Baloney. The user-centered remote lacks vertically stacked channel up/down buttons. Are we supposed to use the next/previous or rewind/forward buttons?

Next/previous work for horizontal relationships. Channels are ordered by number and have institutionally been engrained in us with an up/down relationship. If channels were assigned letters of the alphabet, like Channel A, Channel B, etc. then next/previous would work. I absolutely do not want that user-centered remote.

The remote also lacks a "last channel visited" button, which is highly popular among some segments of the TV viewing public.

Has the author, perhaps, been spending too much time with digital cable TV menus? Most people do not subscribe to digital cable.

Posted by: Grumpy Old Man on July 16, 2003 09:52 PM

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Ah yes ... a usability review blog in action on webword.

Posted by: daniel szuc on July 16, 2003 10:55 PM

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Get us out of remote control hell! - http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2914044,00.html

Posted by: daniel szuc on July 16, 2003 11:06 PM

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"This is PART 1 of an ongoing fun series to demonstrate user centred design and thinking."

"Note: The remotes have not been formally Usability Tested with participants."

Not much of demonstration then, is it?

Posted by: Ron Zeno on July 17, 2003 04:15 PM

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Engineering Centred Vs User Centred vs Human Centred

No way to go through life, son
At first he couldn't exercise at all, but he took the batteries out of his remote control and started walking over to change the channels on the TV. And he'd go upstairs to get things he needed instead of sending his children.

Smaller portions, bigger baloney
Recall remote controls: They are unsafe. They make people sit around and eat big Oreos. When I was a kid, I walked 10 feet on shag carpet to turn the dial. Think of the exercise we'll get now that there are 200 channels!

Years of bad habits weigh heavily on health
Elevators, escalators, remote controls and dishwashers also contribute to the obesity epidemic, according to the CDC. Americans don't have to physically move as much as they used to in order to clean their home, change a channel or walk through an airport or mall.

American Obesity Association
For example, escalators, elevators and remote-control appliances make us less physically active.

Why we're getting fatter
The remote control, video games, the automobile, television, and to some extent the computer are all part of the toxic environment because they discourage people from being physically active.

Obesity
The factors which account for obesity are the shift to high carb diets, and low levels of activity. Couch potatoes no longer need to walk to the TV to change channels, only click a button on the remote control.

Posted by: Mac on July 18, 2003 05:32 AM

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I love it Mac!! You are a gem!! LOL :)

Posted by: daniel szuc on July 18, 2003 07:55 AM

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Daniel, can I get permission to re-use your images (any my doctored one) on a new UsabilityMustDie page called "Usability Review of a Remote Control". It would be a companion page to "Usability Review of a VCR" ?

Posted by: Mac on July 18, 2003 08:10 AM

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Usability Review of a Remote Control

Posted by: Mac on July 18, 2003 09:44 AM

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Of course Mac! Like it and nice to pour some humour into what is sometimes an all too serious world.

Posted by: daniel szuc on July 18, 2003 10:23 AM

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You could probably lose the eject button as well. Am I the only person who thinks the eject button on a remote is completely silly? Push eject, out pops the DVD tray. Now what?

Posted by: Jack on July 24, 2003 12:11 AM

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