I see a fundamental untightness at times in a lot of things, especially IT.

There are so many software products that are "hack jobs" - disjoint, broken, buggy, poorly designed (or not at all).

And yet, in an attempt to "make business processes more efficient", we all buy these software packages.  We open them up, and begin to learn the interface.  We buy new electronics, and somehow believe that its necessary to read manuals.

Why is that?

Why is so little thought put into designing things?  Why do we focus on "engineering" and "writing code" - so much so, that we forget to do basic things?  Like check to make sure what we've just "made" is actually useful to those who want to use it?

Windows XP takes forever to hibernate.  It takes forever to go to standby.  I get up and want to leave, and my laptop wastes my time.  I sit down, and I have to wait for it to "power up".  Macs are slightly better at this... But the point is - why is this feature present in our computers if it doesn't work 100% of the time? Buggy drivers? There's plenty of finger pointing, but the fact remains - more is not better.  IT has become a huge joke - lots of money spent... lots of headaches... for what?  Technology NEVER seems to work when its needed to! (Note: inability to hibernate = drivers or BIOS! Update drivers, and flash your BIOS.  And make sure Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, and any offline files are closed.)

My laptop is still extremely constrictive.  As a student, I can't take notes on it like I can with a piece of paper - and paper is still more effective than a laptop at times.  How useful are Tablet PCs on the road?

My dad can't program the brand new VCR he purchased.  Why is it that corporations have not designed their products with their primary age category in mind? Why does the interface look like it was designed in the 80s?

Web collaboration.  Portals and content management systems are starting to mature.  The web is starting to be seen as a part of the business process.  We shouldn't have to go out of our way to "put something on the web."  It should automatically hook into the daily things we do.  Why do people still send stuff to their webmasters to "get it put on the web"?  If the web is as popular as it is, why are there no tools that let people do what they want to do, when and how they want to do it?

Few companies consistently deliver on their dreams to integrate technology into our lives.  They promise big things - big paradigm shifts, big changes, big improvements.  And yet, it usually takes lots of revisions to get something right.

Bugs shouldn't even be on the radar.  Security and privacy are issues that need to be addressed, just as bugs should be - but they are NOT supposed to dominate the entire software building process.  The paradigm, the design... the interface, the usability - that's the focus.  And in the coming years, I think that will be the case.

We're growing past the stage of "let's fix bugs".  People shouldn't have to change their lives or their business practices because of technology.  Technology should change to adapt to specific requirements.

And it is a big concern. A clean interface saves hundreds of thousands of hours of worktime that is usually wasted.

I frequently open programs to evaluate this "tightness".  I download applications to examine this usability.  And I've noticed a single common thing: As someone who is technically inclined, I'm able to pick up smartly, properly, tightly, and efficiently designed interfaces instantly.  I can pick up certain pieces of electronic equipment (Nokia cell phones, for example) and instantly access over 95% of the features with less than 5 minutes of "playtime".

I appreciate the IBM Thinkpad's design.  4 screws to remove the keyboard.  Compare that to over 20 with an Apple Powerbook.  1 screw for the harddrive.  Over 20 for the Apple Powerbook.

Why should I spend hours putting all my contacts into my new Palm?  I'm better off walking around with a piece of paper.  Why do I need a cell phone with a colour screen?  Does it improve my battery life or improve reception or the quality of my conversation? Why should I pay Rogers $20/mo for a data access plan to get on "the internet" that is heavily datacapped?

Until cell phones develop the ability to be aware of its surroundings and NOT interrupt my life at inconvenient times... until it integrates into my life automatically, out of the box, until it synchronizes itself with my contact list in Exchange... until its battery life is so long that I can forget about it... I'm not interested.