[This week’s Communications column for the Vanuatu Independent.]
[Yes, it’s a re-hash of this rant. ed.]
As a computer geek, I’m supposed to be suffused with enthusiasm and excitement over the features of the latest software. By rights, I should be the one carrying the techno-tablets down from the mountain, telling you how the latest in frobnalising ephemetry is going to change everyone’s life. I’m the one supposed to show you where to sign up and what to do with it once you’ve got it.
I have a confession to make: I hate most software.
90% of software is crap. As author Theodore Sturgeon famously said, that’s because 90% of everything is crap.
I save a particular loathing for word processors. For any but the simplest tasks, their interfaces are utterly ridiculous. I haven’t liked a word processing interface since WordPerfect circa version 5, which ran on DOS (remember DOS?). If I had my own way, I’d still be using it.