After the Hoopla--What Better Time to Make Computers Simpler to Use?

Now that we’ve entered 2000, it’s time for hardware and software companies to start making systems that are more reliable and easier to use.

It amazes me how much one needs to know to be a proficient user of a Windows or a Macintosh computer. Sure, just about anyone can turn one on and do a few simple tasks, but too often what starts out to be simple winds up incredibly complicated.

I could easily fill this entire column with examples, but I’ll just give you a couple.

I was happily using Intuit’s Quicken 99 to keep track of my finances until I got a letter from my credit card company saying that I had to upgrade to Quicken 2000 so I could continue to download credit card data. They were kind enough to send me a free upgrade CD, but when I installed it, my Quicken 99 data file wouldn’t work with Quicken 2000. Two calls to Intuit’s technical support department and about six hours of fiddling later, I had it working. But, I still had to reenter all my payment information and get used to the new interface. And, despite all of that, I still can’t download my credit card data because the credit card company changed my personal identification number. For “security reasons” they wouldn’t give me a new one on the phone and wouldn’t send it by e-mail so, after two weeks, I’m still waiting for the new PIN to arrive in the mail.

Intuit isn’t the only company giving me upgrade blues. A few months ago I upgraded from Microsoft Office 97 to Office 2000. There are some real improvements, but there are several “features” that drive me crazy. In the interest of keeping the program “simple” they hide menu items that you haven’t used recently. It seems like a good idea at the time but, as it turns out, infrequently used menu items are the very ones that I find myself hunting for when I need them. Fortunately, this feature can be turned off, assuming of course, that I can find the “customize” option on the Tools menu.

Another gripe: those programs that load automatically and do things for you whether you want them to or not. Symantec’s Norton Utilities and most anti-virus programs are an example. They have all sorts of features designed to ensure that nothing bad ever happens to your PC, but, by default, they load themselves into memory every time you use your computer whether you want them there or not. Norton Utilities, for example, has a crash guard program that’s supposed to help prevent your computer from crashing. Yet, when the program is running, my computer seems to crash more often.

I strongly recommend using anti-virus software to scan your files and examine programs and data that you download. But most anti-virus programs run all the time and some can slow down your machine. Norton Anti-Virus, for example, has a feature that automatically scans every Word file as you open it. That’s a great idea, but even on a fast Pentium PC it causes the files to load noticeably slower. I wanted the program to protect me from viruses on files I download but not on the ones I create myself. I tried to turn off this feature, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it.

Another thing that drives me mad is obscure error messages. In a recent attempt to update McAfee Anti-Virus software with information about new viruses, I got the message “too many open file handles. Please check your registration information and try the operation again.” I don’t have a clue what that means.

It’s not just PCs that drive me crazy. Consumer electronics are getting more and more complicated.

I recently got a new cell phone and found myself having to study the manual to figure out how to use the dialing directory, adjust the ringer volume and keep track of how many minutes I used the phone. A year ago I bought a Magnavox TV and wound up having to go through a complicated setup routine just so I could watch my favorite shows. Recently my wife complained that she could no longer watch CNN on the little 13-inch TV in our kitchen. The station wouldn’t come in because one of my kids apparently pushed the button that took it out of cable mode and put it into antenna mode. Earlier this year I bought a Sony Surround Sound system for the TV in our living room, which turned out to be a lot more challenging that I had imagined. Sure, I was able to figure it out, but my 15-year-old daughter, who is very bright but has better things to do with her life than study consumer electronics manuals, complained. “Daddy, this is too complicated,” she exclaimed. “All I want to do is watch TV.”

My daughter was right and the machine went back to the store. The ‘90s were a glorious time of invention but, too often, the complexity of our devices diminished our enjoyment of them.

Let’s hope we get it right early this century.

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Technology reports by Lawrence J. Magid can be heard at 1:48 p.m. weekdays on KNX-AM (1070). He can be reached at larry.magid@latimes.com. His Web site is at https://www.larrysworld.com.