Simplicity in Software
Why is so much effort put into making software more complex? So much software just keeps getting packed to the brim with features, especially those created by companies who want a catchy feature list. Computers keep getting faster and software keeps getting more complex. No matter how fast your computer is, the software will always be pushing it to its limit. And are we really accomplishing more? I don't think so.
Most people need only 90% of their computers capability; both in hardware and software. Yet people keep wasting money upgrading both. This is because the software vendors keep packing in features and making the old versions incompatible or unsupported. And rather than making the old software better, by fixing bugs or making any number of improvements, they just pile on some more features.
For instance, most people only need 3 basic features in their word processor; record their text, change fonts and text styles, and spell checking. But they keep paying for the 100s of features they will never use. Yeah, the software vendors rationalize this because they get requests from people who ask for the features but it leaves the rest of the people having to pay for it.
Your first reaction may be to create different versions. This would satisfy both the basic majority and advanced minority. And if you made the software modular enough it may be practical. However the advanced version may not be profitable enough for the vendor to spend the extra time and effort once the majority stops paying for the extra features. This also has a lot to do with a specific software company who throws their weight around to get their way (make their money), but I digress.
I feel that software is going the wrong way. I think we need to back up a bit and really focus on making a solid and polished desktop working environment. Not to say that software shouldn't be complex, but it shouldn't be complex on the users side. We need to really start using our computers and not wasting time fumbling around the features upon features. Most people want to use their computers, and not the other way around.
Most people need only 90% of their computers capability; both in hardware and software. Yet people keep wasting money upgrading both. This is because the software vendors keep packing in features and making the old versions incompatible or unsupported. And rather than making the old software better, by fixing bugs or making any number of improvements, they just pile on some more features.
For instance, most people only need 3 basic features in their word processor; record their text, change fonts and text styles, and spell checking. But they keep paying for the 100s of features they will never use. Yeah, the software vendors rationalize this because they get requests from people who ask for the features but it leaves the rest of the people having to pay for it.
Your first reaction may be to create different versions. This would satisfy both the basic majority and advanced minority. And if you made the software modular enough it may be practical. However the advanced version may not be profitable enough for the vendor to spend the extra time and effort once the majority stops paying for the extra features. This also has a lot to do with a specific software company who throws their weight around to get their way (make their money), but I digress.
I feel that software is going the wrong way. I think we need to back up a bit and really focus on making a solid and polished desktop working environment. Not to say that software shouldn't be complex, but it shouldn't be complex on the users side. We need to really start using our computers and not wasting time fumbling around the features upon features. Most people want to use their computers, and not the other way around.
posted by Joe at
2:06 AM
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