Why Computers Suck

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.

--P. J. O'Rourke

Philo sent me a link to some P.J. O'Rourke quotes today, and although many are hilarious and insightful, that one stands out as my favorite.

But that's not what I want to write about today. I want to write about something that was on my bulleted list a couple posts ago: Usability.

iTunes 7.0.2 Sucks

In particular, I want to express my extreme disappointment with iTunes 7.02. And computers in general, but first let me slam Apple for a while.

First, let me explain about iTunes. I used to be an Apple user until around my second year of university, when I switched to Linux. It was only grudgingly that I allowed myself to get sucked into the world of Windows several years later, and I still have a soft spot in my heart for the cryptic elegance of Linux, as well as a deep and abiding respect for the unshakable, yet very expensive, standards of Apple.

To me, the message of Apple was always, "We will restrict our users to our hardware and our software, denying them choice and configurability, but in return, we will give them a quality, impeccably stable system with a slick user interface which is aesthetically unparalleled. And although we will charge them top dollar for it, it will be worth it to them, and they will be more than happy to pay."

I think there's a certain integrity to that statement, which, incidentally, has never been made by Apple in those words, but which they may license from me for an appropriate copyright fee. From graphic designers to "I don't want to know how a computer works" people, to astronomers, musicians, and black-coffee-drinking poets, they have amassed an enormous following that respects their "top dollar for top quality" policy.

I bought an iPod last year, and it has brought happiness to my life. The iPod is a beautiful object, and iTunes has, until now, been an excellent, or at least, stable and passable, software product.

Now fast-forward to September 12, 2006. Apple releases iTunes 7. With software from other makers, I often hesitate when upgrading and installing new versions, assuming that there will be unanticipated bugs, and instead wait a couple weeks to watch disaster strike the foolhardy. With Apple, though, things were different. Their entire business model was based on an unwavering commitment to quality and usability. Apple, I foolishly thought, is a company I can trust. Given that iTunes 6 was a touch on the slow side, I naively thought that iTunes 7 would be an improvement. And thus I clicked on the fateful "Download" button.

Now, when I run iTunes, my computer is unusable. Something that it does causes my "System" process to suck 50% of my CPU, and all of my applications hang for an indefinite amount of time when I click on things in iTunes. It is quite sporadic and difficult to pin down, but the effect is bad enough that I have had to give up using iTunes completely. Ironically, I actually listen to my iPod while sitting at my computer now.

Other people had worse problems, of course, and Apple released iTunes 7.0.1 to fix their issues. Then they released 7.0.2 to fix the rest of the problems. Then, apparently, enough of their customers were happy that they decided it was no longer cost-effective to respond to the desperate cries of users like me on their forums and actually fix their software any further.

So here I am, trying to make a CD for a friend, and barely able to use iTunes to do it. I have actually resorted to writing the track names down on paper to decide the order, which is what I used to do in junior high school when making mix tapes. Sad, sad, sad. It's not that I mind using a pencil and paper (even notepad hangs when iTunes is open), but my faith in Apple has been shattered forever. As soon as I get the time and energy, I will start exploring all of the iTunes clones and alternatives that are out there.

The Real Problem

But I'm not just talking about Apple and iTunes. This problem is much more endemic and sinister. What people need is stable, reliable, simple, and usable software. What the marketing people think people want is flashy, cool, new features and infinite configurability. Actually, that's also what the engineering people want to build. And perhaps it's even what some users think they need.

Unfortunately, all of this feature creep leads to memory-hogging programs that are unstable.

Now, instability is ok if we're talking about bleeding-edge technologies that people are playing with for fun. If you agree to beta-test some cool new software, the risk of instability is part of what you're signing up for. However, once you have valuable data entrusted to a computer, you want to believe that that data is safe. And yet the question no longer seems to be whether a Windows system will get gunked up, crash, and die, but rather, how long will it be safe to wait between full reinstalls?

Computers have made a transition from being high-tech toys to being a fundamental part of our lives. With that shift in roles comes a shift in responsibility. Microsoft and other developers of major applications now bear the responsibility to create systems where stability and security are the highest priorities. Of course this is a daunting task, but my point is that they shouldn't be putting their effort into adding bells, whistles, dynamic 3D shadows, and irritating talking paperclips to Word.

Here's a good example - the other day a friend of mine called me at 2:30am with a Blue Screen Of Death. What do you do when the computer bluescreens, will not boot in Safe Mode, and tells you only this?

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Technical Info:

*** STOP: 0x0000000A ( 0x 010007E8, 0x 0000001D, 0x 00000000, 0x 804D9D57 )

This is completely unhelpful to any normal person who's not a sysadmin and who doesn't have a second computer handy to search for the error message on the web.

The fact is, most people don't even know where their documents are, much less the relationship between the "My Documents" folder in Windows and their "C Drive". These are the people whose computers will fall victim to viruses and crapware, and they won't have the foggiest idea of how to back up their data. Especially when the HP support line gives, "Try reformatting your hard disk and reinstalling Windows" as a first resort. Yes, they said that to my sister, and she lost all her data!

This doesn't have to happen.

Computers should not be difficult to use.

Software and system stability should be a priority.

We, as engineers, need to consider that software is actually used by real people. And we, as consumers, need to hold software makers accountable for these things.

I feel very, very strongly about this. People think I'm joking when I say I hate computers, but I think it's tragic that we are so dependent on them while they persist in their current state of technological immaturity.

Enough for tonight. Good night, everyone, and don't forget to back up your data.