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SPECIAL FOCUS: WEB USABILITY |
Editor's Page
by
Amelia
DeLoach
Almost five years after the Computer-Mediated
Communication Magazine's first issue appeared, the last
issue goes up on the Web in much the same manner that
the first issue appeared--quietly and without
fanfare. In this issue, Publisher John December
bids readers an understated final farewell56 issues after he
welcomed
readers to the publication.
As with previous issues, this one includes articles
from credible writers who focus on the subject-of-the-month
without hype or bravado. This issue, which
focuses on web site usability, features articles from
the following writers:
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Rakhi Rajani and Dr. Duska Rosenberg share their
findings from a web site usability study they conducted
at Brunel University's Centre for Information
Environments Research.
In
Usable?...Or Not?...Factors Affecting the Usability
of Web Sites, they prove that most users prefer
simplicity in page design. In addition, Rosenberg and
Rajani's research takes into account multi modal
interfaces and whether "ultimate" usability is
possible.
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Dr. Arthur Murphy, a researcher at Georgia Tech who also serves on the
United State Government's Electronic and Information Technology Access
Advisory Committee, discusses accessibility issues for blind and
low-vision users in Web Usability and Technology.
In Web Usability and Technology,
he explains that poor
web design can hinder the capabilities of special browsers used by the
sight impaired.
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Greg Elmer, who teaches communications at the
University of Massachusetts-Amherst, contends in
Web Rings as Computer-Mediated Communication
that Web rings serve as an alternative for some users
who want to find information on a specific topic but
want to avoid the hierarchical nature of search
engines.
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Robley Curtice brings us an overview of the fall
Computer Dealer's Expo (COMDEX) which took place
recently in Las Vegas, Nevada in Notes from the Road: Fall COMDEX is Still a
Killer.
These writers, like others before them, contributed to the publication
because they loved what they wrote about and not because they were paid
for their efforts.
No one ever was. Therein lies the simple truth why this
publication, which began before HotWired appeared,
lasted longer than many fly-by-night Web shops. It was
a labor of love, not of money.
Amelia DeLoach
joined the CMC Magazine staff in October, 1994.
Copyright © 1999 by Amelia DeLoach. All Rights Reserved.
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