By @edent · accessibility security usability · 3 comments · 400 words · read ~483 times.
Sometimes a client asks me a question and I'm a little stunned by their mental model of the world. A few weeks ago, we were discussing the need for better cybersecurity in their architecture. We spoke about several aspects of security, then they asked an outstanding question. "What should I buy to be secure?" It […]
Continue reading →By @edent · covid19 nhsx usability ux · 2 comments · 500 words · read ~172 times.
These are notes that I wrote during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. I've published them a few years later. By now, you're probably sick and tired of shoving a swab up your nose and / or down your throat. You've grown blasé about the little medical marvel as it reacts to whatever antibodies are […]
Continue reading →By @edent · design usability · 2 comments · 450 words · read ~141 times.
There was an interesting discussion at UKGovCamp a few months ago. UKGC is an unofficial yearly gathering of public sector people, who chat informally about thorny issues at work. Suppose a digital design team has to support a policy which charges people money every time they do a thing. Let's say driving a car across […]
Continue reading →By @edent · security ui usability · 3 comments · 400 words · read ~611 times.
I'm not thick. I know it doesn't sound like much of a boast, but I'm pretty competent at this whole adulting lark. But it appeared that I had forgotten a 4 digit number I'd set up less than a minute ago! The security guard smiled wearily at me, "It happens to everyone!" She said. Which, […]
Continue reading →By @edent · keyboard qwerty ui usability ux · 21 comments · 450 words · read ~808 times.
The QWERTY layout is, I grant you, an illogical mess. I'm happy to hear your arguments that Dvorak is the one true way. Or that Colemak is several percent faster. But QWERTY is a standard now. Everyone uses it on their laptops and phones. It is used everywhere. Except, it turns out, streaming services. They […]
Continue reading →By @edent · font usability · 10 comments · 150 words · read ~411 times.
I was browsing the web recently when I can across this utter horror show of a font. Warning, not for the faint of heart. The thing is, I can't adequately describe why I - and many others - find it so disturbing. In all my years of reading English, I've never found a font which […]
Continue reading →By @edent · 2fa passwords security sms usability · 10 comments · 700 words · read ~537 times.
The other day, a company sent me a 2FA code which was only four digits long. I'll admit, this weirded me out. Surely 4 is just far too short. Right? I think almost every 2FA code I've seen has been 6 digits long. Even back in the days of carrying one of those physical RSA […]
Continue reading →By @edent · 2fa security usability yubikey · 23 comments · 700 words · read ~31,843 times.
Another day, another high-profile website cloned to phish credentials. Is this a phishing attempt? Goes to "https://t.co/7b0EaPdGZR" and asks for username and pw (if so, it nearly got me!) /cc @github pic.twitter.com/jgt4oNvjF2 — Tess Rinearson (@_tessr) January 16, 2021 In the replies, you’ll see lots of techbros saying “this is why you should switch on […]
Continue reading →By @edent · accessibility usability · 11 comments · 300 words · read ~1,138 times.
It's rather dispiriting when you launch something, only to have people berate you for not launching sooner. A few months ago, I was involved in a medical questionnaire launch. Before it was released, I had several people send me polite (and not-so-polite) queries as to why it was taking so long. "I could build that […]
Continue reading →By @edent · books footnotes usability · 24 comments · 1,650 words · read ~3,675 times.
I've been reading lots more non-fiction books than normal. And I'm getting increasingly annoyed about footnotes1. Footnotes are a weird skeuomorph hangover from the days of printed text. I don't think they are really suited to eBooks - but they seem to have come along for the ride into the future. There are a few […]
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