Remember when you had a typewriter? Actually dialed a phone? Put film in a camera? Watched music videos on MTV?

It is not a new idea by any means. In 1939, at the Worlds Fair, General Motors depicted electric cars controlled by radio. Today’s concepts are much more autonomous by comparison. That said, they are illegal in every state in the US with the exception of Nevada. In June 2011, Nevada passed a law that allows Driverless Cars to operate on public roads. Expect to see manufacturers either flock to test in Nevada or be lobbying for legislation in other jurisdictions very soon. If done right, expect fewer accidents and reliable travel times. You wouldn’t need to find a parking space, your car would do that after it drops you off at the store. You’ll even be able to send your car in for service without going anywhere yourself!

This isn’t an if, this is a when. I believe that anyone born in the next few years is likely to be transported in a driverless car before they are old enough to not drive.

Some links on the subject:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_car
• http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/16/mercedes-benz-inches-closer-to-fully-automated-driving/
• http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/trends-innovations/driverless-car1.htm
• http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/12/google-awarded-us-patent-for-driverless-car-technology.html

According to Dictionary.com, it has the following meanings:

adjective
1. immediately following in time, order, importance, etc.: the next day; the next person in line.
2. nearest or adjacent in place or position: the next room.
3. nearest in relationship or kinship.
adverb

4. in the place, time, importance, etc., nearest or immediately following: We’re going to London next. This is my next oldest daughter.
5. on the first occasion to follow: when next we meet.

What frustrates me is when people misuse “next” in reference to a day of the week. For instance, I was a Friday, and I called to scheduled an appointment. I was told there was an availability next Monday. Perfect. What she meant was the Monday after the upcoming Monday, or two Mondays from now. What I understood was the logical idea that it would be the next Monday that we would encounter.

Strangely, this isn’t how most people understand the word “Next“. Yet, this misuse seems only to be happening when talking about days of the week. When else does it ever mean the one following the next one?

• When driving, someone tells you to take the next exit. Would you get off two exits away?
• At the store, when you ask where a specific item is,  someone directs you to the next aisle. Would you walk two aisles over?
• When is the next iPhone coming out? You mean the iPhone 6? No. Of course not.
• Your spouse suggests that the two of you should take a trip for your next anniversary. You better get THAT one right.

So I ask, why is it that, when discussing days of the week, we have invented some other meaning of the word “next“?

When is next Monday not the next Monday?

Now this is where FedEx proves that they are paying attention. Within 48 hours, Matthew Thornton, senior V.P. FedEx Express U.S. Operations responds to the video with an apology and talks about the actions taken. Unlike many other responses to public outcries, FedEx did something simple and smart. They didn’t respond by issuing a press release. They responded in the same channel that the issue arose from, YouTube.

This is how it should be. Well done FedEx.

http://css-tricks.com/15377-this-sites-domain-is-stolen/

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/say-no-to-sopa/

As described, it is trying to “To prevent online threats to economic creativity and theft of intellectual property, and for other purposes.” Yeah, right. The “and for other purposes” bit is the scary part.

Read Matt Cutts post about this. He has some good links to even more info.

If we allow this then we only have ourselves to blame.

What can you do you ask? Follow this link NOW and call your congress person. It is REALLY easy.

1. Information about technology
2. Downloads
3. Advertising

The last two is where I have issue. Not the fact that they have both, that is a good mix. Free files for some spammy adverts. Often times the ads are well-paired with the content you are viewing. I’m not even getting into the issue where a site that provides reviews for software also is paid advertising dollars from the same software makers. What gets me is the advertising they allow.

Example:

User goes to download an update to a bit of software. They get to the download page and find this:

You can click it for a larger view. The user is told to “click the link below”. Yet there are THREE links with the word “Download”, and two of them are ads. I’m sure many many users click the wrong link and begin a path of frustration that leads to confusion, extra toolbars in their browser and some half-assed anti-virus program.

So, either CNET is asleep at the wheel, or they just don’t care about their product. Either way, they are doing it wrong and thus killing their user’s experience.

In this case (see image) I want to send an email. The message is complete and I look for the button to send the email. Of course the button is there, in plain sight. However, visually, the “File” tab and the “Paste” button are highlighted by a bright color, drawing the user’s eye to these locations. The “Send” button, while not small by any means, is a light gray color!

When creating any UI design, be sure to make sure that the most common tasks are the ones that stand out. Don’t make the user hunt… not even for a second.

How many elements can you count on the image that use color? How many of those tasks would you commonly need EVERY time you type and send an email?

http://diythemes.com/thesis/credit-card-business/