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Recently, I received a copy of Scot Finnie's excellent "Scot's Newsletter" (to which I subscribe and read thoroughly each time he publishes) and there was an article that caught my eye which discussed the 35 most annoying things about software. Now, since reading his newsletters for quite some time, I know Scot to be a thoughtful, logical person, however it seemed to be a bit 'out of character' for him to post some of these 'annoyances'. After all, there are some facets of the software industry that simply must be, and others that even I would like to see disappear. There are reasons why all of them exist and for some of them, there are even solutions (which we, as a software company, have implemented). I thought I would take a stab at defining how our software addresses each of these "annoyances" so you can understand why we think our software is better. Look for our explanations below each of the items. The 35 Most Annoying Things About Software originally from Scot Finnie's Newsletter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 35. The fact that many applications that could make good use of a Web browser-style Back button don't have one. Personally, I think this reason is a bit 'lame'. Perhaps Scot felt "35 Reasons" sounded better than "34 Reasons" and decided to round out the number of reasons. Software user interfaces should be driven by the
functionality of the software. While on the outset this would appear to be
a very subjective issue, the fact is a 'competent' user interface for a
given application should reflect the logic of the application in a clear
and consistent manner. Not every application should behave like a browser.
I do believe there should be some 'consistency' in the user interface
standards by Windows programs however, since Microsoft didn't actually
publish user interface development standards until more than 2 years after
the 'birth' of Windows, developers continued to make the same 'mistakes'
they made in DOS days. Not so in our products! There is always one
menu choice to select: Options and it is always off the main menu bar.
All options settings are grouped logically on a set of tabbed pages so
that all options that relate to one another are together where they
belong. I agree wholeheartedly on this point to the extent that software should provide an automated way to do things as well as provide an alternative, manual way as well in order allow the user to control the process to the degree they wish to control it. Software is supposed to make our lives easier and automating processes provides that for us. At the same time, the user should be allowed to control the process. 32. Software limitations that protect us from ourselves, because all they do is frustrate us -- and their real goal is usually to limit tech support. One common example is a purposeful lack of configurability: One size does not fit all with software. This is usually related to a business decision to save costs. Developing software that is completely configurable is inherently more expensive than developing an application that makes assumptions for the user. Most of us would prefer that software be ultimately configurable, however the economic burden on the company to produce such software would quickly drive many companies out of business due to the development overhead and the cost of testing such an application. One of the ways we address the issue in our software is, once again, through the use of non-Microsoft development tools. All of the Microsoft tools require the developer to write extensive amounts of source code rather than generate the application through the use of pre-tested template components, such as is used by Clarion for Windows. At least 97 percent of all the code produced by our company has been pre-tested by thousands of developers all over the world in a multitude of different scenarios and provides the basis for our applications. In the modules that we customize, which cannot be written through the use of templates, our focus is testing, testing and more testing until we are sure it is rock solid. 31. Shareware products that nag you with excessively frequent and aggravating registration reminders. Our products let you know once, up front, when you open the program No constant 'nagging' and no features are intentionally defeated in an unregistered program. 30. Tiny control surfaces, such as scroll bars, X-boxes, the edges of windows, that require overly precise mouse movements. After years of all-day computing, these things can lead to repetitive-stress injuries -- especially on high-resolution displays. This is a function of poor design to say the least and all of these types of products should be avoided. Be sure to let your friends know about products like this and also provide feedback to the company producing these types of products in order for them to accurately assess the needs of the users so they may correct the issues in subsequent releases. 29. The software gunk that gets left behind in the Registry, your hard drive, in temp folders -- wherever! -- after an uninstall. Our products do not use registry entries to store information. We do read the registry when necessary but we firmly believe the Windows Registry is not the proper place to store information regarding the application. The Windows Registry has been around since Windows 3.1 days (although most people didn't know about it) and at that time Microsoft made specific recommendations regarding it's use. Often this 'problem' is a 'by product' of the uninstaller being ignorant of settings that are created after the installation has been completed. Most good install programs will allow you to set the registry settings you need at installation time, rather than relying on your application to specifically create them. Once the application itself creates the entries, it is nearly impossible for the uninstaller to know about them unless the application modifies the install log file as well. In some cases you do NOT want all of the files or the folder deleted from an installation, particularly data files related to an application as they may have some intrinsic value prior to performing a data conversion or other process. In the case of our products, your data files are left intact in the event you need to re-install or require conversion of the data files to another application. 28. Processes, notifications, automatic bring-to-front services that steal program focus, forcing you to lose your train of thought, find the window you were in, and play hide and go seek with the cursor or mouse pointer. ClearICE, ClearRoute, ClearZone and XP Firewall Reporter are guilty of this, if you do not change the default settings. However the reason is simple. The user must be able to interact with the Import process window. See Reason #7 If you turn off the automatic import feature and only use manual import, this is not a problem. 27. Any program that installs adware, spyware, or anything else without your knowledge on your system -- even in its "free" version. I agree completely with this reason! Which is why there has never been any occurrence of this in our products from day one! 26. Any program, service, layer, update, patch, or tweak that cannot be uninstalled. Our installation (and uninstaller) provides for the backup and recovery of all files modified by an installation (this means you can install over the top of an existing installation) and provides complete un-installation of services, registry entries and other patches. 25. Product Activation -- need we say more? This issue was covered completely with Reason #2. 24. Windows you can't resize, or that don't remember their size and position between sessions. There are some windows where this is not appropriate. Most of the windows in our products maintain an entry in the <program>.INI file which provides a place to store previous position information as necessary. 23. Program instability, memory leaks, poorly coded software, even when it delivers useful functionality. In many cases this is a function of poorly written 3rd party libraries or software interfaces that are not articulated clearly. Most developers these days use 3rd party tools to enhance their applications and drive development costs down. The developers of the 3rd party tools (especially those intended to be used with Microsoft development products) are party to blame in that perhaps enough testing has not been done prior to the release of the library. The application developer using these 3rd party tools doesn't necessarily have any control over the problem. This issue can also be created by the particular compiler being used and it's idiosyncrasies with various versions of Windows. Once again, the developer may or may not have much in the way of control in order to effect a solution to the problem. While our software does use 3rd party libraries for certain functionality, they have been pre-tested by thousands of users in many different computing environments. We do our homework with respect to the 3rd party tools we use and if there is a particular functionality that is better in one tool than another, we opt for using the better of the two. Once again, the watch word is "testing". We test, test and then test again until we are sure the application is stable.
22. Programs that stay resident in memory after
you close them.
21. Software whose primary functionality can't be
figured out without reading the documentation. 20. Setup routines that require Windows (even XP and 2K) to reboot after installation. Unfortunately, Microsoft has yet to produce what is known as a 'fully re-entrant' operating system (think Unix here). There are some services that require the reboot to occur. In the case of our product, ClearICE, a reboot is requested by the install program, not because anything was installed that requires a reboot, but because the BlackICE GUI doesn't update it's menu selections for the 'plugins' menu unless you re-start BlackICE. The easiest way to get users to do this is to reboot the system. If a user of ClearICE doesn't want to reboot at the end of the installation, that's quite alright. It will not affect the operation of ClearICE at all. Actually, we do not recommend the use of the 'plugins' feature of BlackICE at all, however, each time we have tried to eliminate the use of the ClearICE plugin our users have complained long and loud. We were the first company to utilize the feature and as far as I know there is only one other company that uses it. 19. Programs that "lose" your configurations (skins, settings, preferences) when you upgrade to a new version. All of our program settings are stored in the program's .INI file and that file is left intact during an upgrade. 18. Could we all just agree on *one* standard menu location for program options, such as Edit > Preferences, File > Settings, or Tools > Options. Pick one, any one. We have already 'standardized' this for our products. There is a menu selection called Options which is on the main menu bar. 17. Software that reinvents the wheel by installing its own services for things that Windows already offers (with the possible exception of Windows Task Scheduler). Not applicable to any of our products. 16. Software that puts a shortcut on your desktop, the top of the start menu, the quick launch bar, the windows startup folder, or in Registry auto-start locations without permission. This is usually a function of the install program and some install programs do not allow control over where icons are created. We do place an icon on the desktop for the convenience of the user. They can feel free to delete it at any time without causing any harm to the applications. Since we do not use the Windows Registry, and do not place a shortcut in the Startup folder on purpose, we allow the user to control what get started when. 15. Software that after installation requires you to hunt down buried preferences settings to disable vaguely named Auto this and Auto that "features," such as Real Player. Once again, all of our settings are found in one place. In the Options settings accessed through the Options menu selection on the main menu bar. 14. Software that steals file format or default program associations without asking. Since our products use their own proprietary file formats this cannot happen.
13. Programs that change the default title bar
text for Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and other programs with what
amounts to ads for their companies, and then don't put things back to
normal when they uninstall. See Reason #3. If developers would leave the Windows\System32 and Windows\System folders alone, this would not happen.
11. Software with secret command-line functions
that aren't documented.
10. Programs that require you to be online to
work, when they don't really offer you online-related functionality.
9. Commercial software that relies on a Readme text
file -- instead of a well designed and informative installation routine --
to warn you not to install the program on Tuesdays, when the moon is full,
or when the developer is on vacation. (Note: This sort of thing is okay
for freeware.) The problem with most "readme" files is that they go unread! Most users bypass the dialog box in the installation program that displays the "readme" file and the software license agreement. This is usually because there are no provisions in the install program to force the user to read the file or license agreement. Then blame for this really belongs squarely on the shoulders of the companies who produce the Install program creation tools and the users themselves.
8. "Click here for help" when that step requires an
Internet connection but the problem I'm having is connecting to the Net. Our company prides itself on providing world class support via telephone as well as email. Not only do we support our products, but if you are having problems with your computer using one of the personal firewall products complimented by our product, we try to help you with those issues as well. We want you to understand what is going on with your computer, especially with regard to your security online! As a matter of fact, we also offer a "pay for support" program that will try to help you solve other computer related issues as well. All you have to do is call us on the telephone or send an email requesting support and we'll provide instructions as to how to participate in the "pay for support" program.
7. The inability to cancel a program process when
you decide it's not what you wanted to do.
6. Poorly researched, written, or incomplete
documentation. Most software companies employ programmers to write the software and technical writers to write the documentation. It has been my professional experience in the past that most programmers cannot write documentation and most technical writers cannot understand programmers. The issue has to do with the way each of them communicate with the other. In most cases it is necessary to find someone to interpret between to two entities in order to facilitate the production of the documentation. It is only on very rare occasions that you find talented programmers that can communicate or talented technical writers that can understand complex programming issues and craft their documentation in such a way as to allow the common man understand it. Finding these talented people is only half the battle, keeping them is the other half. This directly relates to Reason #1. I have long stated that: "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys."
5. Tech support that can't understand or speak in
your native language. 4. Tech support scripts that have no bearing on the problem. When someone calls us for technical support, which is actually a very rare occurrence, we address their specific problem in person. We do not rely on untrained or unknowledgeable people to provide support for us. When our customers call, or email, for support they get direct access to the developer of the software.
3. Software that "conflicts" with its competitors'
software. Our products are not affected for 2 reasons:
Our software products are coded in a very little known, little used programming language called Clarion (currently marketed by SoftVelocity). As such they are not prone to stepping on components of other applications. Our installation processes NEVER touch the Windows\System or Windows\System32 folders where critical operating system files reside. All of the components of our software are placed into a single folder where the software is installed, at the choice of the user, thereby isolating them from other components of other applications. 2. Software that you pay for, but the license insists it's not yours. Yes, it is true. When you purchase a piece of software, you do not actually buy it. You only own the media upon which the software is sold (if it is a physical sale) and a license to use the software, contingent upon the terms of the license agreement. There are valid reasons for this, the primary reason being that software, unlike other products, can be too easy to 'mass produce' or make copies of to distribute to others. (Have you ever tried to copy a toaster or a blender?) The license agreement, which is a legally binding contract between the user of the software and the company that owns the software, provides a protection of legal recourse for the owner of the intellectual property. Many people do not understand the expense of creating a piece of software and simply think software that is priced affordably doesn't cost much to actually produce, however, there are significant costs in producing software, not only in man hours but in other resources as well. The license agreements provide a very necessary link of protection between the consumer and the producer. Be sure to read ALL of the license agreements you agree to when you install software on your computer. Some of them, (particularly those from Microsoft) provide for provisions that can severely effect your computer's security. If you don't understand a particular point in a license agreement, do not install it until you can obtain clarification of the point from the author or company who owns the software. Each year there is more than $11 BILLION dollars lost in software sales due to illegal software piracy and copyright infringement. To put this in a bit of perspective, in the last 2 years (May 2001 - May 2003) more than 560,000 jobs have been lost in the tech sector in the United States alone. A great many of those jobs would not have been lost had companies not had to absorb these kinds of losses. This also directly relates to Reason #1. 1. Software that costs too much. We
believe that software should be fairly priced and we also believe the
pricing of our products reflect that belief. As an example, our flagship product ClearICE Report Utility, is normally sold as a cross-sell from the Internet Security Systems web site as an adjunct to BlackICE PC Protection. In order to offer it to the widest audience of potential customers for the least amount of cost. The pricing is set at $14.95, very reasonably priced with a 40 percent discount off the list price of $24.95, and that $14.95 must be split between our company, the transaction processing company and Internet Security Systems (for allowing us to us to use their Internet marketing 'coattails' on their web site). You will note that if you purchase ClearICE from our own web site at the ClearICE product page you will pay the full price of $24.95. As a result of the cross-sell, from each transaction we receive approximately 60 percent. Granted, we will never get rich, but as long as we can sell at least 250 copies each month, we can at least continue to pay the mortgage, car payment and have a good dinner each night. Many of
our customers know first-hand that I personally provide the technical
support for ClearICE,
ClearRoute,
ClearZone,
XP Firewall Reporter
and Secure Address Book,
not only by email but by telephone as well. We cannot afford to
staff a 'tech support' department based upon the small amount of money
made from the sale of our products, and it is my commitment to you, our
customers (and friends) to provide the best support I possibly can and I
do this at the most reasonable price we can manage. |
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