Understanding the Out-of-the-Box Experience

Abstract

Appliances, ideally, are simple to use. You select one you think will meet your needs, get it home, take it out of the box, plug it in, and begin use. For a wireless home network, it may be necessary to read a manual, run a setup wizard, and make a few adjustments to get the performance you want, after which the new device delivers the performance its makers promised, every day, without fail. This scenario describes the expectations most people have from their first experience with networked mobile digital devices (NMD) such as laptop computers, home networks, personal digital assistants, and data-enabled cellphones. In many cases, their actual experiences are often far less satisfactory.