Lydia_1_I
I was surprised to find out in the first chapter that Microsoft does extensive user testing and Apple does none! How is it then that Apple products are often so much easier to use?? For example the file/folder organization is much easier to work with on a Mac than a PC. On a Mac you can see the depth and structure of your main folders down to specific documents and then you can even see a preview of a file before you open it. On a Windows PC you have to keep going back and forth between parts of your main folder to find what you need. Another simple example of better user friendliness by Apple is the usability of the dock at the bottom of the screen. Its much less cluttered than the Windows toolbar and you don't have to have software icons all over your desktop because they are all organized down in the dock. I'm not saying that Apple has everything right over Microsoft, but they are doing a pretty good job of improving usability without doing user testing and research.
Labels: Lydia Sparling
posted by Lydia Sparling @ 12:35 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
This is just an educated guess, because this is the first time I've heard of this.
I feel it's a case of "Too many cooks spoil the broth." Microsoft gets extensive user testing, many people weigh in on what they like and don't like, and Microsoft fails because it tries to please everyone. Apple products have a set design plan from the start, and someone might give additional input here or there, but ultimately a core design team, or perhaps just one person, decides on what to keep in and what to leave out.
Apple has always been a proponent of the "Keep It Simple, Stupid" philosophy. They figure out the main, big functions that people will want, and then they eliminate all the intricate bells and whistles that clutter an interface. Microsoft's got a bad thing going with its democracy.
I have been using both a PC and a MAC for several years now and both OS are great depending on what you are using them for. I favor PC though. Microsoft XP is an excellent operating system if you know how to use it properly. I hope the class doesn't attack me because I know some of you are die hard MAC users.... Dr. Dailey
It actually suprised me, too that Apple doesn't have user testing, but then I've always jokingly related Mac's interface to looking like Fisher Price, and I guess they think so too, if they feel confident enough that anyone can use it.
Ironically, when I used Mac's for the first time here at Ball State, I couldn't figure out how a lot of things I needed worked, because I grew up with PC's since I was 5. Which, I think is something interesting to think about in the terms of interaction design.
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