whartung wrote:
I will say this. I have never been as productive as I was back in the green screen days. Back then I could single handedly pound out a full distribution system. Today, not so much.
Repeat after me. New technology isn't necessarily better technology.
Speaking of the days of monochrome ASCII terminals, workers tended to get more done on them because it was all typing, not a combination of typing and mouse movement. Also, terminals didn't crash and the host machines with which they were communicating seldom crashed as well. There were none of the contretemps we routinely experience with Microsoft Windows. Users actually could use the system, as long as the software was well designed.
I have three clients who are still processing on terminals, mainly because they want the simplicity and reliability. One of them is running on a vertical package that we wrote for them 20 years ago. They are not interested in switching to more modern software because they don't want the inevitable headaches of migration and a new learning curve—or the technical problems that typically infest systems running on Windows.
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Not because the domain has changed that much -- order entry is order entry, but the modern interfaces and client expectations just kill progress on the project. Now there's a boatload of finish work above and beyond simply getting the data in and out of the system and managing workflows.
That's the part that seems to be lost on today's users. The mechanics of running a business—order entry, invoicing, cash flow management, etc.—have changed little over the years. In addition to being the supposed brains
around here, I am also the chief paper-pusher and head clerk (although a gal who comes in twice per week takes care of feeding the file cabinets). The principles behind all that work haven't changed since I started the company nearly 32 years ago. All that is changed is a machine does some of the repetitive grunt work.
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Plus, we record a boat load more data today than we did in the past.
A boat-load of data of questionable value. I am astonished at some of the things some of my clients track because they are able to track them. A lot of it is
tedious minutia that has little long term value. What I think is happening is they have this big, powerful computer that can stored hundreds of gigabytes of data, so they feel they have to store hundreds of gigabytes of data.
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But, especially for me, the modern UIs just crush the development, even with the modern tools it's still awful. For a data entry screen, having to deal with inputs at a granularity of what pixel was clicked is simply too fine grained, but everything has to be exposed as if that's something people actually care about which explodes the complexity and cognitive load of getting the work done.
Yet, despite the modern user interfaces the users still mess up their work.
GARTHWILSON wrote:
FWIW, my own opinion is that html and web pages have gone too far in the cutesie department, for marketing, using annoying pop-ups, irritating viscosity effects, making things move without my permission, background images behind the text that make it harder to read, and other special effects. There's a good reason my website is as simple as it is.
I concur. I particularly find gratuitous use of Adobe Flash to animate little zoogies on the screen to be exceptionally annoying—and don't get me started on pale white screens with light pastel text in ridiculous fonts. Just because it is possible to do it doesn't mean we should do it.
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