Usability of Packaging

Usability of Packaging

By Denis M. Sweeney
February 14, 2012

My desk is not an uncluttered surface, and I know I'm not alone. Today, I happened to have both of these fine products on my desk today... Afrin nasal inhaler and Gorilla Glue... both about the same size and shape... what could possibly go wrong?!

Reach for that and spray it up your nose...What could possibly go wrong?

This is about Usability in every day life. Both manufacturers needed an easy dispenser for their product. But if I had to point a finger of blame/shame, I'd probably point it at Gorilla Glue. I would think that you would want a glue dispenser to look VERY different from (the older, more established) nasal spray bottles! I mean isn't there enough trouble with kids huffing chemicals that you need to put your product in an "easy-sniff" bottle?!

In the usability world, we try to establish and stick to a logical set of rules so users aren't surprised by buttons where they don't expect them, or doing steps in an odd order.

The other big glue product that comes to mind is Elmer's Glue-All. --How does it compare?
Elmer's glue does sport the same basic shape, but what it has going for it, is that the orange part of the cap is not removable, and its iconic, bright colors make it unmistakable as glue.

Our old friend, Elmer's Glue

What if nail polish remover was packaged in bottles that resembled children's sippy cups? I only say it to make the point that, just like glue in a spray bottle form, it's a horrible idea!

If Gorilla Glue shipped with a stay-on cap, I think that would go a long way to avoiding possible confusion.
I know the Darwin Award fans among us believe that mistakes like this "thin out the herd" but I think the responsibility falls on the manufacturer to make their product packaging unique to address this kind of issue.
Stupid stuff does happen, all the time, to everyone. All I'm saying is that manufacturers should think about this kind of thing. Clearly there isn't a government agency responsible for checking to see whether medicine and glue manufacturers are using the same/similar packaging but it should be on somebody's radar.

Just as I'm completing my rant, I was adding some links to the companies mentioned in here, and what do I find?! --Gorilla Glue now comes with a new "anti-clog" cap!

Shocking new cap design!

Gorilla Glue's angle is that it prevents clogs, and I'm sure it does, but I think the larger point is that the shape of the bottle and the experience of opening it, is unique to the glue, and isn't at all like using a nasal spray anymore. Well done sir; well done.

I am still pretty happy that I didn't spray glue up my nose, nor did I attempt to fasten objects together with 12-hour nasal spray.
The universe is, once again, in balance.

Liquid inside! Squeeze it!

12/8/2011

Just a short post today. I stumbled on this fun sign and had to post it. This is from a hole-in-the-wall pharmacy in San Jose. enjoy!

Gadget Evolution Over Time

Gadget Evolution Over Time

By Denis Sweeney
6 Oct 2011


I have been thinking lately how we're in an interesting time as far as technology goes. 

An amazing amount of change has happened in the past 10-15 years. Give it some thought. Remember how households would have the same stereo and TV for decades?


Remember That?

The older among us probably remember how it was a big deal to have 2 TVs and/or 2 phones in the house. It seems absurd now, to think of that. It seems so quaint. Things move so fast now that laptops and phones become outdated in a couple years or even a matter of months. Looking back at those old days, the technology moved at a snail's pace compared to today.

I don't know about you, but in that period of time, I went from having a wall phone and one shared clunky desktop computer with a giant monitor, decade-old TV, modem, and an analog stereo, and film SLR camera...

...to:

2 HDTVs, a google TV box, 2 hi-speed WiFi networks, 5 smart phones, 4 iPods, 4 laptops, 4 desktops, 4 digital cameras, 2 HDTVs, 3 old TVs, 2 clock radios, 3 gaming consoles, 2 iPod docking portable stereos, and on and on. Sometimes when I stumble into my living room in the middle of the night, when the lights are out, the array of red, blue and green LED lights is impressive. Just freaky/ the amount of gadgetry!


Atypical

I don't think I am typical of all Americans/ I know I'm not. But I know a lot of folks who have a lot more technology than I do. My household doesn't have iPads, or tablets, Kindles or Nooks; at least not yet.

gdgt.com

I like to think that I have less "stuff" than I did 15 years ago, but after playing on this site called GDGT, I'm not so sure. The site encouraged me to create a list of gadgets, and I was surprised at how many things I had on there, and still,  My list grows and grows. The idea of GDGT is that you can look at or participate in conversations about the actual gadgets and devices that you own. It's pretty cool actually. You can find out about camera firmware updates, device upgrades, issues people are having, work-arounds, experiences, and stuff like that.


Android Phone Still Kicking

My android phone is only 2 years old, but that makes it pretty much a dinosaur. It is a smart phone and it works fine, but I know that 2 years old is really old for a phone. They're not designed to last much longer than that. I'm on borrowed time with the phone. It is acting funny since I spilled coffee on it a couple months back, but still does phone stuff just fine.


Wall Phone
I don't even have a functional house phone. Back in 2009, we cut that expense out and we rely only on our cell phones now. We were only getting calls from politicians and telemarketers, so we didn't feel the need to pay to keep in touch with those folks.


Old and Digital

My camera is even older. It was a high-featured DSLR camera when I bought it 5 years ago, but since then the prices have dropped and the features and quality have vastly increased. Plus, the new DSLR can shoot HD-movies. My DSLR doesn't even dream about that!


Point-and-Shoot Digital Camera
I have a little point-and-shoot camera but it is just slightly better than the camera on my phone. So it is tough to keep the batteries charged to take that camera out. And then there is remembering to carry an extra device when the phone cameras have gotten so good.


Worst Purchase

I'm going to try to identify the worst gadget purchase of my life. I would have to say it was a Mac SE, back in the day. I bought the thing and within 3 months, they rolled out the next generation of Mac, instantly depreciating the value of the computer I just bought. Don't get me wrong; I loved that thing, but I paid top dollar when I should have researched it more and known not to buy until the next model came out.
A close second would be a lovely Fisher hi-fi set. It was not terribly expensive, but it tried to do too much, and was horrible at everything.













What About You?
Have you noticed a similar shift in gadgets? Let me know in the comments what your experience is and how current you tend to be with them. Are you an early adopter? What was your best success?
What was your worst purchase? Let's hear it!

Evernote Will Organize the Crap Outta Your Life

By Denis408
10 Sept 2011


Ten years ago, I used to carry a digital audio recorder. A dork? Yes, proudly! 

It was handy to have for recording meetings, notes, ideas, and my (then) babies' first sounds. 
Scan forward ten years to the present day, and the device I carry is mostly is a cell phone or two. Now with the advent of connected devices and cloud storage, Evernote is more relevant than ever.I've been using Evernote a lot lately, after a long hiatus (about a year) and am really impressed with the changes I see.




I love how seamlessly I can access my written, photographic, audio notes, and typed content from all kinds of different devices. I use both Mac and PC, desktop and laptop, iPhone and Android Nexus One phones, and even a Sony Google TV device. I can access my stuff on any/all of those devices. It is now a capture/notation device that spans work and home, across multiple platforms and the Web. 


What's It for?
In the past, I have used Evernote for journal entries and notes about my kids' achievements. I could/can share them with my wife, and later, when they're older, with the kids. I had also uploaded a couple of photos to Evernote from the phone app. -All good stuff, but it didn't keep me using the app.
Recently I decided to try it to make sense of notes from a slew of different projects at my job.
I created a new notebook for work, and made it my default notebook. 
Hardware-wise, for work, I use an iPhone, a Mac with a virtual machine running Windows. Then I created notes for each project I'm working on, and pasted in content from Word docs. 

Evernote running on PC, Mac, Android and iPhone

When last I used Evernote (as I understood it) it was a phone app, which had a web interface where you could log in to access your information. -Cool. This time when I got on the site, I noticed there is a downloadable windows app. The downloadable app for PC means I can add things to it even where there is no internet connection. When I visited the site on the Mac, a similar download was there for me to download.
This is great for me, because I can now access the same set of notes from iPhone, Android, the Web, the Mac, or the PC, and at home or at work.

Example of notes with a screenshot (of the Evernote web page) included.

Taking screenshots to enhance meeting notes is really cool! I usually use this to take screenshots of WebEx meetings to add detail to my notes.
It adds a lot when I review notes, to be able to look at a screenshot from the actual meeting. Users can also include video notes! That's pretty cool!



The Toolbar

Since Evernote can save audio files, some people like to use it to record song ideas. It is great for Journals and Notes, and you can tag any of the content to help in later searches. There is also the ability to share with others and/or collaborate on content.

Sync, Trunk, New Note, All Notes, Share, Print, Delete | Usage 

• Sync: this is the same as Save in a conventional application. 
• Trunk: this is the Evernote App store.
• New Note: self-explanatory
• All Notes: shows all your notes in one flat list.
• Share: displays sharing options
• Print: self-explanatory
• Delete: self-explanatory

Tags/Keywords


Tags are added and displayed in a sub-tab. This is helpful for your ability to search. Think about your keywords (tags) and use logical words that you're likely to use when you are later searching. Additionally, you can add a URL if you want to keep a reference for where you got a screenshot, or a logical link to hang onto.

Toolbar for Tagging

What Else Can It Do? -Plugins
I looked for, but didn't find a way to scan something into Evernote. Then I noticed something called "Trunk" at the top of the screen. Trunk is Evernote's iTunes Store (or Android Market). It has various add-ons that work with Evernote.
Scandrop to Cloud is an app that will scan right to the cloud, in this case, to Evernote from your scanner. (it also will scan to Amazon cloud or google docs... very cool!).
To test it out, I scanned a monster story that my sun drew. I was able to scan it and have it load directly into my Evernote notebook. Really cool! And then I was able to then merge the scanned pages into one file in Evernote.


Disclaimer
I have to include a little disclaimer since I'm so-strongly advocating Evernote. I have nothing to do with the Evernote company, and am not being reimbursed in any way. I just feel like this software fits the "new model" of the way we live a lot better than the traditional tools (MS Word, etc.). 


Evernote's stated goal is "to give everyone the ability to easily capture any moment, idea, inspiration, or experience whenever they want using whichever device or platform they find most convenient, and then to make all of that information easy to find."


Closing Notes
I'm impressed with this app and the potential it shows as a platform and future expansion possibilities. I am also excited to play more with existing features like video and sharing. I definitely recommend Evernote as a tool for organizing your life.

Chili Peppers Concert in the Redwoods

By Denis Sweeney
8/30/2011


I was lucky enough to attend a secret show where the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed at Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, California. The show was on July 27, 2011 at the very small (and beautiful) Henry Miller Memorial Library. It was a great show and was the first show of their tour supporting the new album I'm With You, their first album in 4 years.

Photo of the Henry Miller Library

Here is how Wikipedia describes the show:

On July 27, 2011, the band played their first show since August 2007 and first official show with Josh. The performance was a secret invitation only show with family, friends and music critics in attendance. The band ended July 2011 with two more secret invitation only shows on July 29 and July 31. All three were held in California. ^[107][108] On July 30, 2011, the band took to a building rooftop on the boardwalk at Venice Beach to film video footage for "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie". Inbetween filming, the band played various parts of their own songs and covers for the many fans who were crowded on the streets below. ^[109]

It was in the woods on the night of the show. We only had a day or two advance notice about the show. After the long, twisty drive along coastal highway 1 to get to Big Sur and the Henry Miller Library, it was surreal to round yet another corner and happen upon a lot of freaky concert-goers, a tour bus and amazing lights shooting up into the giant trees. We were handed these cool handouts at the door. 

The show was arranged by (((folkYEAH!))) We were treated to a great show and the unannounced, invitation only show was for a crowd of only about 300 people! It was very intimate. I was impressed that the band kept playing when all the stage lights went out all at once! Flea asked the crowd to shine flashlights/phones/ anything-that-glows onto the stage if it happened again (and it did happen a couple more times before they ironed out the problem. Kedis said he was glad it was the lights and not the sound because they could keep playing (and they did!)

The photos here are mine, except where noted. I found a lot of stuff in different places about this show, so I'm collecting a bunch of it here, and adding my own content and comments as well. Enjoy!

Red Hot Chili Peppers in a promotional photo forI’m with You, 2011 (from left to right): Klinghoffer, Flea, Kiedis, Smith

From Henry Miller Library Blog

Montgomery County's The Herald photo

Michael "Flea" Balzary, Anthony Kiedis, new percussionist Mauro Refosco, Josh Klinghoffer, and drummer Chad Smith

Folkyeh's Video of Californication

Flea playing directly to kids at stage right. My son, Chad's son, and his (Flea's) daughter during The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie

From TheChiliSource.com

The cozy show with kids hanging out

Photo from Spin

Spin's writeup:

On Wednesday night, Red Hot Chili Peppers debuted new songs to an intimate audience under the stars in Big Sur, California. Their appearance at the Henry Miller Library was announced only three hours before the band took the stage, and it was free for the 300 lucky fans and friends who made it through the worn wooden gate.
Rounded out by guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who replaced John Frusciante, as well as a percussionist and keyboardist, RHCP performed five songs from their long-awaited, Rick Rubin-produced tenth album I'm With You(due out August 30), interspersed with a handful of crowd-pleasing classics.
"We got new songs, we got old songs in the deadhead redwoods out here," said Anthony Kiedis cooly, wearing a tuxedo jacket and an OFF! trucker cap. A towering pine behind him was lit by a pink strobe. The air smelled green and felt damp. It was a surreal space for the band's iconic funk-punk.
But Flea apparently lives nearby and visits the library frequently. According to the show's presenter, coastal promoter Britt Govea of (((folkYEAH!))), the bassist called him personally to set up the gig about a month ago. The venue's executive director Magnus Toren said RHCP paid for the entire thing.
A shirtless, blue-haired Flea joked at the beginning of the set: "Anybody who knows where I live, now's a good time to rob me. Because, you know, I'm here."
They opened with one of the Afro-funk-influenced new ones, "Monarchy of Roses," a darkly burbling high-energy pop song spurred forth by a barrage of percussion. The audience embraced the unfamiliar song without any prodding.
The same was true for the fittingly titled "Ethiopia," which was inspired by a trip Flea and Klinghoffer recently took to Africa at the behest of Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn. Congas and scatted vocals prevailed over a jittery groove reminiscent of Talking Heads.
"Look Around" too seemed to be made of a dozen slight interlocking parts, suggesting a more subtle musicality than heard on RHCP's last album, 2006's Stadium Arcadium (from which they played the slap-happy "Charlie").
As befit the mood, and Klinghoffer's artful, melodic guitar style, the band favored songs from 2002's By the Way, swaying through the epic-yet-subdued "Universally Speaking," vamping (aurally, of course) for the slow and sexy "Don't Forget Me," and quietly building to a furious funk crush with the album's titular single.
The coziness was the real draw -- at one point, the guys took turns playing parts of the new single "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" to Flea's 6-year-old daughter, Sunny Bebop Balzary, as she danced on the edge of the stage -- but the Chili Peppers saved a little spice and hellfire for their encore, when they surprised all by launching into "Give it Away."
The sylvan wonderland seemed an odd place for slam-dancing, but a devoted few gave it their all from the grass in front of the band, while the rest rocked, rapped, and thrashed along a bit more quietly. But by 11 p.m., the forest seemed to have swallowed every sound as the lights faded and the crowd trickled out to Highway 1.

Rolling Stone was (apparently) there too.
Here is Rolling Stone writer David Fricke's report

backstage kids being serenaded (as mentioned above in the Spin article)

Rear Soundboard

from the back

kid fans

For even more photos of the show, check out Terry Way's blog post featuring his amazing photos from the show!