(semi OT) For those that remember (and those that don't)

[alex at crackpot.org]

Quoting Darrin Chandler <dwchandler at stilyagin.com>:

> On Wed, Dec 12, 2007 at 09:26:12AM -0700, Matt Graham wrote:
>> After a long battle with technology, Darrin Chandler wrote:
>> > There's a long message about useful work somewhere inside me, but it'll
>> > have to stay buried for now since I don't have time right now. Besides,
>> > it's probably OT here, and should be put on a (gasp!) web site or blog.
>>
>> "Useful work is in the eye of the beholder"?  Really, the   
>> definition of useful
>> work keeps changing as user expectations keep changing.  It's frustrating in
>> some ways.
>
> Oh, I don't know about that. Sure, the landscape changes rapidly, but it
> has been that way for a loooong time. What I'm talking about is using
> computers to actually *DO* something, rather than concentrating on eye
> candy.

I agree with you 100% on this.

The only point I wanted to raise is that developers often seem to look  
down their noses at folks like graphic designers, interface designers,  
and other 'fluffy' jobs.  This is just wrong.  There are plenty of  
designers who hold the same prejudice in the other direction, and  
they're wrong as well.  Designing a useful interface is not an easy  
thing, and it's crucial to creating a good package, one that fits your  
definition of 'useful'.  It's a different set of skills that those in  
your average software engineer.

By 'useful interface', I don't mean 'covered with rounded-corner  
icons'.  I mean one that provides the functionality a user wants, and  
leaves out unnecessary clutter.  Good design makes a product more  
useful, and bad design makes it less useful.

I'm also not referring only (or even primarily) to graphic design.   
Users still interact with text-based programs, and a well thought out  
set of options (or well thought out set of command-line flags) are  
pretty darn important.  A well-designed menu structure makes a website  
far more useful.

If I had to choose good algorithms or good design for my application,  
I'd choose good algorithms, but I'd consider it a crummy product/site  
unless it had both.

alex