Miscellaneous Content

Various documents related to usability and design

OS X and T-Online DSL - A quick guide on how to configure an OS X Mac to use DSL from Deutsch Telecom (without using their annoying software).

Reflections about the IT Product Design Programme - From a recent graduate

Moving from the Specific to the General - A response to criticism that the anthropological approach is too rooted in specific details of particular situations, and so any insights are not general enough to be useful for design.

Using Comics in the Design Process - A paper describing two techniques that use comics to help designers enter the world of the people they are designing for.

Review of the Jewish Museum Berlin - The contrast between the exhibit and the architecture surrounding the exhibit is striking.

Jef Raskin Quotes - an assortment of quotes I jotted down when I attended a seminar on usability and the "Humane Interface" in May 2001. These quotes give you a rough sense of his style and message.

User Interface Issues in mysql - a document that I created to show some difficulties with the user interface of mysql, a popular database under the GNU public license. This document was an experiment to see how someone concerned with usability could work on an open source project to improve the interface.

I'm happy to report that most of the recommendations were implemented (or had already been implemented) in the upcoming 2.0 release.

Bang and Olufsen: The seven Corporate Identity Components - A Danish company with some very idealistic corporate ideals that relate to the user and usability.

Tutorial: Typing accented characters in X-windows - how to setup X-windows to type accented and "international" characters with on a US keyboard with minimal hassle.