In Search for Online Success, ‘Easy Does It' Is Good Theme In the beginning there was a gray void and onto it were black letters. Some of the letters became blue and were underlined. These were links, and they begat other links.

WAP Field Study Findings (Alertbox Dec. 2000) More WAP flap. Following a UK field study, 70% of users decided not to continue using WAP. Currently, its services are poorly designed, have insufficient task analysis, and abuse existing non-mobile design guidelines. WAP’s killer app is killing time; m-commerce’s prospects are dim for the next several years.

Lighthouse – The race for recognition Good bit about user-created content and the appeal of a “recognition engine”, which the new Pipchip site will include.

Moving WebWord > Rage Against the Machine John’s pissed. Amen brother!

Moving WebWord > Trouble in Paradise: Problems Facing the Usability Community John Rhodes from Webword incited a riot among usability professionals with this article from October. He makes some valid points. For example: The better you do usability, the less it is understood, and the less value it seems to produce. Imagine that you make a problem go away. Who notices? No one. It is human nature to bitch and to complain.

ZDNet: News: IBM rolls out high-resolution screen This (print-quality resolution) is part of what it will take to bring the idea of eBooks to everyone – eventually.

youzit.com {usability.sucks} Entertaining anti-Nielsen site.

Flash is taking a pretty serious beating by the usability community. Rightly so, in most cases. Suprisingly, Macromedia is reacting to it in a way that may actually benefit users. Below is a post on behalf of Macromedia’s Product Manager, Erik Larson. < blockquote> Hi Everybody, I’ve been following this list along with several of my colleagues here at Macromedia for the past few months, particularly the (rather long string of Flash-related posts.

Redherring.com – All ASPs aren’t poisonous- October 11, 2000 Oh, I see. The little ASPs still have a chance at profitability. Whew!

Redherring.com – ASP: anyone still paying?- November 20, 2000 Wow, more fear in the ASP market. This article starts with the subtle line: If you remember the business model affectionately known as the application service provider (ASP), start trying to forget it.

Not completely F.U.D., but close. The real danger with ASPs is that they can simply close their doors, leaving customers without their data. Red Gorilla did it.

CEATEC Photos Why does nearly every new device have to look like an iMac? I vote for something “different.”