Shantanu Oak

(Recent Entries) (Archive) (Friends) (User Info) (Learn HTML and Msoffice)

Oct. 7th, 2007

07:12 pm - Usability? What's that?

I was trying the new service launched by microsoft called healthvault.
The concept sounded interesting so I tried to log in using my Live login account at...
http://www.healthvault.com/

The next screen asked me to change my password. I didn't want to change it so I typed the same password as my new password. The next screen looked like a dead end!
I completely failed to understand the following message.

Windows Live ID
Microsoft HealthVault uses Windows Live ID to authenticate your identity. If you have a Live ID with a “weak” password, you will be asked to create a “strong” password.

I want to login to healthvault to save my blood group and blood pressure count. I do NOT want a "strong" password. I PURPOSELY keep all the passwords as "weak" since I am not going to store any confidential and true info anywhere on the site that I still don't trust. Isn't it logical? Microsoft seems to have employed double graduates and Maths wizards who decide the best algorithm on my behalf to check if my password is strong enough? Let the user go to the page that he wishes to visit. A simple usability rule has been completely ignored. I will not be visting the site again even to test it!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shantanuo/1505422203/

Tags: microsoft, usability

Current Mood: annoyed

(3 comments | Leave a comment)

Mar. 27th, 2006

01:11 pm - What's new?

"The perception that nothing new has come out of the Windows group since XP is just so far from the truth," Mr. Goldberg said.

http://tinyurl.com/epca7

That's right. The truth is, nothing spectacular actually since Windows 3.1!

Tags: microsoft

Current Mood: quixotic

(Leave a comment)