Why did Usenet fail?


An old fashioned interface showing messages about Bob Dylan.

This is annecdata - not a serious academic study. Adjust your expectations accordingly. When I first got online, the World Wide Web was still in its infancy - so CompuServe was my gateway to the Internet. I loved their well organised chat room. A couple of clicks and I could be discussing Babylon 5 with […]

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Icons are usually not culture-neutral


A row of colourful icons.

This is a necropost - resurrected from one of my ancient USENET posts. Some web-browsers use "Stop Loading" icons that were represented with USA stop signs. To anyone else in the world, that's just a red octagon. Similarly the spell-check button in MS products is a tick over an "ABC". I don't know what the […]

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Users are socially conditioned to believe that tasks should be difficult


An old photo of me, wearing a silly hat.

This is a necropost - resurrected from one of my ancient USENET posts. One of the problems I've encountered is that most people (users and, to an extend, designers) are socially conditioned to believe that tasks should be difficult. They expect a learning curve that isn't always logical. It stems from childhood when we don't […]

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Fantasy Casting for Harry Potter - Tim Curry as Gilderoy Lockhard


Tim Curry dressed as a vampire and looking rather alluring.

This is a necropost - resurrected from one of my ancient USENET posts. I can only apologise... On the other hand, Tim Curry as Lockhart... (pictures Harry dashing into Lockhart's office, and seeing him wearing a Merry Widow bustier and high heels. Begins giggling hysterically.) (To the tune of "Sweet Transvestite" by Richard O'Brian) (Gilderoy […]

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