Man and its computer, part 2

In part 1, I shared my conclusions about how similar today's computers are. They all run different applications, ranging from entertainment to productivity, from simple to complex. This post will compare in closer detail how graphical user interfaces (GUIs) of said computers help people to get the best out of their investment in these devices.

Desktop and laptop computers

When you use one for the first time, you see en empty desktop. The apps that you bought the computer for, are hidden somewhere else. A few app shortcuts might be visible by default, and the rest are tucked away below multiple steps for user to configure and manage.

 

Indication of an application that has been sent to background, ranges from subtle to quesswork. The desktop wallpaper, as seen in examples 1, 2 and 3, has clearly the biggest emphasis. It's however not exactly why these computers exists.

Phone and tablet computers

Upon starting one of these devices, user sees that applications are also divided between multiple locations, with iOS being the only exception here (example 1). It shows everything on a single location. Android (2) has multiple home screens, with all but few installed apps hidden in yet another place. Windows phone (3) is a mixture, while Ubuntu Phone (4) has much bigger plans than apps.

For an unknown reason, all applications that have been started, are demoted and hidden to a task switcher view. A design that looks and works like an afterthought. Windowed apps are slowly starting to appear, but still feel clunky and bolted-on solutions. The experience doesn't change when the device is connected to a larger screen. Only WP and Ubuntu phone are pursuing scenarios beyond the traditional desktop and mobile divide. Kudos for both for focusing on the future.

Console computers

The same pattern is sadly repeated. The software that user benefits from, is divided and scattered around the main user interface. The current game/app is prominently shown, but when it comes to seeing what else is installed, or running in the background for that matter, it's not what these interfaces are intended for. And consoles are usually connected to over 40" screens, so it's not that they wouldn't have space to put it in.

There's no support for multiple screens, and these computers are sometimes even more limited than mobile ones, due to shortcomings of gamepad input. Xbox OS has an edge over its competition in doing several things at the same time by allowing windowed operation of some of its core features, without breaking the context user was in.

  The verdict

Even though all computers and their operating systems are near identical in terms of what they do; companies developing them have chosen very different graphical user interfaces for them to do it. It means, that:

• users have to memorize different interface conventions between different computers
• multiple OS'es (or variants of them) are needed to support different devices
• only big companies have resources to develop multiple products from different categories
• massive overlap in required effort when developing software for multiple devices and/or operating systems

Back in the days, with just few computers around, there was no need for a common approach to GUIs. Instead, there was plenty of time, ignorance, workforce and money. As a result, we have several user interface paradigms, that all fail with various degrees. The shared mistake is focusing on building physical products with 'art directed' interfaces. A direction based on a personal perception how a particular device should be used, easily masks any digital similarities underneath the glamorous surface, abstracting important qualities all operating systems commonly share.

To sum it up..

Every 'signature charasteristics' that desktop, mobile and other interface paradigms have managed to pile up over these years, are merely distractions. They occupy minds of designers, developers and and end users alike. Our digital world is a hot mess - partly because of our obsession over the current categorization of computer GUIs and OS'es.

If something is certain, it's that software has never needed such arbitrary categorization - and neither do people using them. Future user interfaces will leverage different screen sizes and input types when they become available; instead stubbornly serving a single form factor, like they do today.

How can we help people to see beyond their lust for yesterday? How can future user interfaces better focus on increasing our human potential, if our preferences and behavior explicitly tells them otherwise?


Thanks for reading and see you in the next post. In the meantime, agree or disagree, debate or shout. Bring it on and spread the word.

Breaking free from my invisible prison

Everything that we know today is based on our past experiences. Our knowledge is limiting what we can create tomorrow.

When we solve a problem, we tend to stick with that solution and keep improving it. That affection prevents alternative discoveries from happening. Alternatives, that weren't possible at the time of our original idea. Alternatives, that have much higher potential in the long run.

Various limitations that are affecting our past tools, will silently keep limiting the potential of our future ones. It's not natural for us to consider our proven solutions as restraints. Well, this isn't a prison made of concrete and steel, but obsolete or incorrect knowledge that we fail to see. And what you can't see, you can't escape.

I joined Jolla in 2012. It took me almost three years to discover my self-imprisonment. Back then I could only work with knowledge withing those walls of mine. I was happy to repeat what had been done before. It didn't use to matter, as anything was always possible before. I was either creating concepts or working without time pressure. It all changed when I started working with Sailfish OS.

I guess it was the immense pressure that finally pitted me against my own knowledge. During these three years, I have questioned majority of what I know. Life of uncertainty and constant doubt has been hard, but at least those walls gave in before I did - ironically only to be replaced by tiredness and loneliness. Abandoning things I've held as facts for many years was a cruel journey. Mainly because I just traded one solitude for another.

Our existing knowledge is our happy place, and it's perfectly understandable to fight for that happiness. They say that ignorance can be a wonderful thing. It's only human to seek comfort through stability and order - until one dies. To me, that's a horrible waste. Loneliness I can deal with.

So remember. The knowledge you have gathered doesn't update itself. If there's something you really care about, you should question everything you know about it. Sure, it might get lonely for a while, but it's imperative that you do.

Because tomorrow will be just like yesterday if you don't.


Thanks for reading and see you in the next post. In the meantime, agree or disagree, debate or shout. Bring it on and spread the word.