Spreading the aloha of Macintosh, Hawaiian music and island culture from the sunset side of Haleakala volcano on the wonderful island of Maui

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Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Bad Design & Stupid Names The Problem with Electronics - Dumb Designers How come the geeks in the lab get to name and design so many consumer electronics products? Next to the CFO, and the legal department, these people are the least qualified to make marketing and design decisions. I've just been browsing reviews of new electronics components on line and was struck by the the horrible product designs and awkward model names. SUCKS: • Yamaha RX-V1500 •   • Sony STR-DE997/BHP  • Compaq nc6230 WORKS: • iMac  • iPod  • BeoSound  • Bose Wave Music System There's a reason for good product names. You may sell a bunch of STR-D12345X/Ps but you'll never build a culture or word-of-mouth buzz on something that can't even be pronounced. Each new sale then occurs in a vacuum with little reference to prior products or from satisfied customers. This is a terribly inefficient way to sell consumer products. Nameless items become commodities, loose all their perceived benefits and sell solely on the basis of price instead of quality or function. Products with bad names are often doubly hindered by a horrible interface. By interface I mean everything you touch, see, and smell when encountering a product. Banks of knobs and stacks of unexplained lights do nothing more than baffle users who never actually touch more than the power and volume control without the assistance of a child under thirteen. You won't see droves of users demanding their money back because of bad design though because these poor suckers think that technology is supposed to be confusing so why bother. But some of us know better, usually because we've discovered products like the iPod, B&O audio, SnapOn tools or Braun anything to know that with a little more work the devices we depend on and desire can actually be elegant as well as usable. I just bought a little headset for my cellphone, it works fine but came with - well - no instructions. In the middle of my first call with the device I pushed it into my ear, pressing a secret little button that I had no idea even existed, that disconnected the call!  WHAT! If I touch it, it stops working? What dickhead engineer came up with this idea? I've since discovered that this is supposed to be a feature allowing you to easily disconnect a call without reaching all the way to your phone. Who ever decided that was something people wanted to do? I can see putting a MUTE button on the ear piece so I can cough or scream without upsetting the person on the other end, but why in the world would I want to stop talking without any notice? And why is the button right where I can hit it by accident? These engineers need to get out more often, meet some real people, get laid, get a life. All of Microsoft, Sony and HP need sabbaticals and a few weeks mixing with regular carbon units. 8:23:26 AM    comment []