Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org Wed, 07 May 2008 23:28:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 en GeekUp Slides http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/geekup-slides/ http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/geekup-slides/#comments Wed, 07 May 2008 23:21:55 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/?p=93 Thanks to everyone who came down to the Fat Cat this evening. I had a great time and I think others did too. Here are the slides from my Pecha Kucha presentation. They probably won’t make much sense if you weren’t there but I’ll see if I can get the audio recording for the evening and sync it to the slides.

The books I mentioned were Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug which is essential reading for anyone involved in any aspect of making websites; and The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman which is over 20 years old but still just as relevant today.

Thanks for all the kind words too. It’s the first presentation I’ve done at this kind of event and I really enjoyed it! Roll on next time.

]]> http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/geekup-slides/feed/ Cool Things http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/cool-things/ http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/cool-things/#comments Tue, 06 May 2008 16:38:46 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/?p=92 So it’s Monday again and… what it’s Tuesday? Where did Monday go? And I’ve got to do what by the end of the week? If being back at work after a bank holiday weekend of basking in the sun is making you feel a little stressed, here are some cool things to cheer you up.

]]> http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/cool-things/feed/ Cheeky Email Form http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/cheeky-email-form/ http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/cheeky-email-form/#comments Mon, 05 May 2008 11:18:11 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/?p=91 It’s become quite a common practice to ask for websites to ask for your email address twice on sign-up forms. Re-confirming your email address supposedly reduces the chance of typing it in wrong altough I’ve often wondered if it’s really worth the extra effort. In any case I, like many people, save time by copying & pasting the address from the first form field into the second form field.

The folks at the Travel Lodge clearly decided that people like me shouldn’t be allowed to use our best judgement in filling out their sign-up form and have disabled pasting into the email reconfirmation field! By adding onpaste="return false" to each of the <input> tags they effectively prevent anyone with JavaScript enabled from pasting content into the form fields.

It confused the hell out of me. And annoyed me. But it did force me to retype my email address.

]]> http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/cheeky-email-form/feed/ GeekUp Sheffield http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/geekup-sheffield/ http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/geekup-sheffield/#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 18:33:48 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/?p=90 GeekUp logoI’m honoured and excited to be doing a presentation at the first GeekUp Sheffield next Wednesday. It’s a condensed version of a workshop I did at PlusNet last month about how usability affects every aspect of our lives. By making people think about usability in everyday life I hope to encourage developers and designers think about usability in their work too. The presentation format is Pecha Kucha (20 slides shown for 20 seconds each) which I have never done before. I’m preparing the slides now and finding it quite challenging!

So if you’re in Sheffield on 7th May, pop down to the Fat Cat on Alma Street for some geeky fun. It’s free but you’ll have to buy your own beer. Big thanks to Jag Gill for making it happen.

]]> http://tamlyn.org/2008/05/geekup-sheffield/feed/ Chinwag Live: Real World Usability http://tamlyn.org/2008/04/chinwag-live-real-world-usability/ http://tamlyn.org/2008/04/chinwag-live-real-world-usability/#comments Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:35:49 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/?p=89 I’ll be going to Chinwag Live: Real World Usability next week courtesy of PlusNet. It’s a panel discussion about where usability is headed as a discipline. Not sure quite what to expect but they’ve got some good speakers so it should be interesting. I’ll be blogging it on the Community Site.

Update: Blog review now posted

]]> http://tamlyn.org/2008/04/chinwag-live-real-world-usability/feed/ Underground Overground http://tamlyn.org/2008/04/underground-overground/ http://tamlyn.org/2008/04/underground-overground/#comments Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:21:21 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/?p=86 Do you sometimes feel you spend more time on the London Underground then actually at the office? Village Underground have gone a step further and converted some old Jubilee Line carriages into offices!

Going Underground has the scoop and more pictures.

Incidentally I rather like how the Village Underground site uses scrolling in an unconventional way. The foreground is fixed but the background can be scrolled about to see more images of the space. What they perhaps hadn’t considered is that this causes problems for people on mobile devices. The small screen of my phone means most of the content (and all the background) is hidden from view and cannot be scrolled.

[via Reaction!]

]]> http://tamlyn.org/2008/04/underground-overground/feed/ Mixtap vol. 7 - “For Great Justice” http://tamlyn.org/2008/04/podcast7/ http://tamlyn.org/2008/04/podcast7/#comments Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:46:56 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/?p=82 My original plan for a-mix-a-month fell through in January when I failed to produce anything. Now I’ll just put these out as and when I have time.

Featuring classics from Aphex Twin and Mr Bungle as well as some more obscure tracks, this mix showcases some of my favourite computer game-inspired music. It’s a bit shorter than usual because I wanted to keep the quality high. Extra geek points to anyone who can tell me which game intro the bonus track is from!

Download the mix and/or subscribe in iTunes.

  1. Jellyfish - Ignorance is Bliss
  2. Mark VII - Comic Enemy
  3. Subi - Mario Theme (Miyamotonian Remix)
  4. Power-Pill - Pac-Man
  5. ChthoniC - Linear Groove
  6. Dhsu - Koopa vs Kefka
  7. The Minibosses - Zelda
  8. Mr Bungle - Zelda Theme
  9. Fuzz - Bomberfuzz
  10. Bonus Track
]]> http://tamlyn.org/2008/04/podcast7/feed/ Disadvantages of Working From Home http://tamlyn.org/2008/03/disadvantages-of-working-from-home/ http://tamlyn.org/2008/03/disadvantages-of-working-from-home/#comments Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:09:33 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/2008/03/disadvantages-of-working-from-home/ I’ve just been without electricity for half an hour while the landlady installed our new oven and I helped her carry the old one out to the bins. I suppose I could just as easily view it as an enforced exercise break :)

]]> http://tamlyn.org/2008/03/disadvantages-of-working-from-home/feed/ Mixtape vol. 6 - “Half Way Round” http://tamlyn.org/2007/12/podcast6/ http://tamlyn.org/2007/12/podcast6/#comments Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:39:25 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/2007/12/podcast6/ So here it is, Merry Podmas… and not a Christmas song in sight! It’s an easy-listening, I’ve-eaten-too-much-please-don’t-make-me-get-up kind of mix. And unlike alcohol, no moderation is necessary in the enjoyment of this product.

Download the mix and/or subscribe in iTunes.

  1. Forss - Characteristics
  2. Doves - Firesuite
  3. Simian - The Wisp
  4. Fat Freddys Drop - Ray Ray
  5. AGK - The Liking Of Things
  6. Beastie Boys - Root Down (Free Zone mix)
  7. Souls of Mischief - 93 ’til Infinity
  8. Sébastien Tellier - La Ritournelle
  9. Orbital - Transient
]]> http://tamlyn.org/2007/12/podcast6/feed/ Mixtape vol. 5 - “Four to the Floor” http://tamlyn.org/2007/11/podcast5/ http://tamlyn.org/2007/11/podcast5/#comments Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:12:30 +0000 Tamlyn http://tamlyn.org/2007/11/podcast5/ With 33% extra FREE!!!

Download the mix and/or subscribe in iTunes.

  1. Trickski - At Les
  2. Âme - Mifune
  3. DJ Gregory - Elle (Âme Remix)
  4. Underworld - Jal To Tokyo (Paul Woolford Vocal)
  5. John Tejada - Big City Music
  6. Santos - Somatique
  7. Röyksopp - Remind Me (Tom Middleton Cosmos Mix)
  8. Mode Hookers - Breathe (Instrumental)
  9. Luke Vibert - Breakbeat Metal Music
  10. Leopold Gregori - Renaissance
  11. Supermayer - Two of Us (Album Version)
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