Commentary

Our website would not be complete without an opinion section - a place for us to share unsolicited thoughts about human factors, design, and product development.

Products We Admire, 10th Edition

February 5, 2009

Hulu Website

Hulu.com is extremely useful and easy to use. We like the website’s graphical simplicity and straightforward navigation. We also like the speed with which videos load-up and the way the site smoothly plays TV episodes and movies, not to mention the good picture quality. It’s almost like a free TiVo.

13 inch MacBook Laptop Computer

blog_maclaptop

The new MacBook is outstanding in multiple ways. Its milled aluminum case makes it feel solid and looks cool. It is relatively lightweight, though not as light as the MacAir, and compact, so it travels well. The magnetically attached power cord, which protects the computer from falls by easily detaching if someone trips over it, is an old but valued feature. And, it is the nearly an instant-on computer. It goes to sleep in a heartbeat and wakes up in just a few seconds. The screen is brilliant. Add us to the bandwagon along with the product’s many fans.

Steelcase Walkstation Desk

Steelcase Treadmill Desk

We admire Steelcase’s bold initiative to integrate exercise and office equipment into a single product – a good-looking one at that. It’s a good thing the “treadmill desk” is whisper quiet, but its hard to imagine the sight of a co-worker striding along while checking email not becoming a distraction to others. So, we imagine the machine working best in private offices with shades. Undoubtedly, the machine will help some sedentary people get into shape. It’s also likely to please the fitness-obsessed crowd, and promises to be a good solution for people going through physical rehabilitation. Lots of swiveling components add to the workstation’s utility, enabling people to walk up to 2 mph when they wish, and otherwise pull up to the desk in a conventional chair with the tabletop lowered to an ergonomically suitable level. Call it a great stride forward in office equipment design.

Filed under: Products We Admire — Michael

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