I was originally going to write a blog post about the conversation topic I alluded to in a few Tweets on the evening of June 29, 2011; however United Airlines changed the topic. This blog post is about the frustration when technology does not actually make things easier. It also gets more frustrating after asking [more]
May 312011
The new mode of delivery I am thinking of is digital distribution of audio products. I do purchase music as a digital format less often than most people think. The reason is that most delivery methods are compressed. I do believe that compression should be applied judiciously. Not all compression is bad, as I sit listening to music on my iPod on a plane. I decided the quality of music is the item I want for this application.
Often times the controls for a piece of software are not always the friendliest locations for one-handed operation. By one-handed operation I mean one hand on the keyboard, one hand on the mouse. When working in graphic programs I find myself working that way quite often. It could be as basic as a drawing program where I need to use the Z key to initiate the zoom function and then using the mouse to decide where to zoom. Other times it is more complex, such as selecting an image, zooming into a one pixel to one pixel rendering, panning, and then marking the image as a keeper or a chucker. It could just as likely be a drawing program where I am documenting an idea. For my #AVTweeps, just think AutoCAD.
As my faithful Twitter reader knows, I have been having some issues with my computer attaching to the network at the office. It has been Outlook locking me out, Windows Domain Server locking me out, IT changing the network configuration, entire system going down… etc. Some of these issues were due to the configuration changes that IT is making, some were unforeseen, some were just plain dumb luck.
Something that surprises me though is that for how much we like to cast aspersion on IT; sometimes we are our own worst enemy. By we, I mean the users. Not just at my company but pretty much everywhere IT has a love hate relationship with the users, the users love to hate IT. I am not saying that IT is beyond reproach, but some of the decisions we make, often times it makes it worse for everyone.
Recently I tweeted I was playing Mario Kart online, I included a picture that contained my Wiimote Steering Wheel, my Bell’s Winter White Ale, and the bottom of four remote controls. The subject and intended humor was the steering wheel and beer combination. I was surprised by how many responses I got, not about drinking and gaming, or drinking and driving, but “why did I have so many remotes? Why not a universal remote?”
Mar 272011
As things are becoming more and more automated, I feel that the understanding of the process is being lost. I believe that tools should make my life easier and allow me to spend my time doing other things. However there is a downside, does one always understand the automation that is being accomplished? While these can be great timesavers, what happens when it doesn’t work or you don’t like the results? Understanding the process that the automation process is simplifying is key.
Recently I ran across this story http://thestolenscream.com/ about a picture that was taken from a photographer’s Flickr site and was being used around the world. He was not being compensated. It is both an amazing story of how something can go around the world from just being good and how at times people’s work is [more]
Another blog post written at 32,000 feet as that is when the issue hit me. I have various electronic devices as my dedicated reader knows. I have previously talked about various data access connection challenges. This new challenge is not one of my own doing. It is a poor user experience or use case definition. This problem was illustrated by Amazon and their Kindle applications, but it does not apply to just them. This challenge happens to many applications beyond this example.
Feb 152011
I recently read an article on Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/02/sony-lawsuit-factory/) that Sony is suing to stop people from posting instructions on how to modify a PlayStation 3 to be able to play additional games. By additional games I do not mean just pirated games, but also home brew games. I value intellectual property and keeping piracy down, but also think that stifling the ability to use hardware as you see fit is a bad thing.
