Kitchen interfaces suck

[mattbell]

If our computer desktops were designed like our kitchens, all the dock/startmenu applications and desktop folders would be unlabeled and identical in appearance. You'd have to keep opening different ones until you found the one you're looking for.

Perhaps our kitchen cabinets need transparency as much as our governments.

Comments

[proctologiste.livejournal.com]

I guess you haven't seen that kitchen at MIT's medialab. They use transparent doors on the cupboards and a projector that project the insides of the fridge unto the door: http://web.media.mit.edu/~jackylee/img/kitchen_fridgecam.jpg

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

Cool. Now all I have to do is sign up to my refrigerator's twitter feed.

'Milk here. Afraid of going sour. Hope owner drinks me soon.'

[aquestrian.livejournal.com]

Ha! Clever.

Eventually we'll automate everything to tell us (a) where it is and (b) when it spoils. No guesswork involved.

[doublefeh.livejournal.com]

And yet, people still use command lines.

[inferno0069.livejournal.com]

As I read it, your statement implies that there does not exist any person with a good reason to use a command line. I disagree.

[doublefeh.livejournal.com]

Perhaps the opposite, actually. Or perhaps it was pointing out the flaw of that sentiment in Matt's original post. The comment was indicating that opaque user interfaces can nonetheless be powerful.

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

Hmm... well if doing the dishes was as easy as "dodishes fork* knife* plate* spoon* cup*" then I'd be thrilled, but I think I just broke the metaphor. :-)

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

I've known people who got labeling guns and labeled the outside of all the cabinets. Especially in larger shared houses.

At least kitchen cabinets can't have 27 layers of subcabinets ;)

[easwaran.livejournal.com]

While labels or transparency might be good if it's just the residents in the house, I think the uniform surface of having lots of similar cabinets is more aesthetically pleasing for guests, if they never have to get stuff out. Residents hopefully eventually learn which drawer is which.

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed at how long it takes for frequent guests (girlfriends etc) to learn the drawers.