Friday, September 23, 2011

Usability fun

Microwave - note the setting advice for dumplings, noodles and herbal steamed fish. 

Right side of the washer panel


 Left side of the washer panel

 Right side of the dryer panel

 Left side of the dryer panel - I found this totally confusing last night. Cupboard? Strong? Did I mention that the name of this dryer model is "Intuition"?


 Ever wish that you could really close the curtains without a clothespin? Note the overlapping tracks. East solution.


The train station is a good place to find usability fun. Let's look at the ticketing process and a display inside the train. 

First you find the fare, based on the stop you want. No changing your mind once you are on the train! And no putting BT 100 on the card so you can reuse it. You have to stop and buy every time. Unless there is a pass system that we don't see. The green line is the E/W line and the blue is the N/S line. 





Then you select the fare using the push buttons, put in your coins and get your ticket. The interface here is pretty straightforward. At this station, you can only use coins so you get change at the kiosk, which employs 2 people. Other stations take bills and the panel is more confusing.  Choosing the station is a touch screen and you get to say you want more than one ticket at once. I don't have a shot of that one yet - it slows everyone down. :-)  BTW, the largest coin is BT10.

Some of the trains have a typical route display - you need to count stations. Others have this nifty display. The red lights (far left) show where you have been. The green lights show what is coming up. The intersection is this station; and it updates at each station. When your station is flashing, get off the train!



The station platforms are marked where the doors are and where you should stand to avoid getting in the way of those getting off. The train doors always line up with these displays. 



1 comment:

  1. Cool! I think Strong is for heavy cottons such as duck or canvas. And cupboard is obviously airing cupboard (another Brit thing) since they have it for each type of fiber.

    I always admire how adventurous you are, so these have me smiling.

    ReplyDelete