usability
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Safari tops Fixya mobile browser usability scores
Fixya is a Q&A website that compiles fix-it requests for a variety of items from cars and chainsaws to routers and monitors. Recently, the site turned its attention to mobile browsers, looking through a total of 61,582 different help requests for the category to determine which browser had the best usability score. The winner? Apple Safari for iOS. The company combined and analyzed data from the problem impressions on its site, mixed it in with market share data from NetMarketShare, and came up with a usability score. The higher the score, the fewer problem impressions Fixya saw in relation to total market share for a browser. Safari came in at 1.31, with the stock Android browser falling well behind at 0.87, Opera coming in at 0.70, Chrome at 0.64 and Internet Explorer dropping the ball at 0.28. When it came to Safari, most of the so-called issues dealt with the lack of Flash support in the mobile browser, along with the UI. However, it should be noted that most of the numbers were gathered prior to the release of iOS 7, so many of the UI issues (e.g., lack of screen real estate) have been addressed. The full report is available on the Fixya blog, and goes into tremendous detail about the pros and cons of every mobile browser.
Battle and usability being improved in The Repopulation
Someone always wants to play a melee character. You could give everyone in an MMO the ability to shoot something dead from two zones over and there would be at least one player rushing into melee range to smack at it. Hence why The Repopulation has made a point of upping melee's viability by improving its ability to hit a moving target; if someone's going to do it anyway, it may as well be viable. Medical abilities have also been improved, and the game's crosshairs and aiming assistance have both received an upgrade. The other two major areas of improvement for the game's past month of development has been the addition of new content near Plymouth (including a truly massive cave network) and improvements to missions and mission templates to make the game easier to jump into. The inquiry system also allows players to collect data on the game world, and the Surveying skill allows players to figure out where harvestable resources are located. Take a look at the full patch notes for an in-depth look at how the game has changed as it moves ever closer to its beta test phase.
Windows Phone 7 turned into Windows 7 controller, 3D mice put on notice
You can pack all the gyroscopes, accelerometers and other motion-detecting sensors you want in your desktop -- it's still not going to be any good at playing Eliminate: Gun Range. That's the motivation behind developer Arik Poznanski's latest release. He has created a driver enabling his Windows Phone 7 to transmit its accelerometer data back to his Windows 7 desktop in real time. Currently the driver's not good for much beyond a tech demo, but given the different ways people have hacked their Wiimotes, it won't be long before homebrewed killer apps start appearing -- perhaps paired up with a little Kinect wizardry. If you're looking to get started at home, hit the source link below for more details. [Thanks, Sandip]
Usability study finds many iPad apps still need to work on their UI
The Nielsen Norman Group did a usability study on iPad apps not long after the device's debut in 2010. A year later, they've done a followup study to see how things fare today. While most apps have made big strides in overall usability in the year since the iPad's debut, many of the apps covered in the study still had suboptimal user interfaces that in many cases seem to sacrifice ease of use in favor of good looks. Overall, the biggest UI problem present in the studied apps was inconsistent or obscure navigation controls. Nielsen Norman first encourages would-be app developers to ask themselves if their site or service needed an iPad app in the first place. "If your service requires substantial interaction, consider an app instead of a site," the Group says. However, a poorly-designed app will sabotage that increased interactivity potential. Study participants were always successful in completing assigned tasks in Mobile Safari, but when asked to complete the same tasks in a standalone iPad app, participants failed to complete tasks a third of the time. Participants weren't iPad newbies either, having owned the device for a minimum of two months. This shows that many apps still have a long way to go in crafting a UI that's accessible and comprehensible to all users. Read on to find out what the Nielsen Norman Group recommends for enhancing the usability of both iPad-optimized websites and iPad apps.
Sony NEX-5 and NEX-3 firmware update adds autofocus support for company's A-mount lenses
Sony has taken the time to upgrade the firmware on its minuscule NEX-5/3 system cameras to improve usability, make manual focusing easier, and allow single-shot autofocus when using A-mount glass via an adapter. The latter will be perhaps the most important thing for owners of Sony's large-sensor compact, allowing them to use a total of 14 lenses from the company's DSLR range without having to worry about focusing manually. Though, if you are into that kind of thing, the MF Assist mode has been improved with a new feature giving you a zoomed-in view of the area you're trying to keep sharp -- to make it easier to tell if you're doing it right. The UI has also undergone a bit of a streamlining, which you can check out for yourself by downloading the new software from the source link below.
'Dark Patterns' gives name and definition to scammy web design practices
When we pulled up this little presentation by Harry Brignull on "Dark Patterns" in UI design we assumed we'd be seeing some new nefarious techniques that designers were just happening upon. Instead we were confronted with a concise examination of the sort of anti-usability / anti-user practices that are commonly used by designers (on purpose) in order to trick, lull, or goad users into doing stuff they don't want to do. These techniques are seldom talked about, but they're so near ubiquitous that you'd recognize most all of the examples: online retailers sneaking something into your shopping cart, services that are easy to opt in to but near impossible to opt out of, tricky checkboxes that obfuscate whether you're signing up for spam or opting out, and so forth. Sure, we expect this sort of behavior from our friendly neighborhood online scam, but the fact that so many big, "good," brands use the same practices shows just how little of a stigma has been attached to it. Harry Brignull, in his excellent talk which is embedded after the break, calls for a UI design code of ethics that "good" designers can shove in the face of pushy bosses, and that users can shove in the face of "good" brands. The darkpatterns.org site is serving as a repository for specific examples of UI abuse, and hopefully meaningful pressure on the named companies can start to push back on some of what Harry calls "black hat" UI design. We'll try to keep an eye on the movement as it progresses and publish a well-defined code of ethics once there is one. In the meantime feel free to shame any worst offenders that spring to mind in comments below.
Nokia's Peter Skillman talks design priorities, gives us hope for a sunny MeeGo future
A day before jetting off to London to commence his role as MeeGo's head of User Experience and Services, Peter Skillman was kind enough to sit down with the design junkies at ZURB and dish out his thoughts on what makes for good mobile design and where it is that most companies trip up. Lest you forget, this is the dude that was in charge of putting the Palm Pre together, so he's not exactly without credence in these circles. Which is a good thing, because he doesn't bother with pulling any punches. Peter namedrops Motorola's Motoblur as an unnecessary layer on top of Android, criticizes the failure of different groups within companies to communicate effectively, and finishes off his treatise with a list of priorities for successful design: consistency, emotional content, and a paranoid fear of mediocrity. Inspiring stuff, we're sure you'll agree. Other tidbits of import include the fact that Pete had to withstand nine days of interviews before getting the Nokia job, and also this memorable quote on the topic of smartphones: "if you're not succeeding at the high end, then you're absolutely doomed to failure." We've been saying the same thing for ages and it's encouraging to know that Nokia now has an exec with his finger on the market's pulse. Now let's see him deliver on those words. You'll find the full interview at the source link below.
iPads will be handed out to Japanese sumo wrestlers to facilitate 'swift communications'
The Japan Sumo Association isn't happy. No, not because of some trifling scandals and allegations of impropriety among its ranks, it's because sumo wrestlers and their managers aren't responding to fax and telephone communications. So what's a forward-looking sports body to do but turn to the latest craze in technology? Tablets. iPad tablets, to be precise, which will be distributed to the 51 wrestling clubs within the nation, in the hope of getting the sizable gentlemen to straighten their acts. One Japanese news agency speculates that the iPad's 10-inch dimensions would be just the digital panacea for people whose fingers are that little bit too large to operate mobile phones comfortably. And you thought there was no good reason for a jumbo iPod touch!
The Virtual Whirl: User interfacing
The user interfaces for general-purpose virtual environments get a pretty bad rap. It's not surprising, actually. They've generally been pretty awful. Not that they are actually hard to learn, but they've been far from comfortable to use. That's not really very surprising. Those virtual environments don't really fit any of the accreted body of knowledge of user-interaction models, and building comfortable user-interfaces is no easy task.
iPad Wi-Fi issues continue to irritate
This morning, we spotted this write-up on Apple 2.0 about dealing with iPad Wi-Fi issues. Since this is the iPad's number one usability issue -- poor Wi-Fi throughput and lost connections -- users are on the prowl for solutions, even ones that may sound a little offbeat. In this case, one correspondent who was experiencing the specific issue of "no connection when waking from sleep" found that his woes became bygones with a quick tweak: he turned his display brightness back up, after having lowered it earlier. It sounds a bit like Cargo Cult troubleshooting, but with a new device and a new set of quirks and workarounds to experiment with, some strange remedies might just turn out to be valid. (For years, I used the freezer and firm thwack hard drive recovery methods to great effect, regardless of the strange stares and annoyed memos from the kitchen staff.) Apple has posted a number of Wi-Fi support links over at its discussion board. According to the company, reconnection issues may occur when working with dual-band routers that use similar network names and different security settings for each network band. Low and intermittent signals may be due to distance from a Wi-Fi hotspot or multiple WEP keys, and the standing recommendation is to try repositioning the router, the iPad or both. If you've tried these fixes, or other Wi-Fi workarounds, let us know below.
Relax, the iPad isn't going to kill the iPhone
Regardless of what some people may worry about, the iPad is not going to kill the iPhone. Why's that? To keep the answer really, really simple, it's because the iPad does not fit in people's pockets. Can the answer get any simpler than that? I'm on record as not being a huge fan of the iPhone as a phone. Ergonomics aside, I'm deeply grateful to all those TUAW readers who pointed me to a bluetooth earpiece solution. Sure I look like a dork with that thing in my ear (not much difference, mind you, from my normal look) but with my 8-dollar unit (thank you Tuesday Morning clearance aisle), I can talk pretty comfortably for long periods of time without holding the iPhone to my cheek. When chatting, that iPhone normally stays either in my pocket or in the front holder in my stroller while in use. With the iPad, it would be pretty darn hard getting it to fit in either location. If I were to use the iPad as my main cell phone, it would have to be dragged along in a backpack no matter where I went. And, frankly, I like grabbing my keys, my wallet, and my phone and heading out the door without a backpack, a purse, or a man purse satchel. Let me give you another real life example of where the iPhone outshines the iPad. I love tracking my walks using TrailGuru. There's no way, I'd do the same with either a netbook or an iPad. It's just the wrong solution for that kind of need. They're simply too big. Fact.
KeyRemap4MacBook: the utility keyboard lovers have dreamed of
I'm not a keyboard-only guy; I know when a mouse makes more sense. That being said, if I can do it from my keyboard, I do. So, as a followup to my post on the handy BetterTouchTool, I'd like to point out another free utility, KeyRemap4MacBook. It's an awkward moniker, and it's not pretty, either, but it's stable, works with any Mac (not just MacBooks, as the name would indicate) and offers drool-worthy functionality. So, what does it do? Out of the box, it offers you dozens and dozens of options for remapping keys and key combinations to potentially more useful actions. Turn your space bar into a shift key when it's pressed in combination with another letter. Turn your trackball into the world's biggest Mighty Mouse scroll ball when you're holding control and command. My favorite right now is remapping control-i,j,k and l to arrow keys, meaning I no longer have to move my right hand for basic cursor functions when Emacs mode isn't supported or applicable. I've also got the right option key on my aluminum Apple keyboard set up to turn my arrow keys into page up, page down, home and end when used in combination. In short, the usability of my keyboard has skyrocketed. I shudder to think what will happen the next time I jump on someone else's computer and my muscle memory has to re-adjust. KeyRemap4MacBook can be used to improve accessibility, or to offer familiar shortcuts to switchers. You can even have it remap keys only in certain applications, meaning I can have Command-R remap to Control-R in VMWare or Fusion ... that will save me a lot of fumbles when testing multiple browsers! There's also the capability to add your own mappings, with sample definitions included. It's not exactly a breeze to customize, but it could be worse. I recall it being much more difficult to pull off this kind of extensive remapping in the past, even with tools like ControllerMate in the game. KeyRemap4MacBook is free, and you can grab a copy at the pqrs.org website. There's even source code available, if you're savvy with C++ and wondering how it works. There's a fully-functional uninstall feature in the preference panel, so you can try it worry-free!
Ten ways OS X rocks
Smashing Magazine does a good old-fashioned "why OS X is so much better" piece -- ok, well they're not that blatant (it's actually focused on the "top ten usability highs"), but with all of the iPhone/App Store news going around, it's kind of refreshing to see some nice, traditional Mac praise.So why is OS X better than other (*cough*Windows*cough) operating systems? Metaphors play a huge part -- when you use a Mac, you're not just browsing through files or using plugins, you're flipping through what look like album covers, or pulling up a "Dashboard." And everything is extremely intuitive -- it's clear upon first look at the screen what does what or where to find certain features of the operating system.Every system has problems, and OS X is no exception. But using it day to day, OS X definitely gives out all kinds of "wait, it was that easy?" and "just works" moments. And that's why we're such big fans of it in the first place.
Silverback now available
UK web development team Clearleft has released its web site usability testing application, Silverback.In short, Silverback turns a Mac into a portable usability testing laboratory. What used to require a complicated and cumbersome set up involving several computers, a video camera, and lots of time, can now be done much faster and with less hassle. You only need a Mac with a built-in or attached camera, and a copy of Silverback.The application records video footage of the user, and combines it with recorded footage of their activity on screen. Clicks, inputs, pointer movements and the user's speech and facial expressions are all combined into a single video file that can be quickly exported. One nice touch allows the test facilitator to add "bookmarks" during a session by clicking a button on the Mac's Apple Remote. Nothing distracting will show up in front of the user, but the bookmark is still recorded invisibly in the background.The only thing that doesn't appear to be included - at least in this initial release - is the ability to edit the output video file before exporting. Even so, it looks like it could be an invaluable tool for anyone who makes software or web sites for a living. If you want to find out more, watch the five-minute demo video, which is a useful summary of aims and features.Silverback is Tiger and Leopard compatible, sells for $49.95 and can be used as a fully functional demo for 30 days. As an added bonus, 10% of all profits generated will be donated to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
iPhone trumps HTC Touch, N95 in usability study
We've given you your chance to choose a champion amongst the iPhone, HTC Touch and LG Prada, and while the latter wasn't included at LG's request, the other two were recently pit against Nokia's N95 in a study of usability. The test was reportedly conducted by Perceptive Sciences, a Texas-based usability consulting firm, and relied on data from just ten individuals who had "never used any of the three devices." The group was asked to "perform a series of tasks on each handset with quantifiable results, such as the time needed to find and use the on / off switch," and when all was said and done, the iPhone managed to snag the gold. Of course, we wouldn't take these results to be the bonafide truth, but if you're interested in seeing what all the mobiles (and guinea pigs) went through before a winner was chosen, head on over to the read link.[Via iLounge]
Maybe iMovie '08 isn't such a bad change after all
Many folks who were used to the array of features iMovie '06 offered were understandably upset when iMovie '08 uprooted just about everything they knew. After all, they had the figurative rug pulled out right from under them. Eric at no one sequel, however, doesn't see this as a bad thing. Eric's entire post is definitely worth a read, but to summarize: while iMovie '06 is a good product, it doesn't exactly live up to the Apple and iLife reputation of "just working." iMovie '06 users need to learn a little too much about video editing - time codes, time lines, "rendering", etc. - causing a significant portion of the public to avoid the practice altogether. I agree with Eric - perhaps it isn't Apple's job to bring pro features and workflows to the general user. Instead, maybe it's their job to to eliminate the need for those features to exist in the mind of said user, greatly simplifying the barrier to entry in video editing so that more can use these otherwise complicated tools.By completely rethinking the practice of video editing and redesigning iMovie around the new paradigm, iMovie '08 could perhaps be the first product that really captures the attention of the larger mass that hasn't caught the bug yet (no pun intended). Sure iMovie is lacking a few features everyone can enjoy, such as a few effects and transitions, but users no longer need to learn what a 'timecode' is just to cut together the summer vacation or a cute puppy montage. It's just skim, click and drag and poof - a video.Isn't that the way Apple products are supposed to work?[via Daring Fireball]
iPhone GUI Inconsistencies: Take 1
The iPhone offers many ways to send mail. Unfortunately, consistency is not the strong point here. You'd imagine Apple would have designed a single universally recognized "compose email" button and placed it more-or-less in the same place for each application. You'd be wrong. Here's a quick run-down of several extremely different ways to create a new message across several programs: Compose Button. The compose button, which looks like a square with a pencil through it, appears at the bottom right of many Mail screens and in the SMS Text application at the top-right of the screen. The Reply/Forward button appears just to the left of the Compose icon in Mail. Tap this to reply to a message or forward it on to another party. Envelope Icon. In the Notes application, the envelope icon appears on the bottom of the page, to the left of the garbage can. Tap it to email the current note. Use-For Icon. The use-photo-for icon appears at the bottom left of the screen. It looks like a rectangle with an arrow jumping out of it-the arrow is basically a mirror of the Reply/Forward button. Tap this and select Email Photo from the pop-up menu. Share. You can share YouTube video and Safari URLs by email. Tap the Share button on the Information page in YouTube and in the navigate-to-URL screen in Safari. To find this in YouTube, tap the blue reveal button located to the right of the video name. In Safari, tap on the URL bar and then look up and to the left. So why so many ways to do what is essentially the same task? This inconsistent design speaks volumes to me about rushing the iPhone to market. It's as if the different groups simply didn't have time to communicate with each other and standardize the way they do what is truly a core task with consistent icons and naming. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.%Gallery-6413%
AppleHound rounds up iPhone bugs
AppleHound has posted a list of all the (supposedly) reproducible bugs they could find in iPhone 1.0. There's 68 in total, and they range from various system hangs (the Phone app will hang if you start a sync while editing a contact photo) to many different UI/Usability bugs. Some of the usability bugs are a little iffy if you ask me-- many of them, like the "bug" where photo albums with less than 20 images don't display an actual number of images, seem to be "working as intended" (because why would you need an image count when you can easily see how many images are there?), and others have already been shot down according to the Apple HIG.But on the other hand, I can't really fault AppleHound for being such sticklers. First of all, this is a cell phone that costs $600, and you should get what you pay for-- quibbling about interface quirks now means there's a much better chance of getting them fixed in a future firmware update. And second, this is Apple we're talking about. While other cell phone companies get complaints about call reception and service outages, these are complaints about tiny, half-a-second visual inconsistencies. Heck, I love my Razr, and the screen goes nuts without reason almost daily. There's nothing wrong with holding Apple to a higher standard, and maybe if Apple is kept on their toes with the iPhone, hopefully other cell phone companies will find themselves with their feet held to the fire as well.Thanks, Leonard Nimrod!
Mac DevCenter: palettes or sidebars?
Following a dilemma that Gus Mueller faced when designing the UI for his latest release of VoodooPad 3, Mac DevCenter has posted a request for feedback on this most heated of UI topics: palettes or sidebars? Preferences can easily sway in either direction, and I personally miss the old-school functionality of Mail's pre-Tiger drawer (yay for column widths that don't have to be constantly re-adjusted), though I will concede that the drawer look is old and ugly by today's slick UI standards of palettes and sidebars.But what do you TUAW readers think? Do you prefer palettes, like in Photoshop, OmniOutliner, iWeb and Pages, or do you prefer the sidebar UI of Tiger's Mail, ecto and NetNewsWire's subscriptions panel (though it's interesting to note that NNW also uses a drawer for its site catalog)? Sound off.
On improving the iPod's aging UI and experience
The iPod is the 800-pound gorilla of the DAP industry - there's no doubt about it (well, almost). In its 4+ years of existence, the player has quickly won owner's hearts because of its ease of use and seamless iTunes management experience, amongst other reasons. I personally have owned one of every generation of iPod since the original 5 GB model with the *gasp* mechanical scroll wheel, before all this fancy touch wheel stuff you young whipper-snappers are spoiled with today.In all this time, however, the iPod's famously simple UI has more or less remained that way - staggeringly basic. While I personally am no fan of devices that add features and options simply for the sake of claiming 'it has more', I'm starting to think that there are a few areas that the iPod's UI and experience are in serious need of an update. Music (and video) collections are getting larger, people are interacting with their devices and the libraries on their computers through increasingly new (and truly useful) ways, and I think the iPod needs to catch up with the times.
