Assignment #2 5 Examples of Bad Design

1) iPod Car Connector

Bad Reception:
The inherent flaw in these radio connectors for the iPod is they give terrible reception. They transmit the sound through radio channels and if stations are already broadcasting, they overlap each other and award the user with terrible quality. This also happens if other people are using the same device on the same channel.

Conceptual Image:
The image is pretty easy to understand. The user chooses a channel and the connector transmits the sound through the channel.

Mapping:
The buttons map to changing the channel and this brings up another problem because the end user does not know channel will have the clearest quality. Usually the station with the least stations going on has the best reception but it could vary.

Feedback:The feedback is the music that comes through the sound system or even some kind of distorted sound of the radio station. Its hard to say since it gets terrible reception.

2) Logitech Dual-Action Controller

  

Cheap Joystick/D-pad:

The Logitech Dual-Action has a poorly designed joystick which is a problem for all games where you have to move in a 3d environment. The main issue is that instead of a smooth circular casing, the joystick sits in a square. Trying to go from left to top-left to top is a big nuisance since the joystick can get stuck in the corners. I believe the reason they designed it this way was because of pre-existing patents which make sense. I cannot excuse bad design though.

Conceptual Image:

Everyone knows how to use a video game controller. The user should have the image that the joysticks are primary for movement and the buttons are mapped to various functions.

Mapping:

The buttons are each mapped to a different command. It is up to the user to map each of the buttons though. That's pretty much all there is to say about mapping since it can be so dynamic and vary from person to person.

Feedback:When plugged into the computer, it gives an audio feedback to let the user know the drivers are installing. Sometimes the drivers do not install automatically though. When setting the buttons, an indicator on the screen will give visual feedback to let the user know the buttons are set.

3)  Single Knob Faucet

Unset States:
Since single knob faucets lack a second knob, its always hard to tell if they are in the on or off position. Personally, my single knob at my apartment never shuts off- its always dispensing some amount of droplets of water. My main problem is that you cannot tell when it is off; one just has to push it down and assume its off.

Conceptual Image:
The conceptual image is not great either. The user cannot inherently tell which direction the the faucet goes to turn on, dispense hot or cold water, or turn off. This leads to one bad conceptual image.

Mapping:
 One knob is mapping to all of the aforementioned functions. Like I said before, This can be a huge problem when trying to differentiate.

Feedback:
The feedback the faucet gets is either dispensing water or not. Another feedback set is through sensing if its cold or hot water.

4) Earbuds

Barely Fit in Ears:
These earbuds offer nice noise cancellation for such a small set. Of course its not going to be on par with those bigger headphones that cover entire ears, but good noise cancellation nonetheless. The part that really irks me is that these things fall out all the time especially when jogging. Its a shame that such a portable addition breaks the design that much.


Conceptual Model:
Most everyone knows how headphones work. They transfer sound through wire and magnets to the ear. If the user plus them into a jack, they will pick up the music.

Mapping:
If one is using an iPod with these headphones, all of the buttons on screen are mapped to changing the song or turning up the volume. The earbuds themselves are not mapped to any buttons but only the sound they transmit to the ear.

Feedback:
The feedback that these earbuds give is the sound of the music playing from the iPod. Like I mentioned, the quality, especially the bass is good for such a small pair, but overall its not a very good set and I recommend a better pair.



5) Dell XPS 1530

Short Battery Life
The battery life on my Dell XPS is only around 2 hours. This is not enough to do much of any work especially if I'm on the internet looking up homework. The battery is also bulky as in it sticks out of my computer and propels it off of the table. This makes the laptop heavier and even puts it at an angle relative to the surface it is on.

Conceptual Model:
No user should be too confused on how the conceptual model works. If they have ever used a laptop, they should know how to operate this machine and how in general it works. 



Hard to Remove Keyboard / Mapping:
The keyboard mounted on this machine is extremely hard to remove. To make matters worse, I find it easy to get food stuck under the keyboard. I either have to live with the dust and or crumbs under the keyboard, or painstakingly remove each key. The mapping of each key to their respective letter or function is satisfactory. There really are not any frills here in terms of function keys.

Feedback:
There is a good amount of feedback on the screen especially when the user is typing. Obviously the keystrokes that were hit appear on the screen. The computer also makes some indescribable mechanical sounds to let the user know when it has been turned on.