Web Site Usability

One of the assignments fr my Web Development class is to do some research on usablility. A fairly vague topic to begin with, but upon further research I have found it to be quite interesting. I followed the recommendation of my professor and googled Jared Spool. He started User Interface Engineering in 1988, and has successfully created a niche market for web site evalustion. As I read through some of his blogged info, I was amazed at how well he was able to explain my own use of the web, and how much I agreed with his approach to web-site design.

I had noticed over time that most sites were going for the paired down sexy look. It looks really cool when you first get to the site, but my visits were always cut short due to lack of navigation. I had no desire to fish through the "sexiness" to find what I was looking for. Spool's idea for link-rich pages makes perfect sense. If I approach the web as a tool for the dissemination of information, it makes sense to make the information easily accessible.

Furthermore, it has caused me to take a look at the manner in which I was developing sites for my class requirements. At first I thought it needed to be fancy, and look like chanel. Now, I am satisfied to have a page that provides my teacher with easy access to my completed assignments, and a more manageable format. Good information to have as I am just getting started.

Java IDE for Mac

So I am looking for some feedback on IDE's for Mac Leopard. I just downloaded netbeans, but had never had much luck with it in windows. Could anyone provide some feedback?