day 55




the perpetuation of complexity 2:
bigger isn't necessarily better

by Vimal Goel

Yesterday, we established that the ideal PC

would be as easy to use as a toaster, and that

bloated software is making that impossible.

Corporate users end up contributing to the

problem of bloatware when they select the most

feature-laden software. Many of those features

will never get used.

Users upgrade to a new version for a combination

of reasons:

  • They need some of the new features

  • They fear getting left behind

  • They often do not pay out of their own pockets

  • They enjoy the thrill of owning the latest and
    greatest `toys'

  • They can market their skills only when they
    have worked with the latest version ("What, you
    haven't worked on Notes 4.0?" or "You still
    hand-create your make files rather than using
    the Microsoft Visual C++ integrated development
    environment?")

  • They fear they won't be able to get support for
    older versions

    A headlong rush to new versions is not

    inevitable, however. There was noticeable

    reluctance among some corporations to upgrade

    to Windows 95.

    • the perpetuation of complexity 1



    Daily Dose Index