Caps Lock Key on? Ubuntu has a comment show up right below the password textfield that says, "You have the Caps Lock key on."
Until the capslock gets ripped out and removed from every computer, this should be the *standard* procedure for *any* log-in. Yay for ubuntu!
I just found out something *awesome* that ubuntu does.
You know how sometimes you go to enter your password, and you happen to have your Caps Lock Key on? Ubuntu has a comment show up right below the password textfield that says, "You have the Caps Lock key on."
Until the capslock gets ripped out and removed from every computer, this should be the *standard* procedure for *any* log-in. Yay for ubuntu!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Just to show GHC rocks!
(and to point out that I'm not going to post *only* about angst), Kori from SIG-CHI (who I met at the HCI panel today) sent me a link to papers by students that had been accepted at the CHI conference. I was inspired enough that I just sent a study proposal to my advisor. GHC rocks!
And now I am going to bed. For real this time. And staying there. ;-)
And now I am going to bed. For real this time. And staying there. ;-)
Anna
Official GHC 07 Blogger You may comment on this blog by visiting *Grace Hopper forum*.
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