Introduction

This Blog is made the the purpose of fulfilling a university project for New media studies. Each post is made with the intent of observing the usability of both internet based objects (video games, apps, websites, ect.) and non-technology based objects (doors, cameras, etc.)

Day 1

Today I observed the design of the iPhone. Though from an ethical stand point, the company Apple and their products leave something to be desired for some people, one thing that Apple does exceptionally well is designing phones. The iPhone is one of the easiest phones on the market to use. With 4 buttons total, the iPhone is sharp, sleek and almost anyone can learn to use it in a matter of minutes. Due to it’s usability, the iPhone has become one of the most popular phones used today, and when you see it in action there isn’t a question as to why.

Day 2

Today I observed the portable coffee mug and its usability. The portable coffee mug is a very well and is diverse because it doesn’t have to be used for the explicate use of coffee consumption. It can be used for any hot beverage, so children can have their hot chocolate. Due to its leak proof design, you won’t spill your hot beverage, and there is no need for an instruction manual. Over all, very useable.

Day 3

Today I observed stick shift cars. Though we have an easier way to shift gears, the stick shift remains a part of the automotive industry that everyone dreads. While you don’t have to learn how to drive stick shift in order to drive, the gear system is never an enjoyable experience to learn to operate. The system is extremely complex and hard to understand, and worst of all, if you don’t know how to work the system properly and you go out on the road with it, YOU ARE NOT A SAFE DRIVER! In short the system is over complicated, time consuming to learn, and above all infuriating to operate.

Day 4

Today I observed prescription pill bottle lids. They do their intended purpose, by keeping out little hands, keeping young children safe and not being too difficult for adults to open. Truly a well designed product that does its intended purpose well.

Day 5

Today I observed the humble tampon. Its new applicator design makes using it as easy and comfortable as can be. Not to mention it is one of the clean ways that woman can deal with their cycles. It is nice to see that there is still innovation going on in this industry, and I am sure that in a few year we will be able to come up with an even better solution to “that time of the month”.

Day 6

Today I observed the wonderful site Amazon. While, as with many big businesses, some of their practices are questionable, in terms of usability Amazon has an amazing site that is very accessible. On the site, you can find almost anything your heart desires on the site, easily navigate the site, and have items shipped within a couple of days. Honestly, it is a great innovation.

Day 7

Today I observed the music identifying app “shazam”. Since its release, Shazam has been the solution to the problem all music lovers face. Has this ever happened to you?

“Wow, I love this song what is it called?”

Than you proceed to google the lyrics of the song fruitlessly for 20 minutes with no luck.

Well, Shazam is the fix to that problem. Simply download the app on to you smart device, and whenever you hear a song you like, simply open the app and hit the listen button, and Shazam does all the work in identifying the song for you.

With its one button screen, Shazam is one of the easiest apps to operate. Just click and wait.

Day 8

Today I observed the presto card. The presto card is the new way to pay for the subway. You load your card with the allotted amount and scan it at the ttc station to pay. It is a very easy system, and is very usable, but it does come with set backs. Such set back include, losing your card and having to replace it, and refilling your card, which can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you are in a hurry. Over all it is a good system, but it leaves somethings to be desired.

Day 9

Today I observed the wonderful bag-o-rice. The company Uncle Ben’s has come out with a bag of rice that acts a lot like instant noodles, except NO WATER NEEDED. This single serving rice bag makes fresh, perfect textured rice way more accessible. You no longer need a stove top or rice maker to enjoy rice, no sir. Now you just tare the package, place it in the microwave for 90 seconds and you are good to go! The clean up is easy and quick. From a usability stand point it is a great innovation, and the only real setback is the waste created by the pouches, though I am sure there is a solution around the corner for these steamy bags of goodness!

Day 10

Today I observed the powerful piece of plastic known as the credit card. While the credit card has caused many people no small amount of grieve, it has also been immeasurably helpful. With the relatively new, one tap system, paying for things has never been so quick and easy. However, by making buying things so easy, it also becomes much easier to find yourself in financial trouble. With no self regulated safe guards, people find it all too tempting to spend big, without worrying about the long term. So while credit cards are incredibly usable and functional, with no safety net, some consumers may find themselves shocked when the credit card bill is mailed to them.

Day 11

Today, as I was wondering what to write about, I thought about the process of setting up this webpage for my assignment, and how difficult the formatting was. That isn when it hit me… WordPress! That will be what I post about today!

While setting up a free website has its limitations, thus why it is free, WordPress presents a particular limit. Usability. While the sight gives internet users the opportunity to carve out their own little piece of the internet, the process of setting up and designing your webpage in WordPress feels like a Herculean task. While setting up in class, I accidentally deleted my page twice, and couldn’t for the life of me find a way the delete the sample text without getting rid of the entire text box. Now 11 days into this challenge, using this site is just as frustrating. Overall, WordPress isn’t a user friendly site, and could use some improvements so their customers would stop screaming at their computer screens.

Day 12

Today I observed the company Blue Apron. There are many companies like Blue Apron, but the gist is the same, they deliver fresh produce to your door, pre-measured for specific meals with instructions on how to make said meals. Over all, it is an amazing system that helps those who don’t have the skills to cook, learn to do so and it is delivered right to your door, no hassle. A greatly accessible system that encourages people to get cooking.

Day 13

Today I observed the Keurig coffee machine. As a modern replacement for the bulky coffee makers that require coffee filters, Keurig, along with several other house hold coffee makers have innovated to preexisting machines to make an easy to use, cleaner and fast machine. Simply pop in your desired brand of coffee, press the button for what size of coffee you want and wait for your seamy cup of caffeine to emerge. While the machine is a little expensive, its usability makes it a highly sought after product for morning and evening coffee drinkers.

Day 14

Today I observed Skip the Dishes, the take out ordering app, available only in Canada. The app is very accessible and easy to use, simply find the restaurant on the app that you want to order from, select your dishes and submit, the drivers take care of the rest. You can even see what stage your food is at, whether it is being prepared, picked up, etc. While it does but a strain on businesses that don’t take part in the app, it is an accessible site, that is easy to use.

Day 15

Today I observed Ikea, but more specifically, Ikea instruction manuals. While Ikea is a well known international brand that sells millions of dollars in furniture every year, they have one major short coming. That is there instruction manuals. While the images within the instruction manuals are aiming to be helpful, often times the confuse the consumers more than anything else. Ikea is so well known for how difficult their instructions are to understand, they even advertise a company that will put the furniture together for you. The overall usability of their instructions to not great, but that doesn’t stop we the humble consumer from shopping in their stores, of eating their meatballs.

Day 16

Today I observed the InstaPot. The InstaPot is a pressure cooker that the shopping channel can’t seem to get enough of. While the bulky piece of hardware seems intimidating at first, once you read though the informational pamphlet, the InstaPot is an easy to use, easy to clean machine. Simply pop in the desired dish, whether it be a roasted ham, turkey, or baked potatoes, set the cooking time, sit back and relax.

Day 17

Today i observed the drive thru, the number one easiest way to cheat on your diet. While it is considered by many as a threat to public health, the over all usability of the drive thru is astounding in its efficiency. All one has to do is drive up to the window, place their order, drive to the pick up window, pay for their food and take their to go bag. So while it may threaten many individuals waist lines, it doesn’t wast and time in it delivery time (see what I did there).

Day 18

Today I observed the dimmer switch. As I have recently installed several dimmer switches into my house, I feel the necessity to share how amazing it is, and how easy to use. Do you have a date coming over and want to set the mood? BOOM! DIMMER SWITCH. Do you have sensitive eye that are irritated by light? BOOM! DIMMER SWITCH! Do you want to sit in a dimly lit room by yourself, watching rom-coms, knowing that deep down there is a very real possibility you could die alone?……uhhhhhh….(sad)BOOM! DIMMER SWITCH! All you have to do is turn on the lights and use the lever to give you your desired brightness.

Day 19

Today I observed the humble mechanical pencil. Gone are those days of running around looking for a pencil sharpener. Gone are the days where your lead keeps breaking and you have to keep sharpening you pencil. Now when you run out of lead, just pop off the eraser on your pencils to refill. Now you no longer need to worry about your ever shrinking pencil. Come into the new decade with style, and a mechanical pencil, they’re easy to use, and long lasting.

Day 20

Today I observed the modern dating app, tinder, where you swipe to find love… or whatever it is that people look for on tinder. While you may lose some of your dignity and sanity on the “dating” app, overall, tinder is a very easy to use and follow system. All you have to do is swipe left or right, and hope to find a match. Yes, it is a little demeaning to judge someone based off a photo, but we are focusing on usability, not our ever growing need to have meaningful relationships and going to the wrong places to find them. So on that note, good job tinder for being to easy to use, and helping us to find love for an hour.

Day 21

Today, on the final day of this challenge I observed the app auto trader. Auto trader is a website/ phone app that helps you find the car you are looking for…or help you realize that you are far too broke to afford a vehicle. Either way, auto trader has everything you need to find the vehicle you need (or fantasize about). Sort by transmission, colour, model and year, sort by price or proximity or the date the add was posted. You can buy from a private seller or a dealership. Regardless if you are looking for a new or use car, auto trader is a great option to use when searching for your next (or first) vehicle. The easy to use, functional site is a great tool to help you along your journey.