The rapid changes in consumers’ viewing habits brought about
over the last decade by such services as Sky+ and
Freeview show
what can change in a short period in the TV domain. VOD and
IPTV services through a set-top box have also emerged over the last decade but have
been slower to make real changes to viewing habits. However, their impact is set to accelerate over the next decade. User interest in VOD is definitely present (as high usage of BBC iPlayer suggests) but ‘discovering’ content in broad VOD libraries, particularly on a TV screen, (or
even thinking to consider VOD content instead of on broadcast channels) requires a
substantial change in user behaviour. This change will only be brought about by
UIs that really take account of user needs and so facilitate this change.
Continue reading "What will TV be like in 2020?" »
So picture the scene, my new husband and I are on honeymoon in the Cook Islands just finishing a nice lunch by the beach when we hear there is a tsunami warning. So we head to our hire car in an attempt to get away from the waters edge and turn on the radio for more information. The reception isn’t great so, as the announcer starts to reel a list of where and when the tsunami is expected, in a bid to sharpen up the reception I hit the tuning button once. Sadly instead of sharpening up the signal it loses it altogether and persists on ‘searching’ through the stations perpetually without ever finding one.
Continue reading "Why are radios not more user friendly?" »
Work experience students can be a rich source of insights. Two teenage interns spent a week teaching us (older internet users!) about how they use social networking websites.
They told us what they loved about the sites, what they felt was missing and how the sites fit into their lives. Naturally Facebook was a firm favourite, used whenever possible, but it was interesting to learn that Twitter did not seem to hold any appeal for them.
Continue reading "Teen perspective on social networking" »