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No. Designers are becoming too dumb to do simple stuff. Take the iPhone for example. This handheld Unix computer, after a decade and a half, STILL doesn't audi

No. Designers are becoming too dumb to do simple stuff. Take the iPhone for example. This handheld Unix computer, after a decade and a half, STILL doesn't audibly notify you of missed calls. It's mind-boggling. This was a routine feature on "dumb phones," not to mention answering machines dating back decades. I mean... for 30 years or more, microwaves have periodically beeped to remind you that you left food in them. But Apple is too dumb to notify you of missed calls. But what DID they add? Repeatable audible notification of missed TEXTS, on a screen that's otherwise essentially identical to the phone-options screen. Idiotic.

Nextgrid 4y ago
Designers aren't dumb (well not for the most part). The problem is that they're optimizing for dumb people, potentially because either their background or current KPIs lead them to optimize for "engagement" as opposed to actual power-user usage. The problem with optimizing for idiots is that it prevents those idiots from ever learning. Back in the day, idiots might fumble around with power-user features but will eventually become proficient at them if they use them frequently enough - I know many people that I would consider IT "idiots" but they still are very proficient at specific features they use regularly (more than me in fact). If you remove power-user features however, there's no chance for anyone to learn them anymore, so people have no choice but to remain idiots.
Tagbert 4y ago
The majority of calls today are “missed calls” in that I do not answer them. My iPhone allows me to automatically send anyone not in my contacts list directly to voicemail. I hear a lot fewer offers for car warranties this way. As soon as I open my phone, I see a count of missed calls and I can check if any were real. I would not want my phone to make noises to try to attract attention until then. Perhaps that feature is becoming less useful to people?
- NonNefarious 4y ago
  Then you wouldn't activate the feature, obviously. If my 80-year-old parents have an emergency, they're going to CALL ME, not text me. Why the fuck don't I want to know about it? Let's not excuse straight-up stupidity. And remember, this glaring defect has existed FOR 15 YEARS.

Nextgrid 4y ago

Designers aren't dumb (well not for the most part). The problem is that they're optimizing for dumb people, potentially because either their background or current KPIs lead them to optimize for "engagement" as opposed to actual power-user usage. The problem with optimizing for idiots is that it prevents those idiots from ever learning. Back in the day, idiots might fumble around with power-user features but will eventually become proficient at them if they use them frequently enough - I know many people that I would consider IT "idiots" but they still are very proficient at specific features they use regularly (more than me in fact). If you remove power-user features however, there's no chance for anyone to learn them anymore, so people have no choice but to remain idiots.

Tagbert 4y ago

The majority of calls today are “missed calls” in that I do not answer them. My iPhone allows me to automatically send anyone not in my contacts list directly to voicemail. I hear a lot fewer offers for car warranties this way. As soon as I open my phone, I see a count of missed calls and I can check if any were real. I would not want my phone to make noises to try to attract attention until then. Perhaps that feature is becoming less useful to people?

NonNefarious 4y ago
Then you wouldn't activate the feature, obviously. If my 80-year-old parents have an emergency, they're going to CALL ME, not text me. Why the fuck don't I want to know about it? Let's not excuse straight-up stupidity. And remember, this glaring defect has existed FOR 15 YEARS.