Useit.Com: Card Sorting: How Many Users to Test. Fidelity Investments has one of the world's best usability teams, led by Dr. Thomas S. Tullis, senior VP of human interface design. Tullis and co-author Larry Wood recently reported the results of a study measuring the trade-off curve for testing various numbers of users in a card… Continue reading Card Sorting: How Many Users to Test
Month: July 2004
Is Software a Commodity?
Is Software a Commodity?. Ross Mayfield considers the commoditization of software from a financial perspective. The analysis is particularly revelant to companies who are involved in open source activities, and those selling x86 hardware. Lots of interesting ideas here, than can be applied in other places. How about in the DELL vs HP fight, which… Continue reading Is Software a Commodity?
Microsoft Buys Lookout
Microsoft Buys Lookout. One of the biggest weaknesses of Microsoft Outlook has been the search feature. It takes so long for Outlook to search that the feature is almost useless. Searching is not a hard problem, and a lot of plug-ins sprang up to solve this problem. Lookout was one of the best. It just… Continue reading Microsoft Buys Lookout
Put Down the Phone and Drive (and Take Off the Headset, Too)
Put Down the Phone and Drive (and Take Off the Headset, Too). The Wall Street Journal reports on research showing hands-free cell phone talking while driving is unsafe at any speed: This is a purely public service announcement I make today: if you'd like to dramatically reduce your odds of finding yourself in an accident,… Continue reading Put Down the Phone and Drive (and Take Off the Headset, Too)
Your vote doesn't count
Your vote doesn't count. At least in some states. Remember the Supreme Court deciding the last election? Part of their decision is pretty interesting: The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the President of the United States,” the court said, “unless and until the state legislature chooses a statewide… Continue reading Your vote doesn't count
RSS growing pains
RSS growing pains. While I've been buried in other CTO duties, I've seen a lot of useful feedback on my latest column, “RSS Growing Pains.” There's even a healthy discussion going on over at Slashdot, including entertaining (at least to me) debates about InfoWorld IT departments past and present. Rob Malda noted in his post:… Continue reading RSS growing pains
IT changing drive-up windows at McDonalds
IT changing drive-up windows at McDonalds. Does IT matter? Ask Steven Bigari, who owns a McDonalds. He's using IT to change drive-up Windows and build efficiencies into his business that aren't possible without IT investments. Read more on the Brand Autopsy weblog. [Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger]
Contractors Expose Taxpayer Data
Contractors Expose Taxpayer Data. IRS consultants working on the department's computers violate security rules, putting taxpayer information at risk of disclosure, according to Treasury Department inspectors. An IRS official contests the severity of the danger. [Wired News]
Auditor security collection
Auditor security collection. If you read my blog much, you know I am a fan of Knoppix-STD. It's a great “Security Tools Distribution” using the Knoppix Live system as a base for the information security professional. This morning I read about Auditor security collection, the self proclaimed “Swiss Army Knife” for security assessments. It is… Continue reading Auditor security collection
Windows Forensics: Have I been Hacked?
Windows Forensics: Have I been Hacked?. The guys over at Bleeping Computer have written a tutorial that will show you how to determine if your Windows NT, XP, or 2000 box is hacked and how you can go about cleaning up the files they may have left behind. The tutorial shows you how to detect… Continue reading Windows Forensics: Have I been Hacked?