Why Are Interfaces So Hard to Get Right?
Someone I work with once spent a lot of time and energy critiquing the interface of the New York MTA's MetroCard vending machines. Whether or not one would choose to spend their time and energy in that fashion, he was absolutely right about the problems with the design. One is forced to make a long series of choices for even the most simple of transactions, yet only about a quarter of the screen is used to present any one of those choices. By using more of the screen, users would no longer be required to make so many successive choices.
This was all brought to mind as I have been using Time Warner Cable's Interactive TV Guide. This is an interface that they got right. At our previous apartment, we had RCN, and I was very happy with them, especially because they bundled local phone service, which allowed us to opt out of the Verizon ghetto. But their on-screen guide was so much worse than Time Warner's. [Disclaimer: I work for HBO, which is owned by the same evil conglomerate as Time Warner Cable.] It only showed a half hour's worth of schedule at a time, it included advertisements, it was necessary to go to a separate screen to see program descriptions, and it did not include picture-in-picture, so one could hear but not see what was on the current channel. The Time Warner guide also allows for programmed recording of multiple programs on multiple channels. With RCN, we had to leave the cable box on and tuned to the channel we wanted to record. Congratulations to Time Warner Cable for getting it right.
8:44:20 AM 
|
|
