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Steve Jobs was against hiding features in modes, which is why the iOS lacked any kind of context menu until version 3, and Apple mice lacked right click for a l

Steve Jobs was against hiding features in modes, which is why the iOS lacked any kind of context menu until version 3, and Apple mice lacked right click for a long time. Speaking of Apple's mice, they are some of the worst offenders in "looks good but don't try using it". There's the infamous hockey puck, and currently the Magic Mouse. I use one when I'm desperate, but usually give up when it magically gives me hand cramps due to it's shape. A bar of soap is more ergonomic, and slides around better too. This article isn't served well by it's sensational tone. If children can pick up something up and use it without training, then it's already doing a better job than a mouse, or even a keyboard, which you basically have to be literate to use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_Practice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_Practice

izacus 11y ago
I thought I was the only one that gets wrist pains after using the Magic Mouse. There's something really wrong with how that piece of hardware is designed it seems :/
- rangibaby 11y ago
  Do you have big hands? I've used Microsoft mice since the Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 because it's easy to push around. I know people who hate it because it's too big for them though.
  - TheOtherHobbes 11y ago
    I'm very comfortable with the Apple mouse. But that's a single data point. The problem seems to be that the industry has decided that everyone has the same standard pair of hands. Which is nonsense, obviously. It's like selling shoes or clothes in a single standard size. So what happens in practice is people keep trying different mouse models until they find one that happens to fit. For me, the Magic Mouse works fine. For someone else, it won't fit at all. This is also a problem with design. In spite of a century of theory and history there's really no such thing as an ideal standard design, because everyone's cognitive needs/skills are different. So what happens in practice is that "design" means "looks polished and expensive, and confers accessible social proof". This attracts a price premium, and that's where the feedback loop is in the market. The feedback loops for usability are more diffuse and not nearly as strong. The problem with Google's Material is that it doesn't understand the social proof element. It's purely utilitarian. (IMO it's not brilliant for usability either. But that's a different issue.) Apple's design language has been much better at creating social proof through aesthetics. As long as it keeps doing that, usability can be good-but-not-great and it will still be a commercial success. Never mind Windows 8/10 - the less said about that, the better.
  - izacus 11y ago
    Yeah and I think that's the issue. But the funny thing is, that the Magic Mouse is the only one causing me problems - even tiny Logitech NX Nano doesn't cause me pain. I think it's caused by the low height coupled with the fact it has no buttons to press.
mabcat 11y ago
> against non-obvious features (there's a word for this, I can't remember it) Are you thinking of "affordance"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance
- rangibaby 11y ago
  I was thinking of modes! Nice guess though :)

izacus 11y ago

I thought I was the only one that gets wrist pains after using the Magic Mouse. There's something really wrong with how that piece of hardware is designed it seems :/

rangibaby 11y ago
Do you have big hands? I've used Microsoft mice since the Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 because it's easy to push around. I know people who hate it because it's too big for them though.
- TheOtherHobbes 11y ago
  I'm very comfortable with the Apple mouse. But that's a single data point. The problem seems to be that the industry has decided that everyone has the same standard pair of hands. Which is nonsense, obviously. It's like selling shoes or clothes in a single standard size. So what happens in practice is people keep trying different mouse models until they find one that happens to fit. For me, the Magic Mouse works fine. For someone else, it won't fit at all. This is also a problem with design. In spite of a century of theory and history there's really no such thing as an ideal standard design, because everyone's cognitive needs/skills are different. So what happens in practice is that "design" means "looks polished and expensive, and confers accessible social proof". This attracts a price premium, and that's where the feedback loop is in the market. The feedback loops for usability are more diffuse and not nearly as strong. The problem with Google's Material is that it doesn't understand the social proof element. It's purely utilitarian. (IMO it's not brilliant for usability either. But that's a different issue.) Apple's design language has been much better at creating social proof through aesthetics. As long as it keeps doing that, usability can be good-but-not-great and it will still be a commercial success. Never mind Windows 8/10 - the less said about that, the better.
- izacus 11y ago
  Yeah and I think that's the issue. But the funny thing is, that the Magic Mouse is the only one causing me problems - even tiny Logitech NX Nano doesn't cause me pain. I think it's caused by the low height coupled with the fact it has no buttons to press.

mabcat 11y ago

> against non-obvious features (there's a word for this, I can't remember it) Are you thinking of "affordance"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance

rangibaby 11y ago
I was thinking of modes! Nice guess though :)