Why you can't program your VCR

Death Metal · November 24th, 2001

There's this article which I find interesting although I'm not included in it

! Maybe someone finda themselves here? There it goes....

Hi-tech got you down? Here's...

Why you can't program your VCR

(condensed from The Chicago Tribune Megazine)

You wake up dry-mouthed and perspiring. The house is too hot because you never could figure out how to properly set your two-year-old, state-of-the-art, programmable thermostat.

When you get to the kitchen, you slide a cup of water into your three-yaer-old microwave. You feel a bit chagrined because you never figured out how to use it other than to heat water for instant coffee and to defrost food.

In the car you fumble with the radio, trying to switch from the country station your children have been listening to. Before you know it, you are tilting sideways at a 45-degree angle, trying to drive and figure out the radio's numerous controls at the same time. An urgent, uncomfortable close horn jolts you upright. Chastened, you manage to turn off the radio and drive to work in silence.

You haven't even taken off your coat at the office when your telephone rings. It's the president of the company calling long distance. He has misdialed, reaching you instead of your boss. He wants you to tranfer his call - quickly. You have been using the system for a year, but you never mastered the transfer function. "just a moment", you say as you hit a button and accidentally cut him off.

The above scenario, while exagered, is not very farfetched. At least Laurence P. Feldman, a marketing professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, doesn't think so, and he has studied how people use their high-tech appliances. Feldman believes the American home is filling up with sophisticatede gadgets that are rarely used to their full potential because they are too complicated to operate.

"People buy these machines in good faith", Feldman says, "fully believing they will learn how to use them. But when they can't understand the instructiuon booklets, they become frightened by the profusion of buttons and switches, operating then just the basic functions".

You don't have to go far to find out how deep consumer frustation runs. Take Mary Pat Hay and her husband, Bill. The Chicago couple recently bought a new stereo TV, stereo VCR, compact-disc player and tuner.

"They each have their own remote control", says Mary Pat. "The one for the CD player has 64 buttons. I can understand a few of them, like AM/FM. But Sea Control? Sea Display? And forget the instructions. They look like the blueprints for Sears Tower(*)".

Mary Pat has found a novel way to deal with the tree remotes. She gets up, walks across the room and operates the machines manually.

The absurdity of the wasted functions is not lost on the couple, but they are not embarrased by their lack of mastery. Bill Hay says that his brother-in-law has a plaque thanking him for his brilliant work in designing the computer-testing programs for the Apollo moon shots. "But he readily admits that he cannot operate his VCR. If he isn't embarassed, why should I be?".

Feldman doesn't blame such ineptude on consumer stupidity. The problem, he believes, is poor design, And many people immersed in tecnology are just as stymied.

In The Psycology of Everyday Things, Donald A. Norman, head of the Department of Cognitive Science at the University of California at San Diego, quotes a men exaspered by his new digital watch. "You would need an engeneering degree from M.I.T. to work this", he says. "Well", says Norman, "I have an engeneering degree from M.I.T. Give me a few hours, and I can figure out the watch". But why should it take hours?

Charles Owen, a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, does consulting work on design problems for high-tech companies. Recently he bought a sophisticated 35-millimeter camera for his work. "Every time I have to do something complex with the camera", he says, "I have to spend another hour with the manual".

Owen faults manufacturers for largely ignoring consumers. "Instruction manuals are written almost as an aftertought", he says. "Just to get the jargon out of these manuals and get them translated into plan English", Says Feldman, "would go a long way making products easier to use".

If, as so many charge, the complexity of high-tech is caused by bad design and unintelligible instructions, why do consumers put up with it? Why own a four-event, 14-day programmable VCR if you only use it to play tapes?

"As long as people believe that others are able to use the device", says Norman, "they perceive the fault as their own. Nobody wants to admit having trouble. This creats a conspiracy of silence".

People also buy high-tech gadgets for the status. It is still very important for Americans to keep up with the Joneses. Often buyers are seduced by the high-tech appereance of an appliance as much as its supposed functionality. One woman uses only two of the 17 features on her microwave. She selected that model because she did not want the "cheaper looking" one with a dial.

If people continue to buy high-tech appliances on the basis of looks, that's what the manufactures will provide. If complicated operating procedures don't affect the sales, why would the manufacturer go to the expense of simplifying the design?

Owen predicts that competition will ultimately force vast improvements in high-tech design. "The company that can put out a product that is most easily understandable by the consumer is the company that is going to come out better in the world market", he says.

Until consumers demand high-tech products that are easy to operate, however, Owen's prediction won't come true. And so far we haven't been very demaning. When something new comes on the market, we march out and buy it, probably knowing deep in our hearts that the infernal machine will, in the end, defy our mastery.

If you feel stupid for doing that, you are in good company.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(*) Sears Tower: the Sears Tower is a skyscraper with 110 stores and 1,454 feet (443 meters) of height. It's located in Chicago, Illinois.

**Shiori** · November 24th, 2001

I dunno.... I've always been comfortable working with high-tech stuff.

**Ryos** · November 24th, 2001

My mom has never figured out how to program a VCR, even with only a button that says record (I'm serious).

Death Metal · November 24th, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Ryos
My mom has never figured out how to program a VCR, even with only a button that says record (I'm serious).

HAHAHAHA!! I guess moms are like politicians: they're always the very same, everywhere!!

[edit: I miswrote something...]

**Ryos** · November 24th, 2001

Nah, some mother somewhere must be technologically literate. Sandie is, for one. Sure, trying to find someone like that is like trying to find the lost city of Atlantis, but they're out there.

Death Metal · November 24th, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Ryos
Nah, some mother somewhere must be technologically literate. Sandie is, for one. Sure, trying to find someone like that is like trying to find the lost city of Atlantis, but they're out there.

At least my mom is normal; I mean, she's out of this list.

vivrantpig · November 24th, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Shiori
I dunno.... I've always been comfortable working with high-tech stuff.

me 2 i think ppl r jus dum

**Shiori** · November 24th, 2001

Curiously, I only hear this sort of stuff happening only in America. But maybe because there's too much press going on there.

**Ryos** · November 24th, 2001

Shiori: Or maybe because our proportion of clueless idiots is higher. Considering we just had a story about how nightmares increased, according to a study, since September 11, I suspect the press may be a culprit.

**Shiori** · November 24th, 2001

wow, even I hadn't thought of that

nightmares increasing huh.... they'll print anything to get readership.

**Betamax** · November 24th, 2001

Funny. I've never had any problems with VCRS

That kinda reminds me of something I heard about windows, that 95% of users only use approx 5% of the code.

**Ryos** · November 24th, 2001

> That kinda reminds me of something I heard about windows, that 95% of users only use approx 5% of the code.

That sounds about right. That would account for one of the reasons Linux didn't take off as much as it should. Windows is the AOL of OSes (eek).

**Betamax** · November 24th, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Ryos
> That kinda reminds me of something I heard about windows, that 95% of users only use approx 5% of the code.

That sounds about right. That would account for one of the reasons Linux didn't take off as much as it should. Windows is the AOL of OSes (eek).

The only difference is that MS doesn't post you endless free copies of its software

**Ryos** · November 24th, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Betamax
The only difference is that MS doesn't post you endless free copies of its software

AOL stopped sending me stuff. I liked getting those free DVD cases.

**Betamax** · November 24th, 2001

Same here. Now they send them to my mother.

Gk1986 · November 24th, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Ryos
My mom has never figured out how to program a VCR, even with only a button that says record (I'm serious).

I do all the programming in my house.

Quote:

Originally posted by Ryos
AOL stopped sending me stuff. I liked getting those free DVD cases.

I still get them

Death Metal · November 25th, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Gk1986
I do all the programming in my house.

Same here, as I'm the only man at home. It's not only moms; I guess the majority of women don't feel any attraction by letters in a screen.

Death Angel · November 25th, 2001

Ok, buddie, so, what is the next subject? Dogs are dumb? ahahahahhahahah

Death Metal · November 25th, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Death Angel
Ok, buddie, so, what is the next subject? Dogs are dumb? ahahahahhahahah

Yaeh, that was a good one...!! But the better one was about the Semi automatic 9mm Walter PPk!!

November 24th, 2001	#1 (permalink)
Death Metal Fool Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: South Town Posts: 1,771	Why you can't program your VCR There's this article which I find interesting although I'm not included in it ! Maybe someone finda themselves here? There it goes.... Hi-tech got you down? Here's... Why you can't program your VCR (condensed from The Chicago Tribune Megazine) You wake up dry-mouthed and perspiring. The house is too hot because you never could figure out how to properly set your two-year-old, state-of-the-art, programmable thermostat. When you get to the kitchen, you slide a cup of water into your three-yaer-old microwave. You feel a bit chagrined because you never figured out how to use it other than to heat water for instant coffee and to defrost food. In the car you fumble with the radio, trying to switch from the country station your children have been listening to. Before you know it, you are tilting sideways at a 45-degree angle, trying to drive and figure out the radio's numerous controls at the same time. An urgent, uncomfortable close horn jolts you upright. Chastened, you manage to turn off the radio and drive to work in silence. You haven't even taken off your coat at the office when your telephone rings. It's the president of the company calling long distance. He has misdialed, reaching you instead of your boss. He wants you to tranfer his call - quickly. You have been using the system for a year, but you never mastered the transfer function. "just a moment", you say as you hit a button and accidentally cut him off. The above scenario, while exagered, is not very farfetched. At least Laurence P. Feldman, a marketing professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, doesn't think so, and he has studied how people use their high-tech appliances. Feldman believes the American home is filling up with sophisticatede gadgets that are rarely used to their full potential because they are too complicated to operate. "People buy these machines in good faith", Feldman says, "fully believing they will learn how to use them. But when they can't understand the instructiuon booklets, they become frightened by the profusion of buttons and switches, operating then just the basic functions". You don't have to go far to find out how deep consumer frustation runs. Take Mary Pat Hay and her husband, Bill. The Chicago couple recently bought a new stereo TV, stereo VCR, compact-disc player and tuner. "They each have their own remote control", says Mary Pat. "The one for the CD player has 64 buttons. I can understand a few of them, like AM/FM. But Sea Control? Sea Display? And forget the instructions. They look like the blueprints for Sears Tower()". Mary Pat has found a novel way to deal with the tree remotes. She gets up, walks across the room and operates the machines manually. The absurdity of the wasted functions is not lost on the couple, but they are not embarrased by their lack of mastery. Bill Hay says that his brother-in-law has a plaque thanking him for his brilliant work in designing the computer-testing programs for the Apollo moon shots. "But he readily admits that he cannot operate his VCR. If he isn't embarassed, why should I be?". Feldman doesn't blame such ineptude on consumer stupidity. The problem, he believes, is poor design, And many people immersed in tecnology are just as stymied. In The Psycology of Everyday Things, Donald A. Norman, head of the Department of Cognitive Science at the University of California at San Diego, quotes a men exaspered by his new digital watch. "You would need an engeneering degree from M.I.T. to work this", he says. "Well", says Norman, "I have an engeneering degree from M.I.T. Give me a few hours, and I can figure out the watch". But why should it take hours? Charles Owen, a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, does consulting work on design problems for high-tech companies. Recently he bought a sophisticated 35-millimeter camera for his work. "Every time I have to do something complex with the camera", he says, "I have to spend another hour with the manual". Owen faults manufacturers for largely ignoring consumers. "Instruction manuals are written almost as an aftertought", he says. "Just to get the jargon out of these manuals and get them translated into plan English", Says Feldman, "would go a long way making products easier to use". If, as so many charge, the complexity of high-tech is caused by bad design and unintelligible instructions, why do consumers put up with it? Why own a four-event, 14-day programmable VCR if you only use it to play tapes? "As long as people believe that others are able to use the device", says Norman, "they perceive the fault as their own. Nobody wants to admit having trouble. This creats a conspiracy of silence". People also buy high-tech gadgets for the status. It is still very important for Americans to keep up with the Joneses. Often buyers are seduced by the high-tech appereance of an appliance as much as its supposed functionality. One woman uses only two of the 17 features on her microwave. She selected that model because she did not want the "cheaper looking" one with a dial. If people continue to buy high-tech appliances on the basis of looks, that's what the manufactures will provide. If complicated operating procedures don't affect the sales, why would the manufacturer go to the expense of simplifying the design? Owen predicts that competition will ultimately force vast improvements in high-tech design. "The company that can put out a product that is most easily understandable by the consumer is the company that is going to come out better in the world market", he says. Until consumers demand high-tech products that are easy to operate, however, Owen's prediction won't come true. And so far we haven't been very demaning. When something new comes on the market, we march out and buy it, probably knowing deep in our hearts that the infernal machine will, in the end, defy our mastery. If you feel stupid for doing that, you are in good company. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- () Sears Tower: the Sears Tower is a skyscraper with 110 stores and 1,454 feet (443 meters) of height. It's located in Chicago, Illinois. __________________ "It sure is pleasurable to live your dreams as long as possible, but reality sure has a way of jolting you to your senses eventually."

November 24th, 2001	#2 (permalink)
Shiori :3 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Seoul, South Korea Posts: 10,116	I dunno.... I've always been comfortable working with high-tech stuff. __________________ "...And when I finally meet you again, I want to ask you - have you found what you were looking for? Because that's what I felt you were doing, all these years. And I want to hear you answer, "Yes, I have, thank you for asking," and we'll be together again, until the end of our days..."

November 24th, 2001	#3 (permalink)
Ryos Revenger of Vengeance Join Date: May 2001 Location: Nowhere Posts: 11,250	My mom has never figured out how to program a VCR, even with only a button that says record (I'm serious). __________________ Sanity is overrated.

November 24th, 2001	#5 (permalink)
Ryos Revenger of Vengeance Join Date: May 2001 Location: Nowhere Posts: 11,250	Nah, some mother somewhere must be technologically literate. Sandie is, for one. Sure, trying to find someone like that is like trying to find the lost city of Atlantis, but they're out there. __________________ Sanity is overrated.

November 24th, 2001	#8 (permalink)
Shiori :3 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Seoul, South Korea Posts: 10,116	Curiously, I only hear this sort of stuff happening only in America. But maybe because there's too much press going on there. __________________ "...And when I finally meet you again, I want to ask you - have you found what you were looking for? Because that's what I felt you were doing, all these years. And I want to hear you answer, "Yes, I have, thank you for asking," and we'll be together again, until the end of our days..."

November 24th, 2001	#9 (permalink)
Ryos Revenger of Vengeance Join Date: May 2001 Location: Nowhere Posts: 11,250	Shiori: Or maybe because our proportion of clueless idiots is higher. Considering we just had a story about how nightmares increased, according to a study, since September 11, I suspect the press may be a culprit. __________________ Sanity is overrated. Last edited by Ryos; November 24th, 2001 at 05:41.

November 24th, 2001	#10 (permalink)
Shiori :3 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Seoul, South Korea Posts: 10,116	wow, even I hadn't thought of that nightmares increasing huh.... they'll print anything to get readership. __________________ "...And when I finally meet you again, I want to ask you - have you found what you were looking for? Because that's what I felt you were doing, all these years. And I want to hear you answer, "Yes, I have, thank you for asking," and we'll be together again, until the end of our days..."

November 24th, 2001	#11 (permalink)
Betamax Resident Movie Critic Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland Posts: 9,480	Funny. I've never had any problems with VCRS That kinda reminds me of something I heard about windows, that 95% of users only use approx 5% of the code. __________________ Superior marketing of an inferior product will always win over inferior marketing of a superior product.

November 24th, 2001	#12 (permalink)
Ryos Revenger of Vengeance Join Date: May 2001 Location: Nowhere Posts: 11,250	> That kinda reminds me of something I heard about windows, that 95% of users only use approx 5% of the code. That sounds about right. That would account for one of the reasons Linux didn't take off as much as it should. Windows is the AOL of OSes (eek). __________________ Sanity is overrated.

November 24th, 2001	#15 (permalink)
Betamax Resident Movie Critic Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland Posts: 9,480	Same here. Now they send them to my mother. __________________ Superior marketing of an inferior product will always win over inferior marketing of a superior product.

November 25th, 2001	#18 (permalink)
Death Angel Powerpuff boy Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Madonna's house Posts: 613	Ok, buddie, so, what is the next subject? Dogs are dumb? ahahahahhahahah

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode