http://interfacethis.com UX Commentary, Software, Web Apps, Rants Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:41:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en http://interfacethis.com/2009/dialog-box-723-humor-alert/ Some concise and worthwhile thoughts on design and designers from Kevin Fox, taken somewhat out of context: Data-driven design is a vital tool for hill-climbing iteration of a site, but you should take great care not to use it as an appeals process whenever you and your designer reach an impasse. ... http://interfacethis.com/2009/trusting-designers/ Some well-chosen, practical words from Douglas Crockford on the dangers of overly feature-driven design: We see a lot of feature-driven product design in which the cost of features is not properly accounted. Features can have a negative value to consumers because they make the products more difficult to understand and use...It ... http://interfacethis.com/2009/crockford-on-feature-driven-design/ Installing applications on a Mac can be confusing. Anecdotally, I've observed friends and family struggle with it, and it makes sense that they would. Luckily, it doesn't have to be that way: app developers can make it easier, though few have. Background Traditionally, software applications are installed via an installer: a script ... http://interfacethis.com/2008/clarifying-mac-app-installation/ The excitement over the $199 iPhone has so far masked an important fact: apparently, the data plan for the 3G iPhone will be $30 USD per month (plus $5 for text messages), rather than the $20 that current iPhone users are paying. Doing the math: A first-generation 8GB iPhone costs $399. ... http://interfacethis.com/2008/3g-iphone-isnt-cheaper-after-all/ After dinner a few Thanksgivings ago we got bored. So we did what anyone would do: create a short spoof Civil War documentary with Legos. I should've posted this ages ago. http://interfacethis.com/2008/your-lego-mom/ http://interfacethis.com/2008/how-do-i-get-myself-into-these-things/ I would advise against simultaneously updating your Facebook status from Twitter and your Twitter status from Facebook: http://interfacethis.com/2008/whoops/ They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But are all pictures created equal? Wouldn't a block-long mural be worth more than a toolbar icon? After extensive research I've found the answer to this critical question. As you can see, pictures hit the 1000-word mark at just under 1 megapixel. ... http://interfacethis.com/2008/how-many-words-is-a-picture-worth/ Stanford's B.J. Fogg is redefining simplicity. Not in the marketing sense (The Widget 3000: Redefining Simplicity!); this is something useful. That simplicity equals good user experience is a common perception, and rather than challenge it he and his team are examining exactly what it means to be simple. This comes at ... http://interfacethis.com/2007/dux-07-what-is-simplicity/