TechAmo

If there is one thing that I have learned from Donald Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things, it is not the users fault.  As the world becomes increasingly complex, design is becoming the make or break issue for any product.  Why is it that Apple has been so successful?  Why is Steve Jobs so highly revered in the tech industry?  Steve Jobs took extremely complex systems and made them intuitive, simple, elegant and beautiful.

When you pick up an iPod you don’t need to spend 2 hours poring through an instruction manual on how to operate the damn thing.  There are a few neat pictures that simply tell you the basics of plug the cord into the iPod and the other end to the computer and you’re ready to rock.  The motions of the controls fit with the first guess that pops into your brain for how a particular feature should operate.

The simple fact is, if you want to be able to reach the largest audience, you have to design intuitively for your Average Joe user. You can’t build a complicated system that is intuitive for the engineers of the world or one that demands that your users RTFM(Read The Fucking Manual).

RTFM is an excuse for laziness in design.

As Norman points out in his book, consumers develop this idea that they are being “bad” with technology.  They are simply interfacing with bad design.  My favorite example is the shower in most hotels.  As a frequent traveler with a degree in engineering I am constantly amazed at how inept I am at operating a shower without a decent amount of trial and error.

I have learned through Norman’s guidance to demand better in the products I design as well as the products I use.  However, better design comes at a higher price.  So the next time you buy a gadget with identical tech specs and a $100 cheaper price tag, most likely you are taking a cut in design.  Those tiny little things that hinder your work and make you feel like you are incapable of operating a simple device is where your $100 dollars went(capitalism works).
Demand more, pay more, live better.

I hit my teens during the golden age of Napster.  I can still remember the feeling when my older brother first brought me on board the HMS Napster for my first foray into piracy.  Music with a few keystrokes and a click.  I was hooked.

From that moment on the internet could only be free.  Movies, books, and software were all obtainable for the price of persistence and the equivalent of knowing the secret knock to a speakeasy.  Through the power of an insanely fast internet connection and some motivated geeks I could obtain a terabyte movies during the course of a day in college.

My point?  I am just a drop in the ocean of hackers who, inspired by the efforts of organizations like the RIAA, vowed to not pay for that which I could easily obtain through a download and a key-generator.  I couldn’t afford the $15 for a CD, or the $20 for a DVD let alone the $50+ cost of software packages.  Since I didn’t have a job my efforts went into schooling myself in the dark arts of computers and the internet.  This carried me through college keeping my iPod full and my entertainment costs at a minimum.

Then I graduated and got a job…  Making software.

Shit.

Read more »

A few months back I read a particularly pithy comic on xkcd.com which gave me one of those lightening bolt moments.  If I’m willing to spend hours on hours on a video game so that I can improve the strength, agility, wit, etc. of a character in a game, why is it so hard to get off my dead ass and do the same in real life?

A few years ago I unknowingly found the answer to this question when I started using the integrated Nike + ipod system in order to track how far I was running in preparation for running the Indy 500 Mini-Marathon.  The result of this purchase was that I went from un-motivated (and unable to run more than 2 miles without a near death encounter) to nightly runs of 5-6 miles on hilly terrain.  Initially, I attributed my success to the fact that I was driven to complete the Mini(I have since signed up for the mini and failed to run) when the reality was I was able to see myself leveling up on my computer screen every night.  This machination of my bodily statistics provided motivation beyond anything I could imagine.  The difference between going out and running in a circle, and striving to watch my character(me) run further, faster and with less fatigue was the motivation I needed.  As much as I’d like to pretend the feeling of accomplishment after a run or the abstract knowledge I was getting in better shape is enough to keep me going, it’s a crock.

I had to see data.  Cold, hard facts and figures to prove that today’s Mark could beat the crap out of yesterday’s Mark.  If there was only one level of character in World of Warcraft and the game simply displayed messages like “Your Character feels dandy after slaughtering the Orc of Azeroth” would it be the phenomenon it is?

Hell no.

Feelings are fleeting and hard to understand.  Just look at how the internet has cashed in on dating with algorithms that predict you will love someone.  Even these “scientifically” proven algorithms manage to make users inclined to believe the outcome.  Because, data would never lie.  We have been taught that numbers mean facts, and I like everyone else buys into this whether they like it or not.

Therefore, embrace the numbers!  If you want to achieve a goal in life make your self a data slave.  Emulate that grade grubbing punk-ass premed who will sell their soul to get another point on their homework.  It is the path to success.

Which is why I have purchased the Zeo Mobile Sleep Manager cause an EEG to quantify my sleep is freaking cool, and data is king.  A review will be written on my path to becoming a level 10 sleep warlock.

Cheers,

Mark

Welcome to Tech Amo!

This blog will be devoted to analyzing the world of science and technology and sharing my own trials and tribulations. It will be part fact, part opinion, and always open to discussion. I hope through this blog I will be able to capture some of my own insight into this fast moving world as well as what products, tools, services etc. can best be utilized to make life easier, more enjoyable and more fulfilling. The site may experience growing pains over time as I become used to wordpress’s blogging environment and I figure out the best way to leverage this technology. That is all for now, I leave you with my Amazon Affiliate link. Purchases made by accessing amazon through this portal will go towards funding my efforts.

Amazon Affiliate Link

Stay Tuned,

Mark