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From the BBC: Intel offers prize for sexiest PC

Intel is offering $1m in prizes to designers and manufacturers who can come up with sexier alternatives to the “big, beige box”.

seele :: Sep.28.2006 :: Asides, Design :: Comments Off

Alas, my faithful Fujitsu 2120 is going to be retired after almost 4 years of service. Therefore, I am in the market for a new laptop. Some of you know I am a glutton for sub-notebooks, however I think I am going to go practical instead of cutting edge this time around. After thinking about what I wanted for a while (a long while, I have been discussing and browsing for about a month now), I came up with a list of my requirements.

My strongest requirements:

• Linux compatible — The goofy function buttons don’t have to work but the network card and external monitor does
• Wide-aspect screen — 1280×768 or 1280×800, bright and sharp contrast
• Small — 12.1 inch screen or smaller
• Lightweight — 4 pounds or less
• Moderately powerful — 1GB RAM minimum, Intel Core (no Pentium family processors) however I am less familiar with AMD’s recent mobile technology and am open to it
• Moderately priced — Less than $1500USD unless there is something really good about it. If I am going to pay more, I’ll just shell out for the cutting edge sub-notebook

Not so important:

• Buzz features — fingerprint scanners, media disc readers, blue tooth, etc.
• Battery life — 3 hours is enough… however how often are you really away from a power source when you must use your laptop?
• Color — please don’t be ugly, but I dont expect a moderately priced laptop to have world class design

So, as I was searching I managed to cut out a few things and learn more about what I really wanted (which resulted in the requirements you read above). No Dells, don’t ask why, I just don’t like them and I don’t thing their prices for what I want are all that great. The Apple Macbook was considered but then rejected, its pretty and powerful however its a little bit big and heavy (5 pounds, 13.1 inch screen) for what I am looking for and I really want a Linux laptop. If I were to get a Mac, it would be a desktop computer. Fujitsu and Sony are too expensive for what I am looking for (however if I were planning on paying that much, they would be my two choice vendors). And so on.

My search lead me to Averatec and Lenovo. Averatec has a few really great laptops, with 10 and 12 inch models featuring AMD processors with a very reasonable price. It was very hard to find reviews of the Averatec, the few that I read were too inconsistent (really good or really bad), and I am not familiar with the vendor. I also can’t seem to find it in any stores, some resellers only sell it online and do not feature it in stores, others have sold out of the few models I was looking at. For the most part it looks like they’re all Linux compatible, most of the literature I have found on Averatec is Linux-friendly.

The Lenovos are really great, however a bit more expensive. In particular I am looking at the Lenovo 3000 v100, however I haven’t the foggiest about the features. They are really pushing the fingerprint reader, which is just a tech toy or gimmick to me. The one processor package offers an integrated camera which would be pretty nifty for usability testing, however a USB camera works just as well. As for Linux compatibility, the Lenovo seems very friendly. With some work it seems like the fingerprint reader, media reader, and web camera should work. Everything else is fully supported.

Cons about the Lenovo:

• $300 mail-in-rebate — I have to pay $300 up front instead of it just being cheap to start with
• Fingerprint reader — yeah, it sounds cool, but I don’t need it which means I don’t want it, which means I’m paying for it anyway
• Processor package differences — when configured exactly the same, the Intel Core Duo 2500 is about $200 more than the 2300e
• The $300 mail-in-rebate expires on September 30 — three days from now

Even though I think I have decided on Lenovo, I keep on drifting back to Averatec and wondering “what if”. It is the exact form factor I am looking for, features AMD technology, and is very cheap. I could sacrifice a little performance loss or screen quality because of the price, however I want to see how much it really is.

So, my questions to the world:

• To Lenovo or not to Lenovo, if so does the Intel Core Duo 2500 really matter that much more than the 2300e?
• Are there any good experiences out there with Averatec?
• Anyone have any better suggestions?

Uagh! I hate shopping! ^_^;

seele :: Sep.27.2006 :: General, Technology :: 25 Comments »

As you know I do a lot of work on KDE and I am planning a usability activity mid-October. The dates and times are flexible, the activity is expected to last up to one hour, and participants will receive $30USD.

If you or someone you know:

• … has experience developing for a large project like KDE, Gnome, Apache, or other non-Open Source projects
• … are interested in becoming involved in a large project like KDE.. etc.
• … has experience using large libraries like GTK or QT
• … are interested in learning how to use large libraries like GTK or QT
• … has experience or are interested in desktop client interface design and programming
• … lives in the DC-Metro (including NoVa) or Baltimore-Metro area
• … are interested in participating in a usability activity and improving the quality of software

… contact me to sign up for the activity or to get more information. Remember KDE or Open Source experience is not required

Please contact me at Celeste_@_KDE_._org if you are interested in particpating. I also appreciate if you could forward this message to your local LUGs or college clubs.

Thanks!

seele :: Sep.26.2006 :: Asides, Open Source, Usability :: Comments Off

Information foraging is a theory which describes adaptive strategies users employ to find information. Information “scent” is the idea of using environmental cues to reinforce information the user is seeking (Pirolli, 2003). This idea is what helps the user know if they are going in the direction towards their information goals, or if they need to back up or begin their search over. Think of it as the game of “hot and cold” applied to information seeking behavior.

The strength of information scent could be described as the level of confidence the user has regarding if they are on the right path to their information goal. The length of the path is less important than if the user thinks they are going in the right direction and will eventually find what they are looking for (Porter, 2003). This debunks the “three-click-rule” which is popular in many web design circles as a design philosophy. The fear is that the user would become frustrated and give up looking for something after 3 clicks, and so many information architectures and navigation schemes are developed around this rule. In reality, as Porter shows in his study, the user is more frustrated by unsuccessful searching than the actual number of clicks it took them.

As a design pattern, content indexes on the home page are a useful way to reinforce scent before a user has to make a decision to click. Indexes are the first level of reinforcing information scent during information foraging. Labels activate the user’s memory about a concept and retrieve information necessary for decision making. The additional information provided by indexes reinforce a concept by spreading activation (Anderson, 2000) to related terms, broadening the association of a concept within a specific context. This is very useful for information which may be ambiguous in meaning, specialized and technical, or very broad in many senses but specific to this context. In usability testing, I have often heard users describe indexes as “previews” to section content because they provide them with enough information to help them decide if that is the direction they want to go.

Although there are some great benefits for information foraging with the use of indexes, they are not always the most appropriate design pattern to implement. Some content can not easily be displayed visually because of its structure or context. The content organization may be clear enough for target users and the home page can be utilized for other goals such as product highlighting or news items. Other design patterns such as tabs may be more effective at building a usable mental model of the site. There is also the danger of using indexes as a crutch to support poor labeling and organization. As with everything which involves information, especially on the web and for specific audiences, the use of indexes as an aid in information foraging is contextual and other factors such as audience, site goals, information structure, scalability, and so on, must be taken in to account.

References:

Anderson, J. (2000). Cognitive Psychology and its Implications. Worth Publishers. pp. 183-186, 221-223.

Pirolli, P. (2003). Exploring and Finding Information. Chapter 7 in HCI Models, Theories, and Frameworks, Caroll, J., editor. Morgan Kaufman Publishers. pp. 157-191.

Porter, J. (2003). Testing the Three-Click Rule. User Interface Engineering Articles, April 16, 2003. http:www.uie.com/articles/three_click_rule/

seele :: Sep.21.2006 :: General, Usability :: 4 Comments »

aKademy 2006 in Dublin is just around the corner, including the very exciting HCI Day!. In preparation for a review of this past year in KDE usability, Ellen is collecting 2006 usability reports. If you conducted a usability study in the past year and would like to publish it on the KDE Usability Project website, please send Ellen or myself an email with the document or you may post a link to your report here.

QQ: I am sad I can not attend this year, but I hope everyone has a great time. This past year has been very exciting, including the work on the KMenu and the HIG, and I can not wait to see what 2007 brings for KDE.

seele :: Sep.19.2006 :: General, KDE/Kubuntu, Usability :: 1 Comment »