Design Critique

Whitney Quesenbery of Whitney Interactive Design joins Tim and Tom for a wordcast episode on the plain language movement. Language is a crucial part of most user interface designs, from hardware, to software, to websites, to that oldest of interfaces, the printed page. What is plain language and how can it help us design more usable communication for products and services? Professions, companies, and governments should embrace plain language to communicate effectively with their customers, employees, and citizens. Websites we mention include:
www.www.plainlanguage.gov
www.centerforplainlanguage.org
www.usability.gov

After our half-hour discussion, Tim promotes Gerry Gaffney's excellent User Experience Podcast. Congratulations, Gerry! Everyone go listen!
Next, Tim reads listener feedback from John at the Smorgasbord Design blog regarding Sennheiser's admirable commitment to superior customer experience. Sennheiser, Design Critique salutes you!
Last but never least, house band Peter Grey sings Without My Girl.

Join us for a solo perspective on Tom's new MacBook, a.k.a. "Bigfoot"! Losing tiny rubber feet at the bottom corners may be a thing of the past, thanks to wider, flush-mounted feet. But wait, there's more...
We don't talk about the MacBook's new Intel processor, perceived speed, or included software in this episode--just its industrial design, which is so impressive that it deserves its own episode. Lest you think we're Apple apologists, let it be known this episode was delayed several weeks due to the MacBook's hard drive failing two days after Tom received it, and a very sluggish repair period on Apple's part.
FYI, solo perspective episodes occur when one of us cannot lend a product to the other for "mission critical" reasons. This is Tom's new primary computer, and he reflects on the continuous improvement of Apple's laptop designs. (Tim still prefers his 12" PowerBook G4 for portability.)
Finally, Peter Grey, our house band, sings Sweet Unknown.