Re: Lilfe in the slow (repair) lane.

trunk. His reasoning is that in the long run he will save money. He claims to have only had a couple flats in his driving career and each time was inconvenienced only briefly while AAA fixed the flat. The missing full-size spare also frees up room for his bike(s) when he and a friend might go out on the trail.

My last two Sante fe's spare tire got used 6 times total between the two. I still have the 2006. Just changed all the tires, not totally because they were worn out but because they have been fixed too many times.

For what ever reason, a tire would pick road garbage like rusty screws and nails. I swear the wheels must of had some supper conductive magnetics on them. The last time, the front passenger tire picked up an allen (Hex Key) wrench!

Jamie

the trunk. His reasoning is that in the long run he will save money. He claims to have only had a couple flats in his driving career and each time was inconvenienced only briefly while AAA fixed the flat. The missing full-size spare also frees up room for his bike(s) when he and a friend might go out on the trail.

Eldorado's.

I've never used the ("full sized") spare on my truck. After seven or so Vermont Winters, it would have taken a cutting torch to get it out of there anyway (a garage once offered to remove it for $100 - no possibility given of repair, though). I've never used the spare in my wife's car, either. I think there is one (donut) under the trunk mat. I did run over some road debris, though I was on an Interstate right next to an exit with a dealership. ...and I have had the tires patched a number of times.

trunk. His reasoning is that in the long run he will save money. He claims to have only had a couple flats in his driving career and each time was inconvenienced only briefly while AAA fixed the flat. The missing full-size spare also frees up room for his bike(s) when he and a friend might go out on the trail.

The only vehicle where I didn't carry a spare was my '73 Chevy Stepvan. You needed an air impact wrench, and a large jack to change a tire. The one time I had a blowout, I had to wait six hours for a tire truck to show up and overcharge me for a low grade 'General Tire'.

I've worked too many places where a service truck couldn't get in, or they refused to drive on soft ground. Time was not only money, but arriving on time was a part of my professional reputation.

Only for passenger vehicles & light trucks.

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entire Microsoft Office product line after the 1997 release. Who's idea was that "ribbon" interface anyway? It's stupid and unusable - particularly when you are in a hurry to get something done! Plus, there was nothing wrong with the "old" way of doing it. Ditto for PhotoShop, Skype and hundreds of others "upgrades".

They were much too busy listening to idiot managers of idiot employees and those groups ideas of how to make a better interface. Way too much worthless automation and near complete loss of any useful configurability.

?-(

Isn't that what we're discussing? I don't use an 18-wheeler to commute.

IBM mostly with backing from other vendors. In the daze of the early PC word processors, there was quite a battle between the various types of interfaces. Each had its advantages and supporters. Moving a user from one style of interface was difficult or impossible.

Oddly, I've accidentally become a fan of the "function key" interface, which actually is a geographic interface, in that the buttons don't move (much) on the keyboard or desktop. As long as the icon on the screen remains in its usual position, I can locate it by position, without looking at the graphics or legend. Dragged to its extreme, here's my current desktop: (340KB)

The problem is that a "flat" user interface, with few sub-menus and secret compartments tends to overwhelm the beginning users. Excessive personalization, such as my desktop, will also intimidate even experienced users. In short, any good user interface concept, dragged to its extreme, will irritate at least some users.

The trick is to device an interface that meets the basic requirements, while not favoring any particular style or flavor. Another major requirement is the user interface sells the product an acts as a form of advertising, art, and promotion. Somewhere down the list is ease of learning and operation.

The problem is that any good idea can be overdone. I have two of these: Putting 3 buttons on a mouse is a good idea. 40 buttons is not.

You're complaining because the new interface doesn't conform to what you have learned and used in the past. You're complaining because you have invested your time and expended effort in learning the old user interface, and must now repeat the ordeal with the new interface. I can only offer you my sympathies and suggest you muddle forward, since there's no turning back. One must suffer before enlightenment. If it makes you feel any better, I get the same complaints from my friends and customers[1].

When Microsloth took over Skype, the effects on the software was predictable. All technical features and diagnostics were immediately removed. Bugs and stability problems were either intentionally or accidentally introduced to inspire users to upgrade. Useless features were added to give the impression of progress and development. Ties to MS Office products are starting to appear.

In general, what we're seeing is feature bloat in action. The reason is that features and functions are what sell a product, while bug fixes, minor speed improvements, and simplified interfaces do not sell well. Features and functions also get added faster than bugs get fixed, inevitably resulting in a bloated product, that's full of bugs.

The battle for the user interface will continue for quite some time. There's plenty things that can be done with a pointer and a 2D flat screen left to try. Some experiments will be accepted, but most will fail. Devising a common interface between a pad computer, laptop, and a desktop seems to be the current challenge, as in Microsoft Metro. Don't be surprised if the user interfaces change again to accommodate finger pointing, speech control, and video driven gesture control.

Incidentally, you didn't complain about the creative and often odd naming of features and functions across products by various vendors. Is it a folder or a sub-directory? I need a magic decoder ring to move between Apple, Linux, and Windoze, as well as various applications. The move to monopolize common metaphors is quite intentional, as users do not want to massively expand their vocabulary with duplicated metaphors. Once they learn the vocabulary of one product, they are unlikely to find a competing product easy to learn. In some cases, the choice of words may seem bizarre, but if translated into foreign idiomatic speech, it makes good sense. Welcome to internationalization.

So many things to rant about. So little time.

Do you ever think before you post? There are a lot of one ton and heavier trucks out there, and some are driven to and from work. I had a stepvan for over a decade as my primary transportation. I'd like to see you remove the bad tire and mount a new one on a split rim.