Does Intuitive + Easy = Dumb and Dumber?
There is a problem with making technology – particularly computers – easy to use. The simpler and more foolproof they become, the less technically-proficient users tend to be. There’s that line from Rick Cook’s 1989 book The Wizardy Compiled; “Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.”
Apple has made usability and user-experience a core part of the design philosophy in everything they produce (Well, almost everything. That’s right, I’m looking at you, MobileMe web apps). Mac OS X and, more obviously, the iPhone OS are shining beacons of the right way to design user-friendly, accessible, easy-to-use software.
What’s a Manual?
Did you need to read a manual when you got your first iPhone? Or how about your first iPod? Even the least technically proficient people I know own such devices and they never once cracked-open the “Getting Started” booklet. These are the same people, it should be noted, who bought copies of “Windows XP For Dummies” because they considered that OS too difficult to learn and use without a printed guide to-hand.
The iPhone is probably the ultimate user-friendly computer (though not the most accessible, but that’s a different matter). My neighbor’s six-year old son once took my iPhone from my hands and brandished it proudly to his friends, announcing “I’ve seen these on TV”. He then demonstrated to his impressed buddies, with absolute confidence, “This is how you take photos… this is how you play music…”
For a six year old with no previous experience of an iPhone other than what he had seen on television commercials, he was surprisingly adept with the thing. I doubt he could have been quite so confident (or impressed) with a Windows Mobile phone or, even worse, a Motorola.
By the Numbers
A recent article on MacRumors reported analysts’ predictions that Apple is expected to sell more than 80 million iPhones in 2012. Of course that’s not the same as 80 million iPhone users, but it’s still a mammoth user-base. If we’re to assume an OS convergence across iPhones and iPods (and maybe tablets, too?) in the next three years, we can easily assume a few hundred million people all over the world owning Mac OS X-powered devices that are super-easy to use despite their many and varied forms and functions.
A Nightmarish Tale
The end result? Well, in the world of desktop computers the drive toward user-friendliness has today produced legions of end-users who know how to send an email but don’t know the difference between POP3 and IMAP; users that practically live on Facebook but can’t tell you if they’re using Firefox or Internet Explorer to get there. Users that – and I have personally experienced this during years of providing technical support to friends and family – can’t even tell you what Operating System they’re using;
Liam: What Operating System are you using?
Friend: What’s that? Is it the Internet? I use Google.
Liam: No, I mean… [thinks]… The thing you see when you turn your computer on.
Friend: I don’t see anything.
Liam: Well, you ought to see something. It’ll probably say ‘Microsoft’ or ‘Windows something-or-other’…
Friend: Where should it say that? Do I have to click on something?
…and so on.
I’ve had these conversations (yes, exactly these sorts of conversations, I’m not exaggerating) with otherwise very smart, very well-informed individuals. University lecturers, engineers, lawyers and doctors are all categories of end-user I have helped and who have all responded precisely in that stumbling, bewildered manner.
A telling point; I’ve never had to provide tech support to fellow Mac users. Sure, I’ve shared hints and tips and recommended cool software. But no Mac owner I know has yet asked me how to find their trash folder, email a photo or connect to their wireless router. (All examples of common issues my Windows-using friends have shared.)
The Death of Technical Proficiency?
These people are not dumb, they’re simply computer illiterate. When I was in high school in the early 90’s, there was a lot of talk about the importance of computer literacy. Becoming computer literate at that time meant learning how to build your own network, how to ping servers, how to patch, bridge, daisy-chain and hack until everything kinda-sorta-worked.
But this wasn’t the Reserved Domain of the Geek. These were skills required of anyone who wanted to use computers. Today, the standard by which someone is considered (generally) computer literate has almost nothing to do with technical proficiency, and everything to do with throwing sheep at friends on Facebook.
More than any other software or hardware company, Apple has removed the barriers to entry that, when I was growing up, were simply accepted landmarks in the computer technology landscape. The soon-to-be-released Snow Leopard is the latest in a long evolutionary line of carefully researched and engineered efforts at democratizing computer technology – and all the potential it unlocks for end-users.
For thirty years, in fact, Apple has lead the way in creating intuitive, user-friendly computer technology. They’ve most assuredly made the “dent in the universe” Steve Jobs spoke of. But the more foolproof the products become, as Rick Cook warns, the greater the idiocy of those who use them. I guess that means there will always be a job for a geek like me. But, really… how much easier can it all get?
Victor on August 28th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Computers should be like TVs. The focus should not be on HOW they work, but on WHAT information they are currently allowing the user to access. The less time people spend figuring out how to do things on their computer, the more able they will be to focus on the things that are important for them. Be it photography, music or just surfing the internet. The beauty of capitalism is that specialists (software engineers in this case) focus on what they can do best, and the people that buy their product focus on what they do best.
perspx on August 28th, 2009 at 9:34 am
A very well-written article and you make a great point and I certainly agree with your statement:
> Today, the standard by which someone is considered (generally) computer literate has almost nothing to do with technical proficiency, and everything to do with throwing sheep at friends on Facebook.
Although I think there’s a divide between the people who *want* to be technically proficient with computers and ping servers, and the “average” user who just wants to have something that’s easily accessible and socialise on Facebook; of course the intuitiveness of something like Apple’s OS means that they are effectively shrouded from the technical crux that one would have had to have known yesteryear to have even started to use a computer, but for those who don’t want to learn the technicalities, the computer of today is here, and it means that a much wider audience can have access to what otherwise was a niche.
But a great article!
ryemac3 on August 28th, 2009 at 9:39 am
I heard someone say not too long ago (I think while referring to Vista), that if you build an idiot-proof OS, only idiots will use it.
Jeff on August 28th, 2009 at 9:45 am
First of all, please allow me to point out a misprint in your article: you mentioned something happening in “the early 90’s”. Since the apostrophe takes place of “19,” the correct spelling is “the early ’90s.” ;-)
Now, on to the meat: this is a *great* article, Liam. I *totally* know what you mean about the tech support thing. Just this morning, my recently retired father called me, frantic because he had just gotten a message saying that Microsoft Windows was infected, that he had 21 Trojans (or something to that effect).
I asked Dad to launch iChat, so that I could share his screen. That done, I quickly confirmed that he didn’t even have Ms Windows open; he was surfing in Safari, on his MacBook Pro running Mac OS X v.10.5.8. Safari was open to a known malware site, designed to look like Ms Windows desktop, trying to get users to download—guess what?—a Trojan.
Just to be sure that everything was good, Dad deleted his entire Parallels virtual hard drive. “Windows doesn’t work right, anyway,” he told me. ;-)
fred on August 28th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Hey idiot – about that missing manual – how was my wife supposed to figure out how to re-arrange icons or that double clicking the button opened up the media player controls?
And guess that the Apple store offered when I bought the birthday present – A master class on working an iPhone.
So much for your idiotic theory.
simon on August 28th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Well Fred sounds like a nice bloke.
I agree with this article, for the “The internet is the blue E on the desktop” crowd, OS X and iPhone are doing what technology should do: unobtrusively making our lives better (loose definition of better considering my dislike of face book)
And that Fred is the point I believe Liam is making, and in answer to your rather rude question I found such features by accident, really.
Jim on August 28th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Liam, you’re a little late to this party – you may want to read Adam Engst’s recent (8/19) TidBITS piece: Have We Entered a Post-Literate Technological Age? http://db.tidbits.com/article/10493
RichT on August 28th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Yeah. It’s terrible that people use matches and have forgotten how to hand spark a fire. And it’s terrible that the electric starter was invented and nobody knows any more how to get down in the mud and hand crank a car.
And you know, I think people should have at least an introductory course in electrical engineering before they’re allow to turn on their oven, or even their lights. NOT!
You should read the late Jef Raskin’s ‘The Humane Interface’ – regular people should not have to see the OS and mess with it, any more than they should be operating a manual choke to get their cars started. It’s a *good* thing that OSes are starting to disappear. Innards of devices are for tinkerers and technical specialists. Getting their work done in an easy and obvious way is for everybody else.
How much easier can it all get? Haven’t you ever watched Star Trek? “Computer, what planet is Liam living on?”
Greg on August 28th, 2009 at 11:20 am
So tell me, Liam, what kind of electric motor is in your microwave oven? Does the fact that you don’t know make you an idiot? How about this: how many electric motors are in your home? At the dawn of electrification, questions like this were considered important; now they’re deep background that no one cares about. The same ultimately should prove true of computer operating systems. (A different question, along the same lines: how many CPUs are in your care, and what make and model are they?)
Kirk Arner on August 28th, 2009 at 11:23 am
I have to disagree. Although idiot-proof OSes are indeed allowing people less technically proficient to access more advanced features on computers, why should this be a bad thing? If more people are able to use the latest technology, more new and innovative things will occur, and society as a whole will advance for the better.
I think the whole premise of every consumer knowing what OS they’re running is a nice idea, but why should they have to know these things? That’s how it’s currently like today, and nothing’s going to change that. In fact, why should people have to worry about these things at all?? Let the geeks like you and I handle it. Just because some of us enjoy tinkering with computers all day doesn’t mean that those who don’t are somehow less intelligent than we are. If computers come to a point where they’re so easy to use that there’s no need for geeks like you and I, wouldn’t that be an amazing thing???
All in all, I just think that if computers are easier to use, it’s all for the better. It allows more people easier access to the tools that are changing our world. How is that a bad thing???
dtj on August 28th, 2009 at 11:54 am
You have to understand that sometimes there are just real users, rather than people who are “enthusiasts”. To them the technology is just a tool and not a way of life.
Have you ever talked to a “chair geek”? Someone who actually knows the names of the particular designers of iconic chairs. It’s the people that can surmise the designer, just by looking at the chair. For instance, did you know that Bill Stumpf designed the Aeron chair for Herman Miller? You didn’t know that?!?!?! How could you not know that? People use those chairs all the time and its an important ergonomic part of their work life. And you say you don’t know all the technical names for the various adjustments for high end chairs.
My point is that sometimes tools are just tools. Some people like really good tools, but they are still just tools. While I am well above average for technical proficiency with computers, I have settled into a mode where I pretty much don’t dick with my system unless I absolutely need something. I live on Mac OSX and I install vanilla fedora installs and keep up to date with yum. No fuss, no muss. I’d much rather spend my time doing actual development work and changing the world, as opposed to the computer geek version of punding (look it up).
esiege on August 28th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I like the chair analogy, but it lacks a simple premise: Although I know little of the historical or artistic values of a chair, I know exactly how to utilize it’s functions to their maximum value… I can adjust my hand railings, and pop it up and down without any difficulty. Along those lines, even those with moderate or well established web developing skills may never know who developed the applications they use, or even acknowledge the browser wars, yet they still are utilizing a tool with proficiency.
In medieval times, great success could be obtained from wielding a sword, pages would study their knight bretheren in chance of picking up skills that would aid them into leading a better life. In the current world of economic and tradeskill diversity, without a doubt the computer is the most universal means for organization, development, and, with the internet, a gateway for sales in quickly growing segment of the marketing world. No, a person that lacks computer knowledge is not an idiot by any means, but they are without a doubt, misguided in their priorities if they wish to achieve success in modern times.
esiege on August 28th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Ps: “Wizardry”
Rolf Raess on August 28th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
When we started to get a cardriver license in the 50ies, people had to know about the engine (nbrs. of cylinders; fireing order and so… lol – that’s true)
It seems to me, that the computer instructions (beside the mac’s, which needs almost no explanation for newcomers) ist still in the 50ies!
I appreciate your article – thx
dtj on August 28th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
esiege – While appreciate the pages-knight analogy, I have seen wayyy too many people fiddle themselves into oblivion. The most concise statement about it is “just because you are jumping and splashing doesn’t mean you are swimming”. I tend to hang around a lot of linux geeks and almost universally the high-end ones move away from fiddling and move towards using it as a tool, rather than adjusting everything just so, or building kernels to eek another 5% performance improvement for their email and websurfing needs. It’s really kind of an escape velocity thing, where the great ones make it out and the others are doomed to follow the fedora/windows/whatever release schedule intently.
I deal alot with geeks that are literally world-class in their computer skills. Something that I have noticed is that they almost all use macs and OSX. Because they can, doesn’t mean that they should fiddle. Every minute I spend working out drivers or installing anti-virus software is time I don’t spend changing the world. When people ask my opinion on getting a new machine, I say mac because SJW (Shit Just Works). When family comes calling with windoze questions, my answer is “shoulda bought a mac”, followed by “sorry, I don’t do windows”.
Robb Lewis on August 28th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Liam, I get the main point you are trying to make but I have to agree with some of these other comments here that calling people that don’t know the difference between OS’s or apps idiots is simply wrong. The chair analogy from dtj was a perfect example (thanks dtj :-)
Yes, we’ve made tech products easier to use for the masses. Wasn’t that the goal? I don’t think the goal was to create a bunch if IT tech geeks. If it were then we’d still be using bash shells and no UI’s.
I’m glad we can make products that everyone can easily enjoy and not require some degree, class or manual to use. If they happen to want to know a bit about the technology then that’s great and I’m glad they are interested…but It’s not a requirement. @robblewis
Sveneson on August 28th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Ahh computer nerds… I run a small design business with a few macs here. Core business model is making money from creative design. I don’t want to know what’s under the hood. The macs work fine. My mother-in-law has a business around the corner from me where she depends on a few PCs to run her online business and accounts etc. The young pimply faced local geek is around there at least once a week fixing something. I think there is a need for complicated conflicted operating systems and a plethora of component companies making bits that don’t fit or work with other companies bits. It keeps you geeks employed. The amount of times when I ask did you get my email or skype message only to get the reply “it’s a PC thing, you wouldn’t understand”.
dave on August 28th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Unfortunately, Apple view of iPhone apps seems to be that apps are smart, but their end-users are STUPID. By rejecting/indefinitely reviewing apps that have similar icon’s and/or functionality as Apple’s apps, even when in the context of the application itself, it makes complete sense and isn’t confusing to the end-user at all, they might look away, then forget where they are, and then get confused at seeing say, a numberpad, and assume they are calling ‘normally’ instead of through GoogleVoice.
I’m all for Apple making sure apps don’t trivially crash, and visually fit in with iPhone UI guidelines, but their ‘duplicate functionality’ testing is basically slapping all their end-users in the face with a “YOU ARE STUPID” paddle.
SB on August 29th, 2009 at 12:17 am
An excellent article that prompts a number of thoughts.
1. There is no doubt that an excellent and intuitive human-machine interface does support democratisation and so drives market growth. This trend is outlined in this article, bit we can also point towards the Tom Tom in-car navigator that has opened a mass market for GPS.
2. Getting the HMI right means lower support costs for the manufacturer, for a third-party service provider (eg the IT department) and the user.
3. Getting the HMI right also means that end users spend more time benefiting from using the technology and less becoming frustrated trying to work out how to use it.
4. RTFM is a cost in buying the manual (paper is still generally easier to read) and reading it.
5. All this means that a great HMI is good for business.
Allister on August 29th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
@Victor and others: If your computer WERE that simple to use it would not be anywhere near as useful. Perhaps the ‘under class’ of computer users should be buying smart TVs and not computers.
Catmanrog on August 30th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Compliments to Liam and all my fellow writers for this fine blog. Each of you have confirmed my love of Snow Leopard and my MBP that make my life truly enjoyable. So glad I don’t do Windows….
Erik Kambestad Veland on August 31st, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Horrible article with a juvenile view of the world. When I read this article I thought surely it must have been written by a teenager with a hubris complex.
No, the world does not need to be computer literate. I am, and I once shared your view – shaking my head at the unwashed masses, rolling my eyes at their naiveté.
But really, as technological literate people it is our duty to progress technology to a level of transparency so that such literacy should not be needed. Things do not NEED to be complex, and in fact they shouldn’t. I suggest you study some UX and HCI and take a long hard look at what Apple is championing here before you continue your arrogance to a point where you are the one being laughed at.
Allister on September 1st, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Erik, I hope you do not believe we should continue down the path we are already on, because much of the ’simplification’ that has been delivered to date is actually counter-productive.
Consider my parents’ constant battle to get photos off their digital camera in order to store them. Should the camera manufacturer’s software be improved and simplified? Or should I teach them how to use a file system? I believe this scenario goes directly to the point the author is making. there is a level of knowledge lacking that should be considered basic.
By your argument, car makers have a duty to stop us crashing cars by making them drive themselves.
Sveneson on September 1st, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Thats a poor analogy. What would your parents of done 10 years ago if they wanted to develop their own photos and color correct them with out dark room and chemicals.
Allister on September 1st, 2009 at 5:03 pm
It isn’t an analogy. It’s a use case. There are many, many tasks they perform on the computer which require the use of the file system. Therefore an understanding of the file system is a basic requirement of using the computer.
The camera manufacturer is “making it simple” for them to take photos from the camera, but as with all such systems it only works as far as the developers thought it out. She wanted to put the photos on a USB stick afterwards – but she had no idea where the photos were and the software gave no obvious option to do this.
Then consider that if they buy a new camera of a different brand they will have to relearn everything it does. This is NOT simplification. It’s obfuscation of simple tasks.
I’ve worked in IT for over 20 years and I know what ‘helpful’ software does to users. It dumbs them down. Liam is absolutely right in that. And because most users are actually smart, if you arm them with some basic knowledge they can often help themselves and save everybody some time. I know this because I have done it. My bonus for a couple of years hinged on exactly this – reduce the amount of time we spent supporting users. Guess what – it worked!
Sveneson on September 1st, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Well do your mum a favor and buy her a Mac. Like the camera manufacturer, the OS is simple to use too. Your PC support job has given you employment. Don’t knock it.
Allister on September 1st, 2009 at 6:14 pm
That’s not going to happen because (as a result of exactly this type of problem) she thinks computers are complex and does not want to have to relearn all this complexity at her time of life. Of course, had she learnt the simple task of dealing with the (Windows) file system some years ago, switching to a Mac would be easy.
It is interesting that you assume I have been supporting PCs for 20 years. I haven’t. Nor Macs, nor Linux. It is a universal problem but indeed most prevalent on Windows.