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This technique is also used in software engineering. Apple "makes it suck" when "it" should not be done regularly. Resetting an iPod requires an extremely unint

This technique is also used in software engineering. Apple "makes it suck" when "it" should not be done regularly. Resetting an iPod requires an extremely unintuitive key sequence [0]. Apple doesn't want the user to know an iPod can be reset - resetting is something your PC does when it doesn't work anymore. But occasionally an iPod actually freezes, so they added a complicated sequence to reset the device. Even if you remembered the sequence, you wouldn't want to use it unless you needed it. Elsewhere, Microsoft intentionally designed Vista's User Access Control dialogs to be irritating [1]. Microsoft wanted applications to stop using Administrator rights for no reason, so every privilege escalation painfully obvious: The screen fades to gray, and an extra dialog appears. Application developers get the same dialogs, and can trim unnecessary escalations out of their code. [0] http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1320?viewlocale=en_us&locale=en_us http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1320?viewlocale=en_us&loca... [1] http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/blogs/on_software/144500/vista_security_is_annoying_by_design.html http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/blogs/on_software/1445...

tomjen3 16y ago
Those examples also contains a great warning message: Making your software suck makes the user hate you (unless you have a reality disorder field).
mxavier 16y ago
That is a fairly risky move on Microsoft's part but I applaud them for taking it, especially if it works. Every average Windows user I knows notices and complains about the constant UAC popups. What's funny to me is that since 7 has come out, I've heard this a lot less. I believe since 7 got the connotation of being the "good" Windows and Vista the abject failure, people may be cherry picking their complaints to support their assertions that 7 is much better and Windows XP is too old to be a viable alternative.
- rryyan 16y ago
  Microsoft also removed the UAC prompts in some cases in Windows 7: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/02/the-curious-tale-of-windows-7s-uac.ars http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/02/the-curious-ta...
- sprout 16y ago
  Windows XP has a broken security model. Age has very little to do with it (aside from the fact that support ends in 2012, so it's only worth using for another couple years.)

tomjen3 16y ago

Those examples also contains a great warning message: Making your software suck makes the user hate you (unless you have a reality disorder field).

mxavier 16y ago

That is a fairly risky move on Microsoft's part but I applaud them for taking it, especially if it works. Every average Windows user I knows notices and complains about the constant UAC popups. What's funny to me is that since 7 has come out, I've heard this a lot less. I believe since 7 got the connotation of being the "good" Windows and Vista the abject failure, people may be cherry picking their complaints to support their assertions that 7 is much better and Windows XP is too old to be a viable alternative.

rryyan 16y ago
Microsoft also removed the UAC prompts in some cases in Windows 7: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/02/the-curious-tale-of-windows-7s-uac.ars http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/02/the-curious-ta...
sprout 16y ago
Windows XP has a broken security model. Age has very little to do with it (aside from the fact that support ends in 2012, so it's only worth using for another couple years.)