21–30 of 51 posts
Please say it ain't so. I love dumb software. Every time I see dumb software (which is just about every day), my juices get going with all kinds of ways to do it better. I became a programmer because I thought it would be fun and a nice living. I remain a programmer because there is still so much to do. And thanks to dumb software, there probably always will be.
In fact, more and more desktop applications ARE web applications, they just don't use a web browser as a client. I suspect that Godin is a little bit off the curve here, and the moment is going to shift back toward the desktop (AIR and other sorts of things) where developers can build rich applications without having to hassle through the browser compatibility issues that can cripple teams.
All the problems he's describing could be solved in about five minutes, if he were using Emacs' org-mode, bbdb, and VM-mode or Gnus to read mail. But only if he'd spent a couple hours learning them first. There are tradeoffs with every kind of software. That little screenshot he posted is beautiful ; time spent making a program beautiful is time not spent making it functional. The ability to run these little utility…
This has been solved. The solution is called DCI. Data Context Interaction. A new paradigm where you design your software according to the end users mental model. Understand DCI and you should be able to craft software that makes more sense per usability. Trygve Reenskaug has explained why the traditional MVC is flawed. ref. http://www.artima.com/articles/dci_visionP.html
If you understand the end-user's mental model, your biggest gains will be from sales and marketing.
The first issue is not related to dumbness. It is handled usually with a pop up window that shows you the entire text when hovered. Second issue can be handled as an option: "all my appointments are in business hours." Maybe Seth Godin wants that infamous paper clip back: "I see you are drafting a letter. Let me help..."
his point, for the second issue, is that the option should be on by default. and that makes sense. however, the sad thing about article is that it shows Seth does not understand software development. There is no people who make "desktop" vs "web" software. Mostly this is the same group of people: software developers, and we all are alike - only difference is the delivery platform. And the specifics of the selected de…
I honestly don't see what developing for the web does to encourage smarter applications? Is it things like "If I do this, I have to round-trip to the server over the WAN?" or "If I do this, I have to ask the asshole middle-tier developer for something?" In fact, more and more desktop applications ARE web applications, they just don't use a web browser as a client. I suspect that Godin is a little bit off the curve he…
This has been solved. The solution is called DCI. Data Context Interaction. A new paradigm where you design your software according to the end users mental model. Understand DCI and you should be able to craft software that makes more sense per usability. Trygve Reenskaug has explained why the traditional MVC is flawed. ref. http://www.artima.com/articles/dci_visionP.html
> A new paradigm where you design your software according to the end users mental model. Understand DCI and you should be able to craft software that makes more sense per usability. If you understand the end-user's mental model, your biggest gains will be from sales and marketing.
I can't wait for the end of dumb software users .
Unfortunately, often it ends up being very annoying when the computer tries to be smart. Not to say it can't be done, but the PC's helping hand is not always welcome.
Unfortunately, often it ends up being very annoying when the computer tries to be smart. Not to say it can't be done, but the PC's helping hand is not always welcome.
I actually thought Microsoft's Clippy was a really good idea in principle; where they went wrong was in giving Clippy's options the appearance of a modal dialog, which people thought they needed to respond to. Also, screen resolutions were typically lower so Clippy took up an undue amount of visual real estate, to the point of being intrusive. But the context-sensitive task helper is now seen on many applications, as is some kind of anthropomorphic assistant on many web pages.