E-consultancy - Chris Rourke's Blog

The human phone booths of Colombia

Wed, 5 Nov 2008 09:30:00 UT

The sharing of mobile phones is an interesting phenomenon, and an example of market competition in action.��

It also means phone usability in that market is important as people switch between different phones.

IA: Bottom up meets top down in School of Everything

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 09:00:00 UT

The innovative School of Everything offers a great chance to learn from others like you.�

But will its combination of user-generated and company-generated navigation help or hinder findability in the long run?

Is the downturn leading to greater use of e-commerce?

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:39:00 UT

Evidence suggests that as more people are feeling the pinch of higher fuel and household bills, they are seeking savings online.�

Could greater use of e-commerce be a silver lining to the cloud of the Credit Crunch?

Who pays the price for poor usability? For air tickets online it could be you!

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:45:00 UT

Booking flights online can be tricky and mistakes are common due to poor usability.��

Apparently, however, many airlines are unwilling to refund these user errors or learn lessons from them.

Amex woes highlight common PDF accessibility problem

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 07:30:00 UT

Recent reported accessibility problems�with American Express' web statements exemplify a common challenge�for financial service websites and those reliant on PDFs.

AJAX and accessibility - Jaws to the rescue?

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:18:00 UT

RIAs like Ajax often have an accessibility weak spot since they need to work with JavaScript off to meet the basic accessibility guidelines.

Rumour has it that the next version of the popular screen reader Jaws may be able to handle Ajax interfaces.�

Election fiasco shows importance of usability tests

Tue, 8 May 2007 07:00:00 UT

The cost of failing to usability test designs before deployment has unfortunately been shown again in Scotland's controversial election results.

How to be PDQ on your PDA � Adaptex goes live

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 12:46:00 UT

This week saw the official launch of Adaptex, the software from Keypoint Technologies that can help users of PDAs enter data and text much faster and easier. Communicating and buying via your PDA or smartphone whilst on the road can be a lot easier potentially.

Do your users know their RSS from their elbow?

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 10:28:00 UT

Whilst we get all excited about social software and Web 2.0, does the average web user care at all?� Should they?

Clustering your search results

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 10:20:00 UT

I have been thinking a lot about search lately, not only due to my reliance on Google that we all now share, but also because I currently reading an excellent book, The Search by John Batelle , about all things search and Google.

Are Social Conferences the 2.0 of conferencing?

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:43:00 UT

A social conference is a physical embodiment of the web 2.0 world and like the web itself presents a unique and invigorating opportunity to communicate and connect. Is this the future of conferencing?

Should you Bump up your Desktop?

Tue, 5 Sep 2006 09:47:00 UT

For most busy people, the desktop is their short term dumping ground for files that they intend to put somewhere specific. The BumpTop is meant to make your messy computer desktop more like a messy real desk top - but do users want that or would they find a file explorer's built in organisational system more usable?