I'm reading Donald Norman's The Invisible Computer: Why Good
Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex and Information
Appliances Are the Solution.
Now, apart from the fact that the man needs a good talking to regarding the length of his book titles (maybe long titles were cool back in '99 when he wrote it - like pony-tails on men or something), it's an interesting read. Norman worked for Apple (his full background is on Wikipedia) and is now the Norman of the Nielsen Norman Group, arguably the world's foremost authority on usability and HCI.
I'm very interested in HCI right now, given that I've been describing myself as a digital native for some time; meaning it's all I've ever done professionally. It's second nature to me, and for many people and it's fascinating to me to explore the cognitive and sociological changes and influence that computers - in all their iterations - have.
Rolf Skyberg is someone I reference quite regularly. Not only does he have possibly the coolest job title in the world (Disruptive Innovator for eBay :)) but I agree with much of his writing and find it a rich source of interest.
A friend of mine - also a Senior Project Manager - turned me onto Microsoft OneNote a while back. To quote her: "It's the only genuinely decent product Microsoft have made". And I have to agree; I use it regularly now. I recently sent her a video of a newly released digital pen that allows you to make notes in natural writing and then transfer it seamlessly to OneNote. Perfect for me - I still prefer the speed and short-notes I can make with writing.
Where's this post going? No idea. Well, sort of. But as usual my mind's gone off on tangents of tangents. My friend Vanessa described herself as an 'early adopter' so would love to try out the pen. Rolf Skyberg's latest post talks of product improvements vs. marketing need vs. customer need in technology. All of which - technology development, early adoption etc, is covered in Donald Norman's book.
I guess it's a cyclic post. It just freaks me out sometimes how - when you start to learn about something new to you - it seems to appear everywhere :)
Now, apart from the fact that the man needs a good talking to regarding the length of his book titles (maybe long titles were cool back in '99 when he wrote it - like pony-tails on men or something), it's an interesting read. Norman worked for Apple (his full background is on Wikipedia) and is now the Norman of the Nielsen Norman Group, arguably the world's foremost authority on usability and HCI.
I'm very interested in HCI right now, given that I've been describing myself as a digital native for some time; meaning it's all I've ever done professionally. It's second nature to me, and for many people and it's fascinating to me to explore the cognitive and sociological changes and influence that computers - in all their iterations - have.
Rolf Skyberg is someone I reference quite regularly. Not only does he have possibly the coolest job title in the world (Disruptive Innovator for eBay :)) but I agree with much of his writing and find it a rich source of interest.
A friend of mine - also a Senior Project Manager - turned me onto Microsoft OneNote a while back. To quote her: "It's the only genuinely decent product Microsoft have made". And I have to agree; I use it regularly now. I recently sent her a video of a newly released digital pen that allows you to make notes in natural writing and then transfer it seamlessly to OneNote. Perfect for me - I still prefer the speed and short-notes I can make with writing.
Where's this post going? No idea. Well, sort of. But as usual my mind's gone off on tangents of tangents. My friend Vanessa described herself as an 'early adopter' so would love to try out the pen. Rolf Skyberg's latest post talks of product improvements vs. marketing need vs. customer need in technology. All of which - technology development, early adoption etc, is covered in Donald Norman's book.
I guess it's a cyclic post. It just freaks me out sometimes how - when you start to learn about something new to you - it seems to appear everywhere :)
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