http://www.designedfortherestofus.com Sat, 24 Apr 2010 16:17:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [caption id="attachment_531" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="12 great books that are constant guides"][/caption] I read a lot of books, and aim to read a book a week. I think that when you stop learning you die, at least mentally. Recently I decided I just had to get rid of some books. Partly this ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2010/04/a-dozen-useful-product-design-books/ Over the last 30 years Apple has led several paradigm shifts. First there was the original concept of a personal computer - the 'Apple', followed by a string of hits, the Apple II - the Macintosh, the iPod, the iPhone. Tomorrow the media speculates Steve Jobs will introduce a 'tablet'. ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2010/01/an-apple-tablet-for-the-rest-of-us/ Intel has released a great new assistive technology product for people who can't access print - blind, low vision, and learning disabled. The Intel Reader is a handheld device which allows you to capture an image of a page of text and then have the text read to you. It ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2009/11/intel-reader-captures-and-reads-text-for-blind-low-vision-and-learning-disabled/ Nice validation from McKinsey of the attractiveness of easy-to-use products. Their report 'Consumer electronics gets back to basics', based on in depth interviews of 2,500 consumers, found consumers are looking for well conceived products, designed to be simpler, at a discount of 30% below the full featured product. This is ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2009/11/mckinsey-research-shows-consumers-want-easy-to-use-products/ My consulting company Zanzara was engaged by Industrial Design firm Infact to conduct design research for an innovative device that can sample the air in shipping containers. The handheld technology can detect bio-organism threats at the molecular level from air samples. Zanzara's day-in-the-life studies identified key factors which needed to ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2009/11/zanzara-client-infact-wins-red-dot-award-for-container-scan/ Dynamic Controls have integrated the iPhone into the wheelchair. Their iChair application let's a user display status of the chair, navigate, control appliances, and much more. A great example of how a mainstream device can be adapted for assistive technology use. Dynamic have posted a video and a picture below ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2009/10/dynamic-controls-ichair-integrates-iphone-into-wheelchair/ Reena Jana of BusinessWeek wrote an interesting article How tech for the disabled is going mainstream. She discusses how designing products to work for disabled people can lead to products for the masses. A great example is the Apple iPod shuffle, with it's capability for voice navigation that works for ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2009/10/assistive-technology-gets-businessweek-attention/ Here's something disruptive - a new electric commuter bike. The YikeBike has been developed by Grant Ryan, from my home town of Christchurch, New Zealand. I got a sneak view of it when it was an ultra secret skunk works project, its great to see it now revealed. It has ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2009/09/yikebike-innovative-commuter-transport/ My consulting company Zanzara had some great news from one our New Zealand clients. Formway designs and manufactures innovative office furniture for the global market. Their new 'Generation' chair won the coveted gold medal at Neocon,  the largest and most important furniture industry trade show in the USA. Zanzara has ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2009/07/zanzara-client-formway-wins-neocon-gold-award/ While CEO of HumanWare, I benefited enormously from the counsel of Jim Halliday. Jim founded and led HumanWare in the USA and over the years worked closely with the New Zealand R&D arm of the company. He was involved in the development of the BrailleNote and myReader, two revolutionary products ... http://www.designedfortherestofus.com/2009/07/thoughts-on-designing-assistive-technology-products-an-interview-with-jim-halliday/