Orkut: Lightweight champion for dialup-speed users...

Ready for some links? Here they come: Mark Hurst of the Good Experience blog and Bit Literacy book reports on a CNN story about social-networking underdog (at least in America) Orkut trouncing leaders MySpace and Facebook in certain markets like Brazil and India. (Whew!) So, why would this happen? Is it a cultural-style-and-taste thing, where maybe everyone doesn't like the obscene bells and whistles Americans tend to splash all over their pages? Nope, it's simpler than that - those exact bells and whistles make MySpace (especially) and Facebook (now that it's open to outside apps) much larger pages in terms of data. It turns out that Brazil and India have much lower average internet speeds - 15kbps, about what AOL users had in the US in 1990, according to the CNN article. Therefore, Facebook and MySpace take infuriating minutes to load a single page, while Orkut comes up relatively quickly.

Setting aside what comments I might make about the usability of too-highly-customizable webpages (and especially regarding the monstrosity that is MySpace, I'd have a lot!), it seems that an important lesson is this: usability doesn't just depend on the most appealing ideal design, but on making the right technologically-influenced decisions so a design can actually function in a non-ideal world. In this case, dropping some bells and whistles to make a faster-loading site seems to be a no-brainer for user satisfaction.

Some markets aren't looking for the best website in any category - they're looking for the lightweight champions!

Theft Foiler - OnStar slows down crooks...

Engadget reports a new feature coming to 2009 model-year cars with OnStar, called Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. Basically, a stolen car can be located with GPS - and once it's been tracked to within sight of the cops, OnStar can remotely cut the engine power, bring the car and its thief to a stop. No high-speed chases, just quick and in-your-face justice!

This anti-theft feature is reminiscent of the previously-blogged iAlertU for Mac laptops, which snaps a photo of a would-be thief in the act and emails it to a pre-set address. It's not just preventing theft, or recovering what was stolen - it's a "gotcha!" moment where the rightful owner gets a feeling of personal revenge over the thief. Products are designed to appeal to all kinds of emotions in consumers - but revenge is a fascinating one indeed!

Radiator Food Warmer - A case of perceived practicality...

There's something about the perceived practicality of a product which adds to its value - that is, if the user can easily rationalize the product in terms of saved space, saved energy, or any other "more for less" way, it'll be much more satisfying to use. This psychological effect can exist even if the perceived value doesn't really exist, or if it's offset by larger inconveniences.

With that prelude, check out the The Natural Wave, from designer Byung-seok You at Yanko Design via BoingBoing Gadgets. This ceramic plate is designed to fit on top of and use the heat from old-school steam radiators, in order to keep your hot drink and pastries toasty. Perceived to be practical and/or efficient? Definitely. Actually practical? Well, that depends on a lot of things: the shape of your particular radiator matching the fins on the underside of the Wave, the radiator actually being on a heating cycle when you're looking to use it, the radiator and atmospheric conditions interacting with the plate's thermal mass so that it's hopefully at the right temperature for use, and of course, where the radiator is located in your house or room. It's a lot of things to have to get just right - but when you do, I bet there's a wonderful perceived practicality and added value to the product!

Tongue Sucker - Simplicity when it's most needed...

If there's one area where simple ease of use should trump industrial design and bullet-point feature lists, it's emergency medical care. Thankfully, the Tongue Sucker fits the bill; even its name helps cut to the chase, telling you (the "untrained person" for whom it's designed) exactly what to with an admirable brevity. If that's not enough, the packaging helps with a clear illustration following the condition ("UNCONSCIOUS") under which it should be followed. Once it's been applied to an unconscious person, that person's tongue won't block his airway - an important step that can be overlooked by non-expercts in the panic of an emergency.

So, how about that? Good usability design can actually save lives!

Crazy Convergence, Part 3: The Gamerator!!!

I promised one more bit of crazy convergence, and if this doesn't deliver, I don't know what will! This, this, is a home arcade machine with a kegerator and beer tap built right in. Sure, the previous post about liquids and electronics was cautious, but the Gamerator clearly trumps fear with awesomeness.

So it turns out that sometimes, even though convergence might be crazy and not really rooted in logic, it can bring a smile to the face of even the most cynical consumer!

[via Engadget and Gizmodo]

Crazy Convergence, Part 2: Electronics and water...

In part 2 of our look at convergence, here's something a bit useful, but a bit unnerving as well: this is BevyTech's Gadget Bottle (via Engadget). It's a normal water bottle, except for the recess and strap intended to make room for and retain an electronic gadget of your choice. And you know what, this actually makes sense! When you're running or biking, these are two of the heavy, bulky items you likely want to have on you and readily accessible. Why not combine them to make one thing to carry instead of two? Of course, the answer is that never-happy duo of electronics and water. It's difficult to discard the vague notion that somehow, in this close proximity, the two are going to mix. I'm not really sure how... but somehow, it's bound to happen! So, this may be a very usable design - but fear can trump usability any day.

One more convergent contraption coming up next!

Crazy Convergence, Part 1: Mice that aren't...

"Convergence" is usually understood to be a good thing: combining features commonly used in similar situations into a single device, to increase convenience and efficiency. Cell phones and PDAs have finally converged into Treos, Blackberries, and iPhones; home printer/scanner/copiers have come together, too. But sometimes convergence can be taken too far - there's no real reason to actually combine the unhappily-mated products, and the result performs poorly in all of its functions.

Today, two computer mice definitely take convergence too far: these rodents were bred with calculators (Sanwa, via Gizmodo) and label printers (Casio, via Engadget), and the offspring ain't pretty. The calculator at least has a glimmer of reason - less distance to move your hand in order to make quick onscreen calculations - but the sacrifice in ergonomics (and accidental calculator keypresses?) more than obliterates it. And the label printer is simply ludicrous - there are better label printers, and better mice, and no reason to slap them together!

Come back next time for more of the good, the bad, and the ugly of convergence...