Today's link comes via my co-worker Bob Peterson, who pointed the engineering group to it. It's not so much about programming this time; rather, it's about UI design. But really, if you're a programmer coming anywhere near the UI, it's well worth reading.
I recommend going through the page as it says: take the quiz seriously, try to come up with the answers on your own, and then continue on to the answers. The point of the exercise is to demonstrate a basic principle of UI design that is very often overlooked, and he makes a bunch of good cases for why it should be paid attention to. (Personally, I got a few of the answers right off the top of my head, but didn't suss the common thread until it was pointed out.)
Some longtime engineers will undoubtedly look at this and decide that it is pointlessly persnickety -- that the recommendations violate How Things Are Done, and are more trouble than they're worth. But part of what separates a truly great UI from a merely functional one is re-examining your assumptions frequently, and paying attention to those persnickety details. (One reason why our new check fraud product is going to win in the marketplace is that we *are* spending the time to design and build an unconventional but kickass UI...)
That said, either I'm unusual or I don't agree with Tog's listing of the speed order for the 5 magic pixels. I mean, the first one I agree with, and I agree with the answers, just not the bonus order. Maybe I have a stiff wrist from trackpad usage, maybe I just move my hand more from the elbow and shoulder, but the upper right corner is much faster for me than the lower right, and is my fastest corner - I just swing my arm out. But otherwise, the ordering seems correct.
Anyway, I Am Not A User Interface Designer, but I did surprisingly well. I didn't know the name "Fitts' Law" (although I dimly recall something called a "Fitts List", which lists things humans are good at vs. things machines are good at, and recommends allocating tasks that way). But I nailed several of the questions, and was on the right track for several others.
Laptops with their trackpads centered enforce a custom of moving the pointer from the inside of the body's reach. I may position my mouse in a similar orientation out of learned response.