"All software sucks. Users would be a lot happier if they had to use a lot less of it."
I think this is the single most important thing in this article and cannot be stressed enough.
Anybody that has ever had to interact with users knows this, but for developers this is very hard to believe, they choose not to see it.
Most people see software (i.e. "computers") as a tool to get some work done, or to get some entertainment. The work and the entertainment are the goal, and if it were possible to achieve it without using any software, they would do it.
Even technical-types think about software this way, not even knowing that they're doing it. Think about this: we mostly put up with complicated software and in-your-face software that's not contributing to our work or entertainment because we are learning something. Learning is just another goal that's not really the software itself. Once we notice that we aren't learning much anymore, the aforementioned software becomes a pain to use.
I think this is the single most important thing in this article and cannot be stressed enough.
Anybody that has ever had to interact with users knows this, but for developers this is very hard to believe, they choose not to see it.
Most people see software (i.e. "computers") as a tool to get some work done, or to get some entertainment. The work and the entertainment are the goal, and if it were possible to achieve it without using any software, they would do it.
Even technical-types think about software this way, not even knowing that they're doing it. Think about this: we mostly put up with complicated software and in-your-face software that's not contributing to our work or entertainment because we are learning something. Learning is just another goal that's not really the software itself. Once we notice that we aren't learning much anymore, the aforementioned software becomes a pain to use.
Or maybe it's just me...