Computers Stink

Contents......Page 3
1. Introduction......Page 7
2. A Computer User\'s Bill of Rights......Page 17
Electronic Troubles......Page 20
A Beginner’s Guide to Backup......Page 21
The Invisible World: Directory or Hiding Place?......Page 22
Most Programs Are Only Half Finished......Page 23
UNIX......Page 24
Windows 95, or... Computers Still Stink......Page 25
What Is Human Factors Engineering?......Page 26
Communication Burden:......Page 27
The Machine Makes You a Machine......Page 28
Few User Interface Designers......Page 29
Form Follows Function?......Page 30
Most Development Starts Over Again from the Beginning......Page 31
Bad Design......Page 32
Notorious Screwups Award: Secret Mouse Button......Page 33
Developer’s Indifference......Page 34
Paranoia? Mistaking Secrecy for Security......Page 35
No Usability Testing......Page 36
#1: Put All Instructions on Menus......Page 37
#2: Use Verbose Phrasing......Page 39
#3: Use Perfectly Accurate Words......Page 40
#4: Be Explicit, Not Implicit......Page 41
#5: Put All Orders on ‘Menus’:......Page 44
#6: Provide a Master Menu, Integrating All features......Page 45
#7: Display from the General to the Specific......Page 46
#8: Always Let Users Navigate by Descriptive Values, Not Internal Codes......Page 47
#10: Put Functions Where Users Will Look for Them......Page 49
#12: Use Dynamic Communication, Not Dynamic Menus and Dialogs......Page 50
#13: Always Provide Visual Cues......Page 51
#15: Tune for Learning, Not Just Cruising Speed......Page 52
#17: Build Error Message Details Right into the Program......Page 53
Some Not-So-Easy Recommendations......Page 54
Microscope: Detailed View of Internal Data......Page 55
Trace: Detailed View of Program Commands......Page 56
Mixing Metaphors......Page 57
5. The Nine Levels of Help......Page 59
6. PC Hardware......Page 64
7. Documentation: One Step Forward, Two
Steps Back......Page 70
8. Inside Computer Programs:
\'Source Code\'......Page 78
9. Training......Page 82
10. Support and Troubleshooting......Page 83
11. Action Summaries......Page 86
Index......Page 90