The key to a successful interface is transparency and consistency. The user wants to be able to have his ideas flow directly into the computer without thinking about it. The commands become automatic.

A piano composer doesn’t want to use a piano where the keys change position every month.

It’s not that big a deal here. This board isn’t a critical productive tool for most people (but that also means the bar for “why bother” is a lot lower).

But I’m seeing things about new operating systems for Windows and Apple that are trying to become more like the mobile apps. Did anyone ask them to screw with things? I’ve adapted to updates in the past, and can get around on both Windows XP, Windows 7, and a couple of versions of OSX, despite a lot of differences in how things get done. But I wonder how much productivity gets lost in big businesses when suddenly people have to figure out every couple of years which piano key makes which note.

One unexpected plus of the WordPress interface is that when I had to create a blog to enter a writing contest, I already knew the ropes. Thanks!

Additional gripe: Not everybody knows what an icon means. Most software (thank God) has something that explains it if you move the mouse over it. It really sucks in automobiles where you have to look them up in the manual.