Random software and usability insights
by Brad Brighton, Geek-in-Residence, February 24, 2005 (You can get the first feedback post!)
Ok, so this one falls in the category of "seeing myself type" (almost) but it's an observation that any craftsman (pro or hobbyist) will relate to. In this world of everything being both homogenous and crappy products mass-produced, it's nice to have a thing or two that while it may still be crappy, it's at least different than other things out there, and it's up to you whether it stays crappy or not. So it is with furniture for those who are woodworkers, so it is with geeks who can program.
The occasion for this observation is the next version of Track Manager, a simple iTunes utility that lets you distribute tracks to your playlists while you're listening to those tracks. TM has the basic iTunes controls handy (volume, next/prev, start/stop) so for a basic listening experience with just a little added, it fits the bill. I wrote it based on a suggestion from a friend of mine; he claims he uses it every day. Mission accomplished, for the most part.
I use it too, but there was one thing that really annoyed me about its behavior. It was intentionally limited in what it does; why would I want to recreate the entire iTunes interface? But for all the things it did not do, I had to go back to iTunes, except I didn't put an easy way to do that on the original interface. Here, I had this nifty tool that, when used properly, induced unnecessary frustration when its limits were exceeded.
I've finally gotten back to revisiting Track Manager (awaiting some localization for v1.3 to be complete). One of the first things I did was to add a button to bring iTunes to the front; TM is still intended to be of limited functionality, but at least now I'm only one click away from having the real thing up and ready to use. (I've added other features too, but descriptions of those are for the new version announcement.)
Why is this of interest to anyone? I think it reveals two things, one minor, one major. The minor one: if you're a programmer (or a woodworker, or metalworker, or auto mechanic, or... ) take a moment and look at what you do for yourself that others don't and make sure you appreciate whatever it is that you add to your standard of living by being able to do so. The major thing? This is for programmers specifically: All good programs have defined limits on functionality. Make sure that when you consciously limit behavior, you aren't intentionally causing more difficulties than you expect. Little things can add up over time and cause people to quit using your software.
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