June 2008 Entries
This is a collection of chapters that are essentially research papers by various authors. The subject matter is generally along the lines of HCI, however some of the topics are very narrow. Among the topics are utilizing AI for the interface, creating better e-commerce web sites and incorporating HCI concepts into the software development life cycle. If you are interested in researching any of these topics, each chapter is well research and each has its own bibliography. What follows is not
Donald Norman provides an excellent treatise in the design issues surrounding usability. He focuses most of his effort on the design of physical products such as automobiles, home appliances and building components, however his attention to computer interaction design is very prescient considering the year of this book’s publishing.
I tend to not read much fiction so when I do it is either a handful of authors that I know I like, or like this book, a recommended one. Recently I asked my boss, who I respect greatly, for some ideas on reading and research. He is a follower of Objectivism and recommended I read some of Ayn Rand's books. This was the first of the series he suggested I read.