It's not your fault

If, like me, you regularly feel intimidated by technology, or that your computer is beating you up, here’s a word of encouragement: IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT! The fact that you can’t make head or tail of the newest piece of software is not your fault. A huge weight of guilt fell off me when I read “The Inmates Are Running the Asylum”, by Alan Cooper (I got it from the Christchurch Public Library). Subtitled “Why High-tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity”, Mr Cooper, who is an acclaimed software designer himself, makes it very clear who is at fault. It’s the faceless twits who design the stuff. Here’s the secret: geeks design to impress other geeks. People like you and me who have to use these engines-of-Satan only get in the way of their ideas of good design. Hit back. Email them and tell them in no uncertain terms what you think.