Control-Alt-Delete for your Telly

So on the way in to work this morning I read the following bit in Stephen Seow's book "Designing and Engineering Time" (page 28), discussing users' perceptions of reliability and stability of products:

A television set, for example, does not come with a reset or refresh button for the end user because it is regarded as an appliance that just works.

That's from 2008; well and good. But then not six hours later, over lunch, I read in the NY Times that Google is partnering up with makers of television sets so that

Devices running Google TV will also be able to run applications written for Android phones, and will feature Google's Chrome web browser, which would allow consumers to surf the web from their television sets.

Yup.

A nickel says your next telly will indeed be sporting a reset button.

NYT: The secret to a happy workplace

Nice:

As he looked around the room, he noted that my employees seemed happy. I told him that I thought they were.... I asked him how he thought I did that. “I’m sure you treat them well,” he replied.

“That’s half of it,” I said. “Do you know what the other half is?”

He didn’t have the answer, and neither have the many other people that I have told this story. So what is the answer? I fired the unhappy people. People usually laugh at this point. I wish I were kidding.

I’m not.

-mpg

1st Annual Bainbridge Mapping Party

Great mapping party by the CUGOS gang last weekend -- full post here.

And in sports news today...

From today's NYTimes:

N.F.L. Sets New Guidelines on Concussions

A new rule will bar pro football players who show major signs of head injuries from returning to games. [...]

Wait -- what?

They're just now figuring this out?

And they have to make a rule about it?

Just because you can doesn't mean you should

From Scott Berkun, on the use of animations in PowerPoint:

Animations are almost always a distraction If I’m telling a story you care about, I don’t need to animate a thing, the story animates enough. When you asked your spouse to marry you, did you need flyouts and animations? No. The content was interesting enough all on its own.

'Nuff said.