Dave Winer writes about his first real eureka experience with usability, its a blast from the past – one that will be as true tomorrow as it was yesterday.
DaveNet : A Brief User Interface Manifesto
I remember, as if it were yesterday, my first experience with a user. I had been developing a software product for three years, all the while thinking it was easy to use. A friend who had been listening to me gush about how great it was asked if he could try it. Hesitantly I said yes. I launched the program and we switched seats. I tried to say nothing as he wondered what to do. The software didn’t have anything to say. “What should I do?” he asked. I thought to myself “I have some work to do.”
Remember, to make good software you have to make good usability! :-)
Arno Schmidt provided the template for weblogs in his novels, including the Egghead Republic and Stoney Heart.
The Egghead Republic is an allegory of sorts, it presents a Utopian vision and its Anti-utopia.
I wouldn’t waste time trying to interpret its Symbology.
There is a cult that looks forward to the Day when he will rise again and lead them all to the Promised Land of the Egghead Republic.
They want Arno all to themselves.
Brian Eno said, “…America is trapped in a Fortress of arrogance and ignorance”.
Amen to that.
You might say also that we Americans are living in the pre-nuclear holocaust Hominid Zone.
There are Centaurs all over the place,
Half-men and half-beast.
I would say, a Centaur can be ridden.
Where did I put that last book,
Die Gelehrtenrepublik?