Category Archives: Articles

How to Focus

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Focus Map by Learning Fundamentals

In today’s digital world of distractions it is difficult sometimes to focus and be productive. The Map of Distractions developed by Learning Fundamentals and Focus by Leo Babauta offer great tips on how to tame digital distractions and manage information overload in our daily activities. Some of these tips are really helpful, especially managing your inbox, since I have to deal with my overloaded inbox every day.

10 Reasons to Switch to Mac OS X Lion

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Mission Control on OS X Lion
I am currently running Snow Leopard on my iMAC which I upgraded earlier last year. When the new OS X Lion came out, I wasn’t sure why I should upgrade again. But after reading Tom Negrino’s review of the MAC OS X at Peachpit, I know I will be upgrading my machine later this month. Here are Tom’s 10 reasons to get the Lion upgrade:

  1. Better browsing (Stable Safari, Less crashes)
  2. Improved Apps (Mail, iCal, iChat, Addressbook)
  3. Full Screen Apps
  4. Mission Control
  5. Launchpad
  6. Auto Save and Version Control
  7. Resume (Improved Restart/Shutdown)
  8. Better File Management (Cover Flow Style browsing)
  9. Gestures and Scrolling (Trackpad)
  10. AirDrop (File Sharing with another MAC Over Wi-Fi)

Combination of these improvements and 250 new features makes the upgrade worthwhile. Plus it is only $29.

Kindle 2: Usability Review

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kindle 2Amazon.com’s latest version of its ebook reader, Kindle 2 has been making headlines around the world since it’s public release last month. The new version of Kindle has many improvements in its interface and design. However, there are still some usability issues with the product.

I recently read usability review of Kindle 2 by Jakob Nielsen and I agree with most of his arguments about some usability failures of the device.

It is really exciting to see how much potential this devices has in transforming the publishing industry and book readers in coming years. When I tested Kindle 2 I really liked certain aspects of the device and dissapointed with some its design & usability issues.

My suggestion for Kindle engineers is to make the screen touchable just like an iPhone, which will dramatically improve the navigation and usability of the device.

Here are some of things that I liked and disliked about Kindle 2.

The Good:

  • Form: Light Weight and Thin
  • Readability: Screen is readable on any angle
  • Navigation: Easy to Read & Turn book pages
  • Legibility: Adjust Text Size to small to large
  • Ergonomics: Anti-reflective & black and white screen reduces eye strain

The Bad:

  • Form: Mouse (aka four-way joystick) is very difficult to use
  • Readability: Screen area is small, keyboard takes up too much space
  • Navigation: Navigating links or table of contents in blogs, newspapers and magazines is not intuitive
  • Form: Power On and Off button is clunky, not sure when it is on or off
  • Design: The design of the device is not cutting edge