In the tech world this phenomenon is known as “software bloat” or “feature bloat.” It's a well-documented problem and a frequent complaint about Windows OSs—Vista in particular. In addition to being buggy, the extra features tend to bog down your system by demanding more processing power and memory. Computer-makers: Don't load up operating systems with features and then make us sweat to figure out how to get rid of the fat.
Most features can be set up as options. Why not start with a computer loaded with basic stuff that works 100 percent of the time? Then, give us the option of adding the bells and whistles. There's another solution available to consumers: Switch to a Linux-based OS such as Ubuntu. Since most Linux OSs are free, there's no business reason to bloat up the system with feature frills.
And high-tech companies—stop messing with us on your treadmill of upgrades while making the old stuff obsolete. It may be that any software company that didn't routinely upgrade its product would go out of business. But what if the rest of the world worked this way? Oh, I lost a sock. I need to get a whole new wardrobe because the replacement sock is version 2.0.1, and the stores now only sell version 2.0.3.
Automobiles with obnoxious electronics.
There are all sorts of things that are being built into cars that are really bugging a lot of us. We all like new cars with technology that improves handling, speed, mileage, safety and comfort. Designers are working hard to deliver that kind of tech. But I don't like all the beeping and buzzing electronics that are being put into cars—and I know I'm not alone.
When a car's electronic junk harasses me with beeps until I buckle up a seatbelt around a box I'm carrying on the passenger seat, then there's a problem. And why on earth can a car lock me in automati cally? If I want to get out of my car quickly, darn it, I should be able to. We should have control over these things. If I want to be nagged by my car, I'll turn on a nag button.
Cars designed to make it tough to do maintenance.
One late-model sedan I worked on required the removal of a front wheel, plus a bunch of other stuff, just to replace the battery. These days, opening the hood of most cars is enough to give me a headache.
Batteries, filters, fuses and other parts that wear out or need to be serviced should be easily accessible. If the carmakers can install all those oh-so-convenient comfort controls, do they really need to make me do gymnastics to change the oil?
I could go on, but you get the point. We all know companies are in a race to find smarter, faster, slicker technology, but do they really want to pursue that goal at the expense of consumers? Can't we all just be friends and play nice?
To my mind, engineering is a high art, and it brings tears to my eyes to see it so disrespected at times by the marketing and legal departments of corporations. Ideally, form is supposed to follow function, and designing and manufacturing consumer products should be a collaborative process. Com panies, it's time to wake up and pay attention to your engineers—and to your customers.
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