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Don’t Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. – Steve Krug
Steve Krug explains how we can create better Websites if we just stop wasting time on useless debates within teams and engage in 'usability testing' early on in the development process. His book provides the antidote.
He distinguishes between designers and developers in what they consider to be a 'good' website design. Designers prefer pleasant layouts, whereas developers enjoy a good amount of features. This is also compared to the duality between commercial culture and craft culture. Which is a question of aesthetics versus usability. Ideally, we would want to have both.
defining: Ubiquitous Computing
In 1991, Mark Weiser defined ubiquitous computing (which he also calls "embodied virtuality", as opposed to virtual reality) as invisible and indistinguishable from the "fabric of everyday life"; that is, from human behavior. Which is to say that ubiquitous computing aims at providing humane tools with which beings can continue dealing with their world in very much the same behavioral ways.
“A Human-Centered Technology.” – Don Norman
While innovation has a historical contribution in terms of providing appropriate and efficient tools for society that help enrich human knowledge and enhance mental capabilities (memory, thought, reflection), it has however created modes of entertainment that increasingly promote a consuming rather than a productive people and is accountable for the apparent social divider between the haves and havenots of technology.
“Recruiting Participants” – Dumas & Redish
Dumas & Redish lay-out the steps and tactics for recruiting participants; those include: Finding Appropriate Participants, Reaching and Screening Potential Participants, Deciding Who Should Recruit Participants, Knowing What to Say When You are Recruiting, Arranging for Payment or Other Incentives, and Having a Back-up -- But Not Double Booking