OddThinking

“People didn’t realise back then that there might be a better way. They just used the same systems their parents, and their parents’ parents, and their parents’ parents’ parents used.”

“And is that how the Usability Wars started?”

Apparently, I am a dead ringer for Adrien Brody… and Clark Gable

Hey Mr. Windows Application Install-Script Developer, can I have a chat with you for a moment?

“Why is it,” I have muttered for many years, “that we still have so many hand-basins with two spouts – one hot and one cold! It’s 2006! Surely, we have mastered the technology by now to have two taps leading to one spout? We shouldn’t have to choose between running scalding hot or freezing cold water over our hands. Instead, we should be able to choose a pleasant mixture of body-temperature warm water.”

Bloglines, a web-based feed-aggregator has invited people to blog their feedback on their application (and on other products).

I’ll take the bait. I’ll admit to using Bloglines, and provide some feedback here.

My recent entry condemning unresponsive applications took me a long time to write. I knew I was frustrated with unexpected software slowness, but I couldn’t put my finger on why.

I realise now that I was confounding three separate problems: Unresponsiveness, Unexpected CPU Hogs and Outstaying Their Welcome.

Over the past 12 months, I have been getting more and more frustrated at how slow my machine sometimes gets. It has taken me a while to pin-point what my objection is.

Today I found the words.

I am as mad as hell about having a machine using only 10% CPU and 10% RAM being too busy to refresh its windows, and I’m not going to take it any more!

In which I continue to bitch about the Samsung D600 – but particularly about the PC calendar synching software that is bundled with it.

I found an iPod Shuffle last weekend. Just laying on the grass. Cool.

All timezone applications require you to specify what city you are in. I’ve never understood why you select the city rather than the state, province or country.