User>Driven

Thank you to everyone who wrote in nominations for the 2007 User>Driven Hall of Fame and Shame. We have 14 nominations for the Hall of Fame and 7 for the Hall of Shame. Post your votes below as comments by Saturday, February 9th. The votes will be counted and winners declared on the 10th. The original nominators of the winning products or services will receive User>Driven t-shirts from Zazzle.com!

Nominees for the 2007 Hall of Fame

• Traditional kitchen Egg slicer
  
• Black & Decker 18V Pivot Vac portable vacuum cleaner
• WordPress blog hosting service
• GM OnStar auto safety and security system
  
• Apple MacOS Leopard operating system software
  
• Apple iPhone connected device
  
• Apple iPod Touch wifi MP3 player
• AppleTV media server
  
• Original Microsoft Zune wifi MP3 player
  
• Eyefi 2-gig SD memory card with built-in 802.11 wireless
• Blueline Power Cost Monitor
• DD-WRT open source wireless router firmware
  
• Windows Home Server software
  
• Google Apps online applications

• Samsung u540 v cast music phone
• Apple iPhone connected device
  
• Apple iChat video chat service
• Apple iTunes movie rentals
  
• Microsoft Windows Vista operating system software
  
• Yahoo! online services
• 2008 Honda Accord automobile exterior design
  

Some of you may have noticed a few additions in the above lists. I've added my own nominations to both lists, things that impressed me (favorably or un-) in 2007.

I've nominated AppleTV for the Hall of Fame because it's worked so well for me as a music, video and photo server. It really has been a set-it-and-forget-it device for me from day 1. I wrote a blog entry on it back in March '07. I liked it then and I like it all the more as Apple has added new features. In particular, I was pleased when Apple announced movies (and TV shows, I hope eventually) for rent instead of for purchase through iTunes and directly through AppleTV. In my original comments I suggested that Apple should allow me to download content directly from the device instead of always requiring me to go to my Mac and use iTunes and then sync. They've listened to customers like me and gone and done that via a software upgrade. (Steve Jobs even mentioned customer feedback on this feature in his MacWorld 2008 keynote speech.) That's user-driven!

A feature of this same new service pushed me to add iTunes movie rentals to the Hall of Shame nominees, though. I approve of renting these kinds of bits, but the time limits on rentals make no sense to me. Rentals last up to 30 days from the time of download and 24 hours from the time you begin watching. I think a simpler model would be to allow you to watch it all the way through 1-3 times. This would prompt people to buy and download content that they mean to watch someday without worrying about it expiring before they get around to it. I think people will become reluctant to sign up for season passes to TV shows, for example, unless they religiously watch the shows as they arrive. The 30-day restriction bothers me less, though, than the 24-hour one. I personally have a trouble watching a 2-hour movie in one sitting. I have kids and it's hard for my wife and I to sit down to watch something until late in the evening, by which time we usually only have an hour or so before we have to go to bed. We have a good thing going now with Netflix where we can watch half of a movie, find a good place to pause, and pick the other half up the next evening. The Apple rental model, though, would cause the movie to expire just as we were sitting down to watch it on day 2. With the 30-day restriction in place, I just can't fathom the purpose of the 24-hour window. As far as I can see, it accomplishes nothing but keeping me away. This is a common restriction (Comcast OnDemand works the same way), but I had hoped for a more thoughtful approach from Apple.

I've also nominated the 2008 Honda Accord's new sheet metal for the Hall of Shame. This is a popular car that's been accused of blandness for many years, and I am assuming that Honda decided they needed to liven up the design a bit as they did with the smaller Civic. I personally find the new design simply ugly, however. They've taken an elegant and simple design and made it look bulky and complicated. It looks sporty from a few specific angles, but from most it looks quite awkward. The design is similar to, though edgier than, the new Toyota Camry with similar squared-off lower bodywork meant, I assume, to look like the custom bodywork you see on tuner cars. Given these cars are usually sold to more mature folks, though, this seems an like odd design direction. Maybe I'm just getting old. There are also design cues in the high beltline and overall bulk from the very successful Chrysler 300, and in the deep crease along the Honda's flanks and the bulbous rear on both cars that seem lifted directly from Chris Bangle's work at BMW - neither of which have impressed me.

See the reader comments at the bottom of the 2007 Hall of Fame and Shame announcement for background on why each of the other nominees should be considered. Post your votes as comments below by this Saturday and we'll soon find out what products and services you think were the best- and worst-designed in 2007. Thanks!