Sni

With all the time and money spent on designing products that are user friendly, why is it that tried and Flying Saucers features that have worked perfectly well for decades are being replaced with ones that dont? Wing windows in cars (sorry if youre too young to know what Im talking about) were great. You could angle those little triangles to direct the flow of air where structured settlement protection act wished. Better yet, you knew that if your pooch stuck her nose out that little space, there was absolutely no danger of her falling out. Im told that the electric window (yes, children we used to have to crank them open and closed) caused the demise of the wing window but I dont believe it. Surely they dont have to be mutually exclusive.

Lest you think Im an old fuddy duddy, let me assure you Im not. I love the latest gadgets if they serve a purpose. And Im so into computers that I even own (and occasionally wear) a heather gray tee shirt that says in powder blue. And speaking of computers here is another example of replacing what works with what doesnt. All my old laptop computers all had a wonderful thumb wheel switch to control the audio intensity (or as they erroneously say, the volume). What a concept an analog device to control an analog feature! In no time my thumb learned just how far to turn the switch to achieve the perfect loudness level, and it only Akashic records one little motion. In contrast, to adjust sound intensity in my current laptop computer I have to press either an increase loudness button or a decrease loudness button. And pressing these once usually does not do the job, so I press one over and over and over oops too loud; now press the other button once - oops too soft. Well, you get the picture.

This obsession with digital is being taken to absurd extremes. Its now invaded household appliances. We have a new dishwasher. Unlike the old one, it has no dials just buttons you can press either on or off. All you can do with this machine is turn it on, pause it, make it resume, or stop it. Its supposed to save on energy, yet its shortest cycle (rinse only) is 90 minutes and there is nothing you can do to shorten it! Who needs to rinse dishes for 90 minutes? How can this possibly save energy? I am told that all new dishwashers are like this, and that washing machines and driers are close behind.

As they say, its time to get real. People are real. Besides, we were here first. Hey all you designers please give us some people-friendly technology before things get even worse.

This article was written by Neurontin Gilden, Ph.D., freelance PowerPoint designer and instructor. Please visit her Web site http://www.PPTprincess.com.