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I’ve just tried to order my son a new LG Cookie for Christmas from the Carphone Warehouse. Tried being the operative word here. I’m absolutely amazed at how we’re still struggling to get the whole on line ordering experience right. I’d filled in the form, and the list of errors were almost as long as the form itself.

I’d like to think that I’m not really that big of an idiot that I can’t get an on line order form right…but Carphone warehouse succeeded in spectacular fashion. So when the website even gives me 3 errors regarding my home phone number I’m left wanting to click the close icon.

Error #1 – the phone number is too long. Why ? See error #2.

Error #2 – the phone number has spaces in it.

Error #3 – the phone number is invalid.

Forgive me for thinking that it’s really at the bleeding edge of technology to determine whether a phone number is valid or not. With or without spaces. Id entered 3 phone numbers. So there was a total of 9 errors, just for the phone numbers, when the code could easily have stripped out the spaces, or even god forbid, used something as technologically advanced as a regular expression to make sure it was valid.

After fixing the errors I’m left with the final error. It appears my credit car information is  invalid. Why? Oh, we won’t actually tell you that. We’ll just say that there’s *something* wrong. Did anyone do *any* usability testing on this? I can’t believe it. Absolutely atrocious for a single page form.

Thank you Carphone Warehouse. And, Goodbye.

Oh, if anyone from the Carphone Warehouse by chance happens to read this, I’m available to help you out. Trust me, you need all the help you can get.

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When I was heavily involved in the games industry, you could spot a designer a mile away. Strangely enough I didn’t see any at Team17 (everyone there was far too cool , it was usually attending a show, or when we had visitors that the turtlenecks were out in force!

Black turtlenecks should be raised to the same status of socks and sandals.

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But still……..

 I’VE WON AN iPod!

Yup. Really. An iPod!! I submitted an idea into a program we have here @ EDS, and the best ideas are chosen and then awarded a prize! How cool, a FREE iPod!

My idea didn’t  really start out as an idea at all. More of a complaint really, but I guess what made it a special complaint was I placed a price on how much cash we were wasting because of the problem. Whilst I can’t go into details, I think it may have been attaching a real monetary figure to the whole thing that clinched it. Anyway, it appears that not only did I win an iPod (did I mention that I’ve won an iPod already?) but that they’d like me to do a white-paper on changing things too! Awesome, free iPod’s and I get a good shot at changing  our internal processes too. Double bonus!

I guess it’s nice to feel like your thoughts are worth something after all!

Anyway, because, well, I’ve won an iPod, here’s a picture.

Not only do I get a congratulations card in an Apple envelope…

But the back is engraved with my award and name! Cool!

I’ve never had an Apple product, after working for a year on a Quadra 840av (doing a conversion onto a 3DO console ) , I swore I’d never ever touch an apple product again. Back in those days, as a users machine it may have warranted the almost maniacal cult following, as a developer machine nothing short of vacuous.

Anyway, I’ve been resisting the temptation to fiddle with the latest & greatest jobs spawn, and seriously resisting purchasing an iPhone (after using that touch screen – all other phones are obsolete..), I have to admit, the old nano is pretty good. The only downside is having to use suffer iTunes to load the music. I’m sure there must be other tools available, that’s tonight’s task

If anyone’s got any good suggestions , please, comment!

(PS. did I mention I’ve won an iPod?)

Some of the show was obvious trickery like the levitating spirit table), but in my opinion that didn’t detract at all, in fact, I think that it adds to the overall entertainment value.

At work the next day, many discussions were had about the techniques DB may have used to achieve some of the effects. Take the £10 serial number trick, a punter is chosen at random by DB throwing a frisbee into the audience. This person is then asked if they can ring a friend, and if so DB wagers £10 that he can get the person on the phone to give him a series of numbers that he’s written on a large whiteboard. DB asks the person to repeat some seemingly random questions about mundane objects to their friend. Then on Derrens prompt, the person asks their friend for a series of numbers, which then don’t appear to match the ones Derren had written down on the whiteboard. When the trick doesn’t seem to have worked Derren owns up to the friend on the phone that he’s on the speaker phone on stage, and tells him the trick was a resounding success!

The rest of the audience is still under the impression that the trick failed miserably as the assistant is dismissed back to their seat. However, just as they’re approaching the edge of the stage DB fetches them back and asks them to take out the £10 they won in the bet. When they open up the £10 , the serial numbers on the £10 match the numbers the person on the phone gave! What a reveal!.

After a good discussion and a few emails, we started getting mails through with pointers to forums giving spoilers. I don’t really see the point in reading the spoilers, since if you really, really want to figure it out, the fun would be in the chase not the end result! Plus, I’d much rather leave the mystery intact! If there were no mystery left, life would be a truly dull, empty, experience! (maybe this why JJ Abrams Mystery box is so appealing..)

The fun isn’t in finding out how he did it, the fun is in the communication and shared experience of discovery that it takes to achieve understanding. Plus, we get to sit around drinking coffee whilst we look all intellectual

This brings me onto the agile manifesto 1st principle of

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Its the quality of the vibrant discussions we have about software that makes the software something more than the sum of its parts. If there are no interactions, no discussions, no passionate arm waving arguments (especially with the users) then the end result is the same dull,empty, left lack experience we’d have without mystery. Sure, process and tools help, but the resulting software becomes great inspite of process and tools, not thanks to them. More often they add very little and detract much.

I’m a huge proponent of the arm waving over the process or tools, and I firmly believe that our users will have a much richer experience because of this. Maybe we should try to embody a more passionate approach to our software, rather than the usual rigid-by-the-book approach which rarely succeeds in bringing great applications into the hands most important people in the industry. The users.

]]> http://rob.runtothehills.org/archives/91/feed 0 db http://rob.runtothehills.org/archives/76 http://rob.runtothehills.org/archives/76#comments Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:17:49 +0000 rob http://runtothehills.org/rob/archives/76 Wow, what a film. JJ Abrams – the boy done good. To do this film justice you need to see it on a screen as large as possible, but more importantly, the sound system needs to be capable of shaking you from your seat or you just won’t be getting your money’s worth!

We watched at Cineworld in the Centertainment park near Meadowhall on screen no. 7, a 700 seater auditorium that is one of the largest in Europe – and wow, what an impact.

I wouldn’t say it’s horror, and I don’t think its really a monster flick, even though there’s plenty monsters. It’s the usual JJ Abrams stuff, where you never quite get to figure out what’s happening, but you just keep wanting to know more, and its packed to the brim with suspense. After an initial lead in with a party setting, the action starts, and then there’s an intense torrent of tension and apprehension which just doesn’t let up until the film is over.

If you’ve watched JJ Abrams TED talk about his Mystery Box – the film will totally make sense , and knowing how he works only adds to the experience I think.

One minor annoyance seems to be the blatant product placing for Nokia – I counted 7 blatant appearances the first of which was a Pink Nokia almost full screen in the party, which once you’re aware of them you end up spinning cycles looking for them instead of watching the film.

All in all a pretty good way to spend a couple of hours!

So, being the helpful kind of person I am, I sent him an email outlining how surface subdivision should be used to allow for realistic vertex lighting (which was the effect he was trying to demo) with either Gouraud or Phong shading. I also sent him a couple of book recommendations for 3d work, given he was in the middle of writing 3D Programming for Windows,

3D Programming for Windows (Pro – Developer) by Charles Petzold Read more about this book…

which he evidently found useful enough to send me a free signed copy of his latest book! I’m truly in the presence of greatness! Here’s the signed first page.

Thanks Charles!

[EDIT]

Looks like I’m in the not the only one ‘in the club’! Both Jeff Attwood of Coding Horror Fame has recieved a copy, as has the awesome Adam Nathan. (I can thoroughly recommend Adams as one of the best WPF books around too)

Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed (WPF) (Unleashed) by Adam Nathan Read more about this book…

Anyway, I’m not sure what to do, so I’m thinking on it and will probably make my decision next week.

I think it was Joel Spolsky that once said “good programmers are also good writers” , and it appears I’ve neglected the latter. So, as a 2008 new years resolution, i’ve promised myself to post at leat two quality posts per week. The first of which I should be unleashing withing two or three days

See you shortly!

I’ll be right back. Honest.