Provides comparison and understanding of looking at products in terms of what the products can do, versus what the user can do with the products.

Kathy Sierra discusses how to balance interface design between letting users do what they want, and making them do what you know they want - in the way you want them to.

Peter Merholz discusses sources of value to justify investment in design.

Presents philosophy that there are four classes of software:

• MeWare:  The developer creates software.  The developer uses it.  Nobody else does.
• ThemWare:  The developer creates software.  Other people use it.  The developer does not.
• UsWare:  The developer creates software.  Other people use it.  The developer uses it too.
• NobodyWare:  The developer creates software.  Nobody uses it.

Includes detailed real-world analysis of City Desk, a software package - applying the ideas 

Peter Morville on information architecture and the user-experience honeycomb

I've been practicing information architecture since 1994, and from Gopher to Google have seen dramatic changes in the landscape of organization, search and retrieval.

Through these ten tempestuous years, I've found the infamous three circle diagram to be a great tool for explaining how and why we must strike a unique balance on each project between business goals and context, user needs and behavior, and the available mix of content.

 

Lists and explains seven guiding precepts of good interface design.

Amy Hillman and the Boxes & Arrows staff walk through how to approach, justify and manage the first UX project for your company

Daniel Read takes us through a personal, anecdotal story that discusses usability annoyances and their impacts.  Very well written, very good advice.

Good information architecture article by Donna Maurer.

Donna characterizes information seeking as happening in one of four modes (from the perspective of the seeker)

1. Known-item
2. Exploratory
3. Don't know what you need to know
4. Re-finding 

Good article in a Q&A format.

The Question: Are there any usability issues with using drag and drop controls in a web application?

The Answer: Good discussion - links to examples and other discussions