Andrew Wirtanen is a usability specialist in Cary, NC More »

Video: The Decade in Seven Minutes

Transitioning online from printed journalism isn’t easy. Most companies saw this coming 30 years ago, so recent newspaper circulation trends weren’t exactly a surprise. Some companies have figured out how to survive in the age of digital journalism. One that I really enjoy is Time Video (see my previous post on Ze Frank’s video series [...]

Making Recycling Fun

World Usability Day is this week and the theme is “Designing for a Sustainable World”. In North Carolina, I’ll be attending an evening event hosted by Tri-UPA and Carolina HFES. My company has been hard at work redesigning recycle bins for the annual design challenge. Last year, we took a stab at redesigning bus stops.
Technology [...]

The end of handheld GPS devices: Google will practically shut down Garmin and TomTom

This week Google released Google Maps Navigation for Android. It’s only a matter of time before it’s available for other phones.
Gizmodo was quick to look at both Garmin and TomTom’s stocks on the day of the announcement:

When I bought my Garmin nuvi 660, I saw this coming. My digital camera is already collecting dust, since [...]

Can you wear Bose noise canceling headphones during takeoff and landing?

Yes.
But you’ll occasionally be told to turn them off anyway. That’s because of a 10-year-old FAA regulation that’s not really doing anything but causing delays. Gizmodo published a great opinion piece this week on the issue.
Bose QuietComfort 2’s take one AAA battery that takes about 36 hours to drain. But. because of the switch, flight [...]

SmartScreen: Time to jailbreak my iPhone?

I haven’t found a compelling reason to jailbreak my iPhone, but SmartScreen for iPhone just might be one. The application allows for widgets on the iPhone lock screen. Of course, there are all sorts of privacy concerns here, but for simple useful applications like weather or a calendar, this is great. Check out the demo [...]