Confusability

The Singing Ringing Tree

Do you remember this East German fairy tale?

In hushed conversations around Britain, devotees of the Singing Ringing Tree, now perhaps in their late thirties or early forties, try to come to terms with one of the great traumas of postwar childhood. This programme reveals why it was that the BBC saw fit to import a terrifying Communist fairy tale, and why the East Germans themselves struggled to work out how a superbly arrogant princess and lots of strange magical animals could promote world revolution.

Future Labs

"During the War I was never asked how much it would cost"

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The Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) developed radar during WW2 and went on to lay the foundations for the information age. The story of TRE is the story of the scientists who helped save Britain from ruinous bombing and invasion and went on to invent computers and air traffic control, modern meteorology, liquid crystal display and the microwave oven.

From Future Labs

Radio 4 - Usability Archive

I have put together a list of over 80 Radio 4 Programmes loosely related to usability, accessibility and design in general.

I will add to the list and would welcome any suggestions for material to add.

The Ethnographers’s Voice

Laurie Taylor talks to the social anthropologist, Professor Adam Kuper about the paradox of successful field work.

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In order to study a group of, for example, prisoners, patients or gang members, researchers must immerse themselves in the group’s way of life. But the trade-off in terms of understanding may be loss of objectivity and a dangerous over-identification with the people being studied.

From Thinking Aloud 10 Sep 2003

The Reunion - Concorde

Understand why Concorde has an 'e' on the end, and find out how the usability reviews were carried out.

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Prototype Concorde 001 had only been proven in simulator form in the spring of 1969 and the first flight in Toulouse was the first time that the design and engineering team saw her in the air. It also became a media event with live coverage on BBC Television.

Assistant Pilot John Cochrane and Chief Flight Engineer John Allen describe the build up to the day and the sense of excitement.

From BBC Reunion

Concorde at Filton in Bristol.