UX

Why aren't user interfaces more like cars ..

Lorcan

Now what about user interface design? Every software application I own has a bespoke interface. No doubt this has a lot to do with differentiating oneself in tough markets, and I do like variety and novelty, but come on. These apps are needlessly different. Mozilla mail is nothing like The Bat!, which is nothing like Outlook. Yet they are essentially identical tools in the same way cars are essentially identical tools. The difference between car-makers and software-makers is that if software-makers made cars, they’d think they were doing a bang-up job by putting the brake above your head. Strangely, car-makers have found saner ways to compete with each other and enthrall customers.

[Bill de h�ra: The Uniform Interface]

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