O O Ø O O O O
It’s Like Magic
I hate computers
Arthur C. Clarke once said that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
He’s right, of course. The problem is that almost nobody is capable of creating advanced technology anymore. The original computers were magic. They let us do things we didn’t know were possible. After a while, though, the magic wore off. Innovation slowed, and usability languished. The computer revolution has become a deathmarch, and I want out.
Deconstruction of a Beige Box
My computer is a mini-tower. These things aren’t designed to go on your desk, so I presume they’re meant for the floor. This is an ideal location to be
- Kicked by me while I’m typing.
- Shocked repeatedly by my pets as they walk by.
Not that fitting on the desk is really a consideration, because honestly, it’s so damned loud I want it as far away from me as possible.
... it’s so damned loud I want it as far away from me as possible.
Into this box I occasionally have to insert a floppy disk or CD. These controls are on the front of the computer, so the front has to be within arm’s reach of me. Given that my legs have to go somewhere, this reduces the placement of the big, ugly box to a small arc somewhere underneath my desk.
The other important parts, including my hot-swappable USB cables, are on the back of the computer. Keyboards, mice, monitors, power, Ethernet, serial, and parallel connections all go into the back. I really love crawling under my desk to plug my digital camera in. It’s a real joy.
Looking on top of my desk, I notice a few things about the way these components are laid out. My mouse, which is only ever more than 8 inches away from my keyboard has to have a 5-foot long cable on it, because it has to plug into the BACK of my computer. My keyboard, which is never more that a foot away from my monitor ALSO has to have a 5-foot cord on it, in order to reach the back of the PC. The monitor needs a 4-foot cord, as do the speakers. This tangle of wiring extends behind my desk into the dark depths below, inevitably within range of my feet whenever I stretch them out.
The industry is thinking inside a beige box...
About 30 seconds of usability analysis tells me the following: Someone needs to take the floppy, CD, power switch, keyboard jack, mouse jack, volume knob, audio jacks, and USB ports, incorporate them into the base of the monitor, and attach them by a looooong cord to the noisy parts of the system. This isn’t rocket science, but it isn’t happening.
The industry is thinking inside a beige box, and it’s driving me nuts.
Plastic Fantastic
I suppose, to be fair, I should really talk about Apple. Apple comes close to breaking the mold, at least in its current incarnation (or iNcarnation). They do a pretty good job of their eye on the usability ball. They don’t always get it right, (hockey puck mouse, anyone), but at least they make an effort. Their few iterations of hardware have been so appealing to me, in fact, that I’ve been thinking about actually buying one. Of course, this would spell instant death for Apple, as if I’m inclined to buy it, it must be so far out of the mainstream as to be irrelevant. OS/2 anyone?
What’s particularly amusing about the Apple situation has been the rest of the industry’s response to Apples recent successes; to add nonfunctional transparent plastic to everything! Usability doesn’t figure into it at all. Just keep doing what you’re doing, but in transparent plastic.
... if I’m inclined to buy it, it must be so far out of the mainstream as to be irrelevant.
Let me spell it out for you folks. Apple is attacking the usability problem. They’re putting the parts people use into the places where they want to use them. They’re taking the parts that confuse people and either simplifying them, or getting rid of them entirely. They’re concerned with aesthetics, and they’re making the technology invisible.
And invisible is how technology is supposed to be
I want my M-TiVo
If you’ve ever spent any time with TiVo unit, you’ll see what I’m trying to get at. The remarkable thing about a TiVo is that it simply works. It does its job so well, in fact, that after spending 20 minutes with one I wondered why anyone would want to get along without one. TiVo is remarkable. TiVo is usable.
And TiVo is a computer.
You’d never know it. Because the TiVo designers attacked usability, and won. Sure, they’ve stuffed themselves back into their box, forgot that usability is ongoing, and designed an lacklustre followup, but the original one was a gem. It was a worthwhile application of advanced technology.
It’s almost magical.
Kjell Wooding
Tuesday, January 15,
2002
PD DXXX