In an Era of ‘Smart’ Things, Sometimes Dumb Stuff Is Better
Great article, I totally agree.<p>One area that I feel is also a "sometimes dumb stuff is better" that the article left out, is that (at least for me) hardware controls are almost always superior (tho certainly less flexible) than software controls.  There's no better example than the physical keyboard vs. the soft keyboard.  Recently I had to purchase a replacement stove, and I am amazed at how much worse the UX is on this stove than my old one.  I don't want to slide my finger to determine heat intensity, and select which burner that applies to by pressing a soft button corresponding to the hotplate.  Just give me a physical knob for each hotplate please.  The UX there is excellent.<p>A more painful example is my Ford truck.  Almost everything inside of it is software powered, and the bugs drive me insane.  At one point my GPS/stereo touchscreen hit some bug, and the only way to "fix" it was to pull over at a rest stop and power cycle my truck (turn off, then back on again :facepalm: ).  That is maddening.  As a software developer I understand that bugs happen, but as a consumer I just can't tolerate that kind of stuff in my vehicle.<p>Without question tech has brought us nice things, but with complexity comes bugs (both security-related and non), and with bugs comes software updates (which themselves sometimes introduce bugs in something that was working fine before).  Internet-connected things can also be a nightmare for security and privacy.  Truly, sometimes the "dumb" version is much better (and <i>way</i> cheaper too).