It’s the season of whine, and I’ve got a particularly delicious one up my sleeve. I’ve been a Mac user for the last five years, loving ever minute of ‘the switch’. Every time I use a Windows PC I’m reminded of the horror that the majority has to go through every day. Yes, I’m an active Windows 7 user as well.
But there are still things that these computer fuckers have not yet gotten right. Given that computers have evolved from manually assembled switchboards and monochrome monitors, computer makers have forgotten to take the leap forward in rethinking what’s possible with modern day technologies. I’m here to bring that up so that Apple, Microsoft, Google, and that sorry kid in the corner, Linux can take notice.
Not really relevant to the writeup, but I’ll be pimping these images here from time to time
- When it shows me my desktop, it should be ready to use. Loading it part by part, and then the apps, is just old school. Do all that nonsense behind a spinny cursor, and then show me the desktop complete with fade in. The iPhone does this right.
- I want to delete a file, let me delete it. Of course, make sure I know what I’m doing and authorize the deletion of an important file, but by god let me delete it. Windows has progressively deteriorated with each release. But you can’t blame them really; everyone’s trying to fuck with Windows.
- Replace the Save button with Unsave. Every file should be saved no matter what. More importantly, everything should be shoved into an open database, and ‘files’ should only be limited to sending documents via email. There could be intelligent UIs that give weightage to files, such that you can mark files for auto-deletion, and such. Okay that’s a terrible solution, but you know what I mean.
- Keep your alerts to yourself. I’ve written about this in the past, I just hate alerts and dialog boxes. The very fact that there are alerts in the first place is wrong enough. That I have to drop everything to attend to them is just plain fucking stupid.
- Figure out how to talk to other computers. How hard can it be? Macs are experts at networking, not requiring the least bit of configuration to see each other. But we live in a Windows world for now, and networking to those PCs is quite important. Bonjour for Windows Networking please!
- Stability of core functionality more important than features. I hate buggy software. Just make sure the app performs its function, as best as possible. There’s no point in adding features people can’t use. Once the existing featureset is bug free, add features in beta, make sure they perform totally awesomely, then make them ‘public’. The very fact that the x.x.1 update comes along just days after a major release shows that someone was hungry for cash. And by “beta” I don’t mean Google’s beta. I mean not freely available beta.
- Play music without jerking around. No process should take priority over playing notes out of a music player. I mean come on, if a 1 inch iPod Shuffle can do it, so can a gigahertz powerhouse.
The Mac is halfway there to this ‘perfect computer’ goal of mine. Windows on the other hand has a lot to catch up on. Linux? Forget about it! You will have better luck getting in the air with a home-made hot air balloon made out of garbage scraps.
I whole heartedly agree!
Especially regarding saving files. I think the whole concept of having to save a file is plain weird. The metaphor a file is based on is a piece of paper. When I write on that paper, I don’t have to press a button to make sure it will be there the next time. It will be there.
So… in way, paper is still better than a computer.
Saving files is a concept that the created when computing resources was very limited, this is no longer the case and I’m baffled that they haven’t fixed this yet. There are some apps that does away with the silly save-metaphor, such as Aperture, JustNotes and Evernote. I hope to see more of these, but we don’t really need a fix for each program, we need a fix for the entire platform.
I half expected to read ” My computer should take input from my Brain directly .” on reading. the title. Good that it didn’t figure in the list.
Huh ?? Your Mac shudders while playing Music ?? Music ? Shiii…
> You have to realize that most Human Interface Guidelines mandate that there be alerts, some form of feedback from the computer, lest non-power users are going to bitch and moan and hurl lawsuits at software companies for not having warned them copiously before they deleted system files.
> Secondly, software should be open-ended (meaning choices, a whole lot of them. Forcing saves by default would mean once choice less– a no-no as per HIG)
> Networking, I agree with you. Making macs talk to PCs will be contentious as long as Apple and Microsoft exist, sadly.
> Again, you could go the non-HIG route, but that means you build and customize your own OS, um, Linux.. er.. Maybe you don’t want to go that route.
Good One… Addition to this list… and which i wrote to MS many times is…
The way you plug in external media… Windows(even latest 7) is horrible fucking pathetic in handling devices and media like memory sticks…. for ejacting a media , I will have to click at least 3 times on different windows(one click on a mac)….
To worse my nightmare with devices.. many times a popup comes device is busy.. please check you are not using it…to which i go and check(to make my device secure b4 ejacting)….but i do not get any programs running/using device/stick….
Now i wake up scientist within me and try to explore in task manager..what is going on..kill a few process which are non system… ha ha ha.. no help still with fucking windows…
Then I wake up illitrate within me.. and pull it out…and windows doesn’t even complain(which normally mac does– like you have done improper device removal)….
So I guess FCUKING Pill Tates never got to use a mem stick on his OS…
Loved your article. BTW I think they have Bonjour for Windows now, ships with iTunes (similar thing on linux too).