Life Experience - Friday, October 2, 2009 22:00 - 0 Comments
Install a wireless router for your family then email them instructions how to fix it themselves
One challenge I faced time and again was the lack of reliable Internet access at the homes of my parents or in-laws. Usually I piggybacked on their neighbor’s wireless connection but it wasn’t always on and wasn’t very fast. For years I tried explaining the benefits of high-speed Internet to my family but always met with skepticism, doubt and fear of change. Each time I recommended Comcast and each time I was given the same response.
On principle my father in-law defiantly stated he would never sign up for Comcast (again) after having a disagreement with them about erroneous charges. My parents resisted because they had the Dish Network, the only provider who transmits Israeli television in the US.
The breakthrough with my father in-law came after I explained how I work most weekends and their lack of Internet access prevented us visiting more often. The breakthrough with my parents came after I described the wonders of modern technology. They had been using a 9-year old modem from Earthlink’s heyday and a 20″ Sony Trinitron they purchased in 2001.
As soon as my in-laws switched to Comcast I set them up with my spare Linksys WRT54GS wireless router running DD-WRT firmware. DD-WRT is fast, stable, and very secure. My brother bought my parents an Airport Express and now we’ve got that up and running after some initial hiccups.
Finally, after years of frustration I can enjoy high-speed wireless Internet at the homes of my parents and in-laws.
Of course you have to take the good with the bad and one important lesson I learned in the process: If you’re the one who recommended it, you’re the one who gets called when something goes wrong with it. I’ve already gotten technical support questions from my in-laws and so hoping to avoid this with my parents as well I crafted a lengthy email with detailed instructions.
The following details are specific to Comcast and OSX but with a few changes they can be modified to fit your family and setup too!
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User Experience - Mar 23, 2009 11:10 - 7 Comments
Recommended reading from the 2009 Interaction and IA Summit conferences
In February 2009 I attended the Interaction Design Association conference in Vancouver, Canada and in March I attended the Information Architecture Summit in Memphis, Tennessee. These are the premiere conferences for designers in the field of user experience, interaction, and information architecture.
My purpose in attending these conferences was to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges facing User Experience Designers and learn what I can do to help make Web sites easier to understand and easier to use.
Each conference provided me with fresh perspective, new ideas, and a wealth of information gained from participating in sessions, keynotes, hallway conversation, drinks, meals, and social networks.
The amazing people that I met at these conferences were welcoming, supportive, kind, warm, friendly, and overwhelmingly positive. I owe them all a great debt and promise to do my part to champion the ideas they’ve been so kind to share.
Throughout each conference (and particularly at IA Summit) I made a point to jot down any book recommendation or article mentioned. What follows is an unordered and by no means exhaustive list so please add your own recommendations in the comments.
User Experience - Feb 17, 2009 8:17 - 0 Comments
Constructive Criticism: Radar for the iPhone
Radar is a free (advertising-supported) service for sharing pictures taken with a camera phone. Radar can be used with a mobile web browser or dedicated iPhone application.
Radar is intuitive, easy to use and fun. The iPhone application allows a new user to register for the service and immediately begin sharing photos.
In the interest of providing constructive criticism for the fine folks at Tiny Pictures I’ve crafted this page-by-page report on a few areas I feel could use improvement.
This report is free and released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
If you’re interested in receiving constructive criticism on your own application or website please contact research@likewowonline.net for details.
The research contained in this report is based on a review of Radar version 1.0 for the iPhone.
Download the full report in PDF: Constructive Criticism: Radar for the iPhone
User Experience - Jan 29, 2009 13:58 - 2 Comments
Shimone.info – A crowdSPRING Success Story
From early challenges to eventual success, my experience with crowdSPRING has also been educational and gratifying. The design of Shimone.info is more beautiful and unique than I could have imagined.
I look forward to explaining the code and technology which power Shimone.info, but for now I will describe my experience as a crowdSPRING Buyer.