In order to demonstrate our superior intellect, we will now ask you a question you cannot answer.

No matter where you put an advanced setting, somebody will tell you that you are an idiot

The Old New Thing — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:56:02 GMT

The tragedy of the advanced setting.

The Hive Archive » Blog Archive » Microsoft’s Intentional Ignorance of Other Operating Systems

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 18:59:58 GMT

PingBack from http://hivearchive.com/2006/07/11/microsofts-intentional-ignorance-of-other-operating-systems/

Not everybody with a non-Windows partition type is a geek

The Old New Thing — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 17:00:40 GMT

Many OEMs ship with recovery partitions.

Why can't I disable the Cancel button in a wizard?

The Old New Thing — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:00:19 GMT

Users don't like it when they can't cancel.

Exactly

mpt — Sat, 01 May 2004 08:03:00 GMT

"I NEED the 'save changes' alert."

No, you need a decent undo function.

re: In order to demonstrate our superior intellect, we will now ask you a question you cannot answer.

Jim Davis — Fri, 30 Apr 2004 23:20:00 GMT

> "No, it's closed today. Didn't you see the sign on the door?"

No kidding. When I worked helpdesk in college, we had a free-standing sign about four feet high and two feet wide that said, "THE VAX IS DOWN" that we'd place in the doorway when maintenance was being performed. People would move the sign, sit down at a terminal, and after failing to log in, ask if the VAX was down.

re: In order to demonstrate our superior intellect, we will now ask you a question you cannot answer.

David — Fri, 30 Apr 2004 22:15:00 GMT

I like the "save changes" alert. I NEED the "save changes" alert. Sometimes I choose "yes", and other times I choose "no".

Haven't you ever accidentally closed a document? I want to be protected from the bad consequences of doing that.

re: In order to demonstrate our superior intellect, we will now ask you a question you cannot answer.

Raymond Chen — Fri, 30 Apr 2004 16:26:00 GMT

If you talk to somebody who works at an information desk you'll find that they've already run this experiment many times over: It's not just computers. People ignore unexpected information.

For example, if there is a sign on the door that says, "XYZ is closed today", you can bet that people will walk on in and ask "Is XYZ open today?"

"No, it's closed today. Didn't you see the sign on the door?"

"Hm, yeah, now that you mention it, there was a sign on the door, but I didn't read it."

Ability to follow instructions

mpt — Fri, 30 Apr 2004 16:21:00 GMT

"...it's just that the user's ability to follow instructions, read things, and make sensible decisions *about what the computer is doing* seems to be greatly reduced."

Aha, now we're getting somewhere. So how could we test *that* hypothesis? We need to create some kind of non-computer situation that presents people with interruptions that are just as unwanted, and just as unclarifiable, as alerts are. That way we can tell whether it's just a computer thing, or whether humans *never* follow instructions with those same qualities.

Maybe we could sell a kind of notepaper that comes with its own security guard. Whenever you write on the paper, and then try to leave the room, the guard stops you and says "Save changes to what you're writing?" He won't explain further. All he says is "Save changes to what you're writing?" And he WILL NOT let you leave until you answer. If you say "Yes", he lets you leave. If you say "No", he grabs your paper and eats it, *then* lets you leave.

After you've gotten used to instinctively saying "Yes" whenever you get up, the guard might start requiring you to answer other unwanted questions too. Questions like: "Changes have been made that affect the global notepaper. Do you want to save those changes?". Or: "Do you want to save the clipboard?" Or: "Some of the changes you have made will only take effect next time you wake up. Do you want me to put you to sleep now?" (The last would be especially effective if the guard was twirling his baton.)

re: In order to demonstrate our superior intellect, we will now ask you a question you cannot answer.

Larry Osterman — Thu, 29 Apr 2004 23:56:00 GMT

Jeff, I was being slightly sarcastic when I described the IE securitybar as being something people will ignore.

IMHO, it REALLY is an example of an EXCELLENT solution to this problem.

I've been working in the Windows UI&Policy group for the past year and a half, so I've been getting a crash course in UI design - I used to think I understood what good UI was, but now I've gotten a whole new viewpoint on how to do good usable UI.