Continue reading “redesign | twitter: What is wrong with this Twitter interface?”
redesign | travel: How would you improve this St. Regis hotel bath collection?
The big issue here is that all three bottles look alike. There is shampoo, conditioner and body wash. But it’s not easy to tell which is which without picking up the small, likely wet bottles.
That’s bad enough for the typical person. But for people like me, who are blind as a bat, it is a serious issue. Without my glasses or contacts — the standard when I’m taking a shower — I couldn’t read the text until the bottle was within 5″ of my eyes.
Unfortunately, this is the status quo at hotels. They all have tiny bottles that are impossible to read. Some hotels have their amenities in clear plastic bottles, which makes it easier to distinguish the blue shampoo from the white conditioner. But you still have to figure out which is which.
My ideal solution has two parts:
- Large letters on each bottle. S = Shampoo, B = Body wash, C= Conditioner.
- Different shaped bottles. For example, circle for shampoo, square for conditioner, triangle for the body wash.
Changing the labels is relatively easy. Changing the shape of the bottles is more complicated.
Because chains use standardized toiletries, learning one would help you at multiple hotels. (On the flip side, it makes the roll out process longer.)
This isn’t just a usability issue; it could be an issue under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This quiz was so easy that a lot of people got the correct answer:
https://twitter.com/tim_poor/status/560108962696425472
Which is why it’s odd that hoteliers don’t seem to see the problem.
But at least St. Regis hotels have a sense of humor. They responded to my question:
Why Google’s MVNO is unlikely to make a huge impact
The Information reported that Google will be launching an MVNO, reselling wireless service from the Sprint and T-Mobile networks. This has little chance of making a significant impact on the U.S. wireless market.
What is an MVNO?
To understand what Google is doing, it’s important to understand what an MVNO is. The acronym stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator. These are companies that buy network service from companies like AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon at wholesale prices and then resell them to consumers at retail prices. Often, these prices are much lower for low-usage customers than the big brand names. The MVNO handles pricing, packaging, marketing, billing and customer service. (This is a simplification.)
Why do MVNOs exist? Continue reading “Why Google’s MVNO is unlikely to make a huge impact”
redesign | apple: What’s wrong with how Siri is responding to a request to send a message?
The big issue here is that Siri says “I’ll send your message.” Was it sent? Or is it stuck somewhere? Will it be sent immediately or 10 minutes from now?
redesign | google: What’s the most obvious thing wrong with this Google Maps experience?
Google is telling us “No route found”. This a fairly simple request, from my location to Target. But Google didn’t check to see if there was connectivity before presenting the error message. This shows a common problem in UX design.
redesign | apple: How would you improve this iMessage experience?
There are three keys to solving this puzzle:
- The hashtag #lowbandwidth.
- The E indicator in the status bar, showing that the phone is on and Edge network.
- The stuck “Sending…” indicator.
My answer here is to fall back to SMS when the data network doesn’t work. Apple has created its own messaging system that runs over your phone’s data connection. In most cases, this is good. It allows Apple to deliver a richer set of features, free international messaging and can be faster.
But SMS is more robust because it uses a separate signaling channel. (This is why you should use SMS in emergency situations.)
One of my frustrations with a lot of mobile design is that it ignores low-bandwidth use cases. That’s important for areas where there is sparse coverage. It’s also important if you want your app to work reasonably well in international markets.
Some other answers from Twitter:
This really works best in normal- or high-bandwidth situations. Pre-fetching also uses data that a user on a metered data plan might not want to use.
https://twitter.com/vmarks/status/555381389353562112
I use Glympse for this, largely out of habit. But the latest version of iOS does include sending location.
redesign | ux: How would you improve this Google Maps experience?
This quiz if focused on the items shown in the picture, specifically Budget and Avis. (Judging from the Twitter answers, that was unclear.)
Frequent travelers often rent cars. This involves picking up the car and eventually returning the car. Google could automatically track where you began your rental (in my case, Avis). When you want to return to the airport, instead of directing you to the airport terminal, it could automatically guide you back to the rental car return. One way to do this is to use GPS trace data. i.e. look at the paths of people who have rented from Avis and look at where they return the car.
Bonus points for showing me the last gas station on the route so that I don’t get stuck paying $9 a gallon to have the car rental company refill the tank. (Travel tip: You should almost never accept the prepaid fuel option.)
Some Twitter answers that reflect other issues with Google Maps.
Travel gear 2007 vs. 2015
I’ve been traveling all of my professional life. As the years have passed, so have the tools I use when I travel.
Here are my 2007 travel gadgets:
And now:
Many of the things in the top picture have been consolidated into my iPhone 6:
- Garmin navigation GPS/Palm.
- Garmin hiking GPS.
- iPod.
- Phone.
- USB sticks (I just mail or cloud the contents).
Others have been obviated by technology. I no longer carry Ethernet cables or the router to provide WiFi for me.
My current line up includes:
- GoPro and accessories. (This is a ski trip; not taken for pure business trips.)
- A bunch of cables and accessories stored in a GridIt.
- A Lumix DMC-FZ70. 60x optical zoom FTW. (Don’t usually bring my DSLR.)
- A power strip. Great for sharing power with others at airports.
- A SOL Republic Punk speaker. (It’s smaller than a Jambox.)
- A nano SIM cutter. I use this only on international trips, but it’s small enough to leave in my travel bag.
- Car power adapter. Always be charging!
- A 5-port USB charger. Always be charging! This one has a separate cable to deal with tricky hotel room situations.
- Massive Mophie. Always be charging!
- LiveScribe 3. It’s the real deal for note taking and syncs great with Evernote.
- An Asus Chromebook. Unlike my MacBook Air, I won’t be heartbroken if I lose it at security.
- iPad mini 3.
- iPhone 6.
I’d probably ditch the Chromebook, but Google gives you 12 free gogo passes with each Chromebook. That alone is worth more than the cost of the Chromebook. Having it lets me stay productive in the air.
redesign | tech: My top 10 evaluation criteria for a smart watch
I’ve been testing both Pebble Steel and Motorola’s Moto 360 for the past few days. That’s got me thinking about what’s important to me in a smart watch. My top 10 evaluation criteria for a smart watch are:
- Compatibility with iOS, as my primary phone is the iPhone 6.
- Battery life.
- Notifications of important events. I find the most valuable part of a smart watch is the ability to discreetly check email and phone calls. I was in a meeting with a Pebble VC last month and neither of us noticed that we had been checking our watches.
- Price.
- Style.
- Ease of use.
- Fitness features such as step counting and heart rate.
- Lack of annoyance to others.
- Ability to change style quickly (i.e., from fancy occasions to casual outings).
- Tells the time.
I haven’t worn a watch regularly since 1998, but I’m willing to start for the right smart watch.
What am I missing? What is important to you in a smart watch?
redesign | work: Distributed workforces are a win for companies, teams and the environment
There’s been some discussion lately about the pros and cons of distributed workforces. Paul Graham says no. Matt Mullenweg says yes.
I’m firmly in the yes camp. I find it ironic that companies that build tools that allow people around the world to communicate and collaborate insist that their employees endure commutes of 3 to 4 hours a day to develop those tools. These are often the same companies that use contract developers in the Ukraine and India, call center employees in the Philippines and manufacturers in China.
It’s the height of arrogance to believe that all of the smart people in the world live within a 50-mile radius of San Francisco.
If you build an exceptional team and empower them, you get a lot of benefits:
- Cheaper team. People don’t have to pay $3,500 a month to live in a shoebox in San Francisco, so they don’t have to be paid as much.
- Cheaper office space. You’re not competing with zillions of venture-funded startups all vying for the same limited office space in San Francisco or the valley.
- Easier recruiting. Â You have the entire world to draw from, not just people who are nearby.
- Better retention. Google, Facebook and every startup aren’t trying to poach your team every other day. A lot of people value flexibility a great deal. If you can provide flexibility that others can’t or won’t, you have a big competitive advantage.
- A happier team. Commuting is one of the greatest frustrations for working people.
The biggest benefit, which no one talks about, is connection with the broader market. At a time when many startups are building companies that can only succeed in affluent, tech-savvy markets like San Francisco, being connected with the rest of the country and the world is critical.
The United States is a very diverse country with people living in rural, suburban and urban markets. A lot of people live in poverty — and a lot more live on substantially less money than people in the Bay Area make.
Some companies will do “market research” by way of a focus group in which a few execs go to flyover country and “watch” people from behind glass talk about their lives. (I say “watch” because, in my experience at Microsoft and AOL, most of the execs who showed up were too busy emailing and IMing to pay attention.)
Having a distributed team makes every day an opportunity for market research.You can draw on the real-life interactions of your team to help inform your product instead of people who are showing up for $100 and pizza.
There are also environmental benefits. Company shuttles have dramatically reduced the effect that commuting would otherwise have, but there are still lots of those shuttles. And many employees don’t use them. Beyond fuel and CO2 emissions, there is the wear and tear on roads.
Our current notion of a company is largely a relic of the industrial age, when the means of production became concentrated. Now the means of production are in our pockets and laptop bags.
Instead of building workforces like we did in the 19th century, we should be building for the 21st century.
redesign | mobile 
