[thechat] Restaurant toilets

[Madhu Menon]

At 06:56 AM 13-08-03, Paul Cowan wrote:
>There's a lo-res pic here (down the bottom):
><http://www.users.qwest.net/~user20522/michelle/toilets.html>
>
>Not sure how you'd be able to recreate that from your 1st-floor
>restaurant though, Madhu.

2nd actually, but your point remains. Besides, the "view" from my toilets 
will be to the building behind us, which happens to be someone's house. :)


>the door frosts over to opaque white. I assume there's some sort
>of LCD-like thing in there, but I've no idea what.

Yes, I've heard of them.


>They're not without their problems though: a friend's mother was
>there when someone went in, sat down, and didn't lock the door (she
>thought it was one-way glass). Much hilarity ensued.

Ah, that's what happens when you don't do proper user-centred design. They 
didn't plan those scenarios, did they? Since it already costs so much, it 
probably wouldn't cost much more to add a little sensor that detects when a 
person comes close to the toilet (like the urinal flush sensors). If that 
happens and the door is unlocked, frost immediately. Alternatively, if the 
door is shut after the *outside* handle is turned, frost immediately. Don't 
do it when open from the inside. There you go.

Just for my reference, I'm making a little file which records all the 
"usability" improvements I made as well as all the things I did to get a 
particular effect or response, and why. Once this is all over, I'll make it 
available.

For instance, yesterday I was doing a test for my new phone number. The 
phone company gave me the first 5 digits - 56978xxx and then said I could 
choose xxx as long as it wasn't triple digits like 888, 999, etc. I was 
trying to figure out the easiest number for both your mind (don't have zero 
- two syllables) and your fingers to remember. It's fascinating. You might 
think that something like 56978787 would be easy. Sure it's easy to 
remember, but fails on the tactile memory front. Try dialing it on your 
phone. When you go back and forth from 8 to 7, many a time you'll forget 
just where you've reached and might find yourself dialling it again - more 
slowly.

Oh, that was dangerously close to off-topic. Sorry. :)

Regards,

Madhu