90 percent of everything : Usability Blog

Written by Harry Brignull

…for people that leave answer-phone messages that are 5 minutes long and then suddenly decide to tell you their mobile number without warning right at the end of the message. When I listen to it the second - this time with pen in hand - I am lulled into a light sleep by the repetition of their soothing voice and miss the phone number a second time. Sometime this process can continue for several hours.

Is this picking on an easy target? Am I a bully? I am wrestling with this one but one thought keeps me going. Do you remember when most websites sucked as much as DVD menus do? How did we get out of that one - by complaining all the time! Let’s see if we can swing it a second time.

Dear DVD menu maker. I love your beautifully rendered transition. I love the way The background swings away and another clip of the hero swims into view, plays a little snippet of the key moments from the movie and then loops in a cute but unobtrusive way. I love the fact you show me this every time I go from one menu to the next and I love the fact this means that it takes 8 seconds to change menus. Could you make it longer then I’ll have time to go to the toilet?