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What Stinks About Computer Products?

An interview with Michael Horowitz, driving force behind ComputerGripes.com 

Conducted via email by John S. Rhodes (9-Feb-2001)

Problems with Technology

Please give us a quick overview of Computer Gripes. What is it? What is its purpose?

Computergripes.com documents problems that I have encountered using assorted computer technology. It should serve as a heads-up for anyone using the same hardware, software or web site. The site is a hobby, not a business. I attempt to carefully and meticulously document the problems; this is not a rant and rave site. There are also links to news articles that document computer problems/gripes.  

What are the biggest problems you see with technology? Do you see the same types of problems over and over?

A consistent gripe is poor documentation, both for the way things should work and for what went wrong when there are problems. The number of error messages that basically say "something failed" and provide no additional information is brutal. I'm fairly confident this can be attributed to lazy programmers. Its a disgrace. 

Another consistent problem comes up when installing software under Windows. It amazes me how many times the user does not see instructions about how to install a product until AFTER it is already installed.  

Finally, a huge number of gripes can be attributed to not putting yourself in the other persons shoes. To make an analogy, if you needed a small used car to drive to the train station every morning would you ask a professional race driver for advice? You probably shouldn't because professional drivers live a world of high powered cars and will likely have a hard time relating to someone on a budget with very minor automotive needs. Much information that comes out of computer companies is from the equivalent of professional race car drivers and people with simple needs and little technical background can't make any sense of it. To illustrate the point, a simple Help->About in Internet Explorer may tell Microsoft what version you are running, but a normal person would not know the version/release of the browser from the info it provides. 

I often hear that technology causes more problems than it fixes. I've read in a few places that productivity hasn't even really increased because of computers and the internet. What do you think? How useful is technology? 

I am not qualified to espouse on the usefulness of technology in general. However, computers are VERY useful. I may gripe about a few trees, but it's a lovely forest.   

How can programmers and designers prevent the kinds of problems that you discuss on Computer Gripes? How can they get it right so that they don't end up on your web site? 

Test and document. Having been a programmer, I don't expect perfection and I am not out to pick a gripe with anyone.   

Be honest, what companies cause the most pain for people? 

All computer companies cause grief at times. However, the problem rate for software is disgraceful when compared to hardware. 

Your site loads fast and is easy to use, for the most part. Is that because you don't have time or is it because you are trying to keep it simple? 

It loads fast, in part, because there are no ads and no server side processing. It's also not an art museum, by which I mean there are no extraneous, eye candy, graphics. Thanks for saying it is easy to use and yes, it is simple on purpose. I try to make it easy to send me email on the site. Some of the mail has been useful suggestions for the site.  

Tell us about yourself. What is your background? 

I took my first computer programming class in college in 1973 and have worked in the computer field since 1975. I've been a mainframe programmer, a database administrator, a researcher and a tech writer.  

Did I miss anything critical? What should every person remember about this interview?

Many of the things I gripe about I use on a daily basis. People should not assume that gripes are meant to imply in any way the product in question is "bad". The Computer Gripes site is best used as a warning of possible problems you may encounter.  

What next?

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