I think that the Resnet site is meets the criteria for usability. There isn't any unecessary screen space used. The site is very simple and straightforward. The response times are very efficient when you click on links. All of the links work, and the descriptions are accurate. The page isn't set up in frames, which makes things easier for the user. The design of the webpage also helps validate the credibility of the Resnet website.

I reviewed the Resnet site based mainly on the five main attributes of learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors and satisfaction along with my opinion of the potential usability of users based on the 3 addressed dimensions of usership. The site is set up to be informative and straight forward is structured in a way that I believe will allow for minimal catastrophic errors for users. Anything that requires a monetary transaction first brings a user not logged in to a login prompt, so those types of errors should not exist. The numbered step-by-step homepage gives the user a sense of structure and procedural guidance with allows for efficient use by a majority of users that my only use this site to get connected a single time and the beginning of each semester and/or month, and this setup also helps for memorability for all users alike.

I think that Resnet site was build to keep in mind simplicity to use the over all website. But in keeping that goal in mind that have it rather complex and hard to navigate around the site easily. They have added as many things they had to,in a disorderly fashion and makes the user hard to find what they need. The font size and the navigation tool looks simple, which doesn't really attract uses to use the site often. The linking does underline the basic summary of that page being displayed, but problem with this part is they have to many links and sub links, which need some work. The Resnet website content adopted to the most of the browser like the opera, Firefox and internet explore. In conclusion the Resnet website does follow Nielson's theories regarding web page usability but it need work on some graphics and easy to access tools.

The Renet webpage mostly adheres to Nielson's theories regarding webpage usability. The site loads quickly, is void of complicated graphics, and utilizes white space affectively. The links change color once clicked, and the mouse curser changes when hovering over a link. The site is void of useless advertisements and the homepage is full of textual information the user can have quick access to. The font size and style seems to be a basic one that shouldn't have problems loading on older machines, nor does the site seem to use any complicated software more than two years old. The content of the page accounts for "at least half" of the page's design, and more like closer to 80%. The navigation also seems to be kept "below 20%."
All in all, I'd say that Resnet follows Nielson's theories well, but I can't help but think that maybe these theories are somewhat outdated ? Because honestly, I think the Resnet site needs alot of work to become a more modern and sensible site.

I found the Resnet site very hard to use. First of all, the font sizes are hard to read on my screen, and would probably not be useable to others with different screen sizes and makes readability difficult. The text however does use different percentages and colors to differentiate each topic, yet having 2 different fonts may make readability of the text easier.

It is very hard to determine from the homepage exactly what the purpose of the site is or really what services they offer. I had to go through several different links before figuring out what they do. It is nice that the site uses outbound links to direct users to other sites where they can get more information or items necessary to use the Resnet services.

Overall, I felt the site was very cluttered, despite not using unnecessary graphics, and found it hard for my eyes to read all the way across the screen; the site does not really make good use of white space. Perhaps a margin on the right hand side for the text could help? Although the original designers set up the site to look fairly simply, it is not exactly designed with the user in mind.

No unnecessary graphics so the site downloads immediately. I've also noticed they're trying to use a UT theme with the navigation bar links so they turn from orange to grey, not the suggested blue to purple, although links within the site turn from blue to purple.

There are a lot of links on the home page, although none of them provide you with a description of where you're being directed to when you hover over it. Some lead you to another site, while some take you to a different page within the site and others direct you to a different area on the same page.

The resnet home page is all about getting connected, and should therefore be entitled "Connecting to Resnet" or something descriptive of what it does. "What is resnet" is a more appropriate home page, because it gives the user a summary of the site.

The navigation bar doesn't lead the user through the site. The sub-sites for home aren't even contained on the home page. "Legal online music" doesn't seem like it belongs, while "what's new" and "what is resnet" should probably be combined as the home page.

The home page is cluttered, hard to read, you don't know where to begin.

Spacing throughout the whole site needs work. Words don't glide across the page. I'm surprised to see that there aren't any advertising banners, although the resnet logo is large and takes up a lot of space, as does the bottom section. The navigation bar is pretty small, but legal online music is on two lines, so it looks like two separate links - the width needs to be adjusted.

Support page is way too compact and doesn't utilize the whole page.
The FAQ page also doesn't utilize it's space, and is misleading. With only five links on the page I'm led to think there isn't much information to see, but when I click on the links I'm directed to a jumbled page with a lot of content. FAQ page needs to offer more content.

The headings on system security are confusing and non-descriptive. It also doesn't make sense to have a large vague heading and then only offer a short sentence to describe what it means. A bulleted list with better descriptions would probably be more appropriate.

Policies also doesn't utilize the space on the page.

Resnet needs a lot of work done on it. It follows some theories, such as the hyperlink color having to be blue at first and then turn purple or red after it gets clicked on. But for the most part, Nielsen's theories don't really go hand-in-hand with Resnet's site.

A big problem is that when you look at the site, the less important stuff and the more important stuff don't differ in the font size/style or in the area it's put in. Everything is clumped together as one, like a list of chores, without knowing what section needs to be looked at first. Nobody wants to waste time scrolling around, especially students, we're busy.

Because of the way the site is organized--like a list, the hyperlinks seem excessive and tedious to look through. If there was a clear 1,2,3 step process with graphics that clearly led the viewer through the internet connecting process, I think the hyperlinks would be fine. Resnet could also set up a list of reference links on a page for the "not so mandatory" ones.

Things work fine if you try but with more organization and clear instructions, Resnet could be a lot better. As for the one second rule, it seems to lag a bit and fall under 3 to 4 seconds when you click on a link.

The Resnet website is a success in that it follows Nielsen's theories on usability. The key successor of the website is indeed simplicity. Minimum and easy Navigation is available for the user, content is of interest to the user, white space is neither overbearing or useless, pages download quickly, no advertisement is seen, single page designs are used, pages accommodate and support user controlled navigation, font is not specific, a link is provided on each page to return home, ALT text is used for logos, graphics are minimum, links are obvious and stick to the basic color and roll over formats, and simple style sheets are used. I did not find the Resnet website failed at any of Nielsen’s guidelines. Simplicity definitely outweighed complexity. Following along with technology advances, I was even able to view and navigate the Resnet website from my PDA.

My main concern and confusion with the site was the "Legal Music" link. I felt that it was an unnecessary link for the home page. The "Legal Music" link led me to a page that did not follow the style sheets of all other links and did not provide a link back to the home page.

I get a little nervous when simplicity is an objective for anything, so the article was not my delicious sandwich, but it did make me think about this content presentation separation closely because my favorite website being unusual and impractical all over the place has no such distinction it might even be reversed, what would normally be the presentation for this site is what creates meaning and the content is almost arbitrary, www.silverladder.com, so I don’t like the idea and think that presentation shouldn’t be arbitrary as a rule and used to add meaning in synergy with the content of the page.

resnet doesn't have any consistency in how it categorizes information and the layout is scattered, the eye doesn't know how or where to start

Although there is a link refferred to as "Resnet Home" in the side navigational links that links to the main home page of Resnet, the large Resnet logo does not link anywhere. It would be a good idea to have the logo as a link as well.

Under the Resnet Home link, there are three links: What is Resnet, What's New, and Legal Online Music. The first two seem to make sense as a main navigational link; however, the third, Legal Online Music, doesn't seem to fit. In addition, clicking this link takes you to a different UT page with no obvious links back to the resnet page.

When you click several of the main navigational links, new sub links appear. I don't think that it is a good idea to have new navigational links appear only when clicking a certain link. If you deem the links important enough to appear in your main navigation links, then they should be everpresent. An alternative way of doing this would be to have the sublinks appear on the main part of the page brought up when clicking the primary link.

It looks like style sheets are included in every page, rather than linking back to a single style sheet. This adds to the load time of the page, and is looked down upon.

Overall, the site is rather simple in its design, and makes efficient use of screen space. There are very few images or fancy applets that cause the page to load slow. There are definitely some usability issues that need to be addressed though.

I agree with Nielsen that simplicity is one of the most important aspects of a website. However, I disagreed with his reccomendation that the pages should work on two-year-old browsers because most UT students will be up to date with the current browser, and they will have high speed internet in their dorms.

The CSS was accurate because there was a single style sheet that left the user with visual continuity. However, I felt like the home page was too cluttered because there was too much information on there. The structural navigation links and associative links were great, but the Resnet team should try to minimize the information so that it doesn't overwhelm the students right away.

Some of their good usability factors included the pointer that changed shape when you clicked on a link, the resolution-independent pages, simple technology, fast response times, and meaningful information at the top of the page. It has all of the information there, but the content could be presented in a more user friendly template.

The Resnet website is a website that supports a large portion of Neilson’s beliefs about ideal webpage construction and formatting. The following were tested with both Firefox 1.5. and Internet 7.0. on a Dell inspiron laptop.

Cross Platform Design:
Much more content than navigation and adapts to the multitude of possible resolutions. For instance my screen is set at 1920x1200 on a Dell while my roommate has Mac with a native resolution of 1440x900 and the page looks exactly the same as the navigation and header/banner are both aligned left. The content itself adjusts itself to the individual screen so that clarity and structure are still saved. The site was tested on both explorer and Firefox, both producing extremely similar views.

Linking:
The site also follows Nelsons’ suggestions of proper linking techniques. For instance a link to another page opens in the same windows so that the user may have more control with the Back button. Links are assigned to underlining brief important words and are also color coded to tell user if the link is fresh(blue) or already clicked(purple). This helps in reducing any unwanted confusion.

Response Time:
Since the demography of this site is for UT dorm residents, this site loads extremely quick through UT’s extensive T3 lines across campus. Due to this circumstance it is possible to have more of a visually appealing site without a significant drop in interest. Since this is the only way students can get internet though on campus residence living, keeping the students attention to the webpage is not a problem. Therefore you cannot really Students WANT the internet and this is the only way how to access the internet through the dorm rooms.

Pros:
Very simple
Super fast downloads
Sleek and basic
Credible and Trustable

Cons:
Boring
Seems to be slightly cluttered in verbiage on homepage

Some possible upgrades could be:
An alternate printable view
More aesthetically designed graphics
Step by step pictures displaying the process

The Resnet site seems to follow some of Nielsen's theories on usability. First, the mouse changes shape when passing over a link which provides navigation help to the user. Subsequently, the resnet site does not restrict the font size to an absolute, allowing the user to freely change font size. There are also no frames on the site. Content covers atleast half the page design and links that have not been used are in blue while ones previously used are in red.

While Resnet seems adhere to a large amount of Nielsen's usability theories they avoid a few critical points. The site seems to use more than two fonts throughout the pages making it a little confusing to visually navigate. There seems to be a little too much white space that does not guide the viewer to the content. There could also be a print-out of instructions available on the site. Furthermore, the image at the top lacks alt text and the links lack pop up descriptions or link titles. Overall the Resnet site could use some work to completely adhere to Nielsen's theories on usability.

The Resnet site meets Nielsen's expectations for usability. In his conclusion he stated that simplicity is key, and the Resnet site is a great example of simplicity. Others have complained about the amount of whitespace, but to me its a nice balance between whitespace and content. This isn't a site that's intended for entertainment but rather to provide information regarding a service. The primary content of the site is the informational text, and if the whitespace had been used in some other way, it could have distracted from this purpose and possibly slowed the quick response time. Unvisited links are presented in standard blue, but using Firefox 2.0.0.1 the links on the site always remained blue even after being visited. Using Internet Explorer unvisited links were blue and appropriately changed color to purple when clicked. While not the most exciting site in the world, the Resnet site does a fine job of making informational content easy to find.

Like everyone else has noticed, the Resnet site follows Nielsen's guidelines fairly well.

It was viewable in Firefox and Internet Explorer and with various browser sizes. Response time was resonable, the links used the standard colors and it does not use frames.

I noticed some issues with the print previews. A print preview in Firefox had the links too far to the side and many covered the end of the previous word. A print preview in Internet Explorer had a section on the right side of the page cut off.

The Resnet website mostly fits Nielsen's criteria for usability.

The Resnet website makes good use of the screen space. The content takes up most of the screen, and there is a minimal amount of whitespace. There is no useless advertising and navigation is present but not overpowering.

Each page takes about the same time to load, fitting Nielsen's 'predictable response times' criterion. There is only a couple of images, which makes the pages load quickly even when using a modem connection.

The links in the content portions have clear link descriptions and follow the traditional blue/purple encoding. The navigational links, on the other hand, do not change color to indicate that the page had already been visited. This may be confusing to some people.

Taking a look at the source code, the Resnet site has different cascading style sheets for different browsers and operating systems, which makes it easier to specify fonts and cater to each specific user. The font size specs on the cascading style sheets are percentages, not absolutes.

When taking into account Nielson’s theories of usability, I believe the Resnet site does a fairly good job. Although most of the pages’ contents are not 50% of the pixels of the screen, as Nielson suggests, the pages are very neatly organized with a minimal use of graphics.

One issue I do see with the site is that it does not provide salient link titles. Ex: when selecting “Legal Online Music” I thought I would be redirected to a legal music downloading site. A link title should have been added reading, “The facts on downloading music”.

The color changes from blue to purple to show that the user has already visited that link (good); there is an “unmistakable” differentiation between the two colors, avoiding confusion on the part of the user.

A positive of the site is that it provides annotations at the end of each page and gives the user the option of being directed to links that may be important for users with questions. Also, the Resnet website does not place the emphasis on the URL at the end of the page, but rather at the most “prominent” words while still conceding that the URL is an important feature of the link’s credibility.

When reformatting my screen to a 100 dpi resolution, the links still worked.

The Resnet Website is well organized and follows Nielsen’s theories of usability fairly well, but still needs to be a bit more concise in its approach to explanations. Users like to “scan” pages and are easily frustrated if they do not find what they are looking for in bold or highlighted text.

The Resnet site does seem to follow many of the guidelines outlined in Chapter 2; however there are a few areas where the site could use some improvements. In Chapter 2 it is made clear that white space is actually a good thing and that simplicity and a clean appearance beats clutter and cool graphics that slow down load time, thereby deceasing usability. However, I think that the Resnet site has entirely too much white space. I agree with Thomas Campos that these days simplicity doesn’t always win and while it can be beneficial if used correctly, it should be used strategically in order to achieve the desired effect. In my opinion, the abundance of white space almost makes the site look unfinished or so boring and dull that it puts me to sleep almost immediately. Also, while navigating the site I found that while in most cases there was a “Home” link, but not in all cases. So overall, while the site may be sufficient for the time being, it could still use a lot of work.

The Resnet web site follows Nielsen's theories on usability.

Much of the "Screen Real Estate" is of content and navigation is a simple column of links to the side. When viewed at low resolutions the web page does not become unreadable and content is not lost as the display size changes,suggesting resolution-independent design. The web page only had standard images and text based media. You are not forced into a certain path for navigation, the "Search" can take you to any page on the Resnet site, other than the "Legal Online Music" link all parts of the site can be navigated by the side links with the use browser history.

The web page,because it uses few images loads quickly and there is no bandwidth/cpu heavy media embedded on the web page. The links are descriptive of the page it points to and link color change according to visited, as specified by Nielsen. There was not way to change the style of the page and no frames were in use.

Overall I found the web page was easy to use and informative. But the site did not lead my to pages of interest I had to "hunt" those pages down either by doing a search or following a chain of links.

The Resnet website does a good job of following Nielsen's theories on usability. The website follows his rule of thumb where the content accounts for more than half of the site and the navigation less than 20 percent. I think the "What is Resnet?" link should be the home page and the current home page a side link. Although it limits its use of graphics as recommended, I think an image of the UT campus or its students would be a nice touch to that initial visit to the site. The links in the content turn purple after they have been visited and the side links turn gray except for the "Legal Online Music" link which remains orange. In regards to user interface design, Nielsen said "Simplicity always wins over complexity..." which now days isn't totally true. If a website's design doesn't attract our atention we are less likely to stay. I think the Resnet website could be structured a bit better and although the colors are acceptable, I think there should be some more "flava" in this website because it is just too plain.

For the most part, the Resnet site seems to follow Nielsen's theories on usability as discussed in Chapter 2. I was able to use the resnet site to connect my computer in the dorms, but there are some things about the site that could be improved. One of the things he talks about is screen real estate, while white space can be good, I think the resnet page has too much of it along the edges and in between the different topics. There are no lines dividing the different sections of the page but on the left side of the page, where it says "Resnet Home" there are four small links followed by five larger links, which could probably be organized a little better and increase usability. Over all the page doesn't seem to be cluttered or over done, there are no crazy fonts or exagerated graphics, the links are titled well and have the color that Nielsen suggests. The page seems fairly simple.

I think that Nielsen's theories are applied well on the Resnet website. The screen real estate seemes to be well proportioned. The is more text than pictures or advertisements and there is white space separating areas vs. lines. There seems to be no issue with flashy new technologies being used that are not supported by certain browsers. The pages only have a few graphics that cause minimal download delay (which is well below a second on my three year old machine). There is a final slash in the url which Nielsen recommends. Linking color is set to the standard blue then eggplant for links and the navigation bar is present on almost every page. The navigation bar also turns gray to let you know what page you are on. The links are descriptive rather than http://..... and my link expectations were always met. I don't think frames were used so Nielson would approve. If CSS was used (I don't know) there was no logo which Nielson also approves of.
Even though practically every page usability convention recommended by Nielson I think some paradigm's have changed since Nielson wrote the article.
Where internet connections were dial up now most are much faster and most computers are no longer plagued by speed issues. Design has been able to be reintroduced to the web experience and many users expect it. The study might not be how long a page loads before a users gives up but how interesting does the content look and can it keep the user engaged; and if the resnet site is selling something then the site design should follow the selling vein. I think the site should be updated for a different paradigm user and web environment.