Rating: 
Summary: What a waste of paper!
Review: This book has a very small content to filling ratio. Reading it like pulling teeth. It doesn't give you much guidance on how to better design user interface while mostly is just reviewing what user intefaces are out there and trashing 3/4 of them. For example, in one chapter authors say that creating cascading menus is really bad and whoever does it deserves to be called "Philistines, reprobate and a weaker soul". In the following chapter they say that sometimes it's Ok to have cascading menus. They make a statement and they overturn it later on. Our R&D team had to read this book and they have even stronger words for it.
Do yourself a favor and buy another book unless you want to spend long hours re<Cooper>ating after reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Annoyingly excellent
Review: This book is a self-indulgent rant, that is also poorly edited and structured. If the authors had read their own book and applied their principles to its pages, reading it would have been as much of a pleasure as using software that follows their advice.
Why do I give it 5 stars?
Because beneath the diatribes and soapbox oration there is a depth of experience and of thought I have not found elsewhere.
The authors have considered the issue of what makes using software a pleasurable experience for the user in a depth and with a degree of insight that opened my eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money on this book.
Review: This book is a waste of money and should be avoided. The authors fail to give example solutions or suggestions for many of the problems they fault with today's software. Not only that, they continually slam developers for what they consider to be poorly designed software when its obvious they give little consideration to the real world constraints that exist when developing software. Save your money and try another book, I got very little out of this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Modern Interface Design
Review: This book is by no doubt a valuable resource for any software developer, nevertheless, more liveliness, humor or variety would have made it less monotonous. Prepare yourself to spend a great deal of time to tackle through more than half a thousand pages of very dense text, which is worth reading. The previous book by Alan Cooper, "The Inmates are Running the Asylum" is much more vivid, concise and amusing. I would recommend reading "The Inmates" first to get acquainted with Goal-Directed Design and the concept of considerate software, and then proceed to "About Face 2.0" to expand the knowledge and make it actionable.This book exposes the distinction between implementation model and mental model, and brings the concept of "perpetual intermediates" as the most common category of the users. The authors show how to classify applications by posture on the web and on desktop and handheld computers, as well as on mobile phones and public kiosks. The aspects of the modern User Interface are well covered in this book: data entry and retrieval, direct manipulation and pointing devices, metaphors, idioms and affordances. Parts of the book are devoted to such interface constituencies as controls, menus, toolbars and tooltips. You will also find chapters about installation process and dialog etiquette in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Genius - Every developer should read it
Review: This book is the work of genius. It is the best book I've ever seen on WHAT a GUI should do. Unlike other books which focus on how to arrange your controls or whether to use a combobox or radiobutton for xyz, this book addresses the basic design and considerations of a user interface. This book is not for idiots. Anyone who would thumb this book either CAN NOT and WILL NOT appreciate what it means to make an application usable. What this book does best is come up with a language for the elements common to every day programs. Soverign vs Transient apps, GUI excise (making users do needless repetative tasks), and the "interaction design" concept which is an analysis of the entire user experience with an app. This book should be a must read for any serious GUI developer. Its what comes after you've mastered the use of basic controls and GUI programming, and want to go further into make your app a joy to use.
Rating:
Summary: nice digestable chunks of great information
Review: This book really made me think. The author has some really clever ideas which I never even considered, such as "Why do we need a Save button". As a professional software engineer I gained a lot of good ideas from this book. The book is laid out in a very nice fashion. You can almost pick up it, turn to any random page, and start reading. The chapters are small and easy to read. I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone that is interested in software interface design.
Rating:
Summary: GUI Designers Must Have
Review: This is an excellent text on Software Graphical Interface Design. Do not build another application until you have read this book. Well written and organized, this book delivers details on designing for user goals, and how to avoid common pitfalls. There is only one chapter specifically on Web Design, but most of the other content is applicable. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: the book for developers
Review: This is the first book and aspiring developer should read. It is also the next book they should read. After they get that big-bucks job and are writing code for a living ... read it again. When you finish a project, that would be a good time to pickup the book and see what of it applies to your "complete" software project. Alan has an engaging, no-nonsense style that is uniquely his. Like his first About Face and The Inmates Are Running the Asylum, this book is loaded with sage advice. Reading rev 1 of this book a few years back changed my view of how programmers should program and gave insight on how to design programs the correct way. The second release is sufficiently different so that it still a bargin for those that have the first one. The biggest impact of those not familiar with the value of software/interface designers will be the altered view-point you may emerge with. A programmer (as i have been for the last 20 years) tends to get tunnel vision. It's not that we think we're doing things badly and do it anyway; we just don't see the opportunities opened by taking a different viewpoint on the functionality and design of software. Alan and Robert Reimann effectively describe this "enlightened" view of software design through effective use of examples and critique. A final point is that the book is somewhat granular. The chapters build somewhat on each other, but it is the kind of book that can be read a chapter at a time in any order. Thanks Alan and Robert!
Rating: 
Summary: Good ideas sadly lost in the delivery...
Review: To sum it up briefly: "This book was filled with several good ideas and obvious shortcomings in today's software, but the authors' ideas are lost due to poor delivery." The long story: Although I was impressed with some of the authors' "radical ideas", I became distracted with their choice of words and constant finger pointing at obvious shortcomings in today's software interfaces. If this was the authors aim at humor, they missed their target completely. It becomes excessive when the negativity spills over from chapter to chapter. (I could have lived with less negativity directed at software developers...) I found that the authors' choice of words and finger pointing at software developers became the topic of my development team discussions versus the true matter at hand: "The problem with today's software interfaces and what can WE do to improve them." I feel the book could have delivered its message better if only the first few chapters dealt with shortcomings leaving the remainder of the book to focus on new ideas or solutions. I would caution seasoned professionals to ignore the author's finger pointing and negativity and to focus on his ideas. Some of which are good and others are not, but it is obvious that software user interfaces have problems and the authors provide some ideas at addressing those. I would only recommend this book to those who are able to see beyond the authors' tone and truly listen to their ideas.
Rating:
Summary: The best and most up to date resource for Interaction Design
Review: Two thirds of this book are roughly the same as the previous version, but if you want to find some new gems of information you should read it all. Reading it all was no exercise for me. It reminded me of some issues I had forgetten and am not using and I was pleased to be reminded. The first part on the Cooper Process is excellent and gives lots of insights and new information. The new chapter on Visual Design is a bit simplistic in my view, but if you know the matter you shouldn't be bothered by that. All examples are updated and fresh. Some new pictures of Cooper project help in making the case. I particularly liked the interactive pie charts for example. As the Web is moving towards Rich Internet application and the desktop applicatios are moving towards Rich Internet information applications this is the best and most up to date resource for Interaction Design we have at this moment. I read it in a weekend. I bet you will too...
| 
