On kids and user behaviour

In a recent article on useit.com Hoa Loranger (from NN/Group) published a summary of a study about: Teenage Usability: Designing Teen-Targeted Websites. Interesting reading and something of a myth buster (again - there was a previous study showing many of the same findings).

I have two kids at home (currently aged 10 and 12). It is with great fascination and also some trepidation that I watch their ways with computers. They have no fear (as opposed to my parents (the other day my father "destroyed the Internet" :-)). And they also have no clue! It is so fascinating to talk to them about this computer usage - the have absolutely no idea about the concept of the Internet (servers running software and linked with cables). It's just there for them to enjoy. And the best part of it - they don't care. I talked to them about this, and during the talk I realised that to them it is a part of life just as the telephone, TV and radio have been for me. I don't remember how old I was when I first started wondering about the workings of a phone.

But here's the thing: They are morons. Writing a document in a Word-processing they never format using styles (so they're not that different from the majority of users). They have no clue how to get an Internet connection. They don't know how to update their system (or the reason why this is a good idea). I do realise, though, that my kids are not as computer-savvy as some of their class mates (who on the other hand are distinctly unhealthy to look at).

So in conclusion: All of us trying to make computers easier to use, can rest assured that we will not loose our jobs anytime soon. Rather - we need more of us to help all those hapless children get on in the world,

One iPhone/iPad feature I actually love

I am not a huge Apple fan (as those you know me will testify). Primarily because I don't like the locked in approach which makes Apple decide everything for me, and the fact that it feels like you're signing up for an occult sect of some kind when you join the Apple bandwagon. And because everyone (or at least members of the sect) says that Apple is the most user friendly phone out there. It is this last part that really gets me. It's *not* the most user friendly phone out there. It was very user friendly when the first one launched, mostly because it was the first actual context aware device. But that's just not the case anymore; all the competitors are just as good now; some are even better! But Apple does have one feature that I love: The "reader" button in the browser - for an old man like me who normally use my phone (apart from the obvious phoning and texting) for reading online news of various kinds when I have 2 minutes of spare time away from my computer, it is just bliss to be able to get an online article in a font size that doesn't hurt my eyes. Well done!

Microsoft Surface ...

I would love to get my hands on a Microsoft Surface. It keeps getting mixed reviews, but my experiences with Windows Phone makes me believe that this must be the tablet I would like to have (as opposed to the tablet we DO have in the household: IPad 2). The Metro design just works for screen interaction and I would love to be able to bypass the ridiculous iTunes software which is at the best of times still surprises me with the features it lacks and strange hidden commands (although it does look nice - that's what you get when form conquers function). And I think I can easily do with an RT; I don't need to run older Windows programmes on my tablet!