4 ms·

Hmmm...When it comes to simplicity in design, I may be an outlier, but just a few of my daily struggles... - I have to subtract 23 minutes (or add 37 minutes d

by edw519 16y ago

Hmmm...When it comes to simplicity in design, I may be an outlier, but just a few of my daily struggles... - I have to subtract 23 minutes (or add 37 minutes depending on daylight savings time) from the clock in my car because I lost the manual. What ever happened to a dial with 2 hands? - I have to stand beside the microwave and open the door when the popcorn stops popping because I have no idea how to get good popcorn any other way. - I never put anything in the dishwasher because I have no idea whether it's clean or dirty. How hard would it be to put a large green/yellow/red light on the front panel? (I am not the main user.) - Why does almost every web page or Windows screen have buttons that do totally different functions right next to each other in the same color? (Yesterday, I meant to click on my only unread email and accidently sorted by Subject Name instead. It took me 5 minutes to realize what I had done. - I gave up on our 4 TV remotes (124 total buttons) long ago. If it's on Channel 6, I'll watch it without sound. - What do those other 2 buttons on the garage door opener do? I hit them so often, some days I wonder if I'll hear dogs barking. - Need ice or water from the refrigerator door? Make sure you're in the right "mode" first. Why not just have 2 openings? - Cell phone is ringing. Where is it?!?!? Why can't I just answer the land line? It's always in the same place. - Stereo in living room is unplugged until we need it. I don't know how to stop the constant light show on the front panel. Just when was it that things got so complicated that they created more problems than they solved?

qeorge 16y ago
These are valid complaints, but they actually back up the author's point - You still bought the complex-looking item. That it annoys you now is irrelevant (in the author's view). He posits that even though you know you only need 2 buttons for your garage door opener, you'd still buy one with 5 buttons before you bought one with 2.
- edw519 16y ago
  No, I didn't buy any of these things because I wanted to. Consumers don't have much choice any more. I defy you to go out and find any of these things: - a microwave with a single dial - a cell phone that rings on your land line when you're home - a garage door opener with one button - a dishwasher with a status display - a car with an analog clock - a TV with an on/off switch and a channel dial OP jumped to an unsubstantiated conclusion when we could have been writing about the elephant in the room: that functional design, like journalism and sensible politics, is a lost art.
  - jonhohle 16y ago
    Garage door opener with one button: http://amzn.to/bQBbFm http://amzn.to/bQBbFm The Infiniti FX35 has an analog clock. My dishwasher has a green light which indicates that the dishes are clean (though it turns off the first time you open the door, so you better be in the mood to put away dishes). Google voice rings all if your phones, landline or otherwise. I've recently seen microwaves with a spring loaded timer dial, I'm sure you could still get one (if used). Television setups on the other hand are needlessly complicated.
    - gthank 16y ago
      I used to love the "Clean" light until I realized what you pointed out: you'd better want to put away all the dishes right then, which is a problem when you just need a spoon to stir the soup, etc.
  - smartrly 16y ago
    - a car with an analog clock My Infiniti has an analog clock with two adjustment buttons, one moves it forward, the other back. - a dishwasher with a status display My previous dishwasher (a kitchenaid, I believe) had a light that indicated the dishes were clean. My current one (a bosch) does not. It's a downgrade that we didn't notice when purchasing. - a garage door opener with one button We have one of these from Chamberlain. That said, I go for the "more complex" solution of programming the buttons that are built into our daily drivers.
  - parbo 16y ago
    Maserati Gransport has an analog clock.
  - modoc 16y ago
    Microwave with just a dial: http://www.amazon.com/Dial-Microwave-1000W-15-0357-Category/dp/B000SKO38W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1283522479&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Dial-Microwave-1000W-15-0357-Category/... (there are many more). Although for what it's worth, my microwave has a "Popcorn" button that makes perfect popcorn every time. I don't have a land line so I can't help you there. Although I always know where my cell phone is. Every brand of garage door open seems to offer a single button remote (http://www.amazon.com/Genie-GIT-1BL-One-Button-Control-Intellicode/dp/B000628QSA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1283522569&sr=8-3 http://www.amazon.com/Genie-GIT-1BL-One-Button-Control-Intel...) and there are several aftermarket generic single button remotes as well. Most modern dishwashers have a "clean" light that lets you know when the dishwasher is clean. My old Kenmore even does. My wife's Audi A4 had an analog clock, although her new car has digital. I STRONGLY prefer digital. Setting the analog one was always a pain, and it didn't auto adjust for daylight savings time, like the new digital one does. My Samsung TV has an on-off button and channel up and down buttons on the front. A dial doesn't make a lot of sense when you have 100s of channels.
ugh 16y ago
(Can’t you just look at the stuff in the dishwasher and actually see whether it’s clean or dirty?)

by edw519 16y ago

qeorge 16y ago

These are valid complaints, but they actually back up the author's point - You still bought the complex-looking item. That it annoys you now is irrelevant (in the author's view). He posits that even though you know you only need 2 buttons for your garage door opener, you'd still buy one with 5 buttons before you bought one with 2.

edw519 16y ago
No, I didn't buy any of these things because I wanted to. Consumers don't have much choice any more. I defy you to go out and find any of these things: - a microwave with a single dial - a cell phone that rings on your land line when you're home - a garage door opener with one button - a dishwasher with a status display - a car with an analog clock - a TV with an on/off switch and a channel dial OP jumped to an unsubstantiated conclusion when we could have been writing about the elephant in the room: that functional design, like journalism and sensible politics, is a lost art.
- jonhohle 16y ago
  Garage door opener with one button: http://amzn.to/bQBbFm http://amzn.to/bQBbFm The Infiniti FX35 has an analog clock. My dishwasher has a green light which indicates that the dishes are clean (though it turns off the first time you open the door, so you better be in the mood to put away dishes). Google voice rings all if your phones, landline or otherwise. I've recently seen microwaves with a spring loaded timer dial, I'm sure you could still get one (if used). Television setups on the other hand are needlessly complicated.
  - gthank 16y ago
    I used to love the "Clean" light until I realized what you pointed out: you'd better want to put away all the dishes right then, which is a problem when you just need a spoon to stir the soup, etc.
- smartrly 16y ago
  - a car with an analog clock My Infiniti has an analog clock with two adjustment buttons, one moves it forward, the other back. - a dishwasher with a status display My previous dishwasher (a kitchenaid, I believe) had a light that indicated the dishes were clean. My current one (a bosch) does not. It's a downgrade that we didn't notice when purchasing. - a garage door opener with one button We have one of these from Chamberlain. That said, I go for the "more complex" solution of programming the buttons that are built into our daily drivers.
- parbo 16y ago
  Maserati Gransport has an analog clock.
- modoc 16y ago
  Microwave with just a dial: http://www.amazon.com/Dial-Microwave-1000W-15-0357-Category/dp/B000SKO38W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1283522479&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Dial-Microwave-1000W-15-0357-Category/... (there are many more). Although for what it's worth, my microwave has a "Popcorn" button that makes perfect popcorn every time. I don't have a land line so I can't help you there. Although I always know where my cell phone is. Every brand of garage door open seems to offer a single button remote (http://www.amazon.com/Genie-GIT-1BL-One-Button-Control-Intellicode/dp/B000628QSA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1283522569&sr=8-3 http://www.amazon.com/Genie-GIT-1BL-One-Button-Control-Intel...) and there are several aftermarket generic single button remotes as well. Most modern dishwashers have a "clean" light that lets you know when the dishwasher is clean. My old Kenmore even does. My wife's Audi A4 had an analog clock, although her new car has digital. I STRONGLY prefer digital. Setting the analog one was always a pain, and it didn't auto adjust for daylight savings time, like the new digital one does. My Samsung TV has an on-off button and channel up and down buttons on the front. A dial doesn't make a lot of sense when you have 100s of channels.

ugh 16y ago

(Can’t you just look at the stuff in the dishwasher and actually see whether it’s clean or dirty?)