Ruth Stalker-Firth

Steve Mann, inventor of wearable computing, came to the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in the 1990s when I was PhD student there. He had some difficulty getting on the metro as his head-mounted aerial added several inches to his height.

Watching him struggle to get through the door, I was inspired and excited by a researcher who wore and lived his work. Related MIT websites, where Mann was based, showed me how I could augment my reality by turning a gameboy into a wearable computer. The instructions came with a warning that it would affect my vision, though I would soon adapt to the constant red line. After all, the wearable was a lot smaller than Mann’s. (more…)

The Fresenius Kabi Applix Smart food pump is a masterclass in bad design. There is nothing smart about this food pump and its accessories. It has been designed without taking into consideration the context in which it is to be used. Consequently, some of its accessories are not just safe enough to used around patients and the home and could lead to the compromise of patient safety.

When designing any form of interface, a usability consultant will push for the interface to be: effective and efficient; easy to learn and remember; useful and safe.

After usability comes user experience (in this medical context perceived user satisfaction is enough, as it is never going to be fun to use a food pump on a chronically ill person) which encourages users to feel supported and motivated by a helpful interface.

Fresenius Kabi has failed the user of the Applix Smart food pump on usability and user experience. (more…)

Another Apple marketing frenzy has led to the UK bracing itself for the launch of the iPhone tomorrow. The Carphone Warehouse is expecting large queues and Scotland Yard are warning customers to hide their new handsets so that they don’t get mugged.

Aside from the excitment there are criticisms. The main ones centre on the iPhone’s choice of network: O2. O2’s coverage isn’t great, apparently even in the Apple store on Regent Street. And unlocked iPhones that early adopters are already using, thanks to Ebay, won’t be able to download new software without damaging them. Vendor lock-in experts Apple are as bad as Microsoft with their need to dictate to customers how their products should be used, which ultimately is a big problem when you talk about the iPhone’s user experience and usability. (more…)

In the above picture a newbie gamer has organised a telephone for his Sim so that it can order pizza. Unfortunately, in the series of pictures which follows, the delivery girl arrives too late and the Grim Reaper delivers the pizza which means that the Sim dies of starvation. Apparently, Sim starvation is common in The Sims 2. (more…)