Ignite presentation on a UW room availability web service

Posted on May 20, 2010 in Design, IT | 6 comments

Ignite presentation on a UW room availability web service

Attending journalism conventions in high school (and afterward), I'd always go see presentations based on the recommendation of the journalism adviser. "You've gotta go to this one," he'd say, "even if you don't care about sports"—I sure didn't—"because the guy just lights himself on fire and gets into it." I wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but the presentations sure were energetic and fun. Well, despite their name, "Ignite" presentations don't actually light anyone on fire. So what are they? A distillation of a topic into its most salient points, and I'll be giving my first one later today; it's on the topic of a room availability web service at the University of Washington.

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Just say no to high-​​fructose corn syrup

Posted on May 17, 2010 in Health | 27 comments

Just say no to high-​​fructose corn syrup

We've got the DARE program for drugs, but where is the program to teach kids about the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup? The "Just say no to HFCS" campaign? The stickers with an iconic image to plaster on cans of soda, "juice" drinks, granola bars, crackers, and so many other foods containing HFCS? Sadly, there is no such program. But we sure need one. A recent report from researchers at Princeton University illustrates some of the incredibly detrimental health effects of the sweetener. The report certainly raised my awareness and even though I'm not a lab rat, I'm staying away from HFCS, and I'll teach my daughter to do the same as she grows up.

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Why even small usability issues matter; or, Evite and Flash ads

Posted on May 4, 2010 in Design, Web Dev | 10 comments

Why even small usability issues matter; or, Evite and Flash ads

Usability is as much art as it is science, and there are situations where the accepted usability best practices must be weighed against a very real need for advertising revenue. But when there's a disconnect between a good user experience and a desire for improved user demographics for advertising, it's clear to me what should win out: usability. That's why my recent experience on Evite was so frustrating: the company either didn't test their page (which doesn't seem likely) or they opted to promote their business desires over their users' experience.

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