Previous entry: "13-October-2001 -- Achieving Usability Through Software Architecture" WebWord Home Page Next entry: "16-October-2001 -- Investigations in Systems Design: Structure, Context, Failure and Usability"

10/13/2001 Archived Entry: "13-October-2001 -- The myth of convergence"

The myth of convergence (Madman) -- "Don't confuse what's possible with what's useful. Specialized devices are much better than a device that can do ten things, but not do any of them particularly well. I love my Swiss army knife but when I want to cut vegetables in my kitchen, it's a poor choice. Yes, you can make photocopies of documents on your fax machine but do you know any business that does so regularly? No, they probably use a photocopy machine instead? Why? The specialized machine is faster and has more useful features." (Comments: Solid article.)

Replies: 1 comment

I heard that the first time convergence was mentioned was in 1993 in the New York Times. At that time, it was supposed to change the way we do things. Like most hyped up things, it hasn't gotten us anywhere.

Posted by Richard Collins @ 10/14/2001 01:30 AM EST

Subscribe to Webword.com
Receive the best free usability newsletter on the Internet.

URL: http://www.WebWord.com/weblog/