Websites Made Simple

So I was on the plane, grabbed The Star and NST newspapers to gather what’s happening in Malaysia currently. Especially if the customs at the airport were extra strict or something. I was harboring 3 box sets of The Simpsons and other DVD titles if you wanted to know. No, they’re all for personal collection since I’m such a DVD addict. *grin*

Flipped a few pages and on the front page of the business section (if I recall correctly), in big bold letters was the Maxis launch of their 3G service. It didn’t come as a surprise to me seeing the leading mobile service provider being the first to release it publicly. Lightly streaming through the content, my attention grew heavier towards the part on charges. And again, not another surprise to me that Maxis is really pushing its financial capacity by offering quite a low rate for the starting of the service.

So what are the benefits of 3G and web?

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What do they have in common? *pauses* Come to think of it, we don’t really have much of it. We’ve got the standard press button to cross the road, the standard Touch-n-Go tell amount you have left in your card and some other stuff. The places that you’d find investment in usability are those buildings of big corporations or named companies. Example; when going up in the lift of the KL Tower, it tells you how high you’re going and if I remember correctly, a voice would tell you the level you stopped.

In Melbourne, the city has implemented a new cool toy for tram patrons. It’s a device that tells you the next tram arrival and destined route later. Here’s a snapshot of it:

The system hasn’t been fully implemented and is still in testing phase. But this is still quite cool. Now, they’ve went the extra mile with the toy. Below the pole, there’s actually a button you can press that speaks the details out. Convenient and usability. ;)

So, why is usability rare in Malaysia?

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