RSS feedEvery few years, I get into an argument a discussion with someone about why Apple’s platforms are inherently better designed for users and usability than competing platforms, whatever the domain. So far the iPod seems to be the exception to the rule, but not excessively so.
The problem is that in most cases you can’t really argue the point, particularly to a Windows or Linux fanatic, because their reasons for liking their preferred platforms typically bear no resemblance to usability. Although all three of these computing platforms are moving closer together, the step from the Windows to Mac desktops is still at least as far as from the Linux to Windows desktops. Anyone upgrading, from a Linux to Windows desktop, and I choose the term upgrading intentionally, is more often than not amazed at the new found usability and consistency, so their argument is that anything more would be simply nit picking, or purely subtle or academic improvements. I’ll liken that to the person upgrading from a horse and buggy to a Model T Ford, not realising that the Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG would probably make their driving experience a lot more pleasurable. Please note that I’ve played fair by resisting the obvious stereotypical Ferrari comparison.
But ultimately, a 15 minute argument isn’t going to convince a Windows desktop nut, who is an expert in Outlook 2003’s weird arsed assortment of UI controls and who has already decided to have an argument about desktop usability, that Apple designs are better. The best you can probably do, is use that old chestnut of pointing out roughly how much they don’t understand about UI design, and then let them feel a little inadequate for a few hours. Because if they did understand it better, or knew how much they didn’t know, they certainly wouldn’t have started such a dumbarse argument in the first place.
I recently bit the bullet and moved my Windows task bar on my work machine to the left side of the screen, to match both my home Windows box and my Mac OS X dock setting. It reminded me of Bruce Tognazzini, who amongst other things spent 14 years at Apple and founded their Human Interface Group, and as far as I’m aware the only computing company at that time to have a group dedicated to defining and enforcing the rules of user interaction with a computer, or at least desktop GUIs. My task bar change was instigated particularly because of Fitt’s Law, which I was reminded of recently while using some Windows application which forced me to do everything in little task steps through the main menu bar, causing my hand to go partially numb. Fitt’s Law, amongst other UI basics, is better described for UIs by Tog. In fact, reading through that page reminded me how much there is that you need to know before you can make intelligent UI decisions, and how much of the theoretical stuff you consciously forget over time. It frustrates me when I can see a broken UI, but can no longer argue why it is broken.
Anyway, I wasn’t planning to go into a long rant about interaction design or how good Apple are, because, yes you guessed it, like that’s going to convince you, right? The point of this post, before it went astray, was to highlight Apple’s possible new MiniDisc killer. In fact, because I’ve wasted so much space, I’m going to move it into a separate post.