Setting up a Bluetooth device in pretty much any modern OS is so incredibly bass-ackward it's actually entertaining.
I've done it in both OS X and Windows. It's slightly easier on a Mac, mostly because Apple has managed to avoid exposing the user to the whole virtual comm port and networking adapter mess. But the core setup process, i.e... [Read quick start guide] OK, where is the "device discoverable" button?...Press the "device discoverable" button...Now make the computer discoverable...Quick! Pair them before discoverable mode times out!...How do I do that?...Oh, I have to enter a PIN...Is it "0000" or do I need a "real" PIN?...Where did I put the quick start manual?...Crap, it timed out! [Repeat] ...is four or five object lessons rolled into one about how not to design hardware, software, hw/sw interactions, and user assistance. Plus, bonus points for silent failures when devices disconnect after sleep/standby/hibernation. Despite indications as early as 2003 that Bluetooth was facing a user experience problem (see http://www.wsdmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/6598/6598.html), it's clear that the designers of Bluetooth just didn't get it until it was too late. Even acknowledging that security and usability are sometimes in opposition, poor design and what appears to be little-to-no early stage usability assessment has contributed significantly to this technology's troubles. Here's some related reading on (the travesty that is) the Bluetooth user experience: http://www.ittc.ku.edu/publications/documents/Juola2005_TR-35580-2_Bluetooth.pdf http://www.theunwired.net/?item=bluetooth-losing-the-manual-is-the-first-step-to-the-future http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:7PqAD44u0GsJ:www.bluetooth.com/NR/rdonlyres/B9A1DCE0-295C-43DF-87FE-D819648EB900/0/BluetoothSecureSimplePairingUsabilityMetricWhitepaper.pdf+bluetooth+unusability&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShyjkGhKU_2Hwib5q3roSdidYBXIXu9cFGmJVJKOesn6zP7XxIdDlZUDWfxMmvDSUlAeXAeQDrfGmBe03CpJj3Cdhi2iOznQYvoxOFxJDfN3zcf-vkHdtImqHE9YKiBRlDPbbUz&sig=AHIEtbTN7ao0XbPxUBBOSxVMFKwo4QmFOg -Paul - - - - - - - Paul Sherman, Principal, ShermanUX User Experience Research | Design | Strategy p...@shermanux.com www.ShermanUX.com +1.512.917.1942 - - - - - - - On Nov 22, 2009, at 4:04 AM, Eirik Midttun wrote: Thanks for link William! "Both technologies may survive these teething problems, but I think that there are some lessons to be learned in the standards process: - Standards committees should include (and listen to!) members of the HCI community. - Concepts and terms should be tested with users. Standards compliance should mean manufacturers including adequate user-centered documentation with their products." The unfortunate truth for Bluetooth seems to be that - 7 years later - lessons are not being learned. The focus on usability seems very low in Bluetooth SIG. There are lots of the technical requirements to get a Bluetooth qualified product, but on usability there are none. The usability is then left to the product companies. That will lead to varied quality and inconsistency is close to guaranteed. Eirik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=47575 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
