"It just works" isn't good enough | Hacker News Reader

"It just works" isn't good enough

mayankgureja.com

4 pointspranavpiyush6 comments

I think the problem is that this is really hard to do. All-in-one devices more often than not don't do anything well, because they are trying to do everything.

This is one of the reasons Windows 8 is so confusing. It's your good old windows experience. No wait, it's a brand new tablet interface. You can install Metro apps... but you can also install existing apps...as long as they never interact. It's meant to be used with a touchscreen....but also with your keyboard and mouse. It does everything, but nothing well.

I'm not saying you couldn't have a phone that doubles as a laptop, that doubles as a desktop, that doubles as a video game device. But I think it's really hard to make it coherent.

I agree, what I've proposed is the absolute best of my vision for things to come.

But when I propose this, I think of all the hard challenges that have already been conquered in making cohesive, all-in-one devices. A few years ago, a computer, GPS and phone were 3 very distinct things. But someone figured out how to make them work together, so much so that today, smartphones outnumber feature phones in the US and other places. Laptops, tablets, gaming consoles etc. have all seen a similar accumulation of purpose.

Nothing good comes easy. Gotta dream big, or go home! :-)

Thank you very much for your comment!

I don't know what we're really talking about here, but I had a conversation earlier today why I will be getting another iPhone instead of an android- because I already know how to use it, it does everything I want, my entire day is filled with not knowing enough and constantly learning or figuring out something, and it just works.

I have enough to learn/figure out, if you show me something that "just works", well, I must already be using it.

If it works, it works. But can it be better?

What I'm saying is that something doing what it's supposed to isn't the end of the story. Can it do better? Can it also do something else, which is close to its capabilities but just not realized yet?

An endless pursuit of betterment. That's what we're really talking about.

No, by adding features you add complexity and therefore compromise reliability.

So what we are REALLY talking about is how you want to "endlessly pursue" my devices and "better" them until none of them work anymore.

Compare cars from even a decade ago to what we have now. Far more features in safety, comfort, economy. Are they less reliable? Maybe/maybe not. See this (sources cited on Page 3): http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/diagnosing-car-...

Car manufacturers could've easily stopped innovating and bettering the automobile eons ago, thinking it works and does what it's supposed to so what's the point. (Sure they did it for profit and not purely for the sake of innovation, but who doesn't?) But they didn't, which is why we have the Tesla Model S and Honda FCX and much more today to marvel at.

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