HCI (Human Computer Interaction) Introduction

I must quote here the definition of Dix

[Dix et al, p3]

"A discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of the major phenomena surrounding them"

 

So it all begins here at Sussex and more importantly I'm again in a student status. The first day at a new class with a new instructor comes good. Being a Microsoft products consumer ignoring the annoying things while working on PC or laptop had become my habits. Some referring to this quote that "When simple things have signs then there is a design problem" is really enough to make one really have a kick start in thinking in the design making domain. Right now I'm typing in Microsoft Office Word but the new design really decreases my productivity. The new file menu button (the only menu which it has right now) is so much confusing that after 2 weeks I figure out what exactly is this?

www.baddesign.com is a very good resource to see the blunders made by designers.

But it's better to look at a good design-example. The guys at www.dontclick.it are trying to research on a new design era of webpage design where one doesn't need to click at any stage of the navigation. I like the idea it really speeds up the whole process but Is it too fast? The end product after a good design implementation should be Efficient, Effective, Safe, Usable, Learanable and Memorable. I personally think that dontclick is a good idea to adventure but it just doesn't have the potential to break the traditional designing issues. The thing is people currently are adapted to clicking instead of rolling over mouse. Time to time even useless clicking have become the habit of most people. One more thing which annoys me is the finding of William Buxton appear in "An abridged version of this article appears is: Buxton, W. (2001). Less is More (More or Less), in P. Denning (Ed.), The Invisible Future: The seamless integration of technology in everyday life. New York: McGraw Hill, 145 - 179."
It says that the human capacity of learning is constant and the functionality is increasing monotonically but my personal view is that human capacity also increases with the usage of technology. More and more people are adapting the new things day by day. Buxton at his webpage http://www.billbuxton.com/brighton.html says "Why," they ask, "can't we design computers like cars,? I totally agreed and recommends his readings and findings. Sometimes the conventions are all set for us just to take them as they are.