Re: Whither Usability

< Next Message | Back to archived message list | Previous Message >

Note: This message is from the outliners.com archive kindly provided by Dave Winer.

Outliners.com Message ID: 2649

Posted by stephenz
2005-01-24 13:28:23

> But is it the case that nobody enjoys the sheer process of using software?

Stephen,

This is certainly an intriguing question. My answer is that definitely enjoy using software… that is, software that works well, does what I expect, and doesn’t require a Ph.D. to figure out. I like to clip things into Zoot, for instance, because I get a kick out of the fact that the Zooter is hovering there in the upper right corner of my screen waiting to make this task easy. I have just learned to enjoy pulling a web page or e-mail into UltraRecall, because it is just so darned easy! Okay, so I’m easily entertained!

As you know, and as I’ve said several times before, I dislike writing in editors that don’t allow extended selection of text. I can never get used to having to carefully place the cursor at the start of the text I want to block edit, and drag it carefully to the last character of the block… when I should be able to double click on the first word and drag to the last word… takes much less fussing with the mouse, and much less distraction. That’s when software becomes unenjoyable: when it turns pleasurable work into a drudge.

Does the software enhance thinking, planning, writing, creating? If it does, it’s fun to use. I think one of the most crucial factors is that when performing routine functions—that is, functions you might use on almost any piece of software—that it follow standards. For instance, I do a lot of layout work in PageMaker, a program I love, but it does not have mouse wheel support, and I am constantly trying to scroll with the mouse wheel and get frustrated. Silly, but you don’t want to have to think about this stuff when you’re trying to be creative… especially when being creative doesn’t come naturally.

Steve Z.

Back to archived message list