ABSTRACT
As personal computers came into general use in the late 1980s, a much-Xeroxed cartoon could often be seen taped near office workstations. It was Cosimo, the overweight bald eagle cartoon character from Jeff MacNelley’s syndicated series ‘Shoe.’ Wearing glasses and rumpled sport coat in his role as newspaper editor, he was poised with a sledgehammer at the peak of its swing over a personal computer. The droll caption underneath read ‘Press any key to continue.’ Its humor pivots on an issue that pertains to all products, including computers: usability. Products are supposed to make things better. All too often, though, the products and systems we hope to make life better actually create problems. That is why a sledgehammer solution made sense to many users then. It still does to many users today.
