General News (From UsabilityNews)

Computers to merge with Humans

Editor — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:00:08 +0100

By 2020 the terms "interface" and "user" will be obsolete as computers merge ever closer with humans.

It is one prediction in a Microsoft-backed report drawn from the discussions of 45 academics from the fields of computing, science, sociology and psychology. It predicts fundamental changes in the field of so-called Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). By 2020 humans will increasingly interrogate machines, the report said. In turn computers will be able to anticipate what we want from them, which will require new rules about our relationship with machines.

The report, entitled Being Human: Human-Computer Interaction in the year 2020, looks at how the development of technologies over the next decade can better reflect human values. "It is about how we anticipate the uses of technology rather than being reactive. Currently the human is not considered part of the process," said Bill Buxton, from Microsoft Research.

At the launch of the report some of the authors showed off the types of technologies that could bring the human back into the equation.

SMART DEVICES
The keyboard, mouse and monitor will increasingly be replaced by more intuitive forms of interaction and display, including tablet computers, speech recognition systems and fingertip-operated surfaces.

Boundaries between humans and computers will become blurred over the next decade as devices are embedded in objects, our clothing or, in the case of medical monitoring, in our bodies. Although paper will still be a reality in 2020, digital paper will also flourish allowing us to create, for example, social network magazines that update in real time.

Five ways to Improve online cross- and up-selling

Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:00:55 +0100

We've all been cross- or up-sold to. We reach for the magazines or sweets at the supermarket checkout counter. We purchase games the sales person suggests for our new game console. We gleefully pour over the options list for our new car. Cross-selling is selling an additional product to existing customers, usually related to what they've already bought. Up-selling is selling a better (but usually more expensive) product to customers, after they've decided on a cheaper product.

Cross- and up-selling isn't difficult as you're selling to people who want to buy. The key is to do it well. Here are a few tips on how to cross- and up-sell online more effectively.

1. SUGGEST THE CORRECT PRODUCT
Customers are more open to cross-selling if the products being suggested are products they actually need. Suggesting a DVD player after they've bought a digital camera isn't helpful. But, a memory card or a camera bag would be. Similarly, offering travel insurance or car rental after users have booked a flight is also helpful. More and more sites recommend matching products (eg a matching hat when a customer purchases a shirt. or a matching camera case for a pink camera). Users generally appreciate this thoughtful gesture.

2. PICK THE RIGHT TIME
Customers tend to be very task-focused when they're trying to get something done, so recommending a product whilst they're doing this is usually ineffective. What you can do is recommend something once they've completed their shop, or after they've put something into their shopping basket. For example, don't try to sell users a memory card when they're browsing for a digital camera. Do it after they've put the camera into their shopping basket. Or recommend a tripod, camera bag or maybe even a camera bundle. They'll be far more likely to add some or all of these items then.

3. SHOW THAT YOU CARE
Customers tend to be very sale- or bargain-focused. Highlighting special offers will increase conversion rates and improve basket size. For example, if users put a regular chicken into their shopping basket, suggest an organic chicken on special that might cost a little more than the regular chicken, but one they might not normally consider at full price.Bundles are an excellent way to boost online sales and increase customer satisfaction. Bundled products are usually cheaper than individual products bought separately. Recommending bundles will endear you with customers (as you're helping them save money), hence increasing customer satisfaction.

* Place items on special at the top of any product listing
* Highlight bulk buy offers (e.g. buy 10 of these and save £10)
* Recommend bundles to customers

4. DON'T BE PUSHY
No one likes a pushy sales person. Up-sells and cross-sells should be recommendations, not forced onto site visitors. Phrases like 'We think you'll like this' or adding small items to users' shopping baskets will usually annoy them. Here are a few appropriate phrases:

* Use 'popular items' to show the items most popular among shoppers
* Use 'customers also bought' to highlight items that other people bought
* Phrases such as 'you might like' gives the power and choice to decide back to the users without imposing
* Avoid automatic opt-ins

Amazon and the Apple Store's recommendations are successful as they're unobtrusive and don't impose on customers. On the other hand, most budget airlines sneakily add optional items such as travel insurance and equipment protection into passengers' itinerary. Unwary customers will pay the extra charges unknowingly, and are often quite annoyed when they find out.

5. OFFER ALTERNATIVES WHEN CUSTOMERS SEARCH
Users will often use site search when unable to find a product using the primary navigation. They are likely to leave if the site doesn't return useful search results, so offering alternative search terms can keep visitors on your website and increases the chance of a sale. For example, if users search for 'pink Macintosh' and the site doesn't return a valid result, prompt them to try searching for 'Macintosh' instead.

Say goodbye to the Computer Mouse

Editor — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:00:55 +0100

By Maggie Shiels

It's nearly 40 years old but one leading research company says the days of the computer mouse are numbered. A Gartner analyst predicts the demise of the computer mouse in the next three to five years. Taking over will be so called gestural computer mechanisms like touch screens and facial recognition devices.

"The mouse works fine in the desktop environment but for home entertainment or working on a notebook it's over," declared analyst Steve Prentice. He told BBC News that his prediction is driven by the efforts of consumer electronics firm which are making products with new interactive interfaces inspired by the world of gaming .

"You've got Panasonic showing forward facing video in the home entertainment environment. Instead of using a conventional remote control you hold up your hand and it recognises you have done that," he said. "It also recognises your face and that you are you and it will display on your TV screen your menu. You can move your hand to move around and select what you want," he added.

"Sony and Canon and other video and photographic manufacturers are using face recognition that recognises your face in real time," he said. "And it recognises even when you smile. You even have emotive systems where you can wear a headset and control a computer by simply thinking and that's a device set to hit the market in September." This, Mr Prentice said, "is all about using computer power to do things smarter."

GREATLY EXAGGERATED
Naturally enough those in the business of making mice are not wholly in agreement that the end is nigh. "The death of the mouse is greatly exaggerated," said Rory Dooley senior vice president and general manager of Logitech's control devices unit. Logitech is the world's biggest manufacturer of mice and keyboards and has sold more than 500 million mice over the last 20 years.

"This just proves how important a device the mouse is," said Mr Dooley.

But he also agreed that the number of ways people can interact with a computers were rising and that his own company was manufacturing many of them. "People have been talking about convergence for years," he said. "Today's TV works as a computer and today's computer works as a TV. The devices we use have been modified for our changing lifestyles but it doesn't negate the value of the mouse," Mr Dooley explained.

LowBrowse: a web browser for the Visually Impaired

Editor — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:00:55 +0100

Lighthouse International, an advocate of accessibility for people with low vision, is announcing an innovative new add-on software tool that will enable millions of people worldwide with low vision to access previously inaccessible web pages.

While existing programs enable blind people to access the web effectively, LowBrowse is the first program to enable people with moderate or severe low vision to both view web pages as the original web author intended and read the text on those pages tailored to their own visual needs.

The highly anticipated program, which runs in conjunction with theMozilla Firefox browser, will be offered at no charge and is expected to be available to the public for download via the Firefox add-on site in late summer or early fall of 2008.

LowBrowse is part of a larger research project on low vision user interface design headed by Aries Arditi PhD, Senior Fellow in Vision Science at Lighthouse International, under a grant from the National Eye Institute. "This technology enables all the text on a website to be presented in the same readable format - size, color, font and spacing - regardless of which page is being viewed and without having to navigate to the next line," said Arditi, a vision scientist and an expert in web accessibility.

"As a leader in the field of low vision and as strong advocates for accessible technology, we are very pleased to offer this innovative technology at no charge," said Tara A. Cortes, PhD, RN, president and CEO of Lighthouse International.

Using open source technology, this browser add-on will be free to users through the Firefox Add-on site. It works with Windows, MacOS and Linux.

Now you can See your Voicemail

Editor — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:00:06 +0100

Speech Design, the leading European provider of value-added solutions to wireline and wireless network operators, has successfully implemented Germany’s first Visual Voice Mail service in cooperation with Vodafone. In addition, the innovative “Call Completion Suite” also boosts the number of successful connections by providing intelligent notifications of all failed call attempts to both callers and the called parties. Vodafone Germany is one of the largest mobile network operators in Germany and Europe, currently serving over 34 Million subscribers.

Visual Voice Mail is rapidly gaining recognition as the future standard for delivering voice messages to mobile users. Traditional voice mail systems require the users to call a central number and retrieve voice messages sequentially by pressing buttons in response to spoken instructions. Visual Voice Mail totally eliminates this cumbersome procedure by “pushing” the messages directly to the customer’s mobile handset. The message list is presented in an “e-mail-like” inbox with the callers´ names and numbers, for easy playback at the user’s convenience.

Unlike more restricted proprietary approaches to Visual Voice Mail, the Speech Design implementation utilises the standard MMS protocol for message delivery, making it compatible with almost all current handset models. “Innovation is crucial for Vodafone as a leading mobile operator, and the Vodafone Visual Mailbox is a genuine revolution in the German market. Dialling into the mailbox and sequential message retrieval is a thing of the past – now subscribers receive their voice messages conveniently via MMS for instant playback, storing, forwarding, and other intuitive one-click options.” Jan Martens, CEO, Speech Design Carrier Systems, describes the service, which has already received industry acclaim for its levels of innovation and usability

User-centred research into mobile law enforcement recognised

Editor — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:00:06 +0100

C-innovate, a user-centred consultancy based at the Sussex Innovation Centre at the University of Sussex, has won an award for its research into mobile technology and innovation in the public sector.

During the last 5 years, C-innovate has been developing and applying this user-centred approach in UK police forces as part of the mobile technology revolution ongoing in these forces. In recent years all UK Police Forces have begun to explore or are now exploring the use of mobile computing at the frontline. National strategies (such as the NPIA Mobile Implementation Programme and the Prime Ministers allocation of £50 million to the police mobile information budget) and reviews of policing (such as Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s interim review in September 2007 and published report of 2008) have identified the need to identify the costs and benefits of rolling out mobile computing and to ascertain how to ensure the success of such roll outs. C-innovate’s recent work has focused on developing user engagement and benefits realisation strategies and evaluating the implementation of hand held technology for several national police pilot projects.

At international award ceremony held during the Blackberry Alliance Summit and Wireless Enterprise Symposium in Orlando on the 13th May, Mike Lazaridis (CEO/founder of BlackBerry) presented C-innovate with an award ‘In recognition of wireless excellence in Law Enforcement’ for their work with Bedfordshire Police on their mobile computing project.