Is Intuitive Technology a Crock?

In the software world, we’re all trying to make products that are intuitive. That are easy to use. Simple to figure out. You know, intuitive. It's a buzzword that we throw around a lot on this floor.

John Dvorak has been writing about technology for a long time. He doesn’t mind shaking things up a bit, and he has certainly attempted to do that with a column he posted Monday in PC Magazine. Titled “There is No Such Thing as Intuitive Technology”, Dvorak argues that nothing ever becomes easier to use because humans always make things more complicated than they need be.

Almost as entertaining as the article is a forum for comments. There is a lot of good opinion around both sides of this argument – don’t miss John Koerner’s response to Dvorak’s provocation.

Also interesting today in the feed bank is that the two leading Democratic candidates for the presidential nomination are Twitterers. (is that the correct term for those who Twitter?) Yes, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have profiles, which we are including here, in case you’re still on the fence about one or the other and feel that 400-letter soundbites might swing your vote. Obama has more than 13,000 followers at this count; Clinton about 1,800. Could Twitter swing the election? Stay tuned.