What makes someone leave a website?

Here's a great slideshow on website usability:

Usability experts criticize gestural smartphone interfaces

Think the gestural interfaces on your smartphone (in particular iphone and Android) make your device more usable?

Long time usability veterans Don Norman and Jacon Neilson disagree:

Gestural Interfaces: A Step Backwards In Usability

As much fun as it is to play with my Android interface, I have to agree...

Unity: The power of simplicity

If you are a fan of Ubuntu, you probably know that the new version of Ubuntu (11.04) was released today. Perhaps the most significant change in this version is the radical move to use Unity; a new desktop environment that will be new to existing Gnome or Windows users:



I knew as far as usability goes, Unity would be great for new users. Much simpler desktop, type the application instead of visually searching through a hierarchy, etc.
But I thought the desktop was too simple for someone more advanced who knows all the shortcuts by heart, uses widgets, etc.

Nevertheless, I gave it a try and now only 2-weeks later I can never go back.

I have the same experience with Google Chrome. I missed some of the add-ons and features in Firefox so first I didn't bother with Chrome. Then I tried it and switched back. But now I prefer the simplicity of Chrome. Even now that Firefox 4 has far too many usability improvements over the previous versions, I still prefer the simplicity.

If you use Ubuntu, don't be afraid to try the new Unity interface. You may just like it. I would also recommend some of these Unity tweaks to help your experience a better one.

How to make your shopping cart suck less!

Here's a user-friendly guide to make your shopping carts more user-friendly. You don't even need to know what words like "user-friendly" or "usability" mean:

How to make your shopping cart suck less!