OSNews > Thread > "RE[3]: Hardware good, software bad" by kholinar

Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 6th Apr 2010 14:01 UTC

It's tablet week on the internet, and now it's time for the Joo Joo to take centre stage again (after the iPad and HP's upcoming Slate). Engadget received its review unit last week, and yesterday, they published their review of the device. In what will surely not come as a total surprise to anyone, their conclusion is that while the hardware is decent and slick, the software is not.

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RE[3]: Hardware good, software bad

by kholinar on Tue 6th Apr 2010 15:14 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Hardware good, software bad"

Member since:
2007-09-10

If they have a feature-driven mentality, probably not.

Good design most often stems from learning to say no...

Reply Parent Score: 3

RE[4]: Hardware good, software bad

by puelocesar on Tue 6th Apr 2010 15:22 in reply to "RE[3]: Hardware good, software bad"

Member since:
2008-10-30

Then we are all doomed. Nerds are all about features and complexity...

It remembers me an article I read about users that prefer horrible interfaces. After some research to discover why, they found that they feel good when using it, because they feel superior, as normal people can't use the software.

The article was about some hardcore financial software, but I think it applies perfectly to open source software and other techie products.

Reply Parent Score: 1

RE[5]: Hardware good, software bad

by kholinar on Tue 6th Apr 2010 15:33 in reply to "RE[4]: Hardware good, software bad"

Member since:
2007-09-10

Ideally you hide that sort of complexity behind the front ui layer.

The problem is that it's hard to know where to stop on the front layer. What a developer might tend to use could be completely different than what most users need. You have to be vicious. The problem is that you'll get a ton of flack for it.

Seriously though. I'm not sure we're screwed. I think geeks often overstate their value to the market. Sure, we're often first adopters, but there are a lot of people in the general market that would be first-adopters if interfaces weren't so daunting. Look at the Wii. I've got a feeling someone will get it. Palm sorta already did... not perfect, but miles ahead of the others.

Edit: Oh, and as someone who supports people, I hate that feeling of getting it while no one else does. I've realized that the people around me aren't stupid, just victims of really un-intuitive design. Watching my 80-year-old grandfather easily operate an iphone when he can't check email on his desktop... it makes you think... Even the Mac is really difficult. Kudos to Ubuntu, they've covered a lot of ground, but the desktop is a mess on every platform. Way too much abstraction.

Edited 2010-04-06 15:38 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 3

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