I keep going back to Engelbart’s assertion that computers shouldn’t be easy to use. Do I agree with it? I know I don’t believe that computers should be difficult to use just for the sake of being difficult, but they shouldn’t be easy either. I think the debate is slightly oversimplified, because the real question isn’t whether computers should be easy or hard to use. The real question is if the things we do with computers should be simple or complex. It is possible that if computers are too easy to use, we won’t think of doing (or be able to do) more complicated things with them. But do you think that’s really true? Is “easy” synonymous with “simple”?
I think computers need to be complex. And yes, they need to be difficult to use, to a certain extent. It is only when we are being constantly challenged that we reach […]
Original post by arynna