Here’s the thing, I’m a big believer in making sure that the programs you use are ones you like. For most people to like them, they need to like the functionality. They also need to be able to enjoy the “look and feel” of the program. I talk a lot about look and feel, but what do I mean by “Look and Feel?” Look and feel means both how the program is laid out, where the buttons are and the colours of everything. The feel of an application is even more subjective. It’s one thing to have a program where you remember all the functions of it and how it works, but if it doesn’t work the way you want it to then the whole experience will be ruined for you.
1) All tech is customizable – One of the things that most programmers are working on with programs today is to make them so that they are user-friendly. If they are not user-friendly, then the programmers are also working on making them so that you can adjust them until they are. That’s what I like about programs today, that you can make them look different and ensure that you can make them work how you would like. I remember what programs used to be like where you could barely customize anything and when you did it was a total pain to figure out. That was a nightmare. Making your programs customizable to your needs is now an essential part of how the programs operate.
2) You should WANT to use it – If a program or app doesn’t work the way that you want it to then what’s the point of having it in the first place right? There is so much variety of programs nowadays that programmers are forced to making sure that you want to use their programs. This means that out of the box programs with no customization at all can be helpful, but the occasion when they are useful vs where you get an application you want to mess around with the settings on is becoming more and rarer.
3) Should be user-friendly – all users are different so why would their programs all act the same? The proper answer to that question is that they really shouldn’t be. I will concede the there are only so many things you can customize, for example, you can’t expect a word processing program to record music. The one thing that I like about most programs is that their ability to customize has become easier to find. Previously you would have to dig deep in the settings to change the smallest thing. Now it’s effortless to find and switch if you would like. The various customizations are still in settings but far less buried than they were before. Yes if they are a new setting that can be changed, like Dark mode which is a relatively new setting which I’ll be talking about in a couple of weeks.
When you think about it, we have reached a time when your experience does define your digital reality. For some of us, the knowledge we have had is what helps us make our decisions. I for one, have been an Apple fan for many years.
The reason for this is because after using PC’s for years I gave Apple a try and it was the best decision of my life. A subject I will be going into next week. For now, know that it was the look and feel of the devices that I have used that made me want to make the change.
I would also like to take this time to mention Jason Love Files has a new feature! Have a question about a Post? Want to suggest suggestions for a future post? Do you have any comments in general that you would like me to address? Now you can! Just click “Ask Jason..” at the top right of the page, and you will be taken to my brand new comments section!
What programs do you like using?
Let me know in the comments section below. If you like this blog post and want to see more, you can follow me on Social Media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @jasonlovefiles) or Subscribe to my blog to get new content delivered directly to your mailbox.