I know programmers bitch about losing jobs to offshoring, automation, whatever. But if would just look in their neighborhoods and like the icecream man just drive through them each evening, they would find plenty of decent paying business doing WIFI, TiVo work in many homes.

I am an extremely unpopular dad because I cannot get War of Worlds consistently going for my 12 year old. Have looked at networking, video card, whatever issues. Where is the damn ice cream man!

"it's all still way too hard for most real people."

Contemplating the adaptive capabilities of most real people, in my view, is a total bummer. The Reuters article is a case in point. Note the juxtaposition of these two statements:

"Free --and easy-to-read-- help is available at several other web sites"

"But not everyone gets that far"

Let's face it: most people are dolts. Not because they are mentally challenged or genetically inferior, but because they choose to be dolts.

It's all well and good for consumer product marketers to make their technology as user-friendly (read: idiot-proof) as possible. But I wonder what type of long run effects the ease-of-use movement is having on society. We are creating masses of people simultaneously dependent on technology and averse to critical thinking skills. On the whole technology is making us dumber, even as a relatively small percentage of the population is using it to get smarter. Not the best societal model...

You are so right, but this is something that our colleagues rarely want to accept make a top priority.

BJ Fogg did a great talk at Webvisions 2005 on why simplicity is so important (MP3). I wish it had been a keynote at ETech or something of that scale instead.

Looking forward to the article in Business 2.0.

Franklin -- You've basically done my upcoming Biz 2.0 column in thirty words. There is a tension between ease-of-use and sophistication, and the current cult-like fascination with turning every technology appliance into an idiot-proof toaster is wrong-headed.

While I believe many technology products are unencessarily hard to use, I not-so-cordially disagree with the idea. Creating all consumer products around the lowest common denominator is a big mistake.

wireless equipment i agree could be made easier.

however, the challenge of blogging is not the software - it's:

a) having the time

b) seeing the benefit in spending time on producing something others consume for free

c) being able to articulate your ideas

ok, so I am what Frankin would call a "doit"

They say the three words parents hate the most when they buy a toy - some assembly required.

Tech world has taken "some" and "assembly" to an art form. We can bitch about consumer technologies but the real waste is around systems integration and corporate technologies. There is a reason why more than half of IBM, HP, Oracle, etc revenues now come from services. Not to mention Accenture, Deloitte, offshroe firms etc

Thinsg that work first time and work and work are a marvel, Be it an ipod or a BMW...

Wasn't trying to insult everyone who ever had trouble with a complicated gizmo. It was more of a meta-comment (?) on the direction we (meaning the collective societal 'we') are headed.

Is it good to give people what they want? Sure. But when the number one consumer request is "don't make me think," where does that lead us?

Re iPods and BMWs, I appreciate the beauty of elegant design as much as anyone... but even here the don't-think paradigm creates problems. Just look at IE vs Firefox. Why do millions of people still refuse to switch to an obviously and vastly superior user experience? Because the switch requires thinking. "Don't make me think" can be damned grating at times.

Paul K mentioned a tension between ease-of-use and sophistication... I think there is also a tension between what we want and what's good for us. At the rate things are going we are shooting for Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, where instant gratification, contented-cowhood, and permanent class divisions are the order of the day -- the realization of "don't make me think" taken to its fullest extent. But hey, if that's what the consumer wants... shrug

Franklin, no offense taken. As a ex Gartner analyst I have done my share of damage with high falutin terms and concepts that vendors then twisted and embellished and made even more complex...

I do think in product design user constraints are important to factor in. Be they attention, time, budgets whatever - we are fighting for resources people have little of. If they wanted to tinker with cars or PCs or whatever, that's love...most people would rather spend it on other passions. we may not agree but to them gardening or basket weaving or reading to their kids is far more important and good tech products ought to respect that...

Millions of people use IE because it's good enough. It's an arrogant and dangerous attitude Frnaklin to suggest the average consumer is stupid. Just because people don't behave like you doesn't make them stupid. People have different values, desires, needs, and wants and so they make different decisions. Are you suggesting you wear the best valued clothes, drive the best valued car, live in the best valued house, choose the best valued produce, read the best valued books? I really doubt it. People can't spend their entire lives researching every single purchase or decision they make. People use heuristics like brand and what friends buy to make quick decisions about things they really don't give a shit about like what browser they use. What you call the dumbing down of society I call using limited information to make quick decisions so people can spend more time doing things they want to do. And for most people that doesn't include researching what's the best web browser out there. I find it a highly rational way to behave. I believe most poor product manufacturers or distributors have your attitude.

Wouldn't it be great if your laptop could plug in the network wherever you need and are without you doing anything more than turning it on - the way your mobile phone does?

No WEP, DNS, IP or JTPWYN error (Just to play with your nerves)...

The geek in me would love that. Then I could go back to my home country which I had to leave to escape being the wireless network administrator for my parents and in-laws... ;)

I'm not sure that BMW focuses on the ease-of-use crowd. Have you seen BMW iDrive?

Rob, luckily I cannot afford that BMW! seriously we are about to see a revolution of technologies in cars and guess what my icecream above is going to be busier than ever! You may enjoy my post on tech in autos

http://florence20.typepad.com/renaissance/2006/02/technology_inno_1.html

http://sites.dehumanizer.com/computers/

Amusing rant, "Computers and the internet according to 'normal' users." Reminded me of this discussion.