Windows Me Annoyances

Chapter 4. Tinkering Techniques

Why would we want to tinker with the operating system? Well, if you were perfectly happy with Windows Me right out of the box, odds are you wouldn’t be reading this book. We tinker with Windows to make it better: to improve the interface, to reduce the amount of work required to complete a task, to make it run more smoothly and efficiently, and most of all, to make it less annoying (you saw that one coming).

The most important part of software design is the interface. The interface is the only link we humans have with the machines we use—the better the interface, the better the link, and the more useful the machine will be. Because the Windows Me software has already been designed and written, the most we can hope to do is to tinker with it so that it works more like we think it should.

The unfortunate methodology behind the design of the Windows interface is that it’s supposed to be usable by the lowest common denominator: the person who has never seen Windows before. Don’t get me wrong, one of the most important interface design considerations is its ability to be used by the uninitiated. But there are three main problems with this approach if not done correctly. One, such an interface can be inherently condescending. Two, no user is a beginner forever. Three, users are not all the same.

What many people don’t realize is that it is possible to have an elegant, simple interface that is easy and comfortable to use by beginners, yet is not limited ...