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usefulness, usability, and joy in software

I think I’m gonna ramble a little more than usual and try and do a little more of a stream of consciousness approach here because I haven’t fully developed this idea, but I think its worth exploring out loud.

In college I took I a psychology elective and multiple philosophy courses and many other electives. I had some great times, the teachers were demanding in general, and I discovered an interest in logical thinking that I didn’t have before. I think it was in a management course that I had to take where we first discussed Maslow’s hiearchy of needs and this concept is something that is definitely memorable.

According to Wikipedia, this is…

Thats sort of a stuffy way of saying that if somebody set you on fire, you’d totally go and put the fire out before checking ESPN to see how badly the Phillies choked tonight.

So anyway, in my last article about great freelancers software, I wrote a little bit about the criteria that the software had to meet before I’d mention it.

So after thinking about it for a few minutes….those three things are pretty much like a simplified software user’s hierarchy of needs, isn’t it?

Some others have expressed the notion of a software user’s hierarchy of needs and that kinda chart is totally awesome, but thats a little more complicated than I’d really want it to be.

I’ve used Windows all of my life. Thats what I used in most of my high-school and college experience. Thats where I played games. So I wasn’t really looking to switch. Despite my familiarity with technology, I hadn’t really taken it upon myself to learn any other operating systems expect for enough basic Unix commands to compile my C++ work on the rare occasion that this was how we were assigned to do it. But eventually I just got sick of all of the virus reports for Windows and I started exploring other options. I think it was that report about the one virus that was spread through browser images that was the cucumber that broke the giraffe’s back or something.

Because of the price issue, I just went with Linux first, and that was ok. There was some great stuff there. But something was missing. And then when I had to go and install this multi-button mouse I had, I had to go into a bunch of command line stuff to do it and it took forever, and thats when I realized that despite the great security, it was going to be tough for me to use it long term. You want stuff that actually works to even fulfill the first hierarchy level, usefulness.

So I decided to explore Macs a bit. Now, understand that I didn’t used to be a Mac fanboi. I used to make jokes about the radiation emanating from Macs was killing the fish in the science department. Really stupid stuff, ya know. So I started researching Macs and lo-and-behold I was in love. I didn’t really know about things like Expose and Spotlight and all sorts of things that I didn’t know about before. I used to stay up at night and watch Mac movies, which I never did before.

So I eventually got a MacBook, and that was really cool, and I sort of jumped to falling in love with the concept of usability, and playing with the Mac’s software and studying why it worked so well for me. Because all that really differentiates the Mac more than anything isn’t the pretty white plastic the parts are encased in, its about the software.

So once I learned the Mac concepts a bit I started exploring the world of Mac Software. And lemme tell ya, if you haven’t decided to pay money for these independent apps, you really don’t know whats missing.

In my opinion, the best one out there is Delicious Library, which you use to catalog your stuff like books and dvds. That app is polished like something thats really shiny or something. And the first time you go and use the Mac’s camera to scan in a barcode, I guarantee you’ll get a smile on your face.

Probably my next favorite one is Disco. Most disc-burning programs are garbage that are filled with tons of useless options. This program has removed all of the nonsense you don’t use on a daily basis and just left what you actually need. And the cool thing about it is that you can make smoke come out of the app when it burns. And the cooler thing about it is that its interactive and you can blow on your microphone to push the smoke around. Check out how easy to use this interface is.

And then I’m not going to really rate apps after that, but the whole point is that the Mac Software that is available blows the pants off of comparable Windows software. No seriously. Not in terms of quantity. Definitely not in terms of games. But in terms of usability and sheer joy, there’s nothing on the Windows platform that gives me that same experience.

I had to use Windows today for an extended period of time to fix some photos on my mom’s real-estate thing, and man was it frustrating as h-e-double hockey sticks.

I’m a big fan of science fiction and I used to watch Star Trek: TNG religiously. I used to identify with Commander Geordi LaForge a lot not because I’m blind, but because I’m a geeky nerd that also struggles to understand women.

So in honor of Levar Burton, I present to you, the semi-official software user’s hierarchy of needs according to Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge.

So when I try and build anything nowadays, I’m focused on usability more than anything. But also joy, because there’s nothing more wonderful than making somebody smile. And dudes, I’ll be totally amazed if anybody has read this entire incoherent piece of nonsense. But I assure you it makes more sense than anything else you’ve ever read. Usefulness., usability, joy….remember that. Anyway, thank you for your time.

PS: I sort of did a small realignment on my site’s theme to deal with a few minor issues and I didn’t really test it, so if you see any rendering errors tell me about them and what browser you’re on and I’ll give you mad props.

Posted on August 17th, 2007 by Chris Papadopoulos.

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