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

My 2009 NC State Fair Review

This week has been a little chilly in Raleigh, with temperatures hovering in the 50s during the day… so, most NC State Fair-goers were bundled up on an overcast Sunday (though I saw a few people wearing shorts). We decided to spend the $10 to park close near gate 9, which was a good decision because my legs were tired after 4+ hours.

Some of the highlights at this year’s fair:

• Pig lickers (chocolate dipped in bacon) — They mostly taste just like chewy chocolate with a hint of salt.
  
• The Barrel Monster (near the gardens/flowers) — This is surprisingly nearly identical to the famous Barrel Monster of Hillsborough Street.
  
• Rubik’s Cube Cake — It’s in the back behind some of the more elaborate cakes.
  
• 211 lbs. watermelon — I don’t remember seeing these last year, but the pumpkins were a little disappointing so this drew my attention.
  
• The food. — I had: a ham biscuit, hot chocolate (it was Swiss Miss…), BBQ plate with potatoes and apples, apple cider, fried cookie dough, and roasted corn. They were out of fried mac & cheese all day in the only two places we found that had it. We took home some fudge.
  

It started to rain a little heavier at about 2pm when were making our way back to the car. It was also noticeably more crowded, so I’d recommend our strategy of going on Sunday morning. We did a couple rides: a Ferris wheel and the “Super Shot” (a free fall tower).

I put my complete set of fair photos on Flickr.

Products with multiple uses–selling them in stores is a challenge.

Designing a product with multiple uses is always a delicate balance between overwhelming the customer and providing bang for their buck. As one of my colleagues noted on our blog at HumanCentric, you need to make sure the feature fits the product, take time to design, and don’t forget about the main use cases.

But what if your product has multiple use cases without having to change a thing? Case in point: the “shredsors” and the herb scissors. Both of these pairs of scissors can do either task, but they’re both marketed to do different things.

This is a very interesting problem. How do you sell the scissors? Can you sell them as one device or do you have to market them separately? Do they go in the kitchen aisle or in the home security aisle? Can you unify the packaging to convey both uses? Or, is that even necessary (i.e. would users appreciate both features?). With the Internet, you could tag the product to be in two categories, but in physical stores you have to divide the inventory.

[Shredsors via Neatorama / RSVP Herb Scissors via Outblush]

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 attendants will ask you to turn them off. I always make sure I’m sitting on the right side of the plane so that they can’t see the red light on the headphones.

Gizmodo also points out the Amazon Kindle e-Reader isn’t drawing any power unless the screen is refreshing. That means that a digital watch is probably drawing more power than a Kindle. But, flight attendants will ask you to turn the Kindle off because it’s made of plastic and has a screen.

It bugs me that I am told to turn off my QC2s, when there are probably at least a half-dozen cellphones on board that aren’t turned off (either the passenger forgot or doesn’t know how to actually turn it off). Even the iPhone isn’t the easiest device to turn completely off.

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 video:

In other iPhone news, AT&T finally is allowing MMS as of 9/25. This means that I can now send picture and video messages!

[MediaPhone via Gizmodo]

Ze Frank on Labor Day and Socialism

Ze Frank is probably my favorite Internet celebrity, and you should check out his weekly show “That Makes Me Think Of” on Time Magazine’s website. The show is kind of like a modern Andy Rooney, but Frank’s segues make a lot more sense. In his latest episode, he ties together Labor Day, socialism and the health insurance reform debate.