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A rant on computers and cadence.

Mar 15, '08 6:47 AM
for everyone

WhatIwantedtotalkaboutis

computers

and their

profoundlyinhumanspeedofuse-it'snotthattheygoinhumanlyfastnecessarily-weexpectourtaskstobecompletedinstantly

but

whathappenswith all the software I've

everknownisthattheimmediatetasksyou'replacingonthecomputerareonlyonepartofthedemands
placedonthemachinessystems;theantivirussystemthepowermanagementsystemandfranklygodknowswhat
all

conspire to

createtheseburstsofnearinstantperformancecoupledwithstrangelullswhichhavenorelationtowhatI
Imightbedoingorthinking...andasaresultIfeelalternatelyrushedthenfrustratedinaclassic"hurryupandwait"
situation.Thisbleedsoverintomylifegenerally,andIfindmyselffeelingtheinternalpressurewhichseemstobe
referredtoas'paceoflife'-thisinternalpressure(maybethewordI'mlookingforis'stress')spikessuddenlyassoonasacomputerisswitchedon.

(I'm just listening to this program on Radio 4, about pace of life; ironically, I'm simultaneously writing a blog entry.

It reminded me, though, to write the above, which is something I've been wanting to write about for a while now; the effect heavy computer use has on my perception of pace of life. Which, incidentally, is a very clumsy phrase for the feeling of internal pressure which I, personally, feel when I think of 'pace of life' - a perpetual driving force, an unease I feel when I'm sitting still. 'Pace of life' doesn't quite cut it, somehow; it feels a sufficiently important concept to have its own word. I bet there's a word for it in German, or French.)

Does anyone else feel this? I'd like to make a plea to OS programmers - investigate 'cadence' and please make an effort to make the actions your programs' users experience work at a more human speed. Let's face it, compared to computers we are pretty slow beings, and it seems to me that a truly elegant design would space out the things that people see with activities which the program undertakes, but the user doesn't see - and thus create a computer which works with a steady rhythm and cadence. This may just be my age talking, of course - I've notice even people only a few years younger than me seem to use their computers so much more quickly than I do. On the other hand, they do seem to miss when they try clicking icons, so maybe I just make them feel nervous. Does anyone else feel this, though? This high-stress feeling which coincides with the high-pitch, high-frequency whine of a computer fan? This lack of a human-sized cadence?

Tags: design, rant, geeky

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6 CommentsChronological Reverse Threaded

phoenixlives wrote on Mar 15

You're faster than you think (if that makes any sense). You just have more filters to process through than your computer. When you begin adding filters to your computer's processes (antivirus, antispam, etc) it slows down too.

subtractadddivide wrote on Mar 15

My software tries its best to keep up with humans, most of the time... And (when it's working right) it's very easy to use and aims to feel completely natural. Do I get a prize?

halfsure wrote on Mar 15

I'm only now getting accustomed to interacting with the randomly placed laser barcode scanner. I mean, I work at my job daily and utilize a variety of wands and handheld devices for scanning, but in public when I encounter a scanner I feel a twinge of shyness -- like I'm sizing up the programmer rather than the interface.
Strangebuttrueitfeelsabitlikefast&loosechatwithsomeoneofadifferentrace;Ifeelaneedtobesensitiveandmeasuremywordsforappropriateness.

unabubba wrote on Mar 17, edited on Mar 17

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moominply wrote on Mar 18

You forgot the 'bah'.

drcurry wrote on Mar 18

I'm afraid I can't read that at all. Never could cope with the james Joyce stream of consciousness stuff.

I have always felt that computers should be designed around human foibles, not the other way round, though, which I think from your other comments is what you're getting at.

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