An old friend of mine and I used to amuse each other by writing press releases for a fictional computing company that we called Infernosoft. Its tag line was "Software from Hell," but it also supposedly made hardware.
One of its fictional products was the Infernosoft Auto-optimizing Keyboard. As you use it, it measures your usage and optimizes itself in response. It makes frequently-struck keys larger and moves them closer to the center of the home row.
If that sounds like a good idea to you, then you undoubtedly have a bright future in today’s software market.
If I recall correctly, Infernosoft developed a type of tabbed dialog, the crowded tabs of which were shuffled anew in relation to the clicked (active) tab.
Other ingenious features followed, as if there were no limit to the creativity that Infernosoft could inflict on its customers. A clear and intelligible application menu was replaced by a set of "ribbons" that shuffled function buttons in relation to the clicked (active) button.
A clear and intelligible OS menu was replaced by a set of active buttons that flipped and showed images dynamically when the user the clicked "Start" menu button. The Start menu button was later replaced because it was excessively identifiable.
In later years, Infernosoft became drunk with success and stock options, and implemented a helpful character that would appear and make useless suggestions when people began to create office-related documents. Following the worldwide success of this beloved character, unseen macros were added to office documents that run without warning and can call Internet infrastructure to download very usable tools that have the ability to compromise Inferndows OS.
Such heights of usability were merely the stuff of nerdy dreams before Infernosoft achieved its total market dominance.
> If that sounds like a good idea to you, then you undoubtedly have a bright future in today’s software market.
Yeah design philosophies matter a lot. I've lately noticed this with a UI/UX person we brought on who came from a web app design background (we are making a standard app for desktop, tiny inexperienced team etc.). It's neither good or bad, it's just interesting seeing someone readjust and realize that they're allowed to make creative decisions based on their gut feeling and not on tangible user behavior data.
One of its fictional products was the Infernosoft Auto-optimizing Keyboard. As you use it, it measures your usage and optimizes itself in response. It makes frequently-struck keys larger and moves them closer to the center of the home row.
If that sounds like a good idea to you, then you undoubtedly have a bright future in today’s software market.