One of the podcasts I listen to on a regular basis, 99 percent invisible featured a story about the computer mouse and its inventor, Doug Engelbart. In it, the fact that modern computers are becoming increasingly user friendly was bemoaned, arguing that if it were less user friendly, we would be able to perform more advanced tasks. Though an interesting point of view, it seems to me sadly mistaken. The thing is, though modern computers and operating systems are becoming ever more user friendly, accessible, and easy to use, that does not necessarily extend to the software run on the device. Let’s look at a few examples: (more…)