Usability archive
Flashmute 2
2005-12-10 18:39
Einar Otto Stangvik of Indev has just released Flashmute 2 — a fantastic little application that shuts up Flash movies.
Notable new features:
- Ability to turn hotkey mode off and on
- Mute any sound from any browser
I have updated the Flashmute download page — go get your copy.
Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes
2005-10-19 13:39
Link: Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes
A good read from Jakob Nielsen on weblog usability.
How to improve your podcasts and videblogs
2005-05-09 15:56
- I don’t listen to podcasts. I am not about to start listening to them.
- I don’t watch videoblogs. I am not about to start watching them.
- I don’t create videoblogs or podcasts. I am not going to be doing them either. Not in the near future, or not-so-near future.
I am however, going to give you specific advice on how you, as a videoblogger and podcaster can make your Internet broadcasts a lot better.
Why I hate sIFR
2005-04-29 10:19
There is no way to be polite about this, so I’m not even going to try: I hate sIFR with a passion, and I think it should die.
I know that it probably gives some designers orgasms, I know that these designers care about typography. I know that you think sIFR is accessible. I’ve got a surprise for you: It’s not. Some of you may also think that it offers usability improvements. Another surprise: It doesn’t.
Flashmute
2005-04-24 18:34
This is too good not to be shared with the world:
Flashmute is a small application that resides in the systray on Windows systems, and will disable or enable sound output globally from Flash movies.
I’m also designating the author, Einar Otto Stangvik as tech hero of the month. I hate noise coming from my browser. Die Jamba/Jamster, die!
New: Version 2.0
- Sound is easily muted/unmuted using Ctrl-Alt-M.
- You can now right-click the tray icon to enable/disable the hotkey. In disabled mode, the tray icon will have to be pressed for muting to be toggled.
- FlashMute 2 also has an option to mute a browser totally, so it can silence embedded MIDI and similar annoyances.
- Visit the FlashMute project page to download
User Javascript changing moronic attitude ;-)
2005-04-01 13:47 – Leave a comment
Software is for users, not managers
2005-02-16 15:41 – Leave a comment
Teacher, the Thunderbird ate my homework
2004-12-14 18:13 – Seven comments
Why I uninstalled Thunderbird; for no particular reason it lost an important mail that was sitting in the drafts folder.
Standards are standards except when standards are not standards
2004-11-17 22:13 – 22 comments
This is a tale about incompatibilities between DVD+R recorders and media who both claim to conform to the same standards. Problems like these should not exist in 2004.
Stop it: UI crime
2004-11-17 19:36 – 12 comments
Good programs look like they belong in the Operating Systems on which they're running. Good programs behave like they belong in the OS on which they're running. Bad programs does neither, and gets uninstalled.
Printing Websites: War is Peace
2004-11-12 13:36 – Three comments
Bad software educates, or dumbifies users. Because of this, it might be neccessary to offer separate print versions of web sites, even if browsers mostly support print stylesheets.
Browser sniffing: How to embarass yourself
2004-11-09 09:14 – Eight comments
The initial version of the Delicious Library website blocked access for Opera users.
A solution for blog spam?
2004-09-06 14:40 – Ten comments
Introducing automatic semi-moderation as a solution to blog comment spam: even if spammers get through, they will have nothing to gain from spamming.
Opera 7.50: News aggregation done right
2004-03-11 02:06 – Two comments
Opera 7.50 makes newsfeed subscription real easy: When you click on a newsfeed, Opera 7.50 will add that feed to your subscription list.
Death of Macromedia Flash
2003-08-14 01:16 – Six comments
Noisy Flash advertisments are going to make people turn off or uninstall their Flash plugins. Blame the Norwegians.
Adobe: Reinventing the wheel as a rectangle
2003-06-28 23:50 – 14 comments
This is a tale of the exceedingly annoying FEAD optimizers Adobe are using for the Adobe Reader installer.
Usability News
2003-06-13 23:53 – One comment
Usability News is an excellent online usability resource.