The Delicious Generation
Today, Paul Kafasis wrote about the good, bad, and ugly of the Delicious Generation. Having developed software for Mac OS X, and Mac OS before that, and System 7 before that, I certainly feel that I have an “old school” perspective on Macintosh software. (See, I still use the word “Macintosh.”) That said, I welcome positive change and agree with Paul that we old-schoolers shouldn’t feel that we are fighting this Delicious Generation but, rather, see what we can learn from them.
Form is important. The Mac is evidence of that. While I think it is great when an application looks cool, the application better be useful if you expect me to buy it. The applications at the top of my dock may not be the flashiest; but they are solid, powerful, and extremely useful. BBEdit and Mailsmith’s bare-bones (yes, that was intentional) interfaces have never motivated me to seek out a new text editor or mail client. (BBEdit 8.5 does have flashy new toolbar icons, however.) Oddly, while Paul cites NetNewsWire as an example of a application that isn’t flashy, I always considered it one of the more modern-looking applications that I run.
What led to the emergence of the Delicious Generation? The most obvious explanation is that it is now possible and relatively easy to implement these snazzy interfaces. We have tons of memory and processor cycles to support these newfangled effects. In addition, Mac OS X makes these effects easier with technologies like Core Image and, soon, Core Animation.
However, the advent of these technologies only partially explains the emergence of the Delicious Generation. More importantly, today’s computer users can easily handle non-standard user interfaces and gratuitous effects. While some of us old schoolers may be distracted by these effects and their inconsistencies, today’s users have a much higher tolerance. Twenty years ago, users were figuring out how to use a mouse and were confused by System 6’s MultiFinder. Given these challenges, the user interface had better be consistent and not appear to be on fire. Today, my two-and-a-half year old sits down at the computer, fast-user switches to his account, launches Safari, and starts browsing the web with ease. I don’t think gratuitous Core Image effects are going to confuse him.
My next application won’t be flashy, but I hope it will be solid, functional, and useful. I hope its design will complement rather than distract from its purpose. That said, I’ll be open to feedback from everyone, including these Delicious Generation kids.
