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<p>Came across this recently.</p>

<p>Netflix does something admirable with its listing thumbnails. it toggles the image thumbnails of many of its movie and series listings, and also the hover preview clips, from one of 2-3 different ones. While it might make finding a specific movie or series just by scanning thumbnails a bit tedious for some, in general I&#8230;</p>

<p>Wondering if the new goals of Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol risks repeating an old mistake Starbucks made.</p>

<p>Discounts are everywhere, but the best platforms make it easier by automatically applying the most advantageous offer at checkout. Services that simplify and clearly present discounts enhance customer trust and loyalty, avoiding the hassle of searching for deals.</p>

<p>Transforming good ideas into actionable strategies can feel like climbing a mountain—exciting yet daunting. Despite clear processes and frameworks, the real hurdles are often fundamental, people-related issues like miscommunication, hierarchies, biases, fears, and egos.</p>

<p>Here in India, we citizens as consumers don&#8217;t quite take customer feedback as seriously yet, as they do in some other countries. In my first job for a short stint at a BPO in Bangalore, I was puzzled to find out that random surveys went out to retail customers of our Hewlett Packard products in&#8230;</p>

<p>Over the years, I have asked quite a few people who have gotten used to e-readers (as opposed to loyalists who stick to physical books), if they prefer horizontally swiping to turn pages, or vertically scrolling to. The way I see e-readers or reader apps, there are 3 action choices: Horizontal or vertical scroll Firstly,&#8230;</p>

<p>What&#8217;s the similarity between trial biking and the one-inch punch? Is there any similarity? I believe so. I have always enjoyed watching trial bike events on TV (check the clip, not to be mistaken with trail biking). It is fascinating to watch riders mix slow and fast on their motorcycles with exceptional balance and control,&#8230;</p>

<p>The bout between the tech giants Amazon and Google regarding Google&#8217;s payments related policy, that has been going on since 2022, has finally hit India recently, and the two giants have taken a big dump on user experience here. Users in India might no longer be able to buy digital goods on the Android Amazon&#8230;</p>

<p>Present day products, be it cars, or consumer products; they have become extremely safe and similar-looking. Like the past, one can only hope the future too has some brave designs in store. Clip: Tom Fisk</p>

<p>Fictional and real-life legends seem to have a more straightforward approach to dealing with complex-seeming challenges and to getting better at something. They simply make it an optimization challenge. Clip: David G Morgan</p>

<p>As the late American inventor and engineer, Charles Kettering very wisely said, &#8220;A problem well-stated is half-solved.&#8221; The need is to re-frame every problem into a challenge. To get better ideas, to be able to solve it faster, and in a better way.</p>

<p>Product miniatures &nbsp;</p>

<p>Another one on productivity. A lot of us have made lists and planned things out thing, be it an event, a shopping list, or life goals. However, here&#8217;s something I have faced whenever listing some work goals and breaking them down into tasks. There&#8217;s a tendency to list some big goals, and of course, you&#8230;</p>

<p>There is a beauty to how some products (and software) are designed. Think scissors. If we want to cut something fast, we use the forward section of the blades (speed multiplier). Want to cut something fatter or tougher, use the rear end of the blades (effort multiplier); and cut slower, or risk breaking the scissors&#8230;.</p>

<p>Dettol liquid soap&#8217;s refill packs (above) have a small flaw in their cap seal rings. The tiny ring that stays on the refill pack (after breaking off from the cap), is not secured in place, and tends to fall into the soap dispenser. Lifebuoy liquid soap refills (above) on the other hand, seemed to have&#8230;</p>

<p>Sometime before lockdown, I was in another city, attending a wedding. The reception was in this beautiful open ground. I&#8217;m no fan of wedding ceremonies, so once I was done admiring the place, I was a little bored. After some time at the bar, I caught up with a few people, and was back to&#8230;</p>

<p>Image: source In the past few months, I happened to come across some books and a lot of articles around habits. What at least some of us who struggle to build a good habit (or get rid of a bad one) assume, is that habits are like finding a nice, quiet spot somewhere (at a&#8230;</p>

<p>Given my growing interest in behavioural science and behavioural economics, when there was quite some news about the replication crisis in the field, it got me wondering if there might be a better way to undertake studies so that they remain relevant, if not replicable. The thought was triggered by a random interaction in the&#8230;</p>

<p>Pic: source It took a nice bleeding cut, thanks to a tough staple pin that held some car mats together, for me to realize how hostile the world was for animals. Staple-less staplers exist, but are far from commonplace. Got to wonder why they are so expensive. A cursory look on Amazon showed the cheapest&#8230;</p>