Over the last decade it has come to the attention of education providers everywhere as well as successful corporations that the user experience is the bottom line for a great product.
Simple. Effective. Quick. Painless. Elegant. Light. Easy. Creative.
Products like this will be sought after at any price.
Check out the Apple Human Interface Guidelines for developers
Apple, Google and RIM are the only two big ballers really ontop of the game, while other innovators like IBM and Microsoft are playing catchup. I can tell by the job postings these companies have. Attending events like CUTC it seems like there are two types of companies right now. “Yah, we have a team and a usability lab setup…you should talk to Mrs. Smith she’s in charge of user experience” or “We’re putting a team together, users are important”
Noticing this a couple years ago, I got on the band wagon and took some classes in cognitive ergonomics and interface design. Turns out, it’s a sweet industry to work in, usability that is. I really like the work.
Forgive me for the usability of this site, I don’t have the time to make it perfect – it’s a work in progress and low priority.