One of the advantages of having a lousy connection is that it reminds you that 200K of gratuitous graphics is the difference between a page that downloads and is actually useful, and a frustrating wait that ends in the browser timing out.

So I've now turned graphics off in my browser. It also prompts me to start reading Jakob Nielsen again ... ok, here we go.

Within narrowly defined niches, usability enhancements percolate quickly. Interesting as always.

But suddenly I encounter this reason for doing usability studies ...

You can patent usability innovations to keep the competition from stealing them. Most Web projects are managed by marketing departments that have no experience with the patent system. Websites, however, are inventions and should be protected when you invest in developing something new. Talk to people in your legal department. They might know of a patent attorney who doesn't bite.

BLEEAAAHHH!!!!!!!

Competitive Testing of Website Usability