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The whole new auth methods wave is basically the equivalent of USB-C for the average consumer. Maximum confusion right from the start. Great.

by marban 4y ago

brookst 4y ago
Great analogy. Tech people love it because it’s better, and they understand the nuances and are used to having to think about things like 2D matrices of features. Normal people expect simplicity and consistency and are totally confused.
- rainsford 4y ago
  Speaking as a tech person, I think usability matters (or at least should matter) to tech people too. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I increasingly find that having cool features or security improvements isn't enough to make me like a product and that well designed usability is itself a tech feature worth admiring. Most people like when technology is easy to use, but tech people can also appreciate when technology is a well designed complete package that makes it so the most people can benefit from the cool tech improvements. My favorite example here is Signal, which both significantly improved upon the security of previous solutions like PGP encrypted email and was a massive usability improvement such average people could take advantage of the security it offered. As a tech person, I appreciate the latter at least as much if not more than the former. Security keys check the first box, but I'm not sure they've got the usability thing down yet.
  - brookst 4y ago
    Oh, I agree. I recently purged my house of any USB-C cable that can’t charge my laptop. That means no long high speed cables. But knowing that power will always work is more important than maximizing transfer speeds for my applications.
sebzim4500 4y ago
From my experience, non tech people think USB-C is great but only because you can plug it in upside down.
- j6zauas4gz 4y ago
  but... that is why its great? That's the only relevant factor in my day to day life anyways. that with my USB-C headphones I dont have to think about whether its upside down or not. ...am I not a tech person? Hold on, need to go do some existential musing.

The whole new auth methods wave is basically the equivalent of USB-C for the average consumer. Maximum confusion right from the start. Great.

by marban 4y ago

The whole new auth methods wave is basically the equivalent of USB-C for the average consumer. Maximum confusion right from the start. Great.

brookst 4y ago

Great analogy. Tech people love it because it’s better, and they understand the nuances and are used to having to think about things like 2D matrices of features. Normal people expect simplicity and consistency and are totally confused.

rainsford 4y ago
Speaking as a tech person, I think usability matters (or at least should matter) to tech people too. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I increasingly find that having cool features or security improvements isn't enough to make me like a product and that well designed usability is itself a tech feature worth admiring. Most people like when technology is easy to use, but tech people can also appreciate when technology is a well designed complete package that makes it so the most people can benefit from the cool tech improvements. My favorite example here is Signal, which both significantly improved upon the security of previous solutions like PGP encrypted email and was a massive usability improvement such average people could take advantage of the security it offered. As a tech person, I appreciate the latter at least as much if not more than the former. Security keys check the first box, but I'm not sure they've got the usability thing down yet.
- brookst 4y ago
  Oh, I agree. I recently purged my house of any USB-C cable that can’t charge my laptop. That means no long high speed cables. But knowing that power will always work is more important than maximizing transfer speeds for my applications.

sebzim4500 4y ago

From my experience, non tech people think USB-C is great but only because you can plug it in upside down.

j6zauas4gz 4y ago
but... that is why its great? That's the only relevant factor in my day to day life anyways. that with my USB-C headphones I dont have to think about whether its upside down or not. ...am I not a tech person? Hold on, need to go do some existential musing.